Queensland Trip - 3
Day 6: Scrambled eggs on toasted sourdough with avocado for breakfast at a quiet cafe by Dolphin Feeding at Tin Can Bay marked the start of my day, though dad and son had an earlier start with dolphin feeding time! It was drizzling while we gorged on our favorite food and watched the round rippling patterns as if time had halted. Before hopping back to the car, son and dad showed all the quirky stuff the dolphins collected cleaning their home - apparently, they take pride in bringing back even a twig or a leaf on their nose to the volunteering feeders before grabbing a fish as reward. There's even a goodbye fish without which they won't leave even if they lingered around longer to accompany a straggler fellow dolphin that turned in a little late. How social!!!
Harvey Bay being another point of ingress to K'gari, had been on our radar for quite a while. We deliberated several times, before committing to Discovery K'gari, whether to opt for Inskip or Harvey Bayas gateway to our coveted experience of the distinguished sand island. Once Inskip was locked in, Harvey Bay lost a bit of ground and we almost missed visiting this remarkable part. Many thanks to The Big Whale on our wishlist that drew us to Pialba and Urangan in this region - the north most spot of our trip, 1500 Km from Sydney and hence clamoring for a share of climactic prominence.
Here's the mighty Big Thing with smaller ones around Westside Water Park.
Every step we took between Urangan and Pialba along the shore, though usual, was never tiring. A bench here, a trestle table there beneath dreamy casurina canopy by the magical Queenslandic blues 💙 fitted our holiday planning perfectly. Multiple Fish 'n Chips outlets spoilt us for choices; we barged into the one closest to where we somehow parked. You could tell the popularity of the place from its parking - all the spots along almost 7 Km stretch were full with some vehicles even parked on less frequented grassy patches!
A short drive of 1½ hours through Maryborough to our next acco at Gympie was sweet, serene, uneventful.
My childhood favorite, Gulmohar trees in full bloom, had painted the little town red. One tree was right beside our room - the ground beneath was a red carpet from falen buds and flowers. I picked up a large bud to demonstrate how we played what I now call 'stamen skirmish' - each player plucks a stamen from a gulmohar bud, locks filament with opponent, and competes to knock the anther off.
A sublime feature of the acco was its propinquity to appetising eateries, GYG, Subway, Maccas. Gympie, which we imagined would be quite small, surpassed our expectations with every facility ranging from a variety of stores to malls and cinemas packed in the little neighborhood in the vicinity of our stay. Needless to mention, we had a sumptuous dinner that evening.
Day 7: Wrapping up our fre wonderful hours at Gympie, we geared up for another day. The plan was to check the much acclaimed Noosa Heads before checking into our next acco at Noosa Habitat. So off we went!
Same sea, similar headlands, different tales!
Noosa Heads!
Every time from now we see this piece of land from Noosa Heads Main Beach to Hell's Gate on map, we'll bask in the memory of the 2½-hour (11.45 am to 2.15 pm) walk steeped in fleeting scent of sunscreen from passing fellow tourists, sweeping Queenslandic turquoise, and canopy of screwpines, casurina, coastal soapwood boughs.
While parked at The Big Pelican, checking the Noosa River lazily hosting high-octane water activities, Google Maps alerted Noosa Heads as Busy Area. A bus smoothly wheeled in almost instantly, prompting us to hop on to the public transport precipitously - a spur-of-the moment act that we later repented as our feet were sore with that long coastal walk in our crocs and slippers, we were dehydrated without our water bottles, and hungered from not munching on our stash of savory chips and bars intermittently.
Nevertheless, the decision of boarding a bus was prudent. Given the traffic, pain of almost snatching a parking slot at Noosa Beach was an easy conjecture. The bus hardly moved, the driver at one point announced walking would be faster, a mix of heat and traffic was slowly smothering and bottling the traveller-spirit in us. We bridled our impatience with gritted teeth saving the walk for later and stayed put till we reached the Noosa Heads Main Beach.
