About the Cooloola Great Walk

Adventure Tribe Fully Supported Cooloola Great Walk

• Duration: 5 days

• Distance: 95-105km (depends on trail conditions)

• Difficulty: Subjective measurement but many see this as Challenging (primarily because of distances).

This is a fully guided and supported walk. Three out Five days are guaranteed as a light daypack only. We provide;

• Expert, professional, local, qualified, experienced and fun guide

• Comfortable tentage/swags (set up for you, ready to go nights 1,2 and 3)

• Comfortable village accommodation on night 4 (flushing toilets, hot showers etc)

• Food and drink

• Transport to and from the start and end points if required

• The ability for you to walk up to 80% of this wilderness experience with only a light day pack

• Group sizes are maximum of 6 per tour

• The only hike provider for the Cooloola Great Walk

5 Days of hiking through the stunning Great Sandy National Park will challenge and amaze you with some of the most stunning views combined with the physical challenge of multi-day hiking in a true wilderness setting. If you are looking for a truly different experience that gets you back to nature with an ever changing landscape through rainforest, tall eucalypt forest, dry coastal woodland, heath plains and even across some sandy plains, this is definitely for you.

Our 100km hike starts out from the incredible Carlos Sandblow at Rainbow Beach where we say goodbye to civilisation for a few days, and we are off….

Day 1 - Rainbow Beach to Freshwater

• Distance: 17km

• Difficulty: Easy

• Terrain: Gently undulating

• Pack size: Day pack (water, food, personal items etc)

We will meet at Adventure Tribe Home Base (205 McCords Rd, Yandina Creek, Qld) at 6.00am. Home Base is set among 23 acres of subtropical rainforest, immersed in a massive range of native bird calls and sets the tone for the rest of your trip. Whilst at Home Base we will make sure that everyone has what they need, go through some introductions and then we’ll start the drive to our hike start point.

Starting at the Carlo carpark, we begin with a briefing and some warm-up stretches to get the mind and body ready for what’s to come. Within a very short distance we reach the magnificent Carlos Sandblow which is a part of Cooloola Sand mass where weather conditions have transformed a forest into a ‘moonscape’ of sand covering 15 hectares. Combine this incredible sandy visage with spectacular views over Rainbow Beach, Double Island (DI) and Tin Can Bay.

Across the Sandblow is a well-trodden 16km section of our hike and gives you a very good taste of the conditions for the next 4 days.  It's also a short day compared to some of them, so it gives you a chance to tend to any niggles that you may have or make any adjustments to gear that you need to make. 

As we drop down in elevation on the last quarter of the day we reach Poona Lake, 12 Hectares of fresh water set amongst the bushland.  When the air is still, the reflections off the water are stunning.  A photographers dream with the contrast of the tannin stained water against the white sand, a great spot for a break.

After Poona Lake we drop down gradually about 90 meters of elevation. Most hikers on this trail will now head up hill to the Kauri Walkers Camp however we will take a slight detour to Freshwater Camp Ground where our team will have set up camp for the night and be working on dinner. There’s all the modern facilities of flushing toilets and hot showers here as well…make the most of these as this is the last you will see of them for the next couple of days!

Day 2 - Freshwater to Litoria

• Distance: 26km

• Difficulty: Hard

• Terrain: Steep undulations

• Pack size: Small pack (approximately 8kg that we provide)

See Notes at the bottom of the page for important additional information on this day.

We will start the morning relatively early as this is a big day of walking (20-26km depending on trail conditions). The team will have prepped breakfast and a selection of lunch ingredients so you can build your own lunch for the day before putting it into your pack. After breakfast we will walk out and our team will clean and pack down camp.

The start of this day is pretty flat and then it's…UP at an angle that feels similar in inclination to the trajectory of a NASA launch. Don’t let this put you off as we take it slow and steady, taking in the magical sounds of the lush rainforest surrounding us.

