Cooloola Great Walk - Brahminy Walkers' Camp to Great Sandy Information Centre (Tewantin)

 https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/great-walks-cooloola

Day 5 Statistics

Distance: 21.15km

Total time (including breaks): 6 hours 45 minutes

Total Ascent: 179.2m

Total Descent: 258.7m

 

15 July 2022

This morning the early morning light over Lake Cootharaba was lovely.

The walk south to the ferry begins as an undulating walk through low coastal heath.  At one point we surprised a wallaby, who bounded away quite quickly and then stopped to peer back at us.

We chose to take the detour to the top of Mt Seawah for the views out over the coastline and Lake Cootharaba.

The walk then continued through some low-lying swampy land before the path comes out onto the beach at Noosa North Shore.

After leaving the beach we continued into Arthur Harold Nature Refuge where the path has filled with tannin-stained water creating some vivid reflections.  In parts there were major washouts of the path creating sudden large holes partially obscured by tree roots.

At the end of the official great walk, it was a walk along beside the bitumen road back to the ferry. From the ferry terminal at Tewantin, it was a quick walk back to the car where we had parked it at the Great Sandy Information Centre.  I went in and let the staff know we were back; they asked a few brief questions about our walk and then we were on our way home for a well-deserved hot shower.

A wonderful adventure!

Cooloola Great Walk - Logistics of getting there!

10 July 2022 

https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/great-walks-cooloola

We have had a few queries regarding the logistics of transport between the two ends of this walk.  We chose to park our car at the Tewantin end, at the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) Great Sandy Information Centre on Moorindil Street, a short walk from the ferry.  There is a car park with security cameras here and the staff in the office note down the type of car and when you expect to return (make sure to let them know when you get back as well).  

https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/cooloola/attractions/great-sandy-information-centre

We then walked up Moorindil Street to the main road through Tewantin (Poinciana Avenue), this was just under 2km and took about 25 minutes.  From here we caught a public "Sunbus" to Cooroy Railway Station (you need a GoCard for this).  

https://jp.translink.com.au/plan-your-journey/timetables/bus/t/631/north/2022-09-04

The next step was the Greyhound bus (must be booked), from Cooroy to Rainbow Beach.  This got us in to Rainbow Beach a bit after 7pm on Sunday evening.  

https://www.greyhound.com.au/?gclid=CjwKCAjwsMGYBhAEEiwAGUXJaSpOvj_tftBFMj0MERPkmeXEiHCUJ2gn7jgvhXYlwGi4h2vA4U6qGhoCNH0QAvD_BwE

We camped the night at Rainbow Beach Holiday Village in an unpowered tent site. You do need to prearrange that you will be arriving after hours.

https://www.rainbowbeachholidayvillage.com/accommodation/

This meant we were able to be up and away as early as we liked on Monday morning, and would finish at our car, avoiding needing to use public transport at the end.

Brahminy Walkers Camp to Tewantin (Day 2 of 2, Tracy)

https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/great-walks-cooloola

 It was a windy night that didn't provide great sleep.  This time I had a hiking pillow, and it was definitely worth its weight to carry.  After a leisurely start to the day, Drew and I headed south back toward Tewantin, detouring via Mount Seawah.

Continuing south it was not possible to walk on the beach due to very high tide, so we continued on the path I had taken yesterday through the dunes.  

On returning to the beach just south of the cutting, we saw a large group of young women heading in to camp for the night.  We stopped for lunch and a swim, before continuing south along the waterfront, back to the township.  We then turned inland and followed the road back to the ferry.  A great two days for me and four days for Drew.  Definitely would like to return and do the full walk myself.

Rainbow Beach to Tewantin via Double Island Point - Day 3 and 4 of 4 (Drew)

https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/great-walks-cooloola 

Day3

I was up fairly early and took my time to walk to the last campsite. The trees down were few to the sand blow and the sand was firmer due to recent rain. On the sand blow I saw a feral cat and a very low flying helicopter. The walk from the sand blow to the campsite I once again found tough, and the number of trees down was crazy. This was the worst section of the track. I arrived at camp just before 15:00 to find Tracy waiting with a big smile, and once again a completely empty campsite. That night I slept very poorly, as the wind was very strong.

Day 4

Up early once again and we packed and took our time walking out to the ferry. It was nice to have someone to walk with for a change. We had planned to walk the beach from Teewah Village however it was high tide, so we had to stay on the path. We saw and talked briefly to 3 groups going north on the trail, totally about 20 people as one group were schoolgirls! Tracy had told me the last 2 km of the walk was underwater, so we walked on the beach to the first cutting and stopped for lunch and a well-deserved swim. We walked the roads to the ferry and then to our car. We plan to complete this again over 5 days together in July, cross fingers!!