Cooloola Great Walk Day 1or5 - Rainbow Beach to Kaori Walkers Camp

The Cooloola Great Walk links Rainbow Beach to Noosa North Shore via the eastern high dunes known as the Cooloola sandmass. This one of the largest accumulations of wind-blown sand found along the Queensland coast that has been built up during the last 500,000 years. It conserves unique dune, lake and vegetation systems. This 61,750 hectare section of the Great Sandy National Park is one of the best conserved landscapes of its kind in eastern Australia.This version describes the hike going from North to South. It is my belief that north to south is a better route because the sun tends to fall on your back during the course of the walk.

This hike starts from the end of Cooloola Drive at the car park just inside the entrance. A short walk in amongst the ferns meet you to your first destination being the Carlo sandblow with its great views across to Fraser Island and the coloured sands. For the hire-car this presents the first challenge being the steep upwards ascent on soft shifting sand to the other side.

A short walk on through the eucalypt bushland leaves you have another look out a long and narrow track that allows you to see north along the beach to Fraser Island again. Following the track for another couple of k you will eventually get to a dicergence in the track. Turning right you progress into Kauri Pine and strangler fig rainforest on the track to Lake Poona.

You know you on the track too Lake Poona when you hit a section of sharp descent. The first Junction that you will get to as you hit Lake Poona you need to turn left. Shortly along this track you will see a swimming area to the right add this is the best swimming area to use to enter Lake Poona.

Following this track you will eventually get to the other side of the lake before finding that the track decends further through more rainforest. As the elevation changes the vegetation will revert to eucalypt. The end of the hike involves a sharp ascent back into the rainforest zone before you come to a junction away from the Great Walk track towards the Kauri Walkers camp. You will be at the campsite just after you cross a 4WD feeder road.

All up a perfect first day if you're coming from the north as the lower distance will suit those with the heavier backpacks full of food. On our day at the camp there were definitely dingoes sniffing around the tents during the night so use the food boxes provided.