Cooloola Recreation area and Wilderness Trail

Cooloola Recreation Area is the southern of two sections of the Great Sandy National Park in Queensland. In March 2020, just prior to Covid-19 restrictions, I visited this part of the Cooloola Wilderness.

The Cooloola Great Walk - Third Beach Cutting.

The trail has not been trod for a few weeks since mid-summer.

On this trip I managed to hike a whopping 10km - barely 10% of the CGW,

to the Brahminy Walkers Camp.

The first few kilometres are generally flat and mostly under vegetation scrub cover.

This 102-Km bushwalking trail runs along the east coast via the high sand dunes. It winds through tall eucalypt forest, dry coastal woodland and heath plains. 

Then the hills - no wonder they named the highest one ‘Mount’ Seawah,

it’s at a staggering 100m above the sea! 

Survey mark on, and sign to, Mt Seawah.

This dune hill offers views of long sweeping landscapes of the Cooloola Pacific coastline to the east.

 And to the west lies the upper Noosa River—one of the unspoiled river systems in Queensland.

Brahminy Walkers’ camp is located on an elevated heathland area. This camp site gives superb views south to Noosa, west to Lake Cootharaba. The features of the mainland are also prominent - from Cooroy Mountain, Mt Cooroora and Mt Pinbarren around to Woondum National Park.

Cooloola Wilderness Trail

This area of the Great Sandy National Park has been impacted by recent severe weather events during the previous Queensland Summer (December 2019 - February 2020), and has been and may still be closed to the public.

Those recent natural disasters however have hardly affected this spectacular varied sandy landscape and its large remnant coastal vegetation, which has been sculpted by the forces of wind and water over millenia.

From Harrys Hut, the trail crosses the western catchment of Noosa River on the Noosa Plain. 

The remote Wandi waterhole sits amidst the tall eucalypt and scribbly gum woodlands and banksia forests on the deep sandy soils, and the low wallum heath on the shallows.

Freshwater creeks and wildflower heath contribute to the features of this part of the Cooloola Wilderness. 

Paperbark and cabbage palm occupy the wetlands.

I wonder if this was Jesus whom I encountered. He was walking on the Noosa River.

Kinaba Visitor Information Centre is situated on the northern shore of Lake Cootharaba,

where Kin Kin Creek joins the lake.

I received some very warm welcome from the only souls there when I visited - the resident Welcome Swallows.

Mill Point is a heritage-listed historical site. It used to be an early settlers’ sawmill and small township. 

There’s an old chimney by a big mango tree, a fig tree even emerging from the ruins, the lid of a well, some tank stands, an old boiler by the beach, and tram lines into the lake. 

Cooloola Recreation Area is classified as an Important Bird Area by Birdlife International.

Cooloola is also an important refuge for wildlife,

including for an outlaw on the run.

What are you looking at?