Main Beach is literally right outside the doorstep of the resort. What an incredibly beautiful, spacious beach to have as your "backyard"!! Perfectly fine white sand leads up and extends into the ocean where you can bob in the surf quite safely. The grade is ever so slight so you can walk out quite a distance before it actually gets deep. We spend quite a few hours on this beach soaking up the fantastic natural vitamin D and playing in the surf. Nothing like laying on the beach and listening to the best sound ever...waves crashing into the shore. There was a constant breeze each day which became a little stronger in the afternoons but it provided a nice relief from the intense heat we experienced while here.
Another reason for picking this place was its proximity to the Noosa National Park. A short 10 minute stroll down the beach boardwalk and you entered the 4000 hectare park. There are 5 different trails you can take each with their own varying degree of difficulty and distance. We took the Tanglewood track, a 3.8km one way trail which takes you through the inland of the park's tropical forest. The number of different tree and plant species we saw was remarkable. Walking through the forest we heard many mysterious, yet enchanting sounds, but were not always able to see the animals who made them. The birds flying so freely throughout chirped to their heart's content. This trail connected us to the Alexandria Bay trail which led us to Alexandria Bay. At the bottom of this trail you will find a most beautiful beach that is only accessible by hiking in. While it's not recommended to swim here because there are no lifeguards, Z ventured in while I took pictures. There were others swimming as well as a couple surfers. From here we got on the Coastal trail which takes the cake when it comes to scenic hikes. Now of course Australia has a bit of an unfair advantage considering it's an island continent and is entirely surrounded by coastline, but oh man this was the most incredibly breathtaking hike ever! The Coastal trail take you to a point called Hell's Gate. Not quite sure where the name came from, but doesn't really matter because we got to see the most wonderful sea creatures here...a pod of dolphins just playing in the water. They were intriguing to watch as they surfed the waves like the professionals do. On another day at this same point we saw a couple turtles as well as the dolphins again. At a point called Tea Tree Bay we happened upon a koala sleeping high in the trees. What a sight to see especially after our experience at the Wildlife Habitat with Cody. We got to see a lace monitor (lizard) as well has plenty of brush turkeys. It was interesting to see that most trees were trying to grow towards the ocean. Something I found rather unusual was that along the trails there were portions that were pure sand, and I don't mean just a little sand trekked there by all the hikers. I mean amounts of sand like one would find on the beach which made me start thinking about how it got there. Could it be that the ocean level was considerably higher at some point? I mean the trails now are well above sea level....I guess it will remain a mystery.
The beach boardwalk provides for an excellent running surface too. We ventured out one morning for a short run, about 5km, and made our way to the Spit and over to the Doggy Beach. We've been blessed with fantastic weather so far and even early in the morning the heat is already present making the run a little more difficult. Temperatures have been about mid 30's our entire stay so staying hydrated is important but staying adequately hydrated is challenging. It was rather evident in the evening after a few sips of wine whether I was successful at hydration. The answer was usually no.
Eating out in Noosa wasn't cheap, but man the food was very tasty! We ate at Gaston's, Rococo, Little Humid in Nooseaville, Cafe a la Monde, and ordered takeaway pizza from Zachery's. All the dishes we ate were amazingly flavourful. Some of the ingredient combinations seemed a little unusual but worked so well together. For example my gourmet pizza was cajun chicken with rocket lettuce, who would have thought lettuce on a pizza would work? One waiter tipped us off to an amazing gelato place called Massimo's after the dessert we wanted was sold out. This gelato is Italy quality with my favourite flavour being hazelnut. We also read that one of the more affordable breakfast options was to order from coffee carts found on the boardwalk or main road. Turned out to be a great tip. We each enjoyed a large flat white coffee and fresh baked muffin all for less than the cost of one breakfast dish at a restaurant. Z has taken a liking to the Shiraz from Barossa region, I have a feeling we'll be searching this out when we get back home.
Everyone we've chatted to has been super friendly and have been curious where our accent is from. It appears as though the locals at least in Noosa are quite active and fit. We saw many people out running, hiking or swimming in the ocean. There haven't been too many people that we've seen smoking which is nice. One weekend morning we saw lifeguard training school happening on the beach while another morning we saw some sort of swimming school for kids.
I'd have to say that so far Noosa has been my favourite place because of the amount of outdoor activities available right on our doorstep. The other great thing about Noosa is that it is not impacted by the marine stinger migration that takes place further north in the summer so swimming in the water is not restricted. It's not as commercialized as the Gold Coast and many Aussies come here to vacation. I'd certainly come back here and stay for longer next time, perhaps check out some more of the other magnificent beaches in the area.
Alexandria Bay
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