Cooloola Cove - Hitchhiking

Through CouchSuring we found someone with a boat willing to take us along to Fraser Island, the adventure hotspot of the area. Here people 4WD (4 wheel drive) on the beaches, camp, hike through the bush, spot shark, etc. He suggested to do one of the Great Walks there. Because of the heat, however, there was a fire and hiking ban on the island!

Plan B, what other Great Walk can we do that is still open? The best option, Great Sandy National Park, which is the mainland connected to Fraser. The trail start (Rainbow beach) was pretty remote with no good bus connections, so it would either be an expensive trip or take a really long time. So, our host suggested that we could try hitchhiking!

We made two pretty hitchhiking signs, decked out with a Canadian and Dutch flag, and stuck out our thumbs. Two guys in a van stopped within 15 minutes. They weren't going where we were, but they took us to a ramp with much better chances of getting picked up. Thanks! Another 15 minutes later, a young guy pulled over with a learner's sticker. Braydyn just got off work and, since he just got his license, loved driving! So, he would take us wherever we needed to get to. Even though it was an hour one-way from Mooloolaba to Gympie! The least we could do was share our chocolate and pitch in for gas.

When he dropped us off in Gympie, it was starting to get late so we figured we'd have to camp in the bush and get to Rainbow beach the following morning. But immediately, an older couple from Cooloola Cove stopped and picked us up. Steven and Debbie, who turned out to be the local postmen, took us all the way, treated us to some tea, fish and chips and even let us sleep at their place (they thought the idea of CouchSurfing sounded really cool!). In return, we helped them load up for their early morning magazine delivery.

The next morning Debbie was kind enough to first drive us to Tin Can Bay where there was an official dolphin feeding spot at the Barnacles Dolphin Centre. We watched from the pier as people fed fish to the Australian Humpback Dolphins. This would only be 10% of their daily diet, so they don't become dependent on humans. A hungry pelican was eyeing up any stray fish he could snag, but the volunteers wouldn't let him. After the feeding was done, they were happy answering all our questions about this vulnerable species of dolphin. Cool!

Further on, a young boy was fishing off the pier. And a stingray was gliding over the bottom of the boat launch. We were spotting cool animals left, right and center!Read more