Day 16: Noosa
At the start of the trip, I had grand intentions of running every day and such. However, traveling poses some challenges such as packing wet towels, leaving places early morning to hit the road, and arriving places after sunset. This morning was the perfect opportunity to go for a morning jog along Noosa’s popular Coastal Walk.The path follows the ocean cliff and provides open views across the beaches and waves, bathed in the early morning sunlight. Apparently, most days you can see dolphins and sometimes whales, but today we spotted surfers and a rowing team.
Byron suggested we turn back at our normal running distance but I insisted on completed the coastal trail, without really knowing the distance. The path turned to sand and dumped us on a beautifully empty beach lined with pumice stones and tall dune grass. We struggled a bit to rediscover the path, but carried on through the hiking trails next to exotic plants and chirping birds. We came out to pavement after completing the walk and Byron informed me that Google Maps said we were an hours walk away from the hostel. Oops ? I felt bad but at least we got to spend more time in the tranquil forest backtracking along the path.
We enjoyed an extra slice of toast to appease our angry tummies and headed to the beach. The waves were tiny, the sun was shining, and there were surfers to watch—I couldn’t be happier.
We walked along Hastings Rd, lined with posh shops and boutiques. Australian “brick and mortar” stores seem to be more popular than in the States because of the lack of developed e-commerce. With many of the things you see in shops, you can’t find online for comparison. This is obviously changing, but there is something quaint about strolling along and window shopping.
Noosa has an abundant population of “scrub turkeys”, just a bit smaller than what you’d normally imagine in the US. Although they’re a nuisance (our hostel has a sign on the bathroom reminded us to close the store because the scrub turkeys come in and make a home in the showers), the town seems to love them also. We passed a shop that had bush turkey towels, t-shirts and underwear.
Our walk continued along the river mouth, past a dog beach and back to the hostel for dinner. Tonight’s hostel activity was Trivia, so we got into a team with other backpackers and competed. Amongst the seven of us, from all different backgrounds, we did pretty well and ended up winning two jugs of beer! We enjoyed our winnings and stayed up for a bit swapping stories of the road. Two British guys told of a crazy guy in one of their hostel rooms that would pace in their room like a zombie, knocking into the walls and beds, at 3am. Another girl shared tales of the ridiculous string of jobs she’s done in Australia, including hauling tree branches, sorting rotten onions, and stabbing a goats in the cheek with antibiotics with dreadful farm work conditions. I could listen to backpacker stories for hours.
May 2, 2018
Daily Costs
Accommodation: Halse Lodge YHA, $23
Food: $1 slurpee