Trip to Noosa

March 27 11:15pm

Yesterday and today were two of the most fun days I have had here in Australia. Friday night, Casey, Troy, and I left to head up to Noosa, which is one of Australia’s most beautiful beaches and a lot less touristy than Surfer’s Paradise. On the way up, we were able to catch an express train from Toowong to Caboolture, and then from there we hit a train from Caboolture to Landsborough and then to Maroochydore and from there to Noosa Heads. On the bus to Noosa, we met a girl who immediately picked us out as being “foreigners” and asked where we were from. We told her the States and she was like “Well I knew that much I meant where from in the States...I used to live in Houston, TX.” At this, I of course had to tell her that my aunt and uncle live in Dallas and that my aunt’s parents used to live in Houston (I think), and that I have been there several times. Just goes to show how small a world we actually live in. Also on the bus, we ended up picking up this extremely loud group of drunk teenagers who seriously looked like they were twelve. Soon after we picked them up, the one who was behind be decided it would be a good idea to throw up. Luckily, I had seen them get on and moved further away from them so I was untouched by it.

Below: View of Noosa from a lookout point at the national park

By the time we got to Noosa, it was fairly late in the evening and we still had not booked a room anywhere. So this girl tells us about a Sheraton down the street that her friends said was pretty reasonable so we went to check it out. We walked in and instantly knew it would be out of our price range: the lobby was extravagant and everything looked brand new. After consulting with the desk lady, she told us that a room regularly went for $400 a night but since we were there so late, she could drop it down to $295 for us. We said thanks, but no thanks, and walked out of there to try and find another place. On the street, we met this Aussie who told us to try some lodge thing he was staying at. After walking up there, we find that the office is closed and will not open till nine the next morning. There were about fifteen couches upstairs on the balcony of this place that we were thinking about staying on. However, we decided to walk up the road and try out a place called the Koala Bar. Once we got there, one of the workers came up and said the office was closed and they were going under new management so he did not even know how to access the system anyway. Luckily, there was a manager on duty who was able to get us into a room so we spent the night there. We then got up early the next morning (Troy got up before the rest of us and headed out) and hit the beach. We had been down there the night before in the dark, and picked out the Southern Cross, but in the daytime, it was a sight to behold and I instantly knew I wanted to retire here. To our right were mountains of green forests and white, sandy beaches and to our left, the beach extended for as far as the eye could see. Straight out in front of us, you could see other mountains too so it was almost like we were in a cove but it was still the ocean. It was absolutely gorgeous. Around lunch time, we decided to skip the expensive eateries and ended up buying a loaf of bread and some turkey and ham. We found a spot under a tree and ate, all the while being pestered by some of Australia's many turkeys. We ended up throwing bits of bread at them and it turns out they are pretty violent birds. They liked to attack each other and the biggest one of the group I’m pretty sure got the most bread. After lunch, we walked down the beach some more and got the idea to do handstands for a while. Of course, having never done one, I ended up going heels over head and splattered down hard on the beach...let’s just say that it did not feel too good.

Above: Troy, Me, and Casey at the lookout point

Below: Noosa's pearly white beaches

Later, we walked up to this lookout point that was in Noosa National Park. It was quite a hike up: all uphill and it was kind of far too. Once we got there; however, the view was totally worth the time. You could see for miles, and the beach was just extended out below us and you could see all these little coves and lakes within Noosa itself. Absolutely breathtaking. At the lookout point, this other Aussie was there with a girl from Brazil who was there for English School but who spoke English quite well. As it turns out, she loves to surf, brought her surfboard from Brazil, and the guide was showing her all the best places to go. The three of us all agreed that Men’s Health had it right when they said that Brazil was the country with the best-looking people...

Above: Me, Troy, and Casey on the Beach

Above: Noosa from the boardwalk with the mountains in the background

Around 4:20, we got on a bus ready to make the trip back home, thinking it would take the same amount of time to get home as it did to get there. The first two bus rides went as planned, but the train ride took twice as long. This is probably because there was no express train back, so we had to stop at every stop along the way instead of just going to the end. Also, at the train station, we met two girls who were from the States, studying at the Sunshine Coast, and were going to Brisbane for the next two nights. Naturally we got to talking and told them everywhere they needed to visit while they were here and whatnot. We were planning on going to the rugby game tomorrow afternoon so we invited them along. They agreed, saying that they have wanted to see one since they got here in February but hadn’t yet, so we will hopefully be doing that tomorrow. I don’t think there is anything else of importance to put down anymore. Today was a blast and I can’t wait to get back to Noosa.