We arrived into Noosa around lunchtime on Friday the 18th May. The sky opted to fashion a grey canvas so throughout the afternoon we persevered the weather while reading on the beach. Noosa is separated into 3 parts: Noosa Head, Noosaville and Noosa Junction. Our hostel (Halse Lodge YHA) was nestled into the boundaries of the national park at the end of Hastings Street in Noosa Heads, and was so beautiful, it was like an overgrown beach hut, all white wooden paneling. Anyhow, now the orientation part has been sorted, we pretty much withered the evening away, strolling over the hill to Noosa Junction in the hope that somewhere was open to jump on the internet. The next day, it was time for Australia Zoo: Home of The Crocodile Hunter. A gleaming double decker picked us up at 8.30 to transport the backpacker hoardes to Beerwah, an hour drive southwest of Noosa. We had a brilliant day at the zoo even though Armelle was slightly apprehensive at the start due to her opposition to caged animals. However, after reading about how the zoo primarily put its efforts into educating the public to protect and conserve, Armelle grated the zoo her seal of approval! First off was a shuttle bus ride around the park to get our bearings. It was then time to witness some back-to-back shows including giant tortoise feeding, elephant feeding- yes we will queue to feed an elephant a small piece of melon, and the infamous wildlife warriors 101 live show where the crocodiles come out to jump for meat a la Steve Irwin stylee. We have to admit that it was a bit creepy and very sad to wonder around the zoo all day with Steve Irwin’s mug shot constantly present even though he is no more. Damn sting ray…. Anyway, we then feasted on our soggy sandwiches in the wetlands after deciding that we really didn’t need to fork out for a picture of us with a python around our necks. Then we ambled over to say hello to the elephants and tigers, both in impressively large enclosures. We then strolled back, patting a few koalas, feeding the red kangaroos (our favorite part of the day) and experiencing near decapitation in the rainforest aviary. 
After ogling at some wombats, snakes, crocs and Tasmanian devils, it was time to depart and return to our pretty hostel. The next day was our first and last full day in Noosa before departing on a 3 day Fraser Island trip. We therefore decided to give surfing a go- there is nothing like submerging oneself in the chilling sea with nothing to wear but a bikini and board top to start off the day! Half of the pair triumphantly succeeded in mastering the skill of the sport where as the other half took 2 HOURS to crouch/half stand before performing a spectacular nose dive- guess who that was?! This immense sporting session left us both completely exhausted so we decided to reward our effort with a touch of retail therapy! We then snuck into the tail end of the Noosa wine and food festival where some supposedly famous woman was wailing her heart out. 
After mild palpitations thinking we had been left behind, we clambered onto our 4x4 jeep/bus/tank trailblazer vehicle at 8 am the next morning to discover Fraser Island- the largest sand island in the world.
After ogling at some wombats, snakes, crocs and Tasmanian devils, it was time to depart and return to our pretty hostel. The next day was our first and last full day in Noosa before departing on a 3 day Fraser Island trip. We therefore decided to give surfing a go- there is nothing like submerging oneself in the chilling sea with nothing to wear but a bikini and board top to start off the day! Half of the pair triumphantly succeeded in mastering the skill of the sport where as the other half took 2 HOURS to crouch/half stand before performing a spectacular nose dive- guess who that was?! This immense sporting session left us both completely exhausted so we decided to reward our effort with a touch of retail therapy! We then snuck into the tail end of the Noosa wine and food festival where some supposedly famous woman was wailing her heart out. After mild palpitations thinking we had been left behind, we clambered onto our 4x4 jeep/bus/tank trailblazer vehicle at 8 am the next morning to discover Fraser Island- the largest sand island in the world. We picked up the rest of our party and headed for Rainbow Beach where we would drift via barge thing over to Fraser. We then bombed across the beach lining the eastern side of the island (our aching chests from surfing cause a little yelp of pain to emerge from our mouths on every bump) for a much appreciated lunch at our accommodation for the next 2 nights in Eurong. We decided not to go for the self drive tour as, after tallying up the pros and cons, a pre arranged tour revealed itself as the much better option- no camping in rainy weather in holed tents, no ‘crammed like sardines’ effect as 8 people fit into the rear of a jeep, no stuck in the sand syndrome by over confident lads..…. Anyhow, that afternoon we explored the eastern coastline firstly wading through Eli Creek, which pumps out 80 million of gallons of fresh water into the sea every day, and where we came worryingly close to a wild dingo. 
We then paparazzied the stunning Maheno Shipwreck (which has a further 5 decks hidden beneath the sand) and dug for clams that would later be used as fishing bait by our guide. 
