Noosa, Noosa, what to say about yousa

DAY 8
Location: Noosa
Temp: 24 C
Weather: Sunny, cool (to me)
Activities: Long bus ride mostly
Accommodation: Flashpackers (Free WiFi and cookies and tea! Woo!)

Longest bus ride of my life clocking in at 17 hours.

I woke up every hour almost on the hour according to the bus clock as I switched side over side to sleep. I had one 2-hour stretch of 'sleep' I guess you could call it, but I'm pretty out of sorts.

We stopped...somewhere for breakfast and I stepped out into the frigid air. First time in three years I've seen my breath cloud and I beat quickly inside the gas station where I had an egg and bacon sandwich which did an excellent job of keeping me full. I fell asleep again for another two hours between 7:30 and 9:30 a.m. and remained awake after that, listening to music and watching the countryside flash by.

We stopped at Matilda for lunch around 11 a.m. where I had chicken nuggets and chips (the French fry kind, not the bag) and did some exploring before sitting with some folks I knew were on my bus where we exchanged the usual backpacker questions: Where are you from? How long are you here? Where have you been? Where will you go next? And so on. I made fast friends with a guy from Germany the evening prior when we discovered we were both staying at Flashpackers in Noosa. He dined with me for breakfast and I found him for lunch.

We stuck together to find our shuttle once we finally got off that too-long bus ride and made rough plans for the remainder of the day.

I was expecting our arrival to be at 1:55 p.m. but we got in at just before noon. No complaints, I was ready to be off the bus. And here I am happy with free WiFi, tea, and cookies! Yay!

The charming town of Noosa just inland of the beach. It had lots of cozy little shops and unique dining spots littered along the sea strand. I was still getting used to traffic running on the opposite side of the road.

I took the first few hours to pound out the blog for yesterday and check mail, then headed downstairs for tea, only to decide to hop the bus to the beach because this would be the only chance I would have to check it out without rushing. So around 4 p.m. I boarded the hostel shuttle, wound my way through the terrifying traffic and was out on Noosa Beach in short order.

The western end of Noosa Beach.

...and the eastern end of Noosa Beach.

I had a couple hours to kill until the last bus appeared at 6 p.m. and I meandered the length of the beach watching kids play in the gentle shore break and came back round the other way to discover a footpath. Ding.

My curiosity and adventuresome explorer attitude catapaulted me to bliss faster than a jet fueled airliner with a wine glass full of joy. I was in heaven wandering this beautiful path at sunset.

My curiosity meter went off and off I went on this wide wooden path set above the beach. I followed it turn after turn, goaded by the sharp clean smell of eucalyptus and eventually stumbled upon Noosa National Park--something I want to explore if I have the time after my stint through Fraser Island.

I happily stumbled upon the national park and poked around its trail maps and open-air exhibit detailing a bit about Aboriginal culture and their land.

I snapped pictures of the information boards and had my first koala spotting! It was this little gray fuzzball about three stories up resting in the fork of some branches. I got tipped off by the three or so people aiming their cameras into the trees.

The one wild koala I saw during my trip. Can you find him? He's the circular blob in the forking branches.

But with sunset on my heels and the temperature rapidly dropping, I beat a quick retreat and was welcomed to a view of the orange-stained sands of Noosa Beach mirroring the sunset. Gorgeous. I made my way back to where the shuttle dropped me and waited an hour in the chill for the shuttle to appear. That wasn't fun.

But when I got back, the hostel was hosting a BBQ with free sausages! Yay, dinner! And we all participated in this game while we waited for the food to cook. We had to lean down to pick up an empty wine box with our teeth, without letting our hands or knees touch the ground. The first round was easy. Then they cut two inches off the box. One guy who was just to tall to bend that low was eliminated. By the forth round, we had maybe half an inch to negotiate and I ended up using a yoga position--balancing my knees on my elbows and leaning forward--to nab the box. I was runner-up in the finals and lovingly dubbed "Hawaii." I got teased relentlessly for being cold. I can't get a break.

I dined on three sausages with my German friend and we chatted a good while before he offered me one of his beers which I accepted and we chatted until well past 9 p.m. I would have been glad to talk more if I didn't have my earliest wake up tomorrow and zero sleep the night before.

Onward and upward!