There must be simpler ways to avoid the crowds but this is a pretty effective one: the Cooloola Great Walk in Queensland is an energetic 5 day, 88 km walk through the changing landscapes of some of Australia’s largest sand dunes. Isolation guaranteed!
Travelling in the Christmas holidays in Australia can be challenging, especially on the ever popular east coast of Queensland. Luckily there is always an alternative and we found it in the Great Sandy National Park where the Cooloola Great Walk covers 88 km over 5 days. One can always guarantee that if there is a walk in campsite it is likely to be empty, so we had no problem in booking the 4 walkers campsites in the run up to Christmas.
Due to the ease of car parking we decided to walk north to south, starting in Rainbow Beach, some 240 km north of Brisbane, and finishing just north of Noosa.
RAINBOW BEACH
The town is pleasantly small and is popular amongst 4 wheel drive enthusiasts as a stepping stone to Fraser Island.
There is an expensive 10 minute ferry which leaves from the Inskip Peninsula (just to the north of Rainbow) to Fraser Island where 75 Mile Beach serves as a highway along the east coast of the world’s largest sand island.
I had originally thought of the Fraser Island Great Walk but the campsites are closed in December and January due to fire danger and their inaccessibility. Hence Cooloola, one step down, seemed the obvious choice.
Rainbow has some very attractive cafes – try Little Parliament for breakfast – and The Deck and the Life Saving Club both have great ocean views for cocktails or dining. Everything is compact and within walking distance and the sandy beaches are just at the end of the main street.
One of the town’s claims to fame is an Instagrammable flight of rainbow painted stairs down to the beach – they are actually quite photogenic although Simon said he felt he was posing for a gay magazine when I snapped him on the descent!
The ute was left in the lock up compound provided by the Rainbow Tourist Office at $15 a day after we had decanted ourselves and hiking kit at the Rainbow Beach Holiday Village caravan park in the middle of town.
Space wasn’t an issue: we were in a tent and the walk in tent area was empty. Sometimes there is much to be said for travelling simply!
DAY 1
15.2 km from Carlo Sandblow Trailhead to Kauri Walkers Camp (+ 1 km from the caravan park in Rainbow Beach!).
We awoke and packed with the first kookaburra, walking out through the back of the caravan park, crossing the road and ascending some stairs. The sun was already up at 5.30 am but scattered clouds ensured we didn’t have too hot a day ahead.
At the top to the left there is a grassy track behind the houses, although it is a bit up and down. We gave up at the last big dip and swung right onto the road which led up to the Carlo Sandblow carpark.
This is the official start (or end) of the Cooloolah Great Walk. There is a handy backpack bench but no loos or water – we were loaded down with 12 litres of water and actually ended up drinking 9 between us.
The track wound gently through scribbly gum forest and we soon arrived at the Carlo Sandblow where sand has been blown onto the land over thousands of years, burying the vegetation and creating a 15 hectare sand dune. Successive sand blows built up to create some of the world’s largest sand dunes.
We paused at the look out from where we could see Tin Can Bay to our right and the ocean to our left. Notices warned against tobogganing or going too close to the cliff edge, which being sand is fairly unstable.
The path was visible on the other side with a white rod indicating the way. The sand was actually surprisingly firm until the last steeper bit and had a riot of lizard tracks.
We stopped at the steps on the other side of the Blow for breakfast so we’re able to enjoy the view a little longer.
The track headed into the trees and bore left on a sandy track which shadowed the invisible beach. It was long and straight with gradual ups and downs amongst tall eucalypts, disturbed only by the incessant cicadas.
We found a cicada husk and examined it: cicadas are the world’s noisiest insects and the males sing in chorus both to attract females and to repel birds. The noise can reach 120 decibels, which is verging on painful to the human ear.
The nymphs actually spend years underground before emerging to mate and lay eggs with a few short weeks. They certainly create a unique sound in the bush and are surprisingly hard to see, considering how big and noisy they are.
A faint track on the left led to a beach lookout with the Inskip Peninsula visible to the north, just in front of Fraser Island. The distinctive hump of Double Island Point was over the sea to the right – a couple of sand dunes create the headland and they are not actually islands at all, it just appeared that way to Cook as he sailed past in 1770.
