Casa noosa, casa noosa - Noosa Heads / 22nd and 23rd November 2018

Today, there was supposed to be a thunderstorm, so we didn't have any plans. However, we needed to do the laundry because we didn't have much clean clothes left. When the sky remained clear, contrary to the forecast, we decided to hang the laundry outside on the clothesline. On our to-do list was also the exploration of the National Park here. Since Iris also wanted to visit it, we decided to do it today and just hope that our clothes and we wouldn't get caught in the rain. After a small breakfast, we set off.

We overcome a few difficulties with the direction and after a short and exhausting walk - especially because it was so humid and hot today - we arrived at the National Park sign and immediately looked at the large map that showed all the hiking trails. We chose the 10.8 km long Coastal Walk, which is supposed to take 4 hours - but we had a plan to turn around at some point if it got too hot and only walk the first part. However, that didn't happen and even though we were completely exhausted and sweaty already at the first small stop at Dolphin Point (we didn't see any dolphins), we missed the turn we actually wanted to take because I still wanted to go to Hell's Gates Lookout because the name made me curious. It was a steep climb up to a large rock from where you could overlook the huge bays on both sides and feel really small. However, it wasn't worth turning back anymore, so we felt compelled to walk the entire 10-kilometer trail. This eventually led us back down the mountain to Alexandria Bay, which we could only reach by a long walk in the deep soft sand on the beach, which drained our last bit of energy. In the sand, we could often see small transparent crabs that quickly fled sideways because of us.

The part after the beach was steep and very rocky, with many trees and stone stairs to climb. The three of us jumped in surprise when suddenly thunder rumbled. From this point on, we didn't care about the beautiful view anymore and just wanted to get out of the forest before it started to thunder properly. We also hoped to save our laundry and rushed up the mountain, no matter how heavy our breathing became.

After a good 2 hours of hiking, we arrived at Sunshine Beach, the end of the Coastal Walk - and yes, we just completed a 4-hour hike up and down the mountains in only 2 hours and were completely exhausted. We also suspiciously watched the surfers who were still chilling in the sea on their boards, even though a huge dark thundercloud was building up behind them. The beach is supposed to be beautiful in the sunlight, but when the first big raindrops obstructed our view, we just wanted to quickly get back to the hostel.

However, the path back led up a very long steep wooden staircase to the road, which we climbed somewhat slowly due to our rubbery legs. Two surfer guys came towards us from the top with a friendly "How's it goin?," and with a grimacing smile, we forced ourselves to give a more or less fake "Great!" and continued agonizingly pulling ourselves up the railing.

Once we reached the top, I shook the sandbox out of my sneakers and Linni looked up the direction of the Nomads Hostel on Google Maps. We realized that we still had about a three-quarter-hour walk ahead of us but then resignedly searched for the bus schedule after the first steep incline of the sidewalk.

Finally, sitting on the small bench at the bus stop, it started pouring down, and there we were - 3 completely exhausted girls who already looked like wet dogs. I played the song "It's Raining Men" by The Weather Girls simply because it was ironic and funny. The bus would only come in 20 minutes, and at some point, we just started laughing.

Until suddenly, from the house across the street, a sweet old lady came towards us with an umbrella in one hand and another in the other hand and handed us one - the hero of the day. She chatted briefly with us, and we told her about our plans until she said goodbye and told us to just leave the umbrella there on the bench. Such nice people exist only here.

Fortunately, our laundry wasn't really wet, but we still took it with us to the room, said goodbye to Iris, and took a warm shower.

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In the evening, there was a Glow In The Dark Party where we all initially painted patterns on our faces with the glow paint using our fingers. However, at some point, a guy with completely green hands walked through the dancing crowd and destroyed our artworks - which still made us laugh.

At some point, a remix of "Breaking Free" from High School Musical was played, and everyone (including the guys!) sang along and raised their arms to the sky (/ceiling), and I felt truly at home in that moment.

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The next day, Linni and I took a little walk along the Noosa River, which was really beautiful with the mangroves lining the bank and sometimes forming small islands in the water. We also walked through a small mangrove forest, which had a wooden boardwalk running through it. It was very impressive.

In the evening, we had planned to walk to a lookout point where you could apparently see the sunset quite well, but the path there was unfortunately closed for renovations, so we just sat down where we were, by the side of the road, and watched the sun from there - even though our spot didn't offer the best view. It was still very beautiful and a great ending to our stay in Noosa because tomorrow we would continue to Brisbane with the Premier bus, which we were really looking forward to because deep down we somehow missed Berlin and a big city after a month of going from coffee with a beach to a village with a beach.

Later, I skyped with Naomi, which was very cool and relaxing because I was lying in a big yellow beanbag under the starry sky.

Song of the day(s): "Breaking Free" by Troy and Gabriella, because I need to watch the movies again and because I've somehow "broken free".