Summary

The Sunshine State

Queensland has a wealth of bushwalking opportunities including multiple World Heritage Listed rainforests such as the Daintree and Lamington National Park, great coastal and island parks like Fraser Island and Hinchinbrook Island.

Other Information

World Heritage Areas

• Fraser Island
• Gondwana Rainforests of Australia (Lamington NP, Springbrook NP, Mount Chinghee NP, Mount Barney NP, Main Range NP)
• Great Barrier Reef
• Riversleigh
• Wet Tropics (Daintree NP, Barron Gorge NP, Cedar Bay NP, Girringun NP, Wooroonooran NP)

Contact details

Queensland Parks and Forest:
https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/

Regions

The link below provides a region map of QLD as a reference to what council zones are included in the 7 geographic regions of QLD.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regions_of_Queensland#/media/File:Qld-regions-map.gif

1. Far North Queensland
2. North Queesnland
3. Central Queensland
4. Mackay, Isaac and Whitsunday
5. Wide Bay Burnett
6. Darling Downs South West
7. South East Queensland

Walks in Great Sandy National Park

(Wide Bay Burnett)

Medium

88.1 km one-way

5 days

Cooloola Great Walk (original inland route)

This is a 5 day hike starting at Noosa North Shore and ending at Rainbow Beach (or vice versa). The inland route is shorter, at 88.1km. This route includes Poona Lake on Day 5 (or Day 1 if you are walking North to South). The 4 campsites each have toilets (bring toilet paper) and water tanks. Do your homework, get the topo map, do the prep and you will have an awesome time. The Cooloola Sandpatch, Carlo Sandblow and Poona Lake are highlights, but the scenery is breathtaking at many points along the way. I have downgraded the difficulty to medium as while at times the going is hard because of the distance, overall the hiking isn't that hard and if you're doing a multi-day you've probably done some training, yes?

Medium

52 km

2 days

Cooloola Widerness Trail

An interesting longer walk that can be done in two full on days or easy three days.

Easy

1.2 km return

20 mins

Doggrell Forest

This is a short relaxing walk through the Dogrell Forrest.
Worth it if you are traveling along the Pomona Kin Kin road and need to stretch your legs.

Easy

2.1 km return

1 hr

Double Island Point Light House

Enjoyable walk to the light house and back. Great views of the coast all the way north to the southern tip of Fraser Island. This walk is possible from The eastern end of Teerwah beach or the far northern end of Noosa north shore beach.

Medium

17.2 km one-way

6 hrs

Elanda Point to Harry's Hut

Great day out, however you need to keep moving to get around. Easy walking but a little tricky as the bridge is out, you can either swim (as I did) or cross country around kin Kin creek and cross over the concrete bridge 1km west of the old bridge.

Easy

10.6 km one-way

3.5 hrs

Elanda to Fig Tree Point

Stroll through the Cooloola wilderness to the pleasant Fig Tree Point campground.

Note (29/10/2020): The southern section of the Cooloola Wilderness Trail from Elanda Point to Fig Tree Point is not accessible due to the Kin Kin Creek walk bridge having washed away during flooding. Planning for a new bridge is underway (ref https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/cooloola/camping/figtree-point)

Medium

76.6 km one-way

Fraser Island

Kingfisher - Lake McKenzie - Central Station - Lake Boomanjin - Dili Villiage - Jabiru Swamp - Hook Point

Walking on Fraser is a must-do! It's beautiful and unique. The walking tracks are separate to the vehicular tracks, so it feels like you are really in the guts of nowhere with no one else anywhere nearby, when in fact, if you need it, you can call a taxi and get the heck out of dodge if something crops up. The campsites at almost all the locations are fenced, have gear lockers , a wooden platform and a cleared area for your tent. All the sites have a separate camping area for hikers. The best thing about walking on Fraser is that you don't need to stress out about water because it's everywhere all year round, whatever the weather.

Medium

83 km one-way

5 days

Fraser Island Great Walk

Well marked bushwalk through some of the best parts of Fraser Island. Typically walked South to North- Dilli Village - Lake Benaroon - Central Station - Lake McKenzie - Lake Wabby - Valley of the Giants - finishing at Happy Valley, however some hikers walk it the other way around.

Easy

3 km return

1 hr

Freshwater Lake

Easy walk along a well formed walking track to the lake. It is possible to circumnavigate the lake which will add around 4.5km to the walk. The lake has a tree leaning across which can be climbed and has a rope swing for swinging into the lake. Check for submerged objects!

Easy

12.8 km return

4 hrs

Harrys camping area to Camp site 3

Trail parallel to the Noosa River, opposite site from Harrys camping area (kayak/ boat needed to cross the river).