Heading to Noosa Head

I didn’t read the fine print on the train tickets for Brisbane. Day 22 and it seems that the train to Brisbane does not go to Brisbane, but to a place called Casino where they put you on a bus for a three hour drive to Brisbane. Our initial feelings were “this sucks” but the ride took us on a multi-stop drive along the Gold Coast, providing us the opportunity to see it as we would not be spending any time there. 

It was spring break and the Gold Coast  towns  along the way were filled with students blowing off some steam. From the bus, the Gold Coast could have been anywhere. (Florida, Spain, California) Thank goodness for that quaint Aussie accent to lock in our location.

Photo: Gold Coast- Destination 360.com

We only had 6 hours on Day 23 to explore Brisbane. Using an itinerary scammed from the many Hop On-Hop Off tour bus companies, we took a hot and humid stroll along the Brisbane River. Perhaps it was the early hour or that it was a Sunday but it felt like we were the only ones in the City. No people, no traffic, just us. 

By noon, the temperatures were already in the 30’s and humidity in the 60’s making for a sweaty stroll. Saw our first kangaroo outside the bus depot, where we are going to catch a 4 pm bus to Noosa Head and the Sunshine Coast, our home for the next 6 days. 

Australia's Sunshine Coast, is a smaller more intimate version of the Gold Coast. The following description is a direct quote from the Sunshine Coast tourism board and it clearly captures the reason we chose it.   

Photo: Noosa Head- www.remotetraveler.com

The Sunshine Coast encompasses beach resorts, surf spots and rural hinterland in southern Queensland, Australia. It stretches from the coastal city of Caloundra, near Brisbane, north to the Cooloola section of the Great Sandy National Park, home to multicoloured sand dunes, mangrove forests, and shallow lakes. Upscale Noosa Heads has boutique shops, waterways, and walking trails through Noosa National Park. 

We had booked a bachelor suite with full kitchen about a block from downtown Noosa Head with its grocery stores, restaurants and most importantly liquor stores. We have planned a few down days on the beach, perhaps a surfing lesson, along with a hike through Noosa National Park, a visit to Fraser Island, a visit to Australia’s zoo and a trip to a local farmers and craft market.

The downtown businesses were already preparing for the Christmas holiday rush. Only 26 shopping days left. 

Day 24 was a “Getting to know Noosa Head, stocking up the kitchen, finding a liquor store, exploring souvenir options and letting the day cool down before taking a late afternoon hike through Noosa Head National Park.

The plan was to hike three of the listed hikes in one go. We started with the Alexandra Bay hike as the trail head was only a few block from our place. The trail started in the heath covered upper sections of the park. 

Then a sharp and quick drop down to our first destination, Alexandra Bay where we arrived with a healthy sweaty glow.

We were astounded to find the beach completely empty. 

From here were started on the Coastal Walk which required a climb back up into the uplands but it came with a lovely view of Alexandra Bay and a moist, sweaty glow.

It is becoming apparent that wearing a sweaty glow will be a fact of life for the remainder of our stay in Australia.

The trail descended back down and into more forested areas. Banksias, she-oaks, giant kauri pines and every once in a while, a grove of eucalyptus trees where if you believed the hype, koalas could be found. No Koalas but more intimate and uninhabited beaches calling out to us. It took all our will power to keep our clothes on.

The trail eventually spit us back out into Noosa Head where we found a patio, a cool drink, some napkins to deal with our sweaty glow and a beautifully red infused sunset. It was like looking at the world through a glass of Rose.

But there was something vaguely sinister and familiar about the sunset. It took a few minutes before we realized that a similar sunset could be found in Penticton when forest fires filled the air with smoke particles. Much to our dismay, the forest fire season has started in Australia.

Sydney Walkabout x 4

Our departure from New Zealand was pleasant. Day 15 was filled with a leisurely ride to a hotel located near Auckland airport and after checking in; we headed into Auckland for a visit. Nothing really stood out in our exploration of Auckland. Spent some time exploring the extensive marina area, found a dockside pub with a happy hour, to watch the world go by. Then back to the hotel, early to bed, and an early up on Day 16 to catch our 3 hour flight to Sydney.  

Sydney is a big city with just around 4 ½ million citizens. Nonie and I always approach a visit to a new city with a desire to see it on foot. The city looks a lot different from the ground then from the omnipresent Hop On, Hop Off buses that can be found in most large cities. The buses do provide itineraries which make a great resource to places for us to walk or take public transit to.

