Big Brother for Baby Boomers

I prefer the phrase Big Brother for Baby Boomers.

But one person crudely called it schoolies for geriatrics when a group of our friends shared a house for a weekend retreat.

If you think the challenges of a houseful of 20-somethings is interesting enough to watch on television, then you should see what happens when nine 50-plus, and one 46-year-old, get together for a two-night stay in a multimillion-dollar house on the Sunshine Coast.

By way of explaining how this trip north came about – I am a Deadliner. Well, that’s the name of the band I play in with Bernie, Chris, Greg and Mark. We are sharing our midlife crises by prancing around on stage for anyone who will listen.

We have played on cruise ships. We’ve played in pubs and clubs. A few weeks ago we even played at a New Zealander’s deck party. He paid the bill in Wild Turkey honey bourbon and that says a lot about the glue that holds this band together.

Charity gig for Detiny Rescue

Anyway, last weekend we were invited to do a charity gig at Maroochydore Surf Club to raise money for Destiny Rescue, a group that rescues children from human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Destiny Rescue saves kids, some as young as six, from brothels in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), India and Mozambique. I’ve been lucky enough to visit most of those countries and understand how real, and complex, an issue this can be.

According to Destiny Rescue a child is sold into sexual slavery every 26 seconds. It costs about $2000 to rescue just one of them. From what I can see, they do a fantastic job with not a lot of support so when they asked us to lend a band we were happy to oblige.

The Deadliners never go anywhere without their partners. Perhaps that should read The Deadliners are never allowed to go anywhere without their partners. Trust issues? Perhaps. The optimist in me says the girls would miss us too much.

So, because I was the travel editor of Escape and should know what I’m doing, it was my task to find suitable accommodation for 10 discerning people on the Sunshine Coast.

R&W in Hastings St, Noosa, actually came up with the solution – 38 Seaview Terrace – a two-level five-bedroom house on Sunshine Beach.

When I say on Sunshine Beach I do mean ON the beach. I could hear the waves crashing in the background as soon as I opened the front door and disabled the alarm. In the low season it rents for $6825 a week. During the Christmas peak it rents for $19,845.

Luxury at less than $100 per night

The cost for our stay worked out at less than $100 a person a night. That’s stunning value considering the location and luxurious nature of the house and surroundings. The house has five bedrooms – three with double beds and two with singles. It has two fully equipped gourmet kitchens, two over-sized sitting rooms with cinema-sized televisions and awesome Bose sounds systems, four decks, three outdoor barbecues, a 10m swimming pool and off-street parking for five cars.

We sorted out the sleeping arrangements on a first-in best-dressed basis. Seeing as I had to pick up the keys, my wife and I got the master suite that had a his-and-hers shower, spa bath and floor-to-ceiling ocean views.

Sunshine Beach is five minutes south of its more famous and more chic neighbour, Noosa. It has a cute small beach-village feeling compared with Noosa’s bounty of boutiques and people needing to be noticed. It has a well-stocked local store and a handful of dining options. Italian restaurant Fratellini (5474 8080) has one of the best breakfast menus I have seen in a long time. As tends to happen everywhere in Queensland, the local surf club has without fail the best view in town.

The first night was a test of stamina with the last person going to bed at 4am.

Lights were out in the Big Brother for Baby Boomers house at 11pm on the second night – and that was after just about everyone had some kind of afternoon nap.

Send in the chef

When it came to meals we had four options – shop and cook for ourselves; dine out; order in takeaway; or, get a chef to come in and cook for us. Local chef Jamie Milverton comes to your house to conduct private cooking classes. Jamie not only teaches people how to cook but helps create a gourmet dining experience. He supplies the chef’s hats, aprons, knives, recipes and food. You choose the theme. It can be anything from Italian, French, Moroccan or modern Australian cuisine.

There’s no doubt that the best way to see the Sunshine Coast is from the water so another group activity worth considering is to head out with Caloundra Jetski Hire and Safaris for a guided eco tour along Pumicestone Passage.

If you’re with a guide you don’t need a licence, which makes this an easy option. The company offers three tours: the 50-minute Bribie Blast ($160) – a 25km sprint along the western bank of Bribie Island to Lighthouse Reach; the Glasshouse Twister ($240) – a 90-minute trip that extends the Bribie Blast with a journey into mangroves of the marine park; and the Toorbul Express ($390) – an epic three-hour trip riding almost the length of Pumicestone Channel.

As it turned out, we were all asked to leave the house Big Brother for Baby Boomers style when the cleaners arrived on Sunday morning.