Watching the sunrise this morning from the balcony of my rented apartment was quite pleasant. In the distance, beyond the Maroochy River estuary, lay the angular bump of Mudjimba Island, ringed with reefs on its south side. To the left of this sat Coolum Mountain, a breast-shaped protruberance lying between Maroochydore and the more famous settlement of Noosa.

At first, Mudjimba Island was just a darker smudge in the gloom, but after a few minutes it emerged clearly against the lightening sky. The lambent expanse of the lagoon shimmered faintly in the dawn, and pelicans skimmed low across the smooth surface of the water.

Returning inside the living room, I picked up my copy of White Teeth by Zadie Smith and, caught up again in the gyrations and disturbances of its extraordinary comic characters, whiled away the hour or so before I had to shower, leave the apartment and walk down for breakfast at my parents' place.

This is a nice, orderly little town. Unfortunately the cinema complex isn't showing Tristram Shandy, as I had hoped. But I've got enough books to keep me occupied for the rest of the week. I fly back to Sydney on Saturday.