Australia: Brisbane & Noosa

The busy city shopping street - Brisbane

I head towards Brisbane with what you could say are the lowest expectations up to now, the reason behind this is how other backpackers described Brisbane to me: A boring city, nothing to do, a smaller and worse Sydney…

But when I got there my opinion started changing with every step that I took. Every single thing I got told seemed made up.

It is a big city, and there is no real beach, that was true, but that didn't mean that it was boring. All the streets where filled with people: youth going home from their school day, people on their lunch breaks, locals wandering around in their city, tourists enjoying street artists, families gathering on the grass or the “Brisbane Beach” for a picnic or just a little break.

Brisbane

I probably spent something like 5-6 hours just wandering the streets, hoping to get some highlights, and enjoying the city's atmosphere.
The Brisbane river flows through the city, separating it into various areas, and at the Brisbane botanical gardens you can see how the river allows for an amazing mangrove to grow.

The night life in Brisbane is something that I can’t tell you about, as I was exhausted and not in the mood for more party, so I decided to hang out at the hostel for the evening and just relax.

Noosa River's end 

My next stop is Noosa, and after checking my booking I notice that it’s going to be the first time in a while that I spend more than just 1 night in a place.
I have 3 nights in Noosa before going to Fraser Island, and another night when I get back. So I take my first day with a way more laid back mind-set, but as I walk to the main strip of Noosa I notice that you don't really need to much time. There are just 2 or 3 roads with things to do. Other than that you have the beach (which had veeery big waves the day that I arrive) and the river that gives a few nice hidden beaches.
In just a few hours I walk around all the highlights in Noosa heads, and even walk around Kayser Island, an Island surrounded by the river and located between Noosa Heads and Noosaville.

Luckily enough I have a kayaking trip planed on the Noosa Everglades the next day.

The river and it's lily pads

So the day starts nice and early, with a quick breakfast, a bus drive and a little introduction with information about the Everglades and the way that we should kayak to get into the river and back without wasting to much time.

The first part is the hardest, as we have the wind against us. We kayak over the massive Lake Cootharaba, which even has shark in it (if we have to believe the tour company that is).

After an initial hour of kayaking over the lake we get into the Noosa River, which has massive lily pad "fields".

On our way back, before heading back into the lake we have a little lunch break and enjoy the amazing view that the surroundings offer.

The next day would be a day to relax before heading to Fraser, but while making breakfast I bump into this girl that I barely remembered, but that I briefly met back at surfers paradise, so she invites me to join her and a few friends later on the day.
I head to the grocery store first and then spend the rest of the morning at the pool before joining them. We decide to make burgers for dinner and then continue towards the beach to have some drinks and play some games.