Next, we summited Indian Head to unsuccessfully spot sharks and stingrays from above. The view was breathtaking with sand dunes stretching for miles in all directions. 
On the way back to base camp we made a quick stop to admire the Pinnacles coloured sands. 
That evening, we had wined and dined the night away, and the last couple of hours were spent singing along to the guitar played by Derk, our hilarious German companion and the shaking of an egg shaped rattle by a tiddly Canadian! The next day was the lakes day which was thankfully accompanied by glorious weather. Lake Boomajin is a tea tree lake with hair and skin conditioning qualities which provided an excellent excuse for Armelle to smear a whole load of mud over her face! 
We then bumped our way along to Lake Birrabeen where we snorkeled for turtles on the southern side and feasted on salad and sandwiches on the northern side beside a perfect bright white beach. 
We then strolled through the rainforest of Pine Valley at Central Station to conclude our day of exploration. That evening, we watched the sunset before heading to the local bar fully decked out in flashing disco lights. 
It was like being in a rural French discothèque 10 years ago- the hilarity! On the final day it was time to reenact Lawrence of Arabia as we waded across the largest sand dune you have EVER seen, it was brilliant! 
The sand mass ends by taking a nose dive into Lake Wabby which the dune is slowly encroaching into at 3m/year. This proved a perfect opportunity for Armelle to gracefully sand board into the dune- if only the board didn’t stop 2 meters from the edge to catapult Armelle half into the sand, half into the water with a couple of bumps along the way for good measure!
We all then sadly traipsed back to the bus to commence our return journey, and Jess learnt a new German sentence: (Leider is unsere reise heute zu endert= unfortunately is our journey today to end!) After biding farewell to half of our fantastic group at Rainbow Beach on the mainland, the rest of us drove back to Noosa along the most beautiful beach ever seen backed by green covered hills stretching for miles. Jess swears she took a photo of a shark in the surf (don't worry, no swimming was allowed), and Armelle flatly refuses to believe that it isn't just a rock. Jess reckons she's just saying it to wind her up. Anyway, you can judge for yourselves (yes, you do have to look closely):
We then paparazzied the stunning Maheno Shipwreck (which has a further 5 decks hidden beneath the sand) and dug for clams that would later be used as fishing bait by our guide. Next, we summited Indian Head to unsuccessfully spot sharks and stingrays from above. The view was breathtaking with sand dunes stretching for miles in all directions. On the way back to base camp we made a quick stop to admire the Pinnacles coloured sands. That evening, we had wined and dined the night away, and the last couple of hours were spent singing along to the guitar played by Derk, our hilarious German companion and the shaking of an egg shaped rattle by a tiddly Canadian! The next day was the lakes day which was thankfully accompanied by glorious weather. Lake Boomajin is a tea tree lake with hair and skin conditioning qualities which provided an excellent excuse for Armelle to smear a whole load of mud over her face! We then bumped our way along to Lake Birrabeen where we snorkeled for turtles on the southern side and feasted on salad and sandwiches on the northern side beside a perfect bright white beach. We then strolled through the rainforest of Pine Valley at Central Station to conclude our day of exploration. That evening, we watched the sunset before heading to the local bar fully decked out in flashing disco lights. It was like being in a rural French discothèque 10 years ago- the hilarity! On the final day it was time to reenact Lawrence of Arabia as we waded across the largest sand dune you have EVER seen, it was brilliant! The sand mass ends by taking a nose dive into Lake Wabby which the dune is slowly encroaching into at 3m/year. This proved a perfect opportunity for Armelle to gracefully sand board into the dune- if only the board didn’t stop 2 meters from the edge to catapult Armelle half into the sand, half into the water with a couple of bumps along the way for good measure! We all then sadly traipsed back to the bus to commence our return journey, and Jess learnt a new German sentence: (Leider is unsere reise heute zu endert= unfortunately is our journey today to end!) After biding farewell to half of our fantastic group at Rainbow Beach on the mainland, the rest of us drove back to Noosa along the most beautiful beach ever seen backed by green covered hills stretching for miles. Jess swears she took a photo of a shark in the surf (don't worry, no swimming was allowed), and Armelle flatly refuses to believe that it isn't just a rock. Jess reckons she's just saying it to wind her up. Anyway, you can judge for yourselves (yes, you do have to look closely):
After spotting a few kangaroos we were dropped back at our Halse Lodge where we splashed out on roast dinners and caramel slice desserts! Next stop: Angus Waters- the Town of 1770.
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