Meteo Noosa (Sunshine Coast) in aprile

April and May are two of the four months regulars name for K'gari, with October and November - the island is at its best now, and our row agrees: 27.5C over 17.8C, only 4.8 precipitation days, a 25.1C sea and AQI 28. The thing to be clear about is what April does not offer. The humpbacks are still heading north and do not reach Hervey Bay until about mid-July; August is the peak, the season runs into October, and the last fortnight of August into the first week of September is the window for swimming with them, before the northerlies roughen the bay. So this is the month for the island - the lakes, the sand tracks and the rainforest - rather than for the whales. The record: 55.9mm of rain, humidity 73 percent, 9.8 hours of sun and a 15.4 kph wind.

Noosa's forum generally rates March as a great time to visit - daily temperatures comfortably over 26C, a bit cooler and less humid than the peak of summer, and not as crowded. Some posters flagged February/March as technically the wettest stretch of the year, but the pattern described is an afternoon storm after a hot, humid day rather than extended rain ruining the trip. Overall the consensus was mostly lovely and sunny with a few showery days mixed in, still great for beaches, hikes and outdoor dining.

Forum posters describe September as warming up nicely - typically around 25C by day - but with noticeably cooler evenings, and generally arriving just ahead of the thunderstorms that mark the start of the wet season further into spring/summer. Posters call September one of the lower-rain months of the year on the Sunshine Coast, along with July, and rate it a pleasant, comfortably uncrowded time to visit. Swimming is a genuine question mark this early in spring - some posters say the water still runs too chilly for comfortable swimming in September, so beach time is more about walking and scenery than getting in the water for many visitors this month.