It was supposed to be the best beach and it was except for the innumerable CoolCabanas and droves of people densely dotting the sand and the sea. 'Bondi of Queensland', my son's instant drawing of analogy fit perfectly. With endless coastlines, solitary sequestered end-of-land points, and uncountable a-beach-to-myself spots, Australia has harboured in us a habit of quietude at beaches with an occasional cheer or two ripping the trance of rhythmic roaring of waves.
Hardly disappointed for not carrying change of clothes for a swim, we dawdled in the breaking crests for a couple of snaps and headed for the boardwalk with no particular destination to achieve.
A pleasant breezy walk led us past coves, bays, and beaches - crowd thinned, variagation of ocean blues laced by a thin 4WD drivable Teewah Beach in the horizon unfurled, and we finally felt the alacrity rising in us. The boardwalk eventually gave way to more rugged, unshaded coastal walk; yet we pushed our capabilities from Dolphin's Point to hit the Hell's Gate - sheer raw power of pounding waters beneath and calming breeze on our face refuelled our fatigued feet for an arduous return walk. Here are some amazing frames of the day, often interestingly framed with woody coastal tree trunks.
Cool Yochi was ambrosial - exactly what we needed to round off the long mid-day humid hike. A short bus ride later, we were super glad to unlock the comforts of our car!
And yet as I write, I smile. These difficult, sweaty walks craft remarkable memories - pangs of pain stirred with liberal portions of gratification from exploring a new place, navigating its terrain, and unlocking its exquisite beauty.
Then came the moment I knew I'd dread ever since I committed to Kangarooms at Noosa Habitat. Exquisite beauty of kangaroos hopping into golden waters of Lake Cootharaba at dawn was too good to be true, but I fell for it and insisted we put up there. While my son and spouse were elated to spend an evening with kangaroos, I was crestfallen, cloistered up in the little room of our cabin - reason being, shared bath! While the washrooms were clean and the best campers could ever ask for, I prefer ensuite. The acco, more expensive than all the others in our trip, swindled the fun I could've had elsewhere. It's not the acco that gets demerits, nor are the Google images a ruse, it's my wrong choice considering I am averse to camping.
Day 8: Without much prodding, unlike other days, I was up early next morning in an over-eagerness to leave the place and check into the apartment we booked at Brissy for a clean wash!
An ascent to a tranquil top: Our initial thought was to wind our ways through the 11 volcanic plugs of Glass Mountains for a glimpse of the area on our way from Noosa Habitat to Brissy. But our stickybeaks wouldn't relent unless we hiked one of them for a full blown experience. So there we were, postponing my much needed clean bath for another hour, scaling the decently paced steps of Ngungun through tree cover for the initial twenty minutes between 11.20 am and 11.40 am to a caving formation in the hill. Its sable interiors could be easily hosting Vecna's dreaded memories in Camazotz. It marked halfway though to the peak - a point all the fun of actual ascent started. What's a hike minus the huffing, puffing, hyperventilating part? Our sprightly teenager was already atop the volcanic peak while our struggling steps hoisted us a step at a time for another twenty minutes. Dot at twelve, we were resting by a large boulder on the broad peak filming Mt Coonowrin and Mt Beerwah aligned linearly. A brief break and a cool drink later we commenced our 45-minute scramble back to carpark.
With one of the renowned volcanic peaks assaulted, we headed for the Glass House Mountains Lookout and watched the peaks in horizon with pride in our eyes, specifically concentrating on Mt Beerwah, Mt Coonowrin, and Mt Ngungun. Formidable they are, but in distant horizon, they appeared like gentle hills shrouded in a veil of green canopies.
Hearts tuckered out but full, we headed for Brissy - running a cold shower topping our list of priorities in the next hour. The Miro Apartments at the prestigious Fortitude Valley in Brisbane, to our delight, had all the necessities to alleviate our fatigue. We freshened up, dined at a nearby Indian Restaurant (New Farm Curries), and rested up after a short stroll by Felons beneath the Story Bridge.
To be continued...
Dona, Sydney, Jan '26
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Many thanks!!!