Noosa to Hervey Bay

We started this morning with a simple but lovely hostel breakfast. Honey on sesame toast was the order of the day with a couple of mugs of tea. After packing up and stripping our beds we then jumped in the car and headed down to Noosa town.

Noosa is basically a number of beautiful national parks with a number of boutique hotels and shops at its centre. There is a mix of wealthy holiday makers and backpackers trying to travel as cheap as they possibly can. As well as its stunning beach Noosa is widely thought to have the best coastal walks in the area.

Parking up we decided to do the first coastal section of a longer four hour coastal hike out of town. It was a really stunning wander and being under the trees made it the perfect temperature for a wander along the coast. I still think a lot of the Australian coast line reminds me of Cornwall, Carly's not so sure!

There was a real mixture of tourists, locals and serious hikers out on the path as well as a number of surfers heading down to the little coves. I can imagine in the summer it gets unbearable but as we come into Spring the temperatures are perfect for us, warm in the morning and evenings and reaching 25 degrees in the day.

After our walk we headed back into town and mooched around the boutique shops. The sort of shops that sell nothing you need but are lovely to wander none the less. Carly bought a few bits and I had my morning flat white coffee. The ozzies are known for their coffee and I've not been dissapointed. Everywhere we've been has had a good independent cafe selling really good coffee.

We left Noosa and headed over for a lunch time wander at Eumundi Market. It's a famous market held every Saturday and Wednesday focusing on local produce, food stalls, clothes and artwork etc. The markets motto is 'make it, bake it, sew it, grew it'. I love a food market and this did not dissapoint.

I started with a bowl of salt and pepper calamari. Freshly fried and so fresh! I'll never again be able to eat the rubbery dish we so often get in England! I then moved on to a Vietnamese Banh Mi bbq bun. Got addicted to these in Vietnam and this one was right up their with the originals. Carly had a super Fresh chicken burrito and we then shared a plate of mini Danish pancakes. Rounded off with freshly fermented Oz Ginger Beer.

After feasting we continued to wander the stalls looking at the local artwork, clothes and handmade woodwork. There was some beautiful locally made furniture. Carly bought herself a small bracelet with a little turtle bangle. Having left her jewelery back at home she's been looking for something to wear and we've been on the lookout for anything turtle related since Borneo.

Mid Afternoon we started our 2.5 hour drive up the coast to Hervey Bay. I'm starting to enjoy driving haven't not done it for so long and the traffic here is a delight compared to back home. We were barely held up on the drive and only stopped briefly in a small seaside village with a view over to Fraser Island.

We arrived just after 4pm and after checking in to our motel for the next two nights had a quick look on trip advisor for a dinner recommendation. The number one restaurant in the area is just down the road so we made a 7:30 reservation and headed down to the beach for the sunset.

We weren't disappointed, not a cloud in the sky and a lovely wander up and down the beach. The sand was perfectly compacted, perfect beach cricket conditions! We made do with writing our names in the sand and taking pictures of the sun going down. We kept our eyes peeled for any dolphins or Whales out to see but no luck yet.

Dinner was amazing!!! The concept was a sharing menu with all the dishes put in the middle of the table and small plates for us to use. They also had an extensive local beers list which I enjoyed looking though immensely.

I started with a beautifully cooked octopus dish, a red pepper reduction and other additions. Carly had a falafel dish with mint yogurt and sweet potato crisps. For main we shared a slow cooked shoulder of lamb, tender, moist and full of flavour. To accompany we had sweet potato with feta and tenderstem broccoli. Delicious!

At the end of the Meal we were both totally full but decided we would share a pudding. We had the most amazing banana split. Rich sauce, chocolate mousse, vanilla ice cream and homemade peanut popcorn. It was an amazing end to a very special meal.

We've got a day tour over to Fraser Island tomorrow so an early pick up from the motel.