Noosa Nature

Noosa National Park

Noosa National Park is one of Australia's most frequently visited national parks and one of the easiest to access by foot from local areas. The park entrance is located a short distance from Noosa town centre, accessible at one end of busy Hastings Street as well as from Sunshine Beach to the south. The park attracts bushwalkers, nature lovers, picnickers and surfers.

The Park encompasses an area of more than 4,000 hectares, including sections surrounding Lake Weyba, Peregian and Coolum. Noosa National Park is extremely important for nature conservation and is home to several rare and threatened species.
Occupying the headland at Noosa, the National Park encompasses a dramatic rocky coastline dotted with sheltered beaches and coves. A series of tracks offer visitors a chance to explore tranquil rainforest, open forest, wallum headlands, scrubland and grass lands.

It provides an important refuge for native wildlife including the koala, bush turkey, goanna, glossy black cockatoo, ground parrot and wallum froglet. The range of different vegetation stimulates the senses, from rainforest through to areas of coastal bush with iconic Pandanus and Banksia. Swim or surf at coves and beaches around the rocky headland, wander through cool vine forests, palm groves and heath-covered slopes that bloom with spring wildflowers.

You can download a map of the headland section here.

Noosa Botanic Gardens

The Noosa Botanic Gardens, officially opened to the public in August 1990, are located on the shores of Lake Macdonald, a short drive from the hinterland town of Cooroy.

The gardens comprise eight hectares of primarily native plant species, within which, you'll find an open air bush chapel, fern house, lily pond, large lawn areas and winding paths leading to picnic areas and a Grecian style ampitheatre. The gardens are home to tortoises and some 40 varieties of birds, including wild ducks. Kangaroos feed there in the mornings and the dam holds yellowbelly and other native fish.

Originally farmland, the site was resumed by council in the late 1950s and part of it used to create the Lake Macdonald water supply.

Surprisingly, the site where the gardens are situated was used as an unofficial rubbish tip until local resident Ida Duncan approached council for permission to clear the site of rubbish. With the help of other locals they cleared the area of weeds and car bodies.

The gardens are open daily between 9am and 6 pm.

Great Sandy National Park

Stretches for 60 kilometres, from north of Noosa up to Rainbow Beach. The area is also known as Cooloola and the park is home to the Teewah Coloured Sands and Rainbow Beach. It offers easy 4WD access to World Heritage-listed Fraser Island. Cooloola protects the headwaters of the Noosa River, the cleanest river in south-east Queensland and the only coastal river in Queensland with most of its catchment protected in a national park. The spectacular Cooloola Coast stretches 65 kilometres from Noosa to Fraser Island. Cooloola's 56,600 hectare park is a refuge for plants, animals and birds including many endemic and endangered species and offers a diversity of natural landscapes. It is a remarkable ecological treasure evolved from sand washed north from the river systems of New South Wales over millions of years.

Sand, wind and water have sculpted a varied landscape at Cooloola, the largest coastal vegetation remnant on southern Queensland’s mainland. High sand dunes, coloured sand cliffs, sweeping beaches, sandblows, freshwater lakes, tall forests, paperbark swamps and wildflower heath plains make up the Cooloola Section of the Great Sandy National Park, the largest sand mass in the world.

Conventional access to Cooloola is limited. The best way to see this part of the park is by walking or four-wheel-driving. For northern Cooloola, beach access is possible from Rainbow Beach or Tewantin (near Noosa). Access from Tewantin is across the Noosa River by vehicle ferry at Moorindal Street and then via the beach access points at Noosa North Shore. Travel north along the beach to Teewah, Freshwater and Rainbow Beach. Mudlo Rocks (in front of Rainbow Beach township) may impede travel. Check beach conditions before you go. Inland tracks are not suitable for caravans. Camper trailers must have good clearance.

All necessary details on accessing and camping in this National Park as well as advice on safe sand driving are available from the Department of Environment and Resource Management. If you don’t have your own 4WD then a range of tours are available of this remarkable area with courtesy pick-up from Castaway Cove™.

Noosa River and the Everglades

Noosa River is a busy thoroughfare used by ferries, rowers and pleasure craft. It is also an aquatic corridor that extends from the Pacific Ocean into the Great Sandy National Park, snakes its way past residential areas, the popular boat hire and waterfront restaurants of Noosaville, Noosa Marina and the historic village of Tewantin, then passes through Lake Cooroibah and into the fresh waters of Lake Cootharaba before continuing north to Noosa Everglades which are part of the Great Sandy National Park just 30 minutes from Noosa.

You can take a tour aboard the M.V Cooloola Queen for a cruise along the pristine Noosa River, lakes and into the dark, tranquil, mirrored waterways of the Noosa Everglades.

You can also hire a canoe or kayak and paddle yourself or join a guided tour through the unique scenery of the unspoilt waters of the Everglades, a system of waterways that includes clear lakes, golden beaches, sand dunes and rocky headlands. The tannin-stained waters of the upper Noosa River are often called the River of Mirrors for their startling reflections. Further up, the waters of the Everglades are covered in a canopy of dense vegetation and mangroves, and the waters filled with fish, frogs and large populations of waterbirds.

Find out more about this rare environment at the Kinaba Information Centre, an interpretive centre that is built on the boardwalk above wetlands. Visit the historic Harry's Hut and set up camp or head further up river to one of the many camping spots accessible only by water vessel.

Great Sandy's sheltered calm waters, shifting patterns of mangroves, seagrass, sandbanks and mud islands, and its unusual ancient swamplands known as patterned fens, are exceptionally important. These are feeding grounds for migratory shorebirds and home to several rare and threatened species: sea turtles, dugong and inshore dolphins to the lesser known mangrove-dwelling butterflies and false water rats. Explore, take a swim in the pristine waters, photograph the abundant birdlife or simply relax in this unique natural environment.

