Left Side, please.: At least get a name first

Finally… a day where I can run. This morning was an early start, but well worth it. I ran out onto Gympie Terrace, Noosaville and headed along the shore watching the fishing shops and the boat rentals sleepily open up. Heeding Brad’s advice, I admired the lorikeets from afar and adamantly avoided opening my mouth while glancing upwards at all costs. The run itself wasn’t particularly notable with the exception of the glorious sunrise I was able to see. The colors were the most marine shades of yellows and oranges as they reflected on the docks as I ran past.

Sunrise in Noosaville

Beautiful.

The troops assembled shortly thereafter so it was a quick laundry routine to get all my clothes properly acceptable for the rest of the world. Our lecture this morning was held by one of the Biosphere council members at the Council Chambers. He was interesting and had a lot of great valuable information but something about my brain automatically switches to “off” when I hear the words legislature, law, government, etc. I think it’s diagnosable.

The “tour” continued with a drive down Gympie Terrace and up to Laguna Lookout. It offered a spectacular sight of “The Spit” which is the head of the Noosa River. We were being watched by a local avian resident as our biosphere lecture continued.

From there we headed down the hill to see Hastings street, a pedestrian area with little car traffic. It must have been funny to see a tour group clumped on the side of a shopping area talking about gum spots. Apparently it will set you back $2,500 if you chuck your chewed gum on the sidewalk and are caught. It makes me feel like a rebel when I chew gum. Living on the wild side.

Michael Tarrant, the program director, led us further past the Hastings street area to the Noosa Woods and out onto the spit. It was just an incredible view, fishers on our left trying to snag a bite in the river and surfers out on our right making the most of the currents. Katherine, Katherine and I plopped down on the boulders lining the outcropping (at our own risk, mind you) and watched the clouds go by as we inhaled our lunches. Only mildly satisfied with the meager rations a college budget allows, we ventured down the beach back towards Hastings in hopes of finding an affordable gelato place. On the way we crossed paths with a surfing class which consisted of small middle-school age boys leaping playfully atop the stationary surfboards in the sand.

The hunt for gelato was on; it was an incredibly trying and near impossible task. We attempted several places before coming to New Zealand Natural which provided us with an abundance of choices, including HOKEY POKEY! I opted instead for a yogurt mixy thing: passionfruit fix of the day. Hokey pokey will wait until Auckland. Maybe.

We trekked further upwards towards Noosa National Park- the pathway to the actual park was some gorgeous waterfront property. After Michael gave us another lecture we were off on the coastal trail towards Hell’s Gate. The scenery was just stunning: far too glorious for words! It was honestly like Hawaii on steroids: the black rocks, the crashing waves, tropical foliage and an abundance of well put together surfers. Beau-ti-ful.

Arriving at the perilous cliff side, Michael took a chance to chat with us about national park management and conservation. It really was interesting to hear about; and it made me much more thankful for the *free* national parks that I get to ride my ponies and run in.

Hell's Gate

The pathway leading to the... edge.

Heart set on seeing Devil’s Kitchen, I recruited Lacksen to hike up to the viewpoint with me. Urged onwards by the disappearing sun, we hiked across beach lining Alexandria Bay towards the rocky outcropping. Now, Alexandria Bay is quite secluded. It’s set backwards from the rest of the ocean, as the definition implies. It’s sparsely populated. It is NOT A NUDE BEACH. Apparently many of the visitors seemed to think otherwise. Scenery spoiled.

More scenery around the end of the beach

Lion's rock

Hiking upwards past the oyster rocks and roaring cave (appropriately named for the massive swells that send ocean spray skywards) we finally made it to Devil’s Kitchen. This area made Hell’s Gate seem like an absolute joke. It was just gargartuan in size and was incredibly intimidating to be standing at the edge of. Katherine and I wasted no time at all, snapping photo after photo. The setting sun kept threatening to leave us in the dark, but it was just such a beautiful place that the absence of daylight didn’t seem too important.

I'm that TINY little dot on the cliffside...

On our way back we stopped along the beach to watch a surfer attempting to tame the waves which would have easily engulfed a small house. He stood pensively on the beach looking out into the distance- and my creeper instincts switched on and seized the photo op. Little did he know….

Surfer man. This was taken in a split second when he didn't know I was creeping...

Walking up the stairs, leaving the beach, Katherine and I literally ran into another beach-goer: nude. He talked to the pair of us like he was completely clothed, nothing out of the norm. Sheesh.. at least exchange names first.

Comforting.

Once again, my map skills are horrendous, estimating distances for me is just not feasible. So, the proposed 40 minute walk back to the accommodations quickly turned in to a solid hour, hour and a half walk. Oopsies. At least along the way we were blessed by the most gorgeous sunset and nearly scared out of our wits by an enormous brush turkey flying into the tree branches above us.