5 km later we dropped down to Poona Lake, hidden amongst the thick trees. At 160 m, it is the highest hanging lake in Cooloolah: it amazes me that a sand island can hold water but there it was, the waters stained from the tannins in the vegetation but beautifully cold and refreshing.
The track actually emerges at the prime swimming spot with shady paperbarks. A couple of ducks bobbed towards the centre; it was all very peaceful. I sat on a fallen log and enjoyed the scene. We ended up hanging up our hammocks and chilling out for a few hours as it was such a nice spot.
Dragging ourselves away reluctantly, we carried on through the rainforest with the slender piccabeen palms and tall kauri trees: these are easily recognisable for their huge size and gunbarrel trunks which have no side branches. They are at their southernmost reaches in the park.
Strangler figs displayed huge buttresses and entwining roots whilst the ‘Cooloola chorus’ of rainforest birds played in the background. The piercing whip-crack call of eastern whipbirds was especially distinctive.
After a long steady downhill section, enlivened by some fallen trees that were easy to get around, we came to the Freshwater Camp junction.
Freshwater Campsite is just above the beach towards Double Island Point and is accessible by 4WD. It does have the benefit of showers and if one decides to do the longer 102 km coastal route which covers the headland it is a good place to stay. However, it makes the first day nearly 30 km long which we felt rather too much at that stage with full packs.
Instead we took a steadily inclining path for 1.4 km to the rather dark Kauri Walkers Camp, buried in a patch of rainforest with just 7 camp spaces and a long drop loo (no loo paper!).
There were some lovely kauri trees around, including a huge example to the end of the site which had obviously been felled but never collected. In November and December kauris drop pine cones which can weigh up to 3 kilos, so it is best not to linger under one for too long.
The campsites came with bear boxes as I call them although we were assuming possums or dingos. Not expecting anyone else, we put our tent up on one of the picnic table platforms and curled up on the adjacent one for supper – I suddenly realised just how much my legs were aching!
Dark comes early at 6 pm in Queensland – scarily to say, we were in bed by 7.20.
DAY 2
20.5 km from Kauri Walkers Camp to Litoria Walkers Camp
No kookaburras on day 2: we were awoken by the soft babblings and cooings of the colourful rainforest pigeons. We packed up and left at 5.30 am, the sun just touching the tree tops but the forest floor in cool shade.
A huge tree with a hollowed out tree trunk merited a pause before we crossed the Eastern Firebreak. The track rose and fell steadily; at one stage we appeared to be on a ridge but there was no view.
There were signs of old logging. In places the trunks had not been collected and lay in silent remonstration of past waste. Apparently 1 in 10 southern right whales alive in 1893 could still be alive today – how long things can live if we only allow it!
We stopped for breakfast after an hour where the rainforest was starting to give way to more eucalypts. The track continued in a straight line, a green avenue – maybe it was once a logging track.
There were little things of interest en route: a dead snake, a skink, a fallen birds nest and a leggy beetle. The walking was easy, the track sandy but covered in enough vegetation to make it solid. However the weight of our packs with the water we had to carry and the heat made it harder work.
We crossed a firebreak at the 10 km half way point and were back in eucalypt forest. More light filtered through the canopy and it felt drier. Suddenly on a ridge we had a distant broken view to Tin Can Bay.
The ridgeline walk continued for quite some time, so much so that by midday we decided to stop for lunch and cooled off in our hammocks for a couple of hours.
At 2.30, considerably rested we continued, dropping off the ridge to cross a firebreak and climb again for the final time.
When we finally arrived at Lake Cooloomera we were disappointed to find that one could not see it, let alone approach it. It was hidden in the bush with no obvious tracks to it and thick reeds grew around the edges. We had to be satisfied with meagre glimpses which was a bit of a let down after 20 km of walking.
600 m on, Litoria campsite is named after a genus of frog: the Cooloola sedge frog is only 30 mm long and lives in the lake, being adapted to it’s slightly acidic waters. The noticeboard at the campsite said to listen for the frog chorus but we couldn’t face hiking down the hill again!
