Noosa National Park

We set out for our first hike in the wilderness, a day trip to Noosa National Park. It was a 13.5 km trek through all sorts of nature. Over sandy paths, over the beaches of Alexandria Bay, past rocky cliffs of Devil’s Kitchen and Hell’s Cove, and through rainforest. We were super cautious of potentially running into snakes and spiders. But we also saw lots of exotic plants, flowers and trees.

We looked for whales, dolphins, turtles and sea eagles (not seagulls), but we didn't get lucky. Out over the sea, we saw a peninsula with a patch of white. It looked like snow, but in that heat that wasn't possible. We later learned it was a sandblow in Cooloola National Park where we would do our next big hike.

In the rainforest, we heard lots of beautiful and funny bird calls. All kinds of repeating patterns overlapping in a sort of orchestra. Then, all of a sudden, something big was moving in the bushes, it hopped. A kangaroo! It was about Mats' shoulder height. It bolted, then stopped and stared at us from the top of the hill. Cool! Further on, we saw and heard a kookaburra, a large kingfisher bird, famous for its laughing or monkey noises (Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!). To top it off, at the end of the hike, as we were heading back to the car park, a few locals had spotted a small koala sitting up in a eucalyptus tree, just hanging out. So cool! It didn't do much, but it was pretty cute!

What a day! We finished with a slurpee (cold slushy drink) and took the local bus back to our CouchSurfing home in Mooloolaba.Read more