As the name suggests, sand in all its brilliant glory welcomes visitors to Great Sandy National Park
PARK INFORMATION
NPRSR 13 7468
SIZE
220 000 ha (Fraser Island 184 000 ha; Cooloola 56 000 ha)
LOCATION
200 km north of Brisbane (Cooloola); 300 km north of Brisbane or 40 km east of Hervey Bay and Maryborough (Fraser Island); 5 km east of Hervey Bay (Woody Island)
PERMITS
Vehicle permit required for Fraser Island and Cooloola; camping permit and fees apply; bookings essential
ACCESS
Cooloola: from Noosa via 4WD or boat. Fraser Island: from Rainbow Beach to Inskip Point then via vehicular barges; or passenger launches, aircraft or private boats; 4WD only on island. Woody Island: by private boat only.
BEST SEASON
All seasons
VISITOR INFORMATION
Gympie (07) 5483 6411 | Hervey Bay (07) 4125 9855 | Noosa (07) 5430 5020 | www.visitfrasercoast.info
MUST SEE, MUST DO
SEE Fraser Island's coloured sands on Seventy-Five Mile Beach
VISIT the beautiful freshwater pools on Fraser Island
PADDLE a canoe along the Noosa River
TAKE a boat tour through Cooloola's everglades
Great Sandy National Park encompasses World Heritage–listed Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world; nearby Woody Island; and Cooloola on the mainland. Fraser has beautiful beaches, giant dunes, lush rainforests, crystal-clear creeks and freshwater lakes while Cooloola, and the wilderness area of Woody Island, offer a scenic experience among open forests and fringing mangroves, placid waterways and coloured sands.
Fraser Island, the most well-known section of the park, is the biggest island off Australia's east coast. Woody Island lies in the Great Sandy Strait. The Cooloola section protects the headwaters of the Noosa River and the largest remnant of coastal vegetation on southern Queensland's mainland.
Aboriginal culture
The Indigenous groups living on Fraser Island and the adjacent mainland, from Burrum Heads to Rainbow Beach, were members of the Butchulla nation. In the 1860s the island became a quarantine and immigration station for ships bringing in supplies and men to the nearby goldfields at Gympie, heralding the dispossession of tribal lands. The Aboriginal tribes of the Cooloola area were the Dulingbara and Kabi, who were virtually wiped out by diseases introduced by Europeans arriving in the area from the late 1840s onwards.
In 1897 the Bogimbah mission was set up on Fraser and the remaining Butchulla were incarcerated there (their numbers had been reduced from around 2000 when Europeans arrived to less than 400). In 1904 the mission closed and most of the people were moved to Yarrabah near Cairns. Middens, artefact scatters, stone tools, scarred trees and campsites on Fraser Island are reminders of the original inhabitants. Today descendants of the Butchulla in Hervey Bay and on Fraser have a strong affiliation to the land.
A look at the past
Fraser Island was originally known as Great Sandy Island. Although first sighted by James Cook in 1770, then explored by Matthew Flinders in 1802, it was Eliza Fraser's rescue from the island in 1836 that has become the island's most famous piece of European history. The logging of forests began on the island in 1863, continuing until the early 1990s. The mid-20th century saw small-scale mining for heavy minerals such as rutile and zircon then in the 1960s sandmining, forestry and future development became increasingly controversial, both on Fraser Island and the Cooloola coast. The conservationists finally won the battle, paving the way for the island's listing as a World Heritage area in 1992.
Some scattered pastoral activity took place in Cooloola in the 1850s but it was short-lived. The 1867 Gympie gold rush caused a brief flurry of mining activity. Logging began along the Noosa River in 1864 and along Kin Kin Creek in 1865. Queensland kauri logs, cut from the northern parts of Cooloola, formed the bulk of supplies for the Dundathu sawmill near Maryborough for around 30 years. In 1870 a sawmill was established on Lake Cootharaba to reap the giant cedar trees along the Noosa River but by the end of the 1800s most timber-getting had ceased. After its resurgence in the mid-20th century, and the subsequent battle over the environment, Cooloola National Park was declared in 1975.
Natural features
Fraser Island is famous for its giant dunes, some reaching 230 metres high, and its magnificent sand cliffs – coloured yellow, brown, orange and red by centuries of iron oxides leaching down into the sands. Giant sand blows, the mobile dunes that continually move and regenerate, are a feature of the landscape, with the Knifeblade Sandblow the largest. The island is also distinguished by its 40 perched dune lakes, of which Lake Boomanjin, at 200 hectares, is the largest in the world. Ringed by white sandy beaches, the water in these freshwater lakes varies in colour, from the sparkling blue of Lake McKenzie to the reddish-brown of Lake Boomanjin, stained by tannins leached from the surrounding plants. Regardless of colour, the water from these lakes is some of the purest drinking water in the world.
