Noosa to Townsville: An Ode To The Road and The Mountains

Noosa to Townsville: An Ode To The Road and The Mountains

We have gone back out into the world, left behind Noosa, a bubble of abundant wealth and neat beauty. Rich man's playground and poor man's workplace.

I sit in the back of an old if not determined commodore, head resting against the solid mass of my backpack, the place I stow all my worldly possessions. Well, the ones I choose to bring along on this journey.

My leg is twisted awkwardly, resting along the window edge. A steady flow of cool air kisses my face, coming in from the driver-side window.

Its the blackest night, punctuated by the occasional reflective sign, made less quiet by the sound of music of every genre.

Daniel, our driver (found via a Facebook ride-share group), a fun and kind-spirited German dude, plays some of his own recordings. We move between our home-grown favourites and some other classics.

The road is ours and ours alone, or so it feels.

In our metal cocoon we fly along the highway, feeling each bump and hump as we soar.

The conversation is real and interesting, truths being spoken with open ease.

I rest my eyes and let sleep take me in short bursts, waking not to see if we have reached our destination but to stare back out into the black.

Is there anywhere more peaceful, suspended from real life and real time, than being out there on the road?

You are moving away from one part of your story, running toward the next chapter. But you are merely a passenger, along for the ride, letting the road deliver you forward. Your mind can wanderer faraway, or stay right there, immersed in the moment before the next thing begins.

Who knows what comes next?

Townsville

Arriving in Townsville at 7am, the sun just rising in the sky, the car slowly moved toward the strand, where we could stretch our tangled limbs and dip our toes in the ocean.

In the distance sat the tall and lush green Magnetic Island; we would be heading there tomorrow.

We made our way to sleepily find food and eventually check into a hostel, at which point Daniel would be going off on his own way. We hugged and said goodbye, aware that we might not see him again, most likely won't.

That's the nature of many of the connections you make on the road; brief but often really awesome and memorable.

Tired and bedraggled, we thought, lets not just sit around and relax, lets climb Castle Hill, the imposing orangey-red rock-face visible across the whole of Townsville.

There isn't a lot to Towsville, other than being the gateway to Magnetic and home to a lot of industry, but its flat range of buildings are encircled at the edges by more lush green mountains, making the climb up Castle Hill well worth the hike.

I decided to take the hill at my own pace, allowing Taran to go ahead by himself. Sandy stones crunching underfoot, the path edged up toward the uneven and steep steps.

I felt out of breath and languid in my legs almost right away. 4 months of sitting behind my laptop working on the blog plus not having the most difficult hospitality job meant my fitness has definitely gone down-hill, no pun intended.

Quarter of the way up the walk a man twice my age past me heading down, and seeing my puffy red face asked if I had water and made sure I was stopping to drink it. The fact my woeful fitness was trumped by someone much older than myself did little for my confidence in climbing the hill.

In reality the hill isn't that tall or difficult a climb, not for anyone of reasonable health, not at all. But its the same with all challenges or obstacles in life, some of us take a little longer to surmount them.

Yet this was a challenge I chose to take on, because I knew I would find it difficult but I knew the pain would be worthwhile.

Most importantly the desire to do what deep down I knew I could do, was stronger than the voice in my head (and my aching limbs) telling me what I couldn't do.

I kept my eyes on my feet, as they moved upward, taking each step at a pace I was comfortable with. I didn't look up at what I still had to climb nor did I look back at what I had already done. I kept entirely present and focused.

Sometimes if we focus on the main goal and not the incremental small tasks and successes, we just don't even bother trying.

I took the climb one step at a time and I can't think of a better metaphor for how to live your life than that.

Reaching the top, walking the last few steps up to the viewing platform, I leaned over the edge of the railing and felt a great whoosh of fresh breeze embrace me. I could see everything, 360-degree views of this small slice of Australia, looking out to Magnetic and behind to the distant mountainous walls guarding the city.

It was understandably worth it. My mind quietened having spent the past hour talking me in and out of finishing this hot uphill trek.

Cramped, long-distance car rides followed by steep and hot midday hikes, might sound uncomfortable and painful, but in reality these things can be as wholly simplistic as they are unexpectedly beautiful.

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Thanks for reading!

Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at Nomad'erHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers. Get to know us here!

