Why would anyone want to leave Australia to visit some exotic island somewhere!
Ever heard of Sarina Beach in QLD?... Well it's our very own 'tropical paradise' just 35mins south of Mackay.
We spoke with the co-owner of the Sarina Beach Motel Meaghan Thompson to find out what's so special about the place and why she has 'stuck around'....
Listen to the Podcast below - Prefer to read? Full Transcript here
KAYE
Paint me a picture Meaghan… we're sitting here looking at Sarina Beach in Queensland. What is the reason and why would people come here?
MEAGHAN
Can you hear the palm trees? Rustling in the breeze?... Honestly, the sounds like it's just such a picturesque place. And the waves and the trees and the bird life. We've got everything! 
Meaghan Thompson with Kaye Browne
BRIAN:
Well, that's what we found. As you know we came here in early October for our wedding anniversary for one night and thought… Oooh Ohhh!... This is nice. And then we've come back three weeks later for two nights... And it's the serenity of the sea isn't it?... It's wonderful!
MEAGHAN
Yeah, once you've been once, you always come back, absolutely.
KAYE
And we don't mind the plovers. They're not like curlews, those… ahhh ‘Murder birds’ at night.
MEAGHAN
My daughter said last night. What is that? Mummy. Like she had no idea what those birds were. She's only two.
KAYE
OK, so we're going to paint a picture here as well. Megan is one of the owners of this wonderful place called Sarina Beach Motel and you have five children.
MEAGHAN
(Laughs…) Yeees.. Crazy aren’t I ?!
BRIAN
How? How did that happen?
MEAGHAN
Oh, we don't have a TV !! 😊 (laughter!!)
KAYE
Oh!... they’re all in the motel units, OK! (Yes). How awesome though because it is such a beautiful place. But I did notice when I was walking down to the beach and paddling my feet, big signs saying watch out for crocodiles. Have you ever seen a crocodile here?
MEAGHAN
No, I've been here 14 years now and never seen a crocodile on the beach.
KAYE
Awesome. That's what I wanted to hear. It is a problem because we're lucky enough to have done a bit of travelling in Queensland and stingers do come as well. Do you have many stingers?
MEAGHAN
We are quite fortunate. We've got a patrolled beach, so in the school holidays when Stingers are around, at Christmas time, generally we have the patrol who monitor the beach and they'll let us know if there's any stingers around and we close the beach in that instance. But it very rarely happens. 
KAYE
Yeah, awesome. So how come Sarina Beach is such a secret?
MEAGHAN
Yeah. I don't know. It's very underestimated. It's such a beautiful, big beach. Yeah, there's room for everybody and it's. It's just tranquil. It's lovely.
KAYE
It's very, very big and also it has turtles.
MEAGHAN
Yeah, we have nesting turtles. Generally they say October to March, but we tend to see them usually towards the end of the year and usually hatching around Christmas New Year time.
KAYE
Fantastic. So that's why people can't drive on the beach. But why would you want to drive on the beach when you go out there? Can you go snorkelling? Can you do anything like that 'cause I was worried about the crocodile and stinger signs.
MEAGHAN
Yeah, we do have people utilising the water. Obviously my kids swim all year round. They were down there yesterday. We've got the Leaper reef just here. And it's a beautiful rock shelf that comes out and a lot of good snorkelling out there and checking on the reef. So yeah, we just had a little walk out there last week with the Council and the high school and, we saw of good rejuvenation of the coral out there. So very exciting.
KAYE
Well, I'm terribly conflicted now because I'm worried that everyone is going to come here and we won't be able to get in, but there's lots of accommodation here?
MEAGHAN
Yeah, so lucky enough there's actually two motels here at Sarina Beach. But ours has the restaurant which is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well. So definitely once you here, you don't need to go anywhere. We've got it all covered.
BRIAN
Well, the first night we were here we went to the restaurant, absolutely loved it. It was fantastic. Because of the travelling we've been doing, Kaye tends to cook for us and we do our own, you know, cooking inside. But your restaurant was great. Like, why bother?
MEAGHAN
Yeah, like tonight, Wednesday night, we've got our $12.00 deal, so you get a crumb steak. Chips, salad, gravy for $12.00 or a crumb chicken.
BRIAN
Well, I'm so glad we cancelled last night, we’ll go tonight!
MEAGHAN
Yeah, why not? At those prices are kids prices! (Laughs!!)
KAYE
So what are your plans for the future? Are you planning to expand or do anything different here?
MEAGHAN
We not long did our restaurant renovation, so that's been up and running for two years now. We were considering a caravan park, but that's been put on hold just for a little while for now. And we’ll probably start creating some events here right on the beachfront. So stay tuned for those events.
KAYE
Looks like it, I think, horse races dog races,… Oh!... speaking of which, are you pet friendly?
MEAGHAN
No, unfortunately 'cos we've carpeted rooms, so we can't allow the pets. Not at this stage unfortunately.
KAYE
Ah, fair enough. Fair enough.
MEAGHAN
We do also have a coconut festival here, its biannual so that's a really exciting so check that out… Sarina Beach Coconut Festival.
KAYE
When does that happen?
MEAGHAN
It was bi-annual. So we had one last year, so not this year, but it'll be next year now usually around September.
KAYE
What's the best time? Of year to come to Sarina Beach?
MEAGHAN
My ideal is generally April and September. Not too hot. Nice placid weather.
KAYE
Well, we think it's just perfect. Thank you so much, Meaghan. Love it and we will be back and I hope lots of our friends come too!
MEAGHAN
Yeah, bring your friends. It's a beautiful spot.
Find out more about this tropical paradise: https://sarinabeachmotel.com.au/
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