Wednesday, September 29th to Friday, October 1st, 2010
So after 5 days I Brisbane I started to move my way up the east coast. The eventual destination is Cairns but it would take a few more days to get there. My next stop along the way was in a sleepy little surfing town called Noosa Heads. I had planned just 2 days here. Mostly I hoped to relax and lay on the beach and if I felt adventurous enough maybe even take a surf lesson.
You might be wondering how I'm travelling. Well I decided I would take the good ol' Grey Hound. I can honestly say I haven't ridden the Grey Hound since I was a kid and Mom and Dad sent Debi and I from Beiseker to Vernon to visit Auntie Faye and Uncle Andy. But once I started researching other options, this seemed like the best and the cheapest of them all.
From the roof of the bus station, this is the National Police Remembrance Day Parade. It only lasted about 5 minutes but the street was lined with people.
It was a short bus ride....just 3 hours, but I did take most of that time to sleep. The bus rides are not that scenic, all along the highway so it's not like I missed much anyway.
My first sight of the Australian beach.....well one that I can swim at anyway. Of course I have seen them in Darwin but here along the east coast the beaches belong to the surfers not the crocodiles. This is at Maroochydore. Not much sun to be seen which turned out to be a theme of the Sunshine Coast.
I saw this along the way. The window says "Go Pies" as in the Magpies. Grand Finals (like the Grey Cup or the Super Bowl) for the AFL (Aussie Rules Football) were a bit chaotic this year. The original game played on September 25th ended in a tie (nobody was happy about it) so they had to replay the game on October 2nd. (Spoiler alert.....the Magpies win!!!)
Once I arrived in Noosa Heads I needed to find my hotel, which wasn't that far from the bus stop but for me....well we all know directions isn't my strength so I found the closest information centre (just across the road) and they kindly gave me directions. They did give me some really funny looks though because I splurged a little here and booked 2 nights in an (Australian) 5 Star resort. I look like a backpacker though and had just walked off the Greyhound so you can imagine her surprise when I was looking for a $250/night resort (she confirmed with me at least twice that I was in fact looking for the Outriggers Resort on Little Hastings.... I assured her at least twice that I was). As I suspected it was just around the corner and up the hill so I actually made it without a problem.
My room for a couple days. Complete with full kitchen (with a dishwasher), a washer and dryer, a jacuzzi tub with separate shower and access to several pools. And yes that is a king size bed.....my favourite. It was also just up the hill from the beach so I was excited. The first thing I did was throw some clothes into washer, unpack the mess that was my bag and attempted to make some plans for the next couple days.
Then it started to rain. That did not make me very happy. Once this river stopped running I did make my way down the hill and into town for some excellent food and drinks and a quick look through some of the shops.
Like I said in a earlier post, it is school holiday time in Queensland (until Monday that is) so there are a lot of families here in Noosa Heads. That makes for busy restaurants and shops and forget the ice cream shops.....those lines are just too long. The place has a lot of little boutique stores (not many big name chain stores) so was interesting to stroll and check a few things out. As much as I wanted to....I didn't buy anything more than shot glasses and post cards. But it was very enjoyable to just wander in and look at things.
Thursday morning I got up and noticed that the sun still had not decided to show it's face so I decided against the surf lesson and opted for a hike instead. I did of course prepare to go for a swim on this hike as well but as my hike got longer, the clouds got darker. I had no desire to get in the water even though I did end up getting wet. I wasn't able to escape the rain but still enjoyed the walk.
I wish I had paid better attention to the signs and actually known how long my hike was. All I know is that it took me a good 5 hours. It started out along the beach at Noosa Heads and followed the water around to Hell's Gates and Alexandria Bay. Not an overly strenuous walk but certainly an enjoyable one......rain and all.
Some of the many surfers that line Tea Tree Bay just waiting to catch a wave. They seem to do a lot of just sitting there.
Along the first leg of the hike at a spot called Boiling Pot on Tea Tree Bay. That's the Noosa Heads' beach in the background.
Surf and rescue. These guys ride the sea-doo up and down the area making sure everyone is ok.
I am so glad there are warning signs everywhere or I might have fallen to my death. This is at Hell's Gates. When you arrive at Hell's Gate, the air gets cooler and the wind picks up. You almost can't stand up because the wind will knock you over.
Taken from the beach at Alexandria Bay. That's the lower part of Hell's Gate you are looking at. A really beautiful spot but the wind.....not very pleasant.
Now this is surf. Somewhere in there are a couple of brave surfers. I guess the rip-tide is a lot stronger here but the waves are certainly bigger. Not many people felt the need to surf here, but the couple that did seemed to enjoy it. Don't worry, the surf and rescue guys always made a trip down to this end to make sure they were ok.
Ever wonder what the rocks feel like when getting hit by waves? This might give you an idea.
Eventually I had to make my way back to Noosa Heads. Before I left the park however, I noticed a bunch of people standing under a tree looking up and taking pictures. I almost just walked by but figured if that many people were looking at something it was probably exciting. So happy I went back and looked because this is what they were all looking at.
Yes, that is a koala and no I will never have enough pictures of them. This one was extra special because he is a perfectly wild koala.
Look how cute he is all sleeping and stuff. So cute to see them where they belong. Like at lot of the other people taking pictures, this is the first WILD koala I have seen. It may be the only one I see.
By the time I was finished with my friend the koala, it was time to head home, eat some food and get my bag packed. My short stay in Noosa Heads, went by very quickly. Friday I got up relatively early to finish my packing and check out of my hotel (which I find is much earlier than in North America) and then had a little bit of time to kill before my bus arrived. The sun of course decided to shine today so I wandered the beach and found a few things.
The boats in the marina. A very nice quiet spot away from all the tourists and shops. There is a really small little beach here too. A few people felt it was a better place to hang out.
After that it was on the bus for the 4.5 hour trip to Hervey Bay. Once I arrived in Hervey Bay the only thing I needed to do was find my hotel, eat some food and pack my bags (again). I had some trouble getting to my hotel however because after I called a cab, they couldn't find me (the girl with the giant bags at the bus station wasn't a good enough description) and I got put on their "no pick-up" list. Eventually I was able to flag one down (the walk would have been a little too long).
Hervey Bay is a cute little place but I didn't spend any time there. It was just a launching pad for my weekend on Fraser Island.
Julie
No comments:
Post a Comment