Be social and come follow us across the virtual world!

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Nomads in Noosa: Taking a break from travel?

Nomads in Noosa: Taking a break from travel?

We had only been back in Australia 1 week, and we found ourselves in Noosa, looking at houses and applying for jobs. Then suddenly one of us had a job, and then we had a room in a house to call our own.

It wasn't part of our plan for when we came back from England. In fact we had no plan, which became clear as we spent a few days relaxing in Brisbane totally unsure of our next move.

Noosa was somewhere we had briefly stayed over night, and so we had never seen the beach, said to be one of best on the east coast. So it was a definite sign, a few days of planning in Brisbane and still none-the-wiser in where to go next, when I noticed that a friend of ours was living there. Off to Noosa we went!!!

One of the views along the Noosa national park coastal walk.

When we arrived we found a bustling holiday town, with a super pretty river full of people kayaking and paddle-boarding, leading down to a super sweet beach, the perfect mix of gentle lapping waves and a bit of surf action. Something just felt right about the place. Enough to make me think about living here for a while, looking up house-shares on gumtree, and wondering how much it would actually cost. We also met an awesome young couple at our campsite, Elise and Jordan, who both seemed to love Noosa. They took us on a hike the next day, then we went and ate burgers on the river front. They were there to encourage us and take us around Noosa, helping us decide to put down some roots.

That same morning, the 2nd in Noosa, I had happened upon a job ad on gumtree for housekeeping at a local luxury resort. I applied thinking I didn't stand much chance, yet a few hours later I had a phone call with an invite to be interviewed. We then viewed two houses that same day, choosing the second, a large spread-out and airy house in a nice residential area just 15 minutes from town.

Waking up early the next day in our new bed, a mix of stubborn jet-lag combined with nerves, I went to my interview in my newly acquired dress (thanks to a mad shop dash courtesy of our new buddies, Elise and Jordan), and 10 minutes later I had been hired!! Say whattttt! I was so relieved and a little dumb-founded.

I wasn't super confident, and there was definitely no marvellous display of perfect interview etiquette. I must have just fitted the bill on paper, plus the manager was clearly a busy lady used to making quick decisions. She said to my colleague, referring to me, that she had 'a good feeling about this one'... Admittedly I am only in housekeeping, it isn't rocket science, but I am actually liking it so far. I get to work in a nice quiet hotel, with friendly staff, and I get paid to clean. I get paid for doing one of my hobbies.

The environment is so much better than the previous one we worked in on Fraser Island. Everyone is supportive, motivational, friendly and just chilled out. The tools we are provided with to clean make the job vastly easier. Any housekeeper will understand what I mean when I say 'YAY!' about cleaning floors without mop buckets and using non-toxic chemicals; it's basically awesome.

What's more, the hotel is right beside the beach, and is on the famous Hastings street, a strip of super nice bars, restaurants and my new favourite haunt, Boost juice. I loving spending time before and after work enjoying the beach, cooling off and soaking in the late summer Noosa vibe.

Meanwhile..

Taran is still on the look-out for work but being here, getting ourselves a base from which to be creative, is hopefully going to push the blog to the next level. The last few times we had a base, back in Bundaberg for instance, we were able to create lots more content, and engage with our audience more regularly. We actually had time to not just post sporadic or quick posts but to enjoy writing, sharing, chatting to other bloggers and reading their inspirational stuff.

Travelling might be the opposite of stopping, setting down roots and working, as if you never even left home to begin with. But every now and then it provides a needed break, a moment of pause in which you can experience somewhere like a true local. And every place we live, every job we have, every few weeks where we can pad away on our laptops working on the blog, we are still living out a reality we dreamed of and worked toward for a year. Home might have been England for 25 years, but for now, it can be a little bedroom in a beachy holiday town somewhere in Australia. And then before we know it, it will be somewhere else entirely. Most likely our trusty tent.

The beauty of travel is not always found in constant movement or change, sometimes its in living somewhere long enough to love it, but not long enough to hate it.

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Yo!

Hannah and Taran here. We hail from Southern England, where we met online and are now realizing our mutual passion for travel here at NomaderHowFar. We discuss Nomadic Living, Simplifying your Life and Long-term Travel, to empower, motivate and inspire our readers. Get to know us here!

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