Summary

Including Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world, along with Cooloola on the mainland, Great Sandy National Park is a focal point for canoeing, fishing and some excellent bushwalking.

The highlight is the Fraser Island Great Walk and the Cooloola Wilderness Trail.

History

Any interesting history for the region?

Features

What are the standout bushwalking features?

Access

How do you get there? Include all access points if there are many?

Maps

Which maps cover the region?

Accommodation

Where can I stay there? or near there?

Camping

Other

Contact details

https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/cooloola/about.html

Walks in Great Sandy National Park

Hard

14 km one-way

5 hrs

Lake Mckenzie to Kingfisher Bay

A walk from Lake McKenzie on well formed sand track through melaleuca scrub-lands

Medium

11 km return

4 hrs

Lake McKenzie Walkers Camp

4 hour walk from Wangoolba Creek to Lake McKenzie walkers camp on Fraser Island. Great little camp just a short walk from the lake, fully fenced from dingos.

Medium

4.8 km return

3 hrs

Lake Wabby Circuit

Park at the beach and hike up to Lake Wabby , trip starts with a longish walk through some beautiful forests before you reach the sand dunes and the lake. I would suggest that thongs are not a good choice for this walk. A pair of runners would be best for this walk over changeable terrain. As you emerge from the trees and walk out onto what seems like never ending sand dunes, you straight away get that feeling that the walk you just completed was completely worth it.

Easy

400 m return

15 mins

Melaleuca Circuit

Delight in the wetlands of cabbage palms, paperbarks and eucalypt forests fringing the delta lakes of the upper Noosa River.

Easy

5.3 km return

90 mins

Mill Point

Walk through allocasuarina and paperbark forests. Take a 400m side track to Mill Point and follow the self-guided historical walk to the site of a timber mill township that flourished from 1872 to 1892.

Easy

3.2 km return

1 hr

Mill Point Cemetery

An easy flat walk through woodlands and along fire trails to a memorial in honour of the early Mill Point settlers.

Easy

4.2 km return

90 mins

Poona Lake walk

Easy walk through tall forest with kauri and hoop pines, piccabeen palms and strangler figs

Medium

32 km return

2 days

Rainbow Beach to Double Island and return by Lake Poona

A beach walk from rainbow Beach to Double Island Point then onto Freshwater Camp Ground and an inland bushwalk back to Rainbow Beach.

Easy

6.4 km return

2 hrs

WW2 Commando School Walk

Z Special Unit was a joint Allied special forces unit formed during the Second World War to operate behind Japanese lines in South East Asia. Fraser Island was one of a number of training grounds for Australia's Special Operations programme during World War II.