Day 6: Exploring Noosa National Park

Even though the sun peeked through the clouds when we woke up, it started raining again on the roof of our camper van shortly after. It had rained on and off during the night as well. That's the Sunshine Coast for you. After breakfast, we drove to Noosa. We wanted to meet up with our eldest daughter who had landed in Brisbane early in the morning and was now on her way there in a shuttle. Noosa was bustling with people, especially surfers. All the parking lots were full. It was impossible to find a spot for our huge vehicle. So we drove a bit out of the center of Noosa Heads and parked the camper van on the side of the road. There was a bus stop not far away, and we had seen earlier that there seemed to be a free bus line to the town. We waited there for the shuttle bus with our daughter. Together, we went to Noosa Heads and started the hike through Noosa National Park. The weather couldn't make up its mind - patches of sun followed by rain showers. Since we had to stop at the restroom near the start of the Tanglewood Trail, we decided to hike the loop counterclockwise - first the Tanglewood Trail and then the Coastal Walk. As soon as we had walked a few hundred meters, it started raining. No big deal - we had our rain jackets on and walked through the rainforest.

The trail led across the peninsula through the forest to the northeastern point at Hells Gate. The surf was crashing hard against the rocks there. Plus, it was quite windy.

We made our way back via the Coastal Trail. By then, the sun had come out. When we arrived at Picnic Cove, we noticed three women who were eagerly looking out at the sea. They had spotted some whales there. Of course, we stopped and watched them for a while until the whales dived down.

There were several surfers in the waves at Granite Bay. And the closer we got to Noosa Heads again, the more there were. They passed us on the hiking trail with their surfboards, some even barefoot. The trail offered fantastic views of the bays, reminding us a bit of Hawaii.

Unfortunately, we couldn't spot any wild koalas in the eucalyptus trees.

Back at Noosa Heads Beach, we took a lunch break and dipped our feet in the water for a bit.

Then the bus took us back to the camper van. After making a quick shopping stop, the GPS indicated about 1.5 hours of driving time. We knew we wouldn't make it there before dark since it gets dark around five o'clock. The GPS led us on some remote roads that were not only very narrow and winding but also included about 15 km of gravel road.

So we arrived at the Tin Can Bay campground in the dark. The host had told me over the phone in the morning that he wouldn't be there at that time and that he would leave a plan with our name on it next to the office. That's where we found our designated spot - practically right across from it. Since we had planned to have a barbecue for dinner, we walked over to the barbecue area. However, we realized that we had run out of gas. So no barbecue. We quickly improvised and cooked the meat in a pan and the garlic bread in the very tiny oven (which seemed to be meant only for toasting). No one had to go to bed hungry.
For the record: Overnight stay: Kingfisher Caravan Park, Tin Can BayDistance driven: 143 kmDistance walked: 9 kmWeather: cloudy with rain showers, sunny in the afternoon, 15-24°C