Day 15: Glass House Mountains to Noosa
Waking up in a private room in the snuggliest of blankets and the bright sun warming the room was a treat. Our morning improved even more as our host encouraged us to make bacon, eggs, toast, and lattes. Since our normal breakfast is oatmeal with peanut butter, this was a feast and kept us full for our hike that day. After packing up and praying that my dirty sneakers didn’t leave a lingering scent (they have yet to fully dry from our mud hike) we headed off to the base of Mount Ngungun in the Glass House Mountains National Park.
After our five hour hike the other day, we were prepared for the long haul but reached the top in only half an hour. The geography here seemed similar to home with small ferns and large leafy trees. The 360 degree view at the rocky top made you feel on top of the world, with mountains in every direction. In between the mountains were suburban cul de sacs and rows of farm crops. And, of course, a drone buzzing around ruining the tranquility and taking photos of the hiker operating the damn thing.
Since we finished this hike so fast, we decided to tackle another at Mount Tibrogargan. We were tempted to do the daunting summit track but with slippery shoes and zero rock climbing experience, we decided to stick to the easier circuit track.
Back at our Airbnb in Landsborough, we said our goodbyes to our lovely host Deb (we imagined her having a persona of a lady named Aunt Debbie that loves to gossip and share her impressive jam collection), and hit the road.
Route 22 was a beautiful road that climbed up above the mountains and wound past Mairy Camcross Park and cows teetering on hillsides above the green valley far below. We pulled off at an exceptional look out just as two other motorcyclists did the same. We chatted for a bit and got some local advice before asking them to take a photo of the two of us in front of the view—the first photo of us on the bikes together. He even helped me get out of the deep gravel since I was scared ?
We carried along the twisting high mountain roads then swooped down to the base of the mountains with the hills towering on either side. Small towns wizzed by until we reached the coast and our destination for the night, Noosa YHA.
Halse Lodge is an old wooden lodge located up a steep hill near the main beach. After the welcome meeting and a glass of free wine, we chatted with the people in our room, grocery shopped and endured the madness in the kitchen to try to cook dinner. Normally, eating at 8pm would mean we had the kitchen to ourselves but since hostels are filled with Europeans, late dinner is prime time. We managed, despite having zero bowls or burners and about fifteen people clamoring for the microwave.
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May 1, 2018
Daily Costs
Accommodation: Noosa YHA Halse Lodge, $23
Food: $15
Gas: $17
Distance Covered: 100km