Noosa Heads

After lunch yesterday we made our way back to the baggage trailer, which was parked at Drop Bear Headquarters. We stopped for a few minutes...long enough to have a delicious icy pop!

We picked up the trailer and headed to the beach for the drive south. When we immediately saw a humpback smacking the water with his fin over and over again, we laughed about how it seemed like he was waving at us. Turns out, he was our last whale sighting on the trip, so I guess he really was saying goodbye.

Just after wrapping out hearts around our final farewell, one latecomer finally made his appearance. A male dingo leisurely strolled by our vehicles, unconcerned with our presence. We also saw some red-capped plovers and a white-faced heron during our trip back to the ferry.

While we were waiting for the ferry,Troy and I noticed a dead Australasian gannet on the beach, and he picked out a dead turtle coming in with the tide. Fortunately those weren't my last wildlife images in K'gari. While waiting for the ferry I showed a couple of young women the tiny jellyfish that were washed up on shore. You could see the tiny striations on the outside of their translucent bodies and on the inside the beginnings of what would be their tentacles. I'm glad the ladies were as intrigued as I was. It was a quick ferry ride over to the mainland, and we were--much too soon--dropped off back at Rainbow Beach.

But instead of going back to the hostel, I grabbed my bag and began walking. After three days of walking in nothing but loose sand, my legs were shot, so I knew if I went back to the hostel that I would sit down and not get back up.

So, off I walked up, up, up the 1.7-kilometer path to the Carlo Sand Blow overlooking the beautifully striped cliffs from which the town of Rainbow Beach took its name. I found a nice place to sit and watched most of the sunset. Then I walked back down to the hostel.

I checked in, threw my stuff on a bed (upper bunk only, yuck), and kept walking down the block to get a really good burger. I walked back to the hostel, sat down in my bed, and...yep, you guessed it...didn't move again until morning.

I was up this morning to take a really long hot shower to get all the sand off of me, then Stray loaded us up and began our 1.5-hour drive south to Noosa Heads, which is where I am now. I'm staying at the youth hostel Halse Lodge, which is a historic building and in much the same condition as depicted on the sign outside (the back has a great quote from Emerson).

Now, I'm waiting to check in to a dorm room. I couldn't get a private room, which at $70AUD per night is a steal in this town, but maybe they'll have a cancellation before I leave.

So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️Read more