This article is from the spring 2025 edition of Coast Life magazine.
Must have hooks in the bathroom,” reads the three-inch scrap of paper pinned to the office noticeboard at Up The Creek Backpackers Lodge in Roberts Creek. Owner-operator, Martin Prestage wrote the note to himself while globetrotting during the 1990s.
“When I travelled, I decided that I was happiest in the hostel network, and really enjoyed meeting the people I did, and I made notes because I thought, ‘when I move to Canada, I’m going to open a hostel.’”
A Londoner before he became a Creeker, Martin has travelled more than most, covering 56,000 kilometres on the same bike, between the UK and Australia from 1990 to 1993, and from Calgary to Costa Rica in 1996. (The bike, a custom-designed, hand-built 1988 Condor Hybrid Adventure, hangs next to his Dad’s 1952 Claud Butler La quelda above the lodge’s staircase.)
His experiences on the road and in countless hostels inform the details of the lodge he opened with his then-wife Marney ‘Hasu’ Coulter in 2004.
“Marney and I were on our honeymoon in Windhoek, Namibia, and we were in a hostel that had an open-air shower with a sort of turret on the side of the building. I thought, ‘I’ve got to have one of those, one day.’”
Today, a similar shower is one of the lodge’s outdoor features—all built by Martin—among the picnic tables, the lounge chairs, fire pit, kids’ sand pit and communal barbecue. Inside, the comfy private rooms and dorm rooms bear Martin’s handiwork.
“I tried to keep everything local,” he says. “I used locally milled wood, some from my property, to build the beds. We had a soft opening in July 2004, and I recall screwing bed frames together and asking customers—who were friends—‘hey, can you help me screw the legs on this bed because you’ve got to sleep on it tonight.’”
Since that soft opening, the lodge has welcomed more than 40,000 guests, some of them memorable.
There was the inebriated wedding guest who mistook Martin’s unlocked private suite for his own room.
“Fortunately, I wasn’t home, but my bed pillows weren’t puffed up in quite the same way. He was suitably embarrassed the next morning.”
Or the woman whose snoring began to drive away dorm customers. “It was like a foghorn! I subtlety managed to convince the lady to take a private room at a specially discounted rate before anyone else left!
“For the longest time, our ‘poster couple’ were a Japanese lady and an Italian man who met at our dining table,” recalls Martin. “There was big chemistry happening! They started dating shortly after, then came back as partners, and then not long after as a married couple. They later came back with two adorable little girls.
“Both parents now visit with new partners: life moves on I guess.”
Then there were the touring bands who performed at the Roberts Creek Hall, the Legion and The Gumboot, before jamming back in Martin’s communal kitchen. Those nights made an impression on Martin’s son, Coulter.
“There was a band from Burkina Faso; they were playing drums and African music, and they were all tall, dark skinned, different from what we usually see on the Sunshine Coast,” remembers Coulter, now in his 20s. “I was very young, and this was very different; it was cool because they were excited to meet me and hang out with me and show me their drums and instruments.”
Far from being disrupted by the comings and goings of a hostel, Coulter recalls only fond memories of growing up at the lodge.
“It was a unique experience that few kids would have had,” says Coulter. “It was more relaxed at my mum’s, but it didn’t bother me coming back to the hostel. It was a nice home to be in and to live in. It’s one of those lifestyles you have to love. I think it taught me to share.
“I’m an only child and I’ve heard about the only-child syndrome. I was lucky enough not to experience that from living there. Kids would come by with families staying and I would make friends over the years.”
Work-stay volunteers have always been an essential part of Up the Creek’s makeup. Martin estimates that at least 10 past volunteers still live in the Creek. “It’s a stepping stone to joining our community, a home away from home.
“They fall in love with the village and The Gumboot [Cafe], as I did. When we moved here, I thought, ‘I want to live somewhere I can walk to my local café and sit down and talk with my friends,’ and that’s exactly what I do at The Gumboot.”
Martin’s grateful for what he’s built, the memories created and the community shared. But now he’s ready to sell.
“Running a hostel allowed me to trust in human nature,” he says. “Most people are good intentioned, and I accept that occasionally, and only very occasionally, someone will take advantage of that. We have an open-door policy, and in 20 years our doors have never really been locked.
“We continue to lead the way within the tourist community regarding sustainable tourism. We practise zero waste, recycle almost everything, encourage non-car use and bicycle or bus travel. We’ve never used a dryer to dry sheets and towels, everything is air dried—summer and winter!”
Martin says it’s critical that new owners continue in the same vein.
“Any new owner should share similar values to us and not be driven by profit alone. Environmental sustainability and social responsibility are equally important. Up The Creek is built on respect and appreciation for the planet, and the role communities can play in protecting it.
“It’s essential that visitors have somewhere affordable and sustainable to return to on the Sunshine Coast.”
