Noosa National Park

On the Sunday after Glasshouse, Blackall, and Kondalilla, Melissa and I drove out to Noosa National Park. About a half hour drive North, Noosa Heads (the town just outside the park) is an upscale town of about 50,000 people, and is an expensive, but popular, tourist destination. The National Park is also a popular day spot as there are several kilometers of walking paths that wind through the forest, and along the coastline. When we finally got to the entrance of the park (we had to walk about a kilometer and a half just to get to the entrance due to a lack of parking) we were greeted by a Koala just hanging out soaking up some sun! From the entrance you can choose from 4 different trails of varying lengths and difficulty. We ended up choosing a long track about 6.9km return, that would start with a 3.5km walk through the forest which ends up at the top of a cliff overlooking the ocean. This outlook is called Hell's Gates (Why? We aren't sure!). From this point it is rumored that you can sometimes see Humpback whales, dolphins and sea turtles (and once again we didn't see anything!). Here we climbed down the rocks and just sat there looking out and had some food and water to recharge for the long walk back. About 10 seconds after opening our snacks, we were greeted by a Magpie (a type of bird that you will see, or have already seen, in the pictures) and he just sat there making noises as if he were begging for some food. From Hell's Gates we started the walk back to the car, we took a 3.4km trail that followed the coastline. Along this trail there was access to some small secluded beaches where we saw people soaking up the sun, and others spear fishing. Finally, back at the entrance of the park, (and after about 3 1/2 hours of walking!) we checked to see if the Koala was still there. And he was! (Still sleeping of course.) However, he had moved further up so he was harder to see.
And that was our loooong tiring day at Noosa National Park. We will definitely be heading back there!