The campsite stretched along a ridge, with a pleasant breeze and airy surroundings with tall eucalypt trees, although without a view. After coffee we put the hammocks up again.
We were in bed soon after dinner. It was a wonderfully quiet campsite – the night was totally silent and still.
DAY 3
14.8 km from Litoria Walkers Camp to Dutgee Walkers Camp
On to Campsite 3: + 2.9 km
The kookaburras were back – and the whip birds! We left at 5.30 with an initial warm climb before we reached a ridge with heath like vegetation: the picturesque black boys, grass trees and banksia had taken over from our rainforest.
Simon, walking in front, made frequent stops to dodge spiders webs which crossed the track and we saw a couple of small frogs. For the first time we noticed footsteps going in the opposite direction: they must have been walking in the heavy rain of the previous week. People actually say the best time to walk the track is in the spring to see all the wildflowers.
We stopped for breakfast after 4 km on a bend with a distant view. The trail then dropped down and we had a long flat stretch, where eucalypt bark caught at my feet.
A goanna crossed the path and suddenly we were climbing again to a ridge of banksia, just coming into bloom.
Dog like tracks showed in the soft sand as we dropped down to Ramsey’s Hut, which was abandoned before the park was established in 1975. It was an old timber cutter’s hut but he would not recognise it today as it is just a jumbled mass of tin and wood on the ground.
We stopped for 5 minutes before the last 5 km took us down to the Noosa River with a hot yomp across the heathland. The Cooloola Sand patch, one of tomorrow’s targets, came into view for the first time.
Dutgee Walkers Camp is named after an Aboriginal word for the little pink boronia flowers in the area. Its original name of Log Landing shows its history more clearly: it was from here that the felled timber was transported to Mill Point to be cut up.
There are a couple of campsites with nice picnic platforms right beside the river. It would have been lovely to dive in but there is the possibility of bull sharks so we refrained. Others sites are further back near the loo in the scrub, but nicely separated and shady.
Having arrived at Dutgee at 11.30, we soon had lunch then found a spot for the hammocks. It was a really hot day and it was nice to do nothing.
I later went for a wander thinking to find the old log piles which I had read still existed near the camp, but had no luck – maybe they were burnt in a forest fire.
We then decided to walk on to Camp Site 3 in order to shorten the following day’s 20 km. It is actually a group canoe site, but as we knew the river and campsites were closed until the following day we thought it would be empty.
The 2.9 km path shadowed the river. We passed a couple of canoe campsites with little beaches – they would be quite pleasant places to spend the day. All the camps beyond Camp 3 demand self sufficiency with your own toilet arrangements. The numbers go up to 15.
We were surprised to find someone else at 3, a couple who seemed to have snuck up in a kayak and probably were no more supposed to be there than we were! At least the site had a smart loo with plenty of loo paper and a water tank!
It had a better view over the river too. We put up the tent and went to the jetty to watch the sun sink over the water. The colours were actually better after the sunset with the rich orange sky casting perfect reflections on the still water. Apart from a few background cicadas, it was perfectly quiet.
DAY 4
17 km from (Dutgee Walkers Camp) Campsite 3 to Braminey Walkers Camp (20 km)
This was actually the first day I went Wow! and it really seemed like a Great Walk!
We left camp a little earlier than normal at 5.10 and had the first major climb behind us within an hour. We were thankful for the 3 km we had saved by staying at Camp 3 the previous night as we were fresh to tackle the slope. It wound up gradually and was never that steep but nevertheless we were drenched in sweat by the time we reached the top.
The vegetation was largely heathland with a lot of banksia on top and birds flitting about the trees. Suddenly a sand mountain loomed before us and we emerged onto the Sand Patch, named with the usual Aussie ingenuity.
This is another large sand blow which started life 500,000 years ago, and is large enough that the map suggested navigation points. We paused for breakfast under the shady trees to one side and were able to see nature in action: there was a fresh breeze and sand blew constantly over the dune – though one does wonder at the thousands of years it has taken to shift this much sand!
