After about a week in Sydney, my friends and I headed up to the recently flood-ravaged territory of Queensland for even more R&R. We arrived in Brisbane airport and hopped in our rental car. Direction: The Sunshine Coast! Sounded lovely...but the region unfortunately hadn't seen much sunshine in the previous weeks, so we were a bit concerned about the weather not living up to our expectations.
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| Blue skies ahead! |
About 90 minutes later (unfortunately without any kangaroo sightings!), we arrived in Noosa, a laid-back, chilled out town with more gelato shops and boutiques than you can shake a digeridoo at. The flooding had caused a lot of people to rebook their family holidays this year, so the tourist traffic was down a bit, and the normally crystal clear ocean looked more like the color of coca-cola at certain tides, but we didn't let it keep us from enjoying the tropical waters and white sandy beaches...
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| Noosa Main Beach |
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| Signature on Hastings |
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Billabong Surf Shop
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In typical fashion, the first morning in Noosa, I headed out the door in my running shoes (hat & sunscreen!) to go check out the Coastal Track in the Noosa National Park. I figure I would see a bit of nature and get in a fun run in the process. I had no idea how beautiful this place was...or how quickly it heats up in the morning! Here are some photos of my little running adventure...
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Noosa Main Beach
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| Boardwalk to Noosa National Park |
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| Entrance and map to Noosa National Park |
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| Tea Tree Bay |
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| Granite Bay |
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| Catching a wave... |
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| Tree with interesting root system... |
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| At Hell's Gate (it is quite toasty) overlooking Alexandria Bay |
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| Track signs throughout the park |
The best way I found to cool off and refuel after a nice hot tropical run is with a scoop of gelato at one of the numerous establishments (although I have to vote Massimo's as my fave...try a scoop of the Rocher...yummo), or head into the Noosa Heads Surf Club (bring your ID to prove you're not local) and have a nice cold schooner of Aussie beer or a glass of chilled wine along with a prawn/avocado/mango/macadamia nut salad...OMG.
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| Massimo's gelato...our fave. |
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| Salad at Noosa Heads Surf Club! And by all means, do not call them shrimp! |
If Noosa had a mascot (and maybe it does!?!), it would be the wild turkey...they are everywhere. So that rustling you hear in the bushes alongside the trail that you have set in your tourist head is a crocodile or bigger-than-a-breadbox spider is 10 times out of 10, a harmless turkey foraging for food. You've been warned. When they're not spooking humans, they're trying to blend in with the locals, meandering through the streets, and trying to get into stores and restaurants...
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| Noosa mascot |
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| Parrots as seen from the Surf Club balcony |
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| Surf lifesaver as seen from my beach towel |
Another thing Noosa is known for (besides a world famous triathlon held in May during their "Winter Festival" - see link below!) is being a sweet surfing spot.
A great place to sign up for lessons and chat up a few professional surfers is at the Noosa Longboard store on Hastings street. They even convinced me that even at my "advanced age" (for surfing, that is) I could learn to surf...and they were right! I'm afraid, however that I won't be furthering my mad surfing skills while living in Minnesota...but isn't that the BEST reason ever to relocate?!?!
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| Tell them I'm coming back to stay next time...and I'll need a job. |
Noosa is a little gem of a town that is relatively undiscovered by non-Australian tourists, so like the title says, keep this to yourself! It's no Bondi or Byron Bay, and is not exactly a hot-bed for fun-loving singles. Perfect for the family...you can even take the kiddos to sing karaoke with you...everyone else does. It's a great place in which to chill out, relax, eat and drink well, work on your tan, buy a few bikinis or boardshorts, and take a surf lesson or two...you'll leave wanting to move there...immediately.
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| Cheers! |
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