Crikey! Noosa's a beauty!

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Day 203: Sunday 18th January - The Sunshine Coast doesn’t live up to its name

I almost miss my bus to Noosa this morning. For some reason I’ve got it in my head that it leaves at 11am. Thankfully I check just in time and it turns out it leaves 45 minutes earlier which gives me just about enough time to quickly pack my bag and rush to the bus station. I arrive at Noosa up on the Sunshine Coast at 1pm. Although my hostel turns out to be just across the road from the bus stop, I make a hard job of finding it by using a less than reliable map which takes me up at least 200 steps, which is not what you want to be doing with a heavy back pack on and in 30 degree heat!

The afternoon I spend pottering about Noosa doing nothing in particular. Although it is hot the sun is nowhere to be seen and the so called Sunshine Coast, north of Brisbane isn’t living up to its name. I walk to the main beach which is about the narrowest beach I’ve seen. I also take a stroll down trendy Hastings Street the main street in Noosa Heads, the part of Noosa I’m staying in. My first impressions are of an upmarket beach resort - smart restaurants rather than fast food outlets and bars, designer shops rather than your normal high-street shops. The guidebook I have describes Noosa as like the French Riviera. I’ve personally never been but with the ambience, the leafy pavement cafes and upmarket restaurants and shops this place definitely attracts more than its fair share of wealthy tourists. I like this place.

There is a free glass of wine at a meet and greet for new arrivals in the hostel which has to be taken advantage of this evening. There is also a restaurant here and despite having gone grocery shopping with Matt - a guy who I’m sharing a dorm with from Kent - earlier I can’t be bothered cooking tonight so end up buying a meal which turns out to be disappointing. The hostel also has a trivia quiz later in the evening. Myself, Matt & Jack, a guy from Brighton form a team and come second, narrowly missing out on free drinks - gutted! The hostel bar is quite lively and the cheap jugs of beer and pool table keep the three of us entertained for the rest of the evening. I like the hostel, for me all hostels depend on how good their communal areas are and this one has a good one, which is unusual for a YHA. Because of this, you can live with the small dorms but the fact that there are no security lockers and power points in the dorms is stupid. Having to pay $2 (£1) every time you want to access your security locker is outrageous and the alternative of just leaving it around the dorm is not worth the risk.

Day 204: Monday 19th January - ‘CRIKEY ITS A BEAUTY’

I’ve been looking forward to today for a good week or so. I’m off to Australia Zoo, famous as the Zoo who brought us the crocodile hunter, a certain Steve Irwin. A number of people who I’ve met already have remarked at how good this place is. There is a complimentary bus service which takes you to and from the zoo, giving you just over 6 hours in the zoo, just about enough time to see everything.

The Irwin family have done a great job building the zoo up over the last 3 decades. Started in 1970 by Steve’s dad Bob as a place where rogue crocodiles and rescued wildlife could be homed it has grown rapidly since 1992 when Steve and his wife Terri took it over. The animals are housed in semi-natural habitats, have spacious enclosures to roam in and due to this, Australia Zoo doesn’t give the impression of a typical zoo. There are numerous shows through the day to show off the animals and educate at the same time and you can get up close and personal with a number of the animals. (Thankfully not those big saltwater crocs though!) The zoo also doesn’t try to overload you with information on the animals in the displays. Instead it tells you just enough in a fun, Australian blokey type of way - you can almost imagine Steve Irwin stood next to you talking you through what creature you are looking at, they definitely have his style in them. Another thing that comes across as you wander around is the great conservation work the zoo does. Although Steve Irwin always came across as a crazy aussie bloke in his crocodile hunter TV shows, what is less well known is all the great conservation work he did. Many of the animals exhibited (particularly the crocs) have been rescued from a much less appealing alternative. Indeed whilst much of the zoo is given over to Australian wildlife, that which is included from other parts of the world has often been the result of a conservation programme that Steve or the zoo have been involved in.

I spend the first part of the morning seeing the snakes, wombats, tropical birds, Kangaroos, Koalas and Enchidnas (think hedgehog). Seeing the world’s most poisonous snake the Inland Taipan is a highlight as is feeding and stroking the kangaroos. A bite from the Taipan has enough venom to kill 100 human’s, thankfully they live in the inhabited deserts of Australia so hopefully I won’t come across one of them in the wild! Later in the morning I see the show in the arena they have built here called the Crocoseum. The show invoves a Python, feeding Elephants, numerous tropical birds flying around the stadium and feeding a huge Saltwater crocodile, which is of course what the zoo and Steve Irwin are famous for. Seeing the croc being fed is pretty cool, especially when it starts to do a death roll when its being fed a pigs leg. Even cooler though and a massive surprise is seeing the Irwin family in person presenting part of the show. Terri, Bindy and Robert are all there, didn’t expect that at all!

