Noosa

After Brisbane we got up really early and met our trusted driver Joel (we seem to have the same bus driver everywhere we go) and headed up the coast to Noosa.

Noosa reminded me of the small towns in the Lake District, in that it was extremely small, had a few odd boutiques selling outdoor clothing and because the tourist information office seemed to be a central attraction. The town was really lovely and very expensive, apparently this is the place rich Australians holiday in their expensive second homes, however our experience was rather different. The hostel we stayed at in Noosa was by far the worst I have seen in Australia and I am used t staying in Dives after traveling through India and Thailand! It was so dirty, the staff were not friendly at all and during the heat wave, air conditioning, or even a working fan would have been nice!

Anyway, the best thing about Noosa was our trip to Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo! We got a free shuttle up to the park and spent the whole day there. Apart from being very strange being surrounded by videos of Steve, hearing his voice constantly as you went through the park, and hearing his kids talk about him openly despite the circumstances, the park was really enjoyable. We got to see the famous crocodile show with Terri and the kids, I stroked an alligator (very scary) and I even got to feed kangaroos. They were jumping around in an open parkway, it was so cute, they came right up to you and ate out of your hand, it was so cool to get so close to them; not many places in Australia let you do that! Despite loving the kangaroos, the best part of my day was meeting Minty. He was my little Koala friend I got to hold. He was so cute; it was like holding a chubby teddy bear. I actually thought-up plans to steal him in my head, he was so gorgeous, but instead got a photo to take away with me, which I'm sure you've all seen!

Overall Noosa was really cool and definitely one of the most memorable places I have been, it's not everyday you make friends with someone as cute as Minty!