Fraser Island

Fraser Island stretches over 123 kilometres in length and 22 kilometres at its widest point. With an area of 184 000 hectares it is the largest sand island in the world, and the only place on the planet where tall pristine rainforests are found growing on sand dunes at elevations of over 200 metres. Rich Aboriginal heritage and a colourful European history are integral to Fraser Island. This combination makes Fraser Island one of the most rare and mysterious features of Queensland’s coastline.

Fraser Island's World Heritage listing ranks it with Australia's Uluru, Kakadu and the Great Barrier Reef. Fraser Island is a precious part of Australia's natural and cultural heritage, it is protected for all to appreciate and enjoy. Fraser island is a place of exceptional beauty, with its long uninterrupted white beaches flanked by strikingly coloured sand cliffs, and over 100 freshwater lakes, some tea-coloured and others clear and blue all ringed by white sandy beaches. Ancient rainforests grow in sand along the banks of fast-flowing, crystal-clear creeks.

Fraser Island has a 144 km long coast line, with an abundant of native animal species and a vast range of plant life. The low "wallum" heaths on the island are of particular evolutionary and ecological significance, and provide magnificent wildflower displays in spring and summer. The immense sand blows and cliffs of coloured sands are part of the longest and most complete age sequence of coastal dune systems in the world and they are still evolving. They are a continuous record of climatic and sea level changes over the last 700 000 years. The highest dunes on the island reach up to 240 metres above sea level.

There are a number of lakes on the island each with their own individual character - from lakes stained red with tannin to others with pure white sand and crystal clear water. Swimming in these lakes on Fraser Island is a memorable experience.Its breath taking beauty and natural attractions makes Fraser Island one of the most sought after destinations for holidaymakers and a must see on your Noosa vacation. You will enjoy the experience of exploring the rainforest, MAHENO shipwreck, sand dunes, and crystal clear lakes. For action packed adventure exploring the beach & wilderness areas of Fraser Island you will need to have or hire a 4WD, or join a 4WD full day tour, either of which can be booked on-line in advance or when you get here at Reception.

If you are visiting Fraser Island in your own 4WD vehicle, you will need to obtain a vehicle access permit. Your vehicle access permit booking number is to be written on a VAP tag and affixed to the lower left hand side of your vehicle’s windscreen and displayed prior to entry. Before arriving on Fraser Island you MUST COLLECT a Fraser Island Information pack containing maps and important safety information along with your Vehicle Service Permit and/or Camping Tag.

Please refer to the Department of Environment and Resource Management website for up-to-date information regarding camping and vehicle service permits. Four-wheel-driving on Fraser Island can be dangerous. Three people have died in accidents in 2009 alone so take sand driving seriously. To keep visitors safe, new laws have been introduced for 4WD hire vehicles.

Blackall Ranges

The Blackall Ranges are located within the magnificent Sunshine Coast Hinterland, just a short 45 min drive from Castaway Cove™, and home to the charming, historic towns and villages of Mapleton, Flaxton, Montville and Maleny. Their streets are lined with art galleries, craft shops and restaurants, making them a convenient and attractive destination for a day trip.

Panoramic views of the Sunshine Coast can be seen from all four major villages along this elevated razor backed mountain range. A full day can be spent just visiting the numerous vineyards and indulging in sampling some of Australia's best wines. There are rainforest walks and National parks with towering waterfalls and picturesque lakes to explore. With an average elevation of 450m, the ranges enjoy a slightly cooler climate than the sub-tropical coastal plain below, offering unique attractions in each of the different seasons.

This is a wonderful part the world to visit. Guaranteed every morning are beautiful sunrises over the South Pacific and in the evening sunsets to the west over the Australian Great Dividing Range. There are many great restaurants, together with local wines, cheeses and all kinds of other local produce. The villages are rich with skilled artisans, innovative professionals and vibrant businesses, all passionate about their local community and environment. Just travelling through the Ranges is a magnificent experience, allowing visitors to truly enjoy the Sunshine Coast Hinterland’s natural beauty.

Click here for an interactive map.

Glass House Mountains National Park

South of Noosa, the Glass House Mountains National Park is a popular destination with walkers who come to climb the volcanic mountains and sightseers who marvel at the spectacular views.

Craggy volcanic peaks tower over a scenic patchwork of pine plantations, bushland and cultivated fields. Many of the peaks are protected in Glass House Mountains National Park, while the pine plantations and a range of native vegetation types are managed in several State forests and forest reserves near the park.

Named by Cook during his epic voyage mapping Australia's east coast in 1770, the “Glass Houses” are distinctive rhyolite plugs formed by volcanic activity millions of years ago rising abruptly out of a patchwork of farms and forests. Remnants of the open eucalypt woodland and heath vegetation, which once covered the coastal plains, provide a home for an interesting variety of animals and plants, including 26 rare and threatened plant species.

The Glass House Mountains area was a special meeting place where many Aboriginal people gathered for ceremonies and trading. This place is considered spiritually significant with many ceremonial sites still present and protected today. The park is made up of several sections that include most of the peaks and forest areas. Drive to the Glass House Mountains lookout for a great view of the multiple peaks. There are also great views from Mountain View Road at Maleny.

Within the park's sections there are eight walkin tracks ranging from 25 minutes to three hours, and catering to all levels of experience. Fit walkers with rockclimbing skills can reach the summits of Mounts Tibrogargan, Ngungun or Beerwah. Suitably equipped experienced rock climbers can climb and abseil Mount Ngungun.

Further information is available from the Department of Environment and Resource Management.

You can also click here for an interactive map.