I had checked out the hill above us before breakfast; by the time we left an hour later the footprints had vanished. We skirted the vegetation, wind blowing the sand past in drifts – Simon decided to go all Lawrence of Arabia and wrap a kikoi around his head!
We came to a sign telling us what to aim for when crossing the blow which was pretty obvious – I cannot imagine any situation other than a thick fog when one would need a compass.
We set off across the heavily ridged sand, scattered with the remains of dead trees and wind blown rock. If you follow the dark sections, the sand is firmer. The wind kept us cool and there were even a few clouds about.
Only the last section to the treeline (marked with a post although it is not that obvious until you get close) had soft sand that made walking rather harder. Sadly the dunes were scarred in places by motorcycle tracks.
On the other side, we stopped to empty our shoes of sand. As we had taken our time in the Sand Patch, it was 9 am and quite hot for our next short climb.
We then dropped down again and were surprised to find ourselves back in rainforest where a small pocket survived at the bottom of a depression. It was instantly cooler although it came with mosquitos.
Another climb, really the final one of the walk, led upwards to a ridge. It was gradual but long and again we ended up in a hot heap at the top. Luckily the sea breeze seemed to have arrived and it was much nicer walking.
Suddenly the views started to open up, the first we had really had, and as we dropped off the ridge it was particularly scenic. The white path stretched below amidst coastal heath and tall black boys and the beaches of the Sunshine Coast could be seen in the distance.
Further down in the trees we had lunch (pot noodle again, the Chinese have a lot to answer for!) and rested for a couple of hours before setting off on the final 4 km to Braminey Walkers Camp.
We had thought this final stretch would be fairly straightforward but it actually went up and down a lot, in some places on quite soft sand, so it was surprisingly tiring at the end of the day.
We were happy to see Braminey, named after the picturesque views as seen by the brown and white Braminey kite. On a ridge with a distant view over Lake Cootharabah, it was pleasantly breezy.
Low eucalypts, wattles and grass trees waved in the wind and we had some perfect hammock trees – they really have been nice to have on the walk!
We enjoyed sunset over the lake and the emerging stars were brilliant. We were tucked up in bed at 8 pm when another hiker walked into the campsite – he really was escaping for Christmas.
DAY 4
12 km from Braminey Walkers Camp to Noosa North Shore Beach Caravan Park (+ 540 m for Seawah Lookout)
Back to our usual 5.30 am departure, having awoken to a breezy day with the little gums waving vigorously above the tent.
The path did its usual trick of going up and down, following the ridge. We walked over Mount Seawah which was a fairly indistinct mound and then diverted to the Seawah Lookout at 94 m. The sign said a 150 m detour but it was actually 270 m and mildly uphill.
We were rewarded with a fine view over the southern beaches towards Noosa to one side and Lake Cootharabah on the other, separated by an expanse of low bushland. The little settlement of Teewah nestled beside the beach below us.
As we had breakfast and enjoyed the view, another couple arrived having walked up from Teewah. We were touching civilization again – they even wished us Merry Christmas.
The path dropped down towards the village. We briefly considered detouring 2 km to look at the Teewah Landing Jetty but the track was a soft sand and sunny and we rapidly decided against it.
Instead, we skirted around the village and bore back towards the sea. The track then continued to shadow it just about all the way to our next stop at Noosa North Shore Beach Caravan Park.
It continued to undulate and was quite tiring although there were frequent patches of shade. We could have joined the beach at Teewah, but it was a sunny day and we thought it would be a horribly hot walk; there would have been no exit until the Noosa North Shore Beach Caravan Park 8 km further down the beach. It is also shared with 4WD traffic to there.
As it was, we ended up stopping in a shady copse at 11 and putting up the hammocks just to rest and cool off! Only 2 km of slightly overgrown track remained until the caravan park and suddenly we emerged in 4WD mayhem. We were given a tent site right next to a huge caravan – I rather wished we had stayed under our hammock trees in the peace and quiet!
However, the shower was welcome and the shell strewn beach was beautiful with the Noosa Headland to one end. Later, stars and planets shone brilliantly and best of all, our neighbours turned out to be quiet ones!
