"Sunshine" coast

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It felt strange to arrive in Noosa alone. I could no longer rely on Emma's sense of direction, but luckily I found the hostel quite easily (thanks Google Maps!). Once I had settled in, I joined a girl (Alina) who invited me to join her on the coastal walk through the national park. I didn't mind the clouds and the couple raindrops as this cooled me down. Oh, and did I mention we saw dolphins?

Noosa is part of the Sunshine Coast. What a joke. Although the first day was alright, the next 2 days it was raining all day. In a place that is known for its beach, its national park, surfing and kayaking, there isn't much to do in the rain. I ended up catching up with “Wie is de mol” and playing some games with my roommates, which was quite relaxing.

Sunshine coast continued to disappoint me in Warana. I was visiting Marissa (met in Cairns) who was an au-pair there, and she told me she had never seen so much rain as in the days I was there. Despite this, I was determined not to sit inside all day even though Marissa was working. I posted on a backpackers Facebook and Julia wanted to join me to hike to a waterfall. The experience was definitely worth conquering the rain for. Due to a collapsed bridge, we had to walk through the mud. Another river crossing has to be done over some stones, which were now under water and thus invisible. Some of my steps were on those stones, but then the next step I could be knee-deep into the creek! Whereas this may sound like I'm complaining, I loved it. I didn't even mind that my feet were having a pool party in my sneakers and everything was wet.
After a nice hot shower, we had a “make your own pizza” night with Julia, Marissa (they turned out to be friends!) and 3 others. I had a lot of fun and realised that I haven't felt lonely despite traveling alone.

After I got to Surfers Paradise, I caught up with some friends on Skype and had an early night. The next day, I walked over the beach into town, walked around town a bit, read a book at the beach and chilled in the pool. I didn't mind a bit of alone time. However, I had been told that the nightlife is very good here and it would be my last night here. After approaching a couple of people that were not going out, I found a group that was. The hostel had arranged a free Uber, free entry and a free drink, and I had a great evening (clubbing starts so early that it really was evening)!

Next stop is Byron Bay, where I'll try surfing, wish me luck!

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Photos

Best food I've had in a long time
The burgers were amazing and they had sweet potato fries, herbed fries and zucchini fries!

They have a designated surfboard storage in the tram
It's not called Surfers Paradise for nothing

Comments

[Paul Stapper]

Sunshine coast
What a pity that the Sunshine Coast turned out to be the Rainfall Coast now! Good to hear you had a great time again and didn't feel alone while traveling alone! :D Oh, good luck and a lot of fun with your surfing!