Friday 19th we ventured off to Noosa for the day. The weather was very hot and sunny, 37 0c infact! So you would think it was Ian's favoured temperature, however he did say it was cold! LOL

The bus stop was right by our hostel, so we strolled there and caught a bus at 9:30am, then a second bus, to eventually reach our final destination 'Noosa' at around 10:45am.

We got off the bus in an area called Hastings Street and the first thing we noticed were all the other backpackers, so Noosa seemed to be a popular destination. Our boat trip was at 12pm, which meant we didn't have much time to explore, but we did discover the beach and wondered the busy highstreets for a bite to eat. I was lucky enough to even find a gluten free sandwich, which was delicious! Ian had a healthy burger!

After a small walk, we found the Noosa Everglades Discovery Cruise Boat and we were greeted aboard by the skipper. The boat was quite small, there were 24 seats and it was fully booked. There was a roof, which meant we had to view the sights through windows, but there was a deck area at the front, that could hold two people at a time.

When we were all seated, the skipper began to speak. His name was David, he was in his 40's, from england and had a tendency to crack jokes, that he described as british humour. He pointed out the emergency exit, life jackets etc, started the engine and we were away! :)

We were on the Noosa river and because of the unexpected good weather and the school holidays, it was filled with lots of people doing all kinds of activities. Wind surfing, kayaking, fishing, kids having sailing lessons, jet skiing and other boats were sharing the water, many people waving to us as we passed.

Surrounding the river are houses worth millions! One belongs to Richard Branson! The skipper told us that 80% of the houses are holiday rentals, also the land they are situated on is more valuable, so when the properties are sold and rebuilt, the majority of them are knocked down to construct a new more contemporary style building.

On this journey we cruised through two lakes, the first being Lake Cooroibah and the second Lake Cootheraba. Here the water gradually changed from salt water to fresh.

It was a lot quieter, which gave the skipper the oppotunity to accelerate, weaving in and out of shallow water, to miss sandbanks. A few times we even had to make sudden stops, to prevent us from hitting a relaxed fisherman on his boat or a speeding jet ski!

At a more gentle pace we eventually entered the unforgettable dark tannin waters of the Noosa Everglades. The windows were acting as barriers and only allowed us to see the sides of the river, so I went to the front deck area and was blown away by what I saw!

The water appeared to be black and acted as a river of mirrors! Our surroundings became twice their size, nothing man-made or artificial to spoil it, it looked like a painting that had come alive! So beautiful! I couldn't believe my eyes! When I looked around me further, I could see shallow water that was a stunning colour red! This place is certainly one of nature's treasures, it was a shame to only be there for around 5-10 mins and you could only stay at the front deck for a short time, but it is a moment to remember.

We stopped at somewhere called Harry's hut, a place in amongst the surrounding trees. There was a picnic area where we encountered a large lizard and all had a glass of champagne mixed with fresh orange juice. Then to top it all off, we found a spot to dip our feet in the red and black water, to cool ourselves down.

On our journey back in the same direction, I hoped to see the beauty of the everglades again, but there had been a breeze all day and this time it was creating more ripples in the water, which disturbed the mirror effect. I could imagine on a perfectally still day, it looking even more spectacular!

There were rain clouds in the distance moving towards Noosa, so we had finished in good time. As we moored up at our departure point, we saw two teenage boys throwing their t-shirts off a small bridge, which I thought was a bit strange! How were they going to get them back!? Then before we knew it, they catapulted themselves off the bridge into the water! Just missing some people on a little boat beneath them! Don't worry though, everyone escaped unharmed :)