The Cooloola Coast lies between the coastal towns of Noosa Heads and Rainbow Beach. The landscape of the Cooloola Coast is a diverse ecological treasure - sculptured by wind and water, and sand washed from river systems for over several million years. Cooloola Coast lies within the Great Sandy National Park, which is one of the largest ‘vegetated sand dune systems’ in the world. Along with its unique wilderness of indigenous flora and fauna - and its historical significance, the region has recently been nominated for ‘World Heritage’ listing.
The coastal strip of Cooloola features high sand dunes, coloured sand cliffs, sand-blows, perched lakes, high dune rainforests, and over 70kms of pristine beaches. Whales can be seen offshore between August and October, while dolphins and manta rays are more regular visitors.
There are plenty of camping spots within the 15km Teewah Beach camping zone, as well as plenty of sites to see such as the spectacular Coloured Sands. Visitors can enjoy bushwalking, camping, picnicking, boating, fishing, lake and surf swimming (although the beaches are unpatrolled) sharks are common and bluebottles are present during northerly winds. Wildflowers bloom on the heathlands in spring, which is the ideal time to visit.
The Cooloola Coast is a popular beach run and is one of the 4WD routes from Noosa to Fraser Island. The Cooloola Way, another 4WD access road into Cooloola, passes through the western catchment and links the Kin Kin-Wolvi Road with Rainbow Beach Road.
How to Use this Trek Note
- To download this information and the route file for offline use on a phone, tablet, headunit or laptop, go to the app store and purchase ExplorOz Traveller. This app enables offline navigation and mapping and will show where you are as you travel along the route. For more info see the ExplorOz Traveller webpage and the EOTopo webpage.
Environment
Cooloola Coast is part of the Great Sandy National Park and is managed by Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service. The region is a superb part of the Great Sandy National Park and is a refuge for a diverse species of flora and fauna. These include heathland, banksia
woodlands, dry sclerophyll forest of scribbly gum and blackbutt. Fauna include Cooloola acid frogs and ground parrots - a rare and threatened species. The region also has one of the few remaining emu populations in coastal Queensland.
The coastal route is made up of two parts, one for beach driving, the other an inland track for high tides. This rough, single lane, but 2 way track, passes rainforests, tall blackbutt forests, sand dunes and coloured sand cliffs towering to 200m high.
At the northern end,
the beach exit must only be attempted on very low tide otherwise the exit is blocked by some nasty tyre-ripping rocks. Also, the sand in the high section is very boggy, and there has been a number of vehicles that have encountered tyre damage here or become bogged and washed away by rising tide. There are plenty of disaster photos to serve as a reminder in the local service stations, caravan parks and
information centres.
History
For thousands of years, Cooloola has been a special place for Aboriginal people. The Kabi Aborigines were the first known inhabitants of the Cooloola region. This tribe occupied an area from the Mooloolah River to the Burrum River. Evidence from the amount of broken shells found on the beaches suggested the group ate fish and various molluscs.
In 1770, Captain Cook sailed past and named Double Island Point at the northern end of Cooloola. It was not until 1842, that Governor Gipps sent Andrew Petrie to explore this area and this paved the way for resource use of a magnificent area known as the Kin Kin Scrubs - where today, only a small remnant of this vast rainforest is left.
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