Shortly after reaching the top of the hill we will come across Kauri Walkers Camp – named for the Kauri pines growing in the region. This campground is generally the busiest of all four hikers campgrounds due to its proximity to Rainbow and Teewah Beaches.

Admittedly this is one of the more challenging days both physically and mentally, being approximately 25km and that’s one of the reasons we start this hike from Rainbow Beach. If you are anything like us…you will want to get the hardest parts done earliest, when you are fresh, fit and ready.

Today we will travel mostly through rainforest full of strangler figs, massive Kauri pines and plentiful wildlife before coming across Lake Cooloomera just north of the Litoria Walkers Camp where we will spend the night.

Lake Cooloomera, whilst pretty, it is not a place to swim as there are plenty of snakes in the reeds as well as being home to many ‘acid frogs’ and birds. Litoria – meaning ‘shore’ or ‘beach’ is the name given to Australia’s largest Genera of frogs. You may hear the high pitched sounds of the Cooloola sedgefrog ‘Litoria cooloolensis’ who has adapted to the acidity in the nearby lake. After we arrive, the guides will help everyone put up their hiking tents (that’s right you’re in the wilderness for this one and you’re in a hikers tent for this night), then it’s dinner time and an incredibly well earnt rest. Tonight will be an early night for most.

Day 3 - Litoria to Dutgee

• Distance: 15km

• Difficulty: Easy

• Terrain: Gently undulating with one steep undulation

• Pack size: Small pack (approximately 8kg that we provide)

This day is a favourite! After working extraordinarily hard on Day 2, Day 3 is a day for reward, relaxation and recovery!

A mere 15km doddle with only minor changes in elevation making for a brilliant day! 

A day full of rapidly changing landscapes, from rainforest beside the beach to the stunning Noosa Everglades as we near the Noosa River.  Experiencing these changes over such a short distance makes you really appreciate how nature responds to slight environmental changes.

The Noosa everglades are one of only two everglade systems in the world and is by far the most pristine of the two of them. The Cooloola Great Walk is by far the best way to truly appreciate the extent of the Noosa everglades system.

Keep an eye out for Ramsey’s hut along the way, an old timber cutters hut which was abandoned prior to the region being classified National Park in 1975 … look but do not touch.

Dutgee (Aboriginal for the Boronia shrubs which grow through Cooloola) walkers camp is on the Noosa River and we usually make it to camp in the early afternoon. We will arrive to a camp that has been already made by our team. This makes a fantastic way to mark the middle of our hike with a swim and an afternoon chilling out in the wilderness by the river pack free!  

Day 4 - Dutgee to Teewah

• Distance: 27km

• Difficulty: Challenging (primarily because of distance)

• Terrain: Gently undulating with some moderate hills

• Pack size: Day pack (water, food, personal items etc)

What an incredible day!  Fuelled by a great day of rest yesterday and the knowledge of what the day in front of us holds, it would be difficult not to be pumped for this one despite it being the longest day of our hike.  Today is another early start as we need to walk approximately 27km. Fortunately the last 7km of today are almost all a gentle down hill.

A nice and easy start to the day with a flat walk through the Noosa everglades and along the banks of the Noosa River. This is a stark change in landscape to what we have been walking in.  The contorted shapes of the trees native to the low lying flats of the Noosa River are beautiful in a macabre kind of way...it’s a spectacle to behold for sure and they make for amazing photos.  

After approximately 5km of flat ground, up into the hills again with a climb of about 190 meters and then BAM! the Cooloola Sand Patch...wow...and you thought the Carlos Sand Blow was incredible! This mini desert, complete with its own oasis, you have to see it to appreciate it. We hike approximately 1km to get across the small desert…thankfully mostly downhill which is one of the other reasons we head north to south, much easier walking down a sand hill than up!  

