After a beautiful stay at Byron Bay we moved up north along the coast up to spend three relaxing days in Noosa, another nice place with beautiful beaches and a National Park with koalas to be spotted. In addition, Noosa River ends here and the mix of saltwater and freshwater creates a very diverse flora and fauna which Ilinca and I discovered by Kayak.

Noosa National Park

Imagine a coast with rocky cliffs and small embedded beaches at the foot of a hill that is covered with a forest of eucalyptus trees and its inhabitants, the koalas. This is what expects you at Noosa National Park. And as the waters are usually very clear, there is also a fair chance of spotting dolphins, whales, and other marine animals from the hiking trail which leads along the coastline.

Unfortunately we did not encounter as many animals as expected. Maybe it was because the sea was very rough due to the strong wind, or maybe because we were just unlucky. We did not see a single koala in the forest. Also no whales were in sight. At least towards the end of our 3 hour walk we could spot some dolphins far out in the ocean and either a manta or a turtle.

But the beautiful bays, cliffs and beaches alone were well worth the hike.

 

Staying in Noosa

Noosa Heads, the part of Noosa with direct access to the beach, was not too interesting for me. Even though the beach is very beautiful and the architecture of the countless villas at the waterfront is very impressive, it is a very touristic place after all with overpriced restaurants, bars, and shops.

 

I was really happy that our Airbnb hosts Michael and Levana were living in Noosaville, around 4 km from the touristic center. They had a wonderful house and garden in which I usually spend the early morning hours to either write my blogposts or plan the next steps of our trip. Noosaville is a much quieter neighborhood than Noosa Heads, but still very convenient because of the proximity to the Noosa River and the short distance to the national park and the beaches.

 

One morning Ilinca and I rented a Kayak and explored the Noosa River. In almost three hours, we paddled first down the Noosa River, then into the mangroves, up to Noosa Heads past all the fancy yachts and villas. It was a very beautiful way of seeing Noosa.

 

Market in Eumundi

We also spent Saturday morning at a local market in Eumundi, a small town about a 20 minute drive from Noosa. There was lots of different food stalls, musicians performing various instruments (I was most interested in the didgeridoos), and all the other types of shops you find at a local market. Ilinca really loves these markets and she had to make sure that we did not miss a single part of it.

 

Next Stop: Hervey Bay and Fraser Island

After four nights in Noosa, we decided to move on to Hervey Bay, about 2.5 hours north by car. The bay is very famous for whale watching tours, and we had booked the last tour available this year as the season is over end of October. Fraser Island, the largest island made of sand only, lies just in front of Hervey Bay in the Pacific Ocean, so after the whale watching adventure we will spend two days with a 4wd in the sand.