Finally, a good night’s sleep – very quiet, only the occasional moo from the neighboring cow to lull us to sleep. We woke up to a pretty wet tent as a result of the condensation but no rain – blue sky and sunshine. The camp kitchen had a toaster so Dave finally got to have his toast with vegemite so he was happy.

Dave spent last night planning a route to Noosa that included no use of the Bruce Highway (the main route north of Brisbane). This sounds like a good idea but remember that roads on maps are only lines – they give no indication of change in elevation. So, we ended up riding the first 20k or so up and down and up and down – and with some pretty serious grades! I think I might have made a few negative comments about Dave’s planning ability, especially since I was pretty sure that the coast road was relatively flat…

Not happy with these hills

17 percent - down

Anyway, we went from Landsborough to Mooloolah to Eudlo to Palmwoods to Woombye to the relatively big town of Nambour, we stopped at a McCafe for a muffin and coffee (it is the Labour Day public holiday here and nothing else was open).

McCafe lunch

The route before Palmwoods was crazy – extreme ups and downs – it took us about 2 hours to go 20k and I was beginning to think we would not make it to Noosa today. The downhills did not really make up for the uphills as they were so steep that you could not really let go. We did have a few scenic spots though, and thankfully got to see the ‘Big Cow’, which maybe made up for the route selection a bit! And we did have sunshine and blue sky so that also helped.

The big cow

We finally turned toward Noosa at Eumundi. From there it was a nice route all of the way to Noosa – Dave did well picking roads at the end of the route today so he is back in the good graces. Wide bike lanes all the way in to Noosa Heads. We are staying at the Halse Lodge YHA and have booked for 3 whole nights! It is a typical YHA but has a pub/restaurant as well so locals also come to hang out. It is quite close to the beach – lots of surfers staying here. We have our own double room – feels like luxury!

We walked down to a pub in town and actually got a James Squire Amber – first beer since we left Sydney and boy did it taste good. We will spend some time planning the next part of the trip and some time just hanging out, giving our muscles a break. Looking forward to it…

One picture for our WarmShowers host Hugh – it looks like there is a bit of work to be done up here…

One for Hugh - more work to be done

And finally, a parting shot for the day…

Queensland comfort stop