Catching Up with the Noosa

Manda writes:

Today we stopped off at a town called Noosa Heads. It's a lovely picturesque place that has a character of its own. In the same way that Lechlade in the Cotswolds (UK), has its own unique style, this place had a special feel to it. One thing that stood out as soon as we arrived and this was its popularity with tourists.

On one side, the South Pacific Ocean meets land and there is a beach. Further up the coast, the headlands open up to Noosa River. The river branches off in several places. In the Noosa Waters area, these passages branch out even more - making it look like a mini-Venice.

We parked the van and went for a stroll. The street running parallel to the beach is lined with souvenir shops, clothes shops, eateries, bars and accommodation. It had an upmarket feel to it - there are actual restaurants and not just cafés; the clothes shops sell mainly surf-style gear and some looked a bit more exclusive (although not quite designer).

This place looked like the kinda place where you'd buy an ice-cream and walk around leisurely. It was tempting as we walked to the beach which was all but one minute away from the main street. In the distance we could see dark clouds looming - it looked like it was going to rain.

Ian and I had already booked some tickets for a ferry cruise along the river. It seemed like a nice way to see Noosa. At 3pm, we boarded the ferry - gone were the blue skies, the sky had turned overcast.

We sat by the window of the ferry, along with another couple. Then an old grumpy-looking lady came over and asked if there was anyone sitting in the gap between Ian and the couple. Those closest to the gap said 'no' and this lady proceeded to squeeze her butt (which incidentally, was twice the size of this gap!) into the small space. At the same time muttering something about having asthma - not sure what this had to do with the price of fish but anyway - once she managed to cram herself in, we sat liked packed sardines. A few seconds later, Ian stood up and gave her the seat. It would have been better if she'd just asked to swap seats. She was old and we would have gladly accommodated. It was obvious that she just wanted a window seat and not the empty ones in the middle. Her son-in-law looked away, looking like he'd been embarrassed by her actions one too many times.

The ferry boat ride was nice - we passed Noosa Sounds, Noosaville, Noosa Harbour, Tewantin and all the way back to Noosa Heads (they like this Noosa name here). The river had lots of moorings for the many boats and yachts. There were opportunities to get off the boat but we decided to stay on, do the circuit and leave. It was now spitting and looking very grey.

The skipper told us that the most expensive houses were in Noosa Sound. Some cost as much as $AUD 4.9 million (roughly £2 million). These houses had there own private mooring and looked plush.

When we disembarked the boat, it was chucking it down. 'Welcome to dry land!', said the skipper sarcastically, looking completely drenched. We ran from the mooring to the Sheriton Hotel and within seconds we were drenched.

Once back in the van, we continued our journey - Brisbane bound. We passed the giant pineapple along the Bruce Highway. Apparently, you can take a train to the pineapple plantation but since the weather was miserable, we decided to give it a miss. We parked the van up in a caravan site in Caloundra for the night and called it a day.

The Big Pineapple in Queensland.

One other thing to add - we have named the van 'Ethel'. No particular reason other than it sounds like an endearing old dear! Images of Ethel Skinner holding the pug come to mind - EastEnders soap fans will be able to conjure up the same image, no doubt!

[Ian adds: and of course, anyone who watched Eastenders will remember that Ethel might have been a cranky old thing but she kept going and going - I'm hoping that this will stand us in good stead! Of course, she died eventually, but we'll skip that minor detail for now, eh?]