DAY 5
4 km from Noosa North Shore Beach Caravan Park to end of walk. To Noosa Ferry 2.4 km. To bus stop on other side 500 m.
It was a good way to finish: a 1.4 km stroll along the beach in the early morning light, investigating jellyfish and shells, the waves threatening to submerge our feet. Queensland rewards early risers, it is really the best time of day before the heat arrives.
A large sign clearly showed us the exit and we plunged into an overgrown grassy stretch before crossing the road into the Arthur Harrold Nature Refuge where pleasant flat heathland and spindly paperbacks shone in the morning light.
At the last hurdle, a mere 300 m out, we got lost, missing a turn and ending up walking past a motel to meet the end emerging on a corner – still, for 88 km walking, it probably wasn’t a bad effort!
We had breakfast on a log bench and walked on. As we reached the main road in 200 m we saw the Big 4 North Shore Retreat Caravan Park and noticed it had a convenience store and a bottle shop. The road ran straight for 2.5 km to the ferry to take us over the Noosa River.
It goes quite regularly and it cost $2 return for the crossing – although I didn’t think we would be using the return portion anytime soon! I was rather hopeful that they would let Great Walkers cross for free but no such luck.
On the south side of the river there is a Queensland National Parks Office with lots of info on the region. From there it was only a 400 m walk to a bus stop from where the world:’s slowest bus finally delivered us to Noosa Junction where everything was closed for Boxing Day.
However, the beach was packed, looking considerably more stylish than its English equivalent with hundreds of jolly scattered sun shades. The world and his dog (on a lead) were out.
We sat under a shady pandanus and watched the world go by until it was time to head back to Noosa Junction and our bus to Rainbow. It had been a great walk but now I was looking forward to not walking and most of all to a diet that didn’t consist of noodles and pasta!
IN A NUTSHELL
I think the Cooloola Great Walk is really a walkers walk! The distances are long and on the two days between Kauri and Dutgee camps there were no views and nothing to see other than bush – which is nice enough but 17 and 20 km are long days, especially in hot weather! There are certainly Great Walks which are shorter, easier and much more scenic.
The Sand Patch day was the highlight, although Lake Poona and the Carlo Sandblow on the first day were good – the former is 40 minutes from a carpark, the latter is 10 minutes from a carpark. Many choose to visit the Sand Patch as a walk from Camp 3 on a canoeing trip to the Noosa Everglades – it is 12 km return.
One could always do the Double Island Point section as a pleasant 2 day circuit from Rainbow Beach, staying at Freshwater Campsite.
Cute little Braminey was definitely the best campsite. Lots of water needs to be carried as other than Lake Poona there is none en route between the campsites – and none have loo paper!
I was quite happy with our choice of walking north to south: the campsites got progressively better, we got the two boring days out of the way and had spectacular views as we descended towards Teewah. The caravan park on the North Shore was a pleasant stop and it was easy to get the various necessary buses the next day.
NOTES
The walk is 88.1 km long or 102 km if the coastal option is followed. It is largely sign posted around the camps but the trail is very obvious throughout (except at the end!). A topological map can be bought from the Queensland Parks Office on Rainbow Beach Road for $11. They will also have up-to-date information on the walk conditions.
There are 4 walkers campsites en route. North to south, they are Kauri, Litoria, Dutgee and Braminey. They can be booked online and cost a little over $7 per person. All have big water tanks and pit toilets (but no paper). There are picnic platforms and the sites are nicely spread out; most have bear boxes.
Cars can be left in the street at Rainbow Beach, at the Queensland Parks Office, or the tourist office offers a basic locked compound for $15 a day.
There is a choice of Premier buses or Greyhound from Noosa back to Rainbow Beach. Premier seems to be half the price of Greyhound: we got 2 people back for $48 and they had stops at Noosa Junction and Tewantin. Note: there is no luggage storage at Noosa Junction – as the bus didn’t leave until 4.20 pm (arrives Rainbow at 7 pm), we were stuck with our backpacks all day.
DAY 1
DAY 2
DAY 3
DAY 4
DAY 5