A novel idea. We, having 2 days off together, took off for the holiday weekend. And, we didn't get a speeding ticket.
I wanted to see the Glass House Mountains. Despite having seen them and having read the origin of their name (they looked like the chimneys of glass factories), I still picture peaks made of big chunks of glass. Some of it is colored. Pink. Green. Most is clear. But, anyway, it isn't like that. We took the Glass House Mountain Tourist Drive and went first to the viewing area. From two different platforms you can look out over the expanse of green to gaze upon the Glass House Mountains. Here you are seeing Beerwah (the pregnant mother) and Coonowrin (the cowardly son- who failed to protect his mother as his father Tibrogargan requested- so Pop took a "big ole stick" and slammed him "upside the head" (I'm translating from the original Aborigine here) producing the crooked neck appearance. Family values. coolrunning.com.au
We had read in the Lonely Planet Guide to Queensland (that we borrowed from the library- having sent all our own tour books to the US for upcoming travelers) that the trail to the top of Tibrogargan was steep but doable. Do-able for a goat. A goat or Kevin. Me- I made it MAYBE half-way when I decided that climbing straight up may be possible, but I couldn't imagine how I'd climb back down. So, I went down a few meters and sat on a rock and waited for Kevin. It was very peaceful sitting in the warm sunshine. I started nodding off. I reconsidered my decision. Sleeping on mountain ledge did not seem like the kind of rest I needed- so I went back down and waited in the car.
From there we headed North by way of going South. My mistake. I -the navigator- failed to figure out what unmarked road we were traveling on. By luck, however, we came to the Wild Horse Mountain look out. Wow. Painful. Kevin pointed to this structure wayyyy up and supposed that was the look out. Ha. It was. It was an 800 m walk on a paved drive at a steep incline. We paused more than once on our ascent. As it turns out- it was totally worth it. You'll have to believe me here- because this is where I determined that my camera was "unreliable". The view of the Glass House Mountains was superior. We could even see tiny Brisbane in the distance. Kevin assures me that the experience still counts even if we don't have a photo. Sigh.
We arrived in Noosa just after sunset. We ate dinner and retired early. It was a bit of a noisy hostel and I thought I might have trouble sleeping- but that was my last thought. In the morning we went to the Noosa National Park and took a fabulous 3 hour hike. Along a boardwalk on the cliffs above the shore, on the beach (the unofficial nudist beach with the unofficial nudists), through eucalyptus groves and rainforst. We occasionally looked up but failed to spot any of the koala that make this park famous. We didn't work too hard at this, as we've learned that even in zoos when they point at WHICH tree the koala is in we can't find them. Here photos exist. But they are on film. And, I've 3 exposures left on that roll. It could be months!
After lunch, we pulled on our bathing suits and went for a dip in the ocean. Kevin wins. He went under water. Me- I wasn't interested in a full wet body experience and just walked along the shore. I did do a cartwheel through the surf. I saw some 6 year old doing them. It looked like fun.
On the drive home we pulled over for 2 tourist attractions: The Ginger Factory ("Free Samples"- but only if you pay for the $12 tour!) and The Giant Pineapple. The pineapple appears in the newest Australian stamps. Kevin really should get more mileage out of being "Big Kev"...if not a stamp, at least a t-shirt! flickr.com
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