Next greyhound stop: Noosa, the millionaires' playground, the surfer's dream, and the backpacker's hopeless fantasy on a minimal budget. Despite the crowd of expensive vacation/retirement homes lining the banks of the Noosa river, I didn't feel too out of place with my mismatched backpacker garb. I believe that this is due to a deep sense of community which ran through the backbone of Noosa and both impressed me and made me homesick. After my arrival, I opted for an evening jog along the river and was confronted with the Sunday BBQ ritual of families laughing, playing, eating, and drinking. So many families, in fact, that one melded into the next until it felt like one giant poligamist colony! (okay, not really, but it was a funny thought at the time). I was pleasantly surprised, yet again, with the free exercise equipment dotting the path along the river (such a great idea!....please, can we do this in Vancouver? Run, do some chinups, run, do some eliptical, keep jogging.....so great!) and then enjoyed a crisp purple and pink sunset above the mountains and down the length of the river.
The next day I set high goals for my physical fitness (which had slowly ebbed to nothing while on Fraser Island), and began with a yoga session followed by a kayak trip down the river. I was feeling alive and energized as I paddled past the mansions which lined the river banks, turned, and paddled back up the river into....hey! what's this? A breeze!? I soon realized how much a small breeze can affect a river kayak and I found myself counting my strokes aloud to 50, then breaking for a minute, then counting again in order to slowly creep back up the river. I didn't notice at the time (as i was focused on simply making it back) but my back muscles were yelling at me to stop such forceful strokes as they strained against the river water....and, unfortunately, they ocntinued yelling at me for several days :S I finished the day with a walk through the National Park, a visit to an out-of-the-way little cove I found called....well, Little Cover; and finished a very solitary day with a well-deserved chocolate/banana smoothie....to ease the backpain of course ;)
The following day, I continued south to Mooloolaba, from where it was suggested I go to the Steve Irwin/Australia Zoo, and was pleasantly surprised to discover my Irish lads, Damien and JP, staying the night in the same hostel. The Mooloolaba Backpackers hostel was impressive with separate kitchens and washrooms for all 5 floors and a camaraderie among the semi-permanent "renters", most of whom were backpackers who worked as berry pickers on nearby fields, in an attempt to extend their working/holiday visas.
My trip to the Australia Zoo began with catching the official bus for the half hour ride and watching an episode of Crocodile Hunter while on the bus, just to get us in the mood. It was at this time I learned Steve Irwin's philosophy of "Conservation through exciting education", and I saw it realized at the zoo throughout the rest of the day. First things first, I queued up to feed one of the three elephants at the zoo. Seeing as these girls eat literally TONS of food each day, why not let the guests of the zoo have some short, interactive, and supervised feeding time? AFter experiencing the sad and lonely elephants of the Beijing Zoo, each kept in their own small, fenced spaces, it was refreshing to see elephants which could actually be described as looking 'happy'.
The zoo was truly amazing. More like an interactive petting zoo than anything else. I saw emus, koalas, tigers, red pandas, dingos, roos, wallabies, birds, lizards, tasmanian devils, camels, cassowaries, snakes, wombats, and CROCS!!...all very well0maintained as far as my high zoo standards go. I couldn't pet ALL the creatures, of course, but was close enough to feel interactive without interfering with the animal's routines...if that makes any sense :P The croc show was incredible, showcasing the astounding feats of strength and agility of the crocodile (not to mention their hunting skills!) And the heartfelt tributes and rememberance of Steve Irwin throughout the park brought me to tears several times. All in all, the only trial of being at this zoo was travelling solo and trying to find photographers to capture the memories of me at all the exhibits. Not bad, Steve. Not bad at all.
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