Heading North towards Noosa we tried to stay on a road as close to the coast as possible as there were lots of little towns we could go through on the way up. After only about an hour of driving we ended up at a place called Arkwright Point, which was nothing more than a parking area with a walk down to a secluded beach. The beach however, along with the rockpools and cliffs around it were really picturesque and was the first proper "this is the australian coast" moment we had experienced so far

Further on up North we stopped at Coolum Beach, a small little surf town which amazingly had a fish 'n' chip shop on the beach which had gluten free chips and other food. Bonus! It was such a nice that we actually came back here a few days later for bodyboarding, but more on that later!

After that we continued up to Noosa with only a brief stop at Pelican and Sunshine Beach towns before we got to Noosa. WOW it was heaving because it the end of the school holidays so we drove straight to our campsite in Tewantin which was actually quite nice.

Our first proper day in Noosa we parked up and walked down Hasting Street which is the main beachfront road full of shops and cafes. Very nice area and felt quite up market and bustling, kind of reminded us of Newport Beach in LA. We ended buying body boards and rash shirts from RipCurl here and then made good use of them the rest of our time Noosa on the main beach. We even got serious and went and purchased proper leashes for them as the standard ones were affecting our performance on the surf!! OOER check us out. Should I actually say we kept getting tangled up in them and looked like prats??

Anyway, Noosa itself was REALLY nice and the more time we spent there the more we realised we would actually happily live there. Super relaxed and just had a really good vibe to it. Also we found several restaurants that had gluten free options on the menu such as an Indian and a Pizza bar, which incidentally Andy had what he said was the best ever pizza.

We also visited Noosa National Park just outside town which overlooks the coast and managed to see some wild dolphins playing just off shore!

But, the highlight of Noosa though was the horse riding we did on Noosa North Shore with Equathon. We had to get a car ferry over as its part of a National Park but once there Em was totally in her element and Andy started to panic with nerves!!! Em was on Moose, a GORGEOUS white and brown horse almost like a cross between a Paint and Cob (the horse not the bread). Andy was on Dish who was oldest and slowest horse aged 20. We booked a 2hr bush and beach ride so set of into the bush first where within 20 meters we saw lots of wild kangaroos!!! We went through the trails down to the beach where Em's smile kept getting bigger and BIGGER! After a quick photo session where Em gracefully guided Moose through the surf, and Andy stood still unable to move Dish it was time for Em's moment of day which she had been looking forward to since she was 7 years old. She pointed Moose down the beach and WHOOOOOOOOOOOSH off she went! What started as a gentle lope quickly turned into a full on gallop when Moose just wanted to go have fun and before long she was out of sight the other end of the beach. Andy stayed back with the instructor trying not to fall off and stopping Dish from wanting to go as well! Eventually Em came galloping back with a smile like you have never seen!! Aww bless. Moose finally came to a stop and after both he and Em caught there breath it was time for another walk in the sea (not for Andy and Dish) before a gentle ride back to the stables. What an amazing time it was! Em for-filled a long held dream by riding on the beach, and Andy didn't fall off so a proper result in both cases.

So thats Noosa. An amazing place but its time to leave so up next is Hervey Bay.