Noosaville (2) - Day 15

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After Karen emigrated to Australia with Mitch, her two sisters and Mum and Dad followed them. No wonder she is so settled here, none of that emotional pull of family ties although Mitch has his family back in the UK.

Apparently Karen's sister Steph regularly visits Noosaville, she loves it and has recommended a place for breakfast so we make our way down for more food!

At this rate, I won't be able to move and suggest that we hire bikes to explore further. Karen confesses that she hasn't been on a bike in 16 years but is game to get back on that saddle. We collect our bikes and helmets and make our way to Noosa Heads which is just a few kilometres away. As it happens Karen's boys are heading for NoosaHeads today having spent the last week on vacation a bit further North. We cycle through some lovely wide quiet streets with beautiful houses, plenty of room for parking and ponder what it would be like to live here. Some of the houses have gardens that back on to the river and are examples of Martin's ideal home. Despite his initial resistance to travel long distance, Australia and the way of living has completely won him over. He is adamant that Melissa will regret coming home in the summer and like a boomerang will return to the sun and her new family of friends and he starts fantasising about what house we would buy if we were to follow her.

We briefly meet Karen's boys and their girlfriends in Nooseheads but this is only a pit stop as they are making their way home for a game of golf. Again, another reason Karen and Mitch were sold on coming here, they wanted their boys to grow up with an outdoor lifestyle.Hastings Street in Noosa Heads feels a bit like Barcelona, it is bustling, has plenty of shops and restaurants and is right on the beach, yet just a street away it feels a bit like a modern day Venice with its various waterways and channels. We stop for a well earned drink overlooking the beach before jumping on our bike again for a leisurely ride back. On the way, we pick up some prawns to put on the bbq for a late lunch. Time for a quick dip in the pool while Mitch cooks the prawns and we tuck in with some more cheese and biscuits and wine! We head back to return the bikes and finally Martin gets his rod out. A slow stroll along the riverside and finally Martin concludes that his rod is not working for some reason.

Evening dinner was at the Boathouse - this is a building that was originally built for the Australian Olympics in Sydney. It was moved to its current location a number of years ago - a concept of physically moving buildings which is quite familiar in Australia.

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