After being educated on crocs at the crocoseum I walk to the Asian section of the zoo. First I see a demonstration with the Indian elephants, being washed having their feet checked. Even better is the tiger show however. A number of the keepers get in the enclosure to play with the tigers with various toys. The tigers jump in and out of the water chasing the toys and entertain just like a pet cat would back home. They’re such majestic creatures, I’d love to get closer to one.....who knows one day maybe?? The shows are the best part of the day, really interesting, fun and informative. With time getting on though and with still half the zoo to see I better get a move on. The afternoon I walk around the rest of the zoo - Wallabies, Saltwater and Freshwater crocodiles, Dingoes, Tasmanian devils, Cassowaries, more Koalas, Camels, Otters, various lizards, Komodo Dragon’s and Alligators. The freshwater crocs here are the first crocodiles caught by Steve when he was just 9...crazy guy!! The Tasmanian devils are funny little creatures and they are little devils how they never sit still long enough to get a photo! I wouldn’t like to be bitten by one of these animals though - their bite is 3 times as strong as a pit bull.....CRIKEY!

Well my day out at Australia Zoo has been great. This has to be the best zoo I’ve ever been to and I haven’t managed to see it all. A visit to the animal hospital on site would have been interesting but sadly there isn’t enough time. The Irwin family have done a great job and I applaud them for their continued animal conservation efforts. The passion for wildlife and energy of Steve Irwin lives on in his family and in the staff. ‘CRIKEY Australia Zoo it’s been a beauty of a day.’

Have a quietish evening when I get back to Noosa centred around the hostel bar, sharing cheap jugs of beer and playing pool with Matt and Jack. I try to book on to a kayaking trip tomorrow as well but as they’re fully booked I’ll hire one instead. Matt and Louise, a Swedish girl we’ve been talking to tonight are going to come along as well so tomorrow should be another cool day as well.

Day 205: Tuesday 20th January - Kayaking on Noosa River

Why are the maps on promotional leaflets so often deceptive? It looks like a short walk to the jetty where we can hire kayaks but it turns out to be a 45 minute walk. At least we get to see a lot of the different areas in the sprawling Noosa. The properties around here are unreal, I wonder where all the normal people live as every house we see looks like it must cost a million dollars. We hire a single and a double kayak between the three of us. I take the single - I don’t know why as it is harder work! We kayak for 3 hours along the river systems which cut through Noosa. The weather is beautiful, the houses beside the river are stunning and it’s just a really chilled out way to explore Noosa. We end up kayaking almost up to the hostel where we stop for a rest. Matt doesn’t pull their kayak up on to the beach properly and it starts floating down the river and he has to chase after it in my kayak!! It’s only cost $30 each to hire rather than $90 for a tour and I’ve had great fun with Matt and Louise. I’m pleased that tour was booked out. Sensibly the three of us catch the bus back rather than walk in the heat of the day.

Once fed and refreshed back at the hostel, myself and Matt decide to walk up to Laguna Lookout on Louise’s recommendation as she did it yesterday. We get almost to the top of the hill after a half hour walk from the hostel when Matt thinks we’ve gone too far so we turn back. There is no one around to ask unfortunately. When we get half way back down the hill we ask a local who confirms that we were almost there so we have to turn back and retrace our steps! The view from Laguna lookout was worth the effort though. You can see right across Noosa, the coastline, the river snaking its way through the town and the national park....beautiful. After we walk down the hill to Hastings Street we are in need of a drink, so we stop off at a cafe and get a free ice-cream whilst there. We wander the shops for some retail therapy and I but some sandals to replace mine which have seen better days.

I spend the evening chilling out in the hostel with Matt and Louise. I meet a couple of British girls who are travelling together, Rachel from Manchester & Joanna from Wales. You don’t always meet people who are on your wavelength whilst travelling but these girls are cool. After Rachel goes to bed through illness I spend the rest of the evening talking to Joanna. I think part of the problem on the east coast is that you usually meet people on gap-years before/after university, but the girls are career-breakers like myself so we have more in common. I’ve loved Noosa, met some great new people for the first time since Sydney really. I wish I could spend another day here. I’d still like to walk in the national park and to hang out with everyone from the hostel who are all here for at least another day. Sadly, I’ve a tour of Fraser Island booked already so that isn’t an option. Noosa is my favourite beach resort to date on the east coast of Australia. I prefer its chilled, upmarket chic to the more alternative Byron Bay and both are infinitely better than the over commercialised Gold Coast.

One final funny story from Noosa happens after I’ve gone to bed for the night. I’ve only been asleep half an hour when two Swiss guys who I’m sharing the dorm with find themselves locked out as they’ve left their key inside. With no one awake they break-in buy removing the slats from the window and the insect mesh. This all happens about two feet from where I’ve just gone to sleep and I don’t hear a thing. I knew I was a heavy sleeper but not quite that heavy!

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