Day 5
Summary: Noosa Coastal Walk, overnight train to Airlie Beach
Monday, January 6th
We had a free day in Noosa so a few of us hiked the Noosa Heads Coastal Walk, a 7km trail that follows the coast and through Noosa National Park as you walk along beaches and cliffs. We started near our hostel at Sunshine Beach and ended at Noosa Heads Main Beach.
It was really hot, sunny, and humid so we packed a lot of water because there is nowhere to fill up between the start and end.
Australian Pied Cormorant
One attraction of the coastal walk is what they call the Fairy Pools. It’s essentially large rocky tidal pools that fill up during high tide and then people swim in them when the tide goes out. There were a lot of people there when we arrived that day.
It was fun and nice to cool off, but sadly no fairies involved.
Further on our hike, we saw a koala in the wild! We were walking along the path and saw a bunch of people stopped with their phones and cameras pointed up to the trees. It didn’t take long to find the source of all the attention – a koala sleeping. It was special to be able to see one in the wild.
At the end of the trail, we came out to Hastings Street which is an area with lots of restaurants and shops. Greg and I ate at a healthy burger place called Grill’d that had lots of fun vegetarian options.
Greg and I got an Uber back to the hostel and did a load of laundry. We had already checked out of our room so we couldn’t shower off the salt and sweat from our hike. At 4:30pm, we took a shuttle bus to the train station in Coorey and boarded at 6pm for an overnight ride to Airlie Beach.
Luckily, these trains are equipped with showers on each car! Greg and I each showered while the train was moving which was a fun experience! I don’t know how they hold so much water on board, but it had great water pressure. Greg and I had some crackers and trail mix for dinner and watched the movie “Yesterday”.
Unluckily, our overnight train ride was not in a sleeping car like you would hope. We spent the night trying to sleep in upright chairs that were deceivingly uncomfortable. When we first boarded, we noticed the large amount of legroom and got excited. However, it was somehow too much legroom, which didn’t give you anything to rest your feet on to prevent you from sliding off your seat while you slept. I like to curl up in a ball if I have to sleep upright on a plane and I just couldn’t do it on these seats. On top of that, it was absolutely freezing all night. Because it was hot outside, I was wearing shorts, a tank top, and flip flops while the rest of my clothes were checked in a separate train car meaning I didn’t have access to any warmer clothes. They provided blankets, but they only covered either my arms or part of my legs, leaving one half of my body shivering. Thankfully, I had my towel from my shower, but it was cold and damp. It was better than nothing, so I still used it to cover my legs and eventually it dried. Needless to say, we only slept about one, maybe two hours the whole night. We slept way better on the plane.
I can’t really complain about the train though because of how nice it truly is. You can use clean bathrooms any time during your 12-hour trip and not have to find a place to stop. They had showers, water fill stations, and a food car. You have a selection of free movies, television shows, and music albums to entertain you. Someone else is driving all night so you and your travel companions can try to get some sleep. Traveling by train is really great. I just wish I could have been able to put some warmer clothes on and had a slightly more comfortable sleeping position.
Despite our lack of sleep, time passed by and we eventually made it to our destination in the morning for more adventures!
Thanks for reading!
-Rebecca
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