Cooloola Recreation Area visitor guide - Department of National ...

Cooloola—a coastal
wonderland with
long sweeping
landscapes.
Photo: Robert
Ashdown, Qld Govt.
Welcome to
Cooloola and Inskip Peninsula
2
Traditional Owners have a long and ongoing relationship with
the area that falls under Queensland’s national parks and
forests. In order to acknowledge the important connection
with Aboriginal people, the Queensland Parks and Wildlife
Service (QPWS) urges visitors to treat the country through
which they walk with respect and care.
Cooloola is a refuge for plants and
animals whose habitats have been
reduced by rural, urban and coastal
development. The area showcases
spectacular sand dunes and the tranquil
headwaters of the upper Noosa River with
one of the most protected catchments
left in Queensland.
Cooloola’s fascinating sandmass, built
up over the past 500 000 years, includes
long beaches backed by high dunes.
Its open heath plains are splashed with
colourful wildflowers. Cooloola features
mangroves, woodlands of banksias and
scribbly gum, shady blackbutt forests,
rainforests with towering trees, and
tranquil lakes and waterways. A haven
for birds, both sea and land, Cooloola
is a photographer’s delight offering
long landscapes and stunning sunsets—
a perfect holiday destination for
walking, camping, canoeing and
four-wheel driving.
The Cooloola Recreation Area, totalling
61 750 ha, covers the existing 56 600 ha
of the Great Sandy National Park, as well
as various state and local governmentmanaged
areas, such as roads, beaches,
esplanades and other lands to the low
water mark.
More than a third of the Noosa River’s
catchment area is national park.
The Noosa River’s excellent water quality
is largely due to this protected upper
catchment. The Noosa River is around
60km long and flows into the South
Pacific Ocean at Laguna Bay,
Noosa Heads.
Shallow lakes in the river system are tidal
and contain brackish and fresh water.
The surrounding wetlands are a nursery
for juvenile fish.
Enjoying Cooloola means seeing some of
the best preserved coastal landscapes
in Queensland. It’s a place worth visiting
and looking after.
Fire management is just one of the
many major tasks of QPWS in Cooloola.
Photo: Qld Govt.
Management
Department of National Parks,
Recreation, Sport and Racing’s (NPRSR),
Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service
(QPWS) manages Cooloola as a protected
area to conserve its natural, cultural and
recreational values and resources for all
to enjoy, now and in the future. Most of
the Cooloola section of the Great Sandy
National Park is included in the Cooloola
Recreation Area. The area is protected
under the Recreation Areas Management
Act 2006 and the Nature Conservation
Act 1992. The recreation area provides
for the protection of the area and the
management of activities right down to
the low water mark.
To the north of Cooloola lies the Inskip
Peninsula Recreation Area, popular for
camping and fishing and as a gateway to
access the Fraser Island World Heritage
Area, which is also a recreation area and
is the other significant section of the
Great Sandy National Park.
The coastal waters of Cooloola north of
Double Island Point, including the Tin
Can Inlet and the Great Sandy Strait,
are protected under the Great Sandy
Marine Park. Marine park zones and
designated areas have been identified
and implemented within the Great Sandy
Marine Park specifically to protect the
area’s features, wildlife and habitat.
All of these areas are managed by QPWS.
More information is available online at
www.nprsr.qld.gov.au.