It is an odd thing that sometimes some of the nice places are not the celebrated ones. As I travel more I start to believe it is for this reason that they are what they are. One such place is Mooloolaba, located between Brisbane and Cairns. This is a p-lace that I only happened to stop at because I couldn't find a hostel in Noosa being easter weekend so I booked in for one night. I was dropped off by the completely packed bus that only stops at Noosa and here but only two girls got off andthey were only there because they knew somebody. The bus stop is located right next to a bowls green, I will admit at this point I was slightly worried. It's not that bowls is so bad, it's just not up there in my list of things to do and at this time it seemed like this was all the street had to offer.
Turns out th Mooloolaba Backpackers, the hostel I had booked, was located directly opposite the drop off point so I made my way and checked in. As it was still early they offered me a free breakfast and informed me there might be a small wait. Not wanting to waste any time for this overnight trip I decided to quickly grab some brekkie and expore. Hiring one of the free bikes the hostel had I peddled a few metres before nearly killing myself. These were quite possibly the worst set of bikes I've ever encountered, within 5 minutes I had tried as many bikes and every single one felt like a death machine. Not one to be defeated I chose the least aggresive bike of the lot and took a ride along the water front looking out at the boats. It was a beautiful day as the sun glistened off the boats on the harbour, not a cloud in the sky and I couldn't help but think "Why the hell am I still riding this deathtrap?".
Ten minutes later I stroll down the road, bike safely returned, and find my way to the beachfront and shopping parade. This really is a beautiful little town a true hidden gem with a selection of shops and bars and a great beach with hundreds of people enjoying themselves in the hot easter sun. The rest of my day is spent exploring the local area and doing a little shopping for a forthcoming canoe trip in Noosa.
Cut to the evening and the hostel provides everybody with a free BBQ. The night then leads into a full on party with what seems like the majority of the hostel guests coming together in the common area and partying away. The hostel has one of the most friendly community vibes that I've seen to this date. Somewhere into the evening the common area is closed off to keep noise down and the majority of people head off to a local bar as I slip off to bed ready for an early departure in the monring.
Next stop Noosa…