Noosa River Cruising

The vote was unanimous - we would spend the day cruising the river and so, remembering the huge bird we'd glimpsed on our drive the day before (and not stopped to photograph!)  we headed for Pelican Boat Hire, one of the stops for the river ferry.

Noosa is one of the top holiday destinations in Australia and part of its appeal is that it's a less brash and commercialised version of the Gold Coast.  It's also been called "the Monaco of the North" due to the affluence of some of its wealthy inhabitants whose magnificent contemporary glass mansions and large ocean going yachts moored at private docks, make for entertaining, if slightly wistful, viewing.

However, there's another side to Noosa and that is the fact that this is the most wonderful place for families to holiday.  Craft of every description putter up and down this 7km stretch of river, which is fringed by beaches and indented by numerous creeks and inlets.  River ferries afford a convenient and enjoyable way of hop-on and hop-off sightseeing and you can hire any sort of craft you wish - if it's waterproof and floats, you'll find it.  Jetskis, kayaks, canoes and pedal boats punctuate the river with their bright colours while the ubiquitous "tinnies" (small aluminium boats) dart along the shore.

You can take the boy to the river, but you can't take his comic book away !

We chose to go up river first to Tewantin where a market is held on the wharf every Saturday, a lovely idea in principle, but it was fiendishly hot and crowded under the tents so I occupied myself taking pictures of all the yachts at anchor from the shade of one of the buildings.   As usual Gabs, who is an expert and determined shopper,  found a beautiful white lawn top and Kierie, who has inherited his mother's retail expertise, chose a "skull" friendship bracelet for us to take back to SA for Andi.   A strange choice you may think but he knows how much his auntie enjoys scarves or jewellery with the gory image.

Orange juice and cakes afterwards at a coffee shop overlooking the river.

As we boarded the ferry to go downriver I noticed this scene above our heads.

Skimming over the watertowards Noosa Heads.

As we sailed along I was thrilled to see pelicans soaring above us, too far out of range for camera shots, but the closest I've ever seen them before.  Little did I know just how up close and personal I'd get in Brisbane a few days later ...

A little kiosk with a list of services as long as a menu.

The postcard hunter

After an amble down the main street and a stop for ice creams (definitely three scoops, please) we caught the ferry back to The Big Pelican ...

... and arrived back at our apartment, horribly sunburned, to watch the St Kilda Saints play  the Collingwood Magpies footie final.  Alas, the match ended in a draw.  The rules don't make provision for this eventuality so the whole match would have to be replayed the following Saturday.  As staunch Saints supporters we were incensed, particularly as the final ended in a victory for Magpies.  We were robbed!

Over consoling glasses of wine, we made plans for the next day.  We would head back to Brisbane, stopping off at beaches with the most marvellous, tongue twisting names - think Mooloolaba and Maroochydore.  After amusing all and sundry I'd finally learned the correct pronunciation, putting the emphasis on the second syllable of the names.  My problem, however, was that once I learned this I became obsessed with the words and  totally unable to get them out of my mind.  Who was that slightly demented, sunburned woman walking around muttering to herself?