Cooloola Recreation Area, Great Sandy National Park

The Cooloola section is the mainland section of the Great Sandy National Park, containing wetland landscapes, sand dunes and one of the two only everglades systems in the world. It is one of the most diverse and scenic national parks in the state, and arguably, there's no other park that is quite like Great Sandy National Park.

The Cooloola section of the Great Sandy National Park is part of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere program, a program which aims to establish a scientific basis for the improvement of relationships between people and their environments. Since 2010, it has been on the tentative list for world heritage.

Understand

Visitor information

• 1 Great Sandy Information Centre, 240 Moorindil Street, Tewantin. Daily 8AM–3PM (closed Christmas Day). A visitor centre based in Tewantin that is a base for travellers wishing to explore the Noosa River area, including several maps of bushwalking trails and a bit about the region in general. (updated Apr 2022)
• 2 Kinaba Visitor Information Centre. Unlike other visitor centres where you'd typically access them from land, the primary means of getting to Kinaba Visitor Information Centre is by boat, from the north-northwesternmost point of Lake Cootharaba, though if you do want to get by land, by all means attempt the Kinaba Visitor Information Centre walk. (updated Apr 2022)

Get in

To reach the southern point of the park, from Noosa, head northwest onto McKinnon Drive, and after 13.5 km, at the end of the road, turn right onto Louis Basso Drive. Then after 5 km turn right onto the unsealed Elanda Point Road until the end till habitatnoosa. From Pomona, just use Louis Basso Drive until you see a habitatnoosa sign.

Use Rainbow Beach Road to reach the northern section of the park.

Fees and permits

A vehicle access permit fee applies for certain sections of Cooloola Recreation Area. If you book online, the fee for a day is $14.40, but is $21.80 if you obtain the permit physically.

See

• 1 Noosa Everglades. One of only two everglades system in the world, this one along the Upper Noosa River and goes for a stretch for a few kilometres containing 44% of all bird species in Australia. Getting to Noosa Everglades can either be done on a boat tour from Habitat Noosa, or by renting a canoe from the same resort (and unlike in Florida's Everglades, you don't have to worry about crocs as they don't live this far south). (updated Apr 2022)
• 2 Cooloola Sandpatch. (updated Apr 2022)
• 3 Double Island Point Lighthouse. (updated Apr 2022)
• 4 Cooloola Tramway. (updated Apr 2022)

Do

• Cooloola Great Walk. (updated Apr 2022)

Eat and drink

• 1 CootharaBAR, 204 Lake Flat Rd, Elanda Point, Como, ☏ +61 7 5447 1333. see . The only restaurant and bar in the entire vicinity of the park, though options are severely limited. Plenty of good steak, fish and even salads. Though not exactly a restaurant, next to it is an ice-cream parlour, with plenty of good gelato to have in a place with hot sub-tropical weather. (updated Apr 2022)

Sleep

Lodging

• Habitat Noosa. (updated May 2022)