I have had the best week of my travels up the East Coast. Noosa has just about everything you could want in a coastal town. The only thing that lets it down for people is that it is a place designed for more wealthy clientele than backpackers. Noosa is meant to have some of the best chefs in Australia and lots of expensive shops, like Calvin Klein and Hugo Boss. I was staying in Halse Lodge YHA right in the heart of Noosa Heads. It is a beautiful 19th century wooden building, with big verandas and plenty of space to relax. The beach is only a couple of minutes away, so you can swim or surf without breaking a sweat. There is a national park extending round the headland with spectacular views. The Noosa River extends inland and there are Pelicans all the way along it.
The people tend to make a place and I was lucky enough to get in with a great group of people when I arrived. I was sitting on the veranda and recognised a girl from Lennox Heads, we started having a chat, then a random guy joined us, then a guy from my dorm and then another random guy joined us. The makeup of the group changed over the week but whoever joined we all seemed to instantly get on and the banter was great.
I had a couple of surf lessons while I was in Noosa. Conditions were much calmer than at Byron and I did a better job. The guys at Merrick's Surf School are a great bunch and excellent instructors. I instantly became Steve-o or Pommie Barsted or the Greatest Surfer from Essex. On the second lesson there was a storm moving across Noosa and out in the bay were Water Spouts (mini Tornadoes). In the afternoon they had a deal where Kayak hire was included with the surf lesson in the morning. The first time I did this I was in a group with others from the surf lesson. It was a beautiful day and we paddled without a care in the world. On the second occasion I was on my own. I saw some stingrays in the river and was paddling along happily enough. It then started to pour, which then turned into a tropical monsoon. This was fine as I was already pretty wet. However, I could then hear thunder claps and see lightening flashes. I was sitting in a river, in a plastic tub filled with water, dripping wet, holding a metal pole. All I needed to do to be more conductive was fly a kite. The banks of the river were lined with trees so I couldn't get out of the water. I decided to sit under a bridge for a while and then paddle for home. It is probably best to check the weather forecast in future.
One of my mates from the hostel, Andy, is an English guy who has been surfing for years. He hired a camper van in Australia and has been surfing along the East Coast. After my first surf lesson in Noosa he said I could come out with him and some Swedish guys to spend the day surfing. I had only had 2 lessons and still didn't really know what I was doing. I hired a board from the hostel and went out into the sea. Andy was complaining that the surf was too small, it seemed to be pretty big when I was out there. It is much easier to learn to surf with an instructor telling you what to do and putting you on to waves. I spent the morning paddling around getting tired and not catching any waves. I moved into the whitewater and got a bit better luck. In the afternoon Andy helped me catch some waves. In the surf lessons they generally don't take you out beyond the waves. With Andy I paddled out beyond the waves and then sat on the surfboard enjoying the view, wondering if Jaws was going for a morning swim below me. Andy then held on to my board and told me when to paddle. The waves were getting pretty big by this stage, by my standards at least. I was in position and he said paddle then told me to stop, it was a huge wave, a woman on a surfboard nearby commented, "I was wondering whether you going to let him drown." After that he got me on to 5 or 6 waves and I got better on each wave. It was hardwork paddling out back through the waves. It is quite something to paddle through one wave to be confronted with another wave towering over you. I then spent another hour on my own and caught a couple of waves aswell as some bruises. I did manage to catch one wave properly and standup, and was pretty pleased with myself. I was going to leave it at that and then thought I could catch another wave. Schoolboy error. I went out again and when I tried to catch another wave, I got absolutely pummelled in the surf. All good fun.
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