After crossing this desert, we are back into the bush.  It is a long walk through valleys between massive sand dunes with constant presentation of viewpoints in differing directions and incredible breezes. Along the way we will come across the final campsite of the trip, Brahminy walkers camp. After briefly soak up the views from this location, we will hike another 7km to our final night of celebration. A gentle re-introduction to civilisation by arriving at the tiny seaside village of Teewah. Teewah is only accessible by 4WD or by foot and here we will stay in a private seaside residence with all the modern facilities that you have been missing out on for the last couple of days! Hot showers, flushing toilets, soft bed etc. Our team will use the a fully equipped kitchen to prepare a meal for all of the guests, enjoyed with a glass or two of beer, wine or spirits.

Day 5 -  teewah to the Pub

• Distance: 10km

• Difficulty: Easy

• Terrain: Flat

• Pack size: Day pack (water, food, personal items etc)

Amazingly it never seems to feel like we have been hiking 4 days and absolutely doesn’t feel like this should be the last day. Yet here we are, a mere 10km to go and it’s almost all downhill to the pub (our finish location) from here.

A very relaxed start to the day with a late breakfast and an even later set off for the walk. Once back on the trail, we will travel through the coastal heath plains and the low lying marshland of Arthur Harrold Nature Reserve.  This Nature Reserve was named after an extraordinary individual who played a massive part in making Noosa the incredible natural wonderland that we have been able to enjoy and appreciate for the last five days.

Giddy with our achievement, we head to the pub, pull up a table out the back so as not to scare other patrons and settle in for a traditional pub feed and a well earned lunch beverage before we transport you back to Noosa where the tour comes to an end.

Important NOTES!

• This is a fully guided and supported walk. Up to four out five days are guaranteed as daypack only. We provide;

  • Expert, professional, local, qualified, experienced and fun guide

  • Tentage and accommodation

  • Food and drink

  • Transport too and from the start and end points

  • The ability for you to walk 80% of this wilderness experience with only a day pack

• This is for hikers who have a GOOD level of fitness as a minimum.

• This is a truly remote experience with drop toilets and no showering facilities at 2 of our 4 campsites.

• Yes, bring hiking poles. We recommend all hikers should always hike with poles.

• Day two (20-25km) pack weights could be approximately 5kg heavier than your daypack weight as we will be hiking into a remote site with VERY limited vehicle access for our team. So if you normally hike with a pack that weighs 3kg, on this day, it could be 8kg. We supply high end hiking packs (Deuter) for this day so the additional weight is far more comfortable for your body. We will also help you fit the pack so it is comfortable.

• Day three is 27km and your pack weight will still be higher than day pack (up to 7kg), be ready for this.

• Do not come on this tour if;

  • You have never hiked multi day before (at least three days in a row of 15km distances with undulations)

  • You have never hiked 27km before

  • You have just bought new shoes and haven’t worn them in yet

  • You can not carry an 8kg pack for one and a half days (the second half of the second day is lounging around beside the Noosa River)

  • You are at risk of anaphylaxes. On some of the days you’re a long way from help and surrounded by things that may sting you (you’d be unlucky but it’s not impossible). We do not carry Epi-pens, they are expensive, have a short shelf life and are the responsibility of the participant to carry if needed.

• Your day pack will need to be big enough to carry a minimum of 2ltrs of water as well as your lunch, rain coat and any other personal supplies you need to take. A camelbak or similar pack is invariable far too small. Most people will need a 4ltr day pack as an absolute minimum.

• We are able to extract participants however this will often incur a significant fee as it will often take one of our team members a full day to undertake the extraction. These extractions involve accessing remote areas and sometimes require the assistance of National Parks and Emergency Services staff. This is often $500 or more. Our guides are industry professionals, they are qualified and experienced and are vested in making our guests’ experience the best it can be, if you knowingly (and without disclosing prior to the hike start date) place our other guests or our team at risk, we will charge you a minimum of $500 per day for having to deal with the consequences. Our team and our other guests should not have to bear the entire burden of your lack of preparedness or transparency. We suggest you take out travel insurance in case an extraction is required. If you are unsure of whether you should undertake this hike, please contact us before booking.

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