Cooloola Great Walk Day 3 - 22km

 

Day 3. 22km

I had planned to sleep in and have a leisurely breakfast on the last day, however I woke at first light, so decided to pack and make a move, to ensure I walked easy for the day, without pushing the pace. The start of the walk was pretty, with nice views as described from last night. The walking was on some sand however the footing was solid. I did make the small side turn to the top of Mt Seewah and the view was worth the detour. Once the walk went behind Teewah village, the walk turned into an undulating, hot, sweaty, airless drudge behind the dunes towards the cutting. I am glad I stayed true to the trail, however I would suggest to others to walk on the beach. At least you have a beautiful view, as the path did not. I was pleased, to say the least, when I crossed the cutting and walked onto the beach. It was a Sunday so the beach was packed with people however once I past the crowds I met a lady at the very start of her journey hiking in the opposite direction. We talked a few minutes helping each other find the trail, and some other information I think we were both pleased to have passed on. I wish I had gathered contact details from this lady and some others on this walk as it would have been great to hear how each other went on our adventures. Before the last km or 2 of the trail I stopped where the trail re-entered the bush and had a long swim in the ocean, my first clean in 3 days and slowly ate a big meal. I aired my back as my old pack no longer fitted me well, and I had lost a lot of skin in the lumber region. Refreshed, I walked the last km or 2 to the end of the trail. I was a little pleased with myself. After a stop at the convenience store for a large soft drink I took my time hiking to the ferry, for the trip to Tewantin. This is the point at which I followed my tradition and left my walk stick, that I collected at the start of the walk in Rainbow beach, in the park beside the ferry.

Wrap up.

This is a beautiful walk however I recommend you complete it over 5 days. Stop and enjoy the natural beauty. I plan to complete this walk again, once over 5 days, and once as a single solo trail run.

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

Cooloola Great Walk Day 2 - 37km

 Day 2 37 km

I was up early once again, as I was concerned about the time I would need to complete a second day of long hiking. Once packed I said goodbye to JP, as he was solo walking back to Freshwater. I set out around 6am and I really enjoyed the high country as it become lightly wooded and at times was mass planted with grasstrees. The views to the west were opening up more. The ground was becoming more and more sandy, so the walking was a little tougher. After many kms of steady downhill walking I made campsite Dutgee. This camp site is in very low-lying ground and extremely spaced apart. I would not like to be around this site in wet weather. I ate a large meal in the eating area beside the Noosa River. I filled up with water and drank all I could before moving on.

The next section wandered beside the Noosa River, in what was very pretty low-lying bush land, before opening up at the base of the climb to the Cooloola Sandpatch. This is over 4 km of constant walking up, on very soft sand, and it was a hot day, with little shade. Day trippers were also on the walking trail at this point. At the top of the climb the view southwest was open and clear and a good view of the lakes could be had. I entered the Sandpatch at around 1pm, so it was unrelentingly hot, I followed the instruction boards and after an hour or so I re-entered the bush. The sandpatch was large and beautiful, however even though I was travelling mostly downhill, the soft sand had taken its toll on my body. The walk to the final camp Brahminy was only about 7 more kms however I ran out of water with 2 km to go, and I was overheated. The views to the East over the ocean were a welcome end to the walk. I was most grateful to make camp in the last hour of light of the day. This camps’ eating area had a beautiful view of almost 180 degrees facing south. Unfortunately, I had campers’ tents sent up in the eating area as well as weekend walkers having a small party, so my time in this area was limited. Again, the water in the tanks was plentiful, and my tent site was flat and fairly isolated.

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

Cooloola Great Walk Day 1 - 39 km

CGW has been on my bucket list for around 5 years, however between life commitments and constant closures of the walk, I haven’t made it happen. A mate of mine JP, put the hard word on me to compete this walk, so after some rushed planning I booked in a date. I could only justify 3 days, so JP made a wise choice to join me for one section of the trail.

At Rainbow Beach I woke early around 05:00 on the Friday morning. I packed up camp, organised myself for hiking and set off. I had to be at the first campsite Kauri by 10am to meet with JP whom had walked in 5 km’s from Freshwater campground. I realised later in the morning that I had not allowed the 30 minutes from Rainbow Beach to the start of the CGW, so I had a little time to make up. Once out of town, and onto the walk you cross Carlo Sand blow. I have had the pleasure of crossing this sand blow a number of times, as it is on the Rainbow Beach Trail Marathon course, an event I have completed 3 times (2021 was cancelled due to Covid.) The walk was then on moderately undulating paths through woodlands and some rainforest sections. The last 500m or so is quite a steep climb. I arrived at 10:05. JP showed me around the campsite and then I filled up with water and ate a little.

JP then joined me on the walk to campsite Litoria where we would be staying the night. The walking had more elevation changes in it than the first section. The forest was becoming more big gums. In the higher parts of the section, you started to glimpse the low-lying land to the west, however there are no great vantage points. Again, the last km or so was all up hill, and I was glad to make camp on the first night. To me this was the second most difficult day of walking. The campsite was spaced out well, however a number of tent sites where not overly flat. Again, there was plenty of water in the tank. We ate dinner and JP shared desert with me, then we and the entire camp went to bed around 7pm.

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