The wiki definition of urban hiking is an “active walk taken in an urban environment that goes through parks, uses stairwells, crosses intersections, and meanders through the city's obstacles of life.”  Sydney Harbour Bridge was full of walkers today. For me, the beauty of urban hiking is that you are never to far from toilets, shopping, pubs and restaurants if you properly plan your trek. If you get tired, public transportation should never be far away.  Sydney seems like it could be an urban hikers dream.

Finding urban hikes can be as simple as Googling “urban hikes "fill in the large city”.  Doing this for Sydney, coughed up four interesting hikes. We only have five full days to discover all the Sydney has to offer as well as catch up with old friends, we have not seen in over 20 years. Our “to do” list was a full one. To be fair to the definition of urban hiking, one of the hikes was into the Blue Mountains, only a short 90 minute train ride from Sydney.  Not so urban but that didn't mean we didn't  have any stairs to climb.

Day 17- Hike #1- Sydney-City-Walk-

10 kilometres

Sydney Opera House- The opera house is the most iconic of all Sydney images. It is over 45 years old and still looking good. 

The Royal Botanic Gardens are located in the city centre. A wonderful place to stroll with magnificent views of the opera house and Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background.

The views of the harbour and the Rocks from the Sydney Harbour Bridge were awesome.

Day 18- Hike #2- Bondi to Coogee  Coastal Walk

6.5 kilometres

Travel to Bondi Beach involved a train, a subway and a bus giving us a grand tour of Sydney. From here we would be walking to Coogee Beach.

You cannot go to Bondi without getting some sand in your toes and renting a couple of beach chairs for a little chill time. . The weather was cloudy so sun burn was not a problem with plenty of opportunity for some wind chill.

The waves were big and the water cold making for a very short swim.

Like any good urban trek, the walk to Coogee had stairs,

multi-coloured sandstone cliffs that have been artistically eroded by wind and waves,

those same waves that sometimes crashed over the trail splashing us with cold, salty water.

When we got bored with the ocean views, we could admire the million dollars homes that are found along the trail.

Day 20- Hike #3- Blue Mountains

15 kilometres combined

The Blue Mountains are easily accessible by trains that make the trip ever hour or so from Sydney, but today we were joined and driven by our friend.

Our first hike was an up close and intimate visit to the Three Sisters.

In keeping up with our theme of urban hiking, there were lots and lots and lots

and lots of stairs that moved you intimately around the Sisters.


Tips for neophyte urban hikers. "What you go down, you must go up."

A hike into Katoomba Falls was next on the agenda.


No stairs but some tricky trails.

The attached picture was borrowed from BestSydneyWalks. The area was recovering from a long period of drought so the falls were under whelming at best. They are supposed to be quite awesome after a rainfall.

Our last stop was a short hike to view 500-1600 year old Aboriginal hand prints.  Quite impressive. They looked as if they had just been placed there yesterday.

It was the end to a glorious day!

Day 19- Hike #4- Spit Bridge to Manly Walk

10 kilometres

The trek starts at Spit Bridge wanders along the coastline across from Sydney Harbour with million dollar mansions, ancient Aboriginal sites, climbs into the dry heathlands and finishing in the cute little suburban town of Manly polished off with ferry ride back to downtown Sydney. 

After a gusty crossing of Spit Bridge, the trail turned into a narrow squeezy walk under an imposing sandstone cliff. 

For the next several kilometres we were blessed with great views of  the Pacific, million dollar architecture and tiny, intimate and uninhabited beaches that screamed out to us to get naked and go for a swim. What happens on tiny, intimate beaches stays on tiny, intimate beaches.

From the shore, we climbed up into the hills and onto the heathlands above Manly.  Here , it was dry and crispy, very different from the shoreline.

Climate change has affected the areas around Sydney much like the problems we are starting to see here in the Okanagan. Our spring weather has become dryer and hotter setting up the danger of forest fires in the heat of the summer. To reduce the danger, the Australians carry out controlled burns in the cooler months to reduce the flammable material. On this trail, one side was green while the other was  blackened and burnt. An interesting juxtaposition.

Along the way we found graffiti carved by aboriginals over a 1,000 years ago. The area is not protected from the environment so it is amazing that the carvings are still visible.

Our final destination was the holiday town of Manly, inhabited with tourists, restaurants, pubs, beaches and a ferry that would get us back to downtown Sydney in 25 minutes.

Small challenge upon our return to Sydney. The winds were high and along with a parked cruise ship with its motors running, created strong cross currents of wind and water, making it difficult for the ferry to line up on its berth giving us extra time to enjoy our last view of the harbour.








Day 21- Our last day in Sydney saw us moving to a hotel next to the train station in Sydney. We had a very early departure by train for Brisbane. A lovely dinner with our friends and early to bed.

A special thanks to Slee and Tao for their great hospitality.