Cooloola's varied landscape has the magnificent sweep of the 50-kilometre Teewah Beach, backed by high sand dunes, mangrove-lined waterways, forest, heath, some perched freshwater dune lakes and coastal lakes. The meandering waterways of the upper Noosa River are one of the area's most outstanding features. Here are the Noosa everglades, where tannins from paperbarks and bloodwoods colour the waters a dark red-black. As a consequence, the reflections of straggly swamp box, bloodwood trees and ferns that fringe the river are extraordinary.
Native plants
Fraser Island is the only place in the world where tall rainforest grows in sand. In Yidney Scrub huge Queensland kauri pines dominate the rainforest while Pile Valley has rough-barked satinays, some more than 1000 years old. Elsewhere there is brush box and hundreds of airy piccabeen palms, vines and ferns. Threatened and primitive plant species find refuge around the lakes and remnant heathlands – the island boasts the most extensive wallum heath remnants in Queensland. Eli Creek, a large freshwater stream, is fringed with pandanus.
Cooloola supports open forests with blackbutts and tallowwoods, paperbark forests and woodlands around its lakes and wetlands, rainforest, and coastal heaths that provide magnificent wildflower displays in spring, including red and yellow Christmas bells, pink boronia, wedding bush and fragile native orchids.
Wildlife
Few large native animals live on Fraser Island. Apart from the humpback whales that frequent Hervey Bay from July to November, most of the 25 mammals recorded are small and include nocturnal residents such as brushtail possums, sugar gliders and flying-foxes. Wild dingoes, unlike those on the mainland that have interbred with domestic dogs, are genetically pure. Island birds (around 200 species) include Australian king-parrots, yellow-tailed black-cockatoos, sulphur-crested cockatoos, kingfishers, honeyeaters, robins and white-bellied sea-eagles.
Dugongs inhabit the waters off the south-west coast, while bottlenose dolphins are sometimes seen during the barge crossing. Freshwater turtles live in the lakes; Krefft's river turtle is often seen floating about near the edge of Lake Allom. The swamps are a refuge for wallum rocketfrogs, more colloquially known as acid frogs, so-called for their resilience in the highly acidic waters of the wetlands.
In Cooloola, again most wildlife is small in size. Dingoes patrol the whole park while platypus live in the upper reaches of the river. Eastern grey kangaroos are sometimes sighted on the grasslands in the north-west. Ground parrots and acid frogs are vulnerable species, while among the more unusual creatures is the second largest cockroach in the world. The sand monitor is often seen stretched out in the sun along low-lying logs beside the Noosa River.
In the open forests sulphur-crested cockatoos and kingfishers are prolific, while the rainforest resounds with the calls of pigeons and whipbirds. Brush-turkeys are a more common sight, scratching around amid the leaf litter. Along the coast and estuaries you are sure to see kites, white-bellied sea-eagles, pied oyster-catchers and majestic pelicans. There is a bird hide at the northern end of picturesque Lake Cootharaba, at the Sir Thomas Hiley Centre near Kinaba Island.
Camping and accommodation
Fraser Island is a camper’s paradise, offering dozens of camping areas, with a range of facilities. Large, well-organised camping areas are arranged throughout the centre of the island; these offer not only toilets and showers, but also dingo-proof fencing and food lockers to discourage dingo foraging. Those equipped with 4WD vehicles can camp at a multitude of locations on the east and west coasts of Fraser Island; the west coast camping areas are more remote than the east, and suit only experienced and self-sufficient campers. There are also a number of private accommodation providers on the island, ranging from a luxurious resort to cheerful cabins and camping.
There are plentiful camping grounds in Cooloola, many of them along the Noosa River. The larger, most popular sites have picnic tables, toilets, barbecues and water, while the many campsites that straddle the Noosa River have few facilities; visitors must be self-sufficient and bring in all supplies, including water and a fuel stove (no open fires). Campsites on the Upper Noosa River are only accessible by canoe or powerboat. There are many private accommodation options around Cooloola, including campsites and cabins in the charming hamlet of Boreen Point, resorts at Rainbow Beach, and villas at Tin Can Bay.
Woody Island offers bush camping at one location on the south-eastern side of the island only. Visitors must be selfsufficient and take in all supplies, including food, water and a fuel stove – no open fires.
Things to do
Before visiting Great Sandy National Park, stop at the QPWS Great Sandy Information Centre in Tewantin for vehicle permits and information on walks and picnic areas within the park. In holiday periods, there are slide shows, ranger-led tours by spotlight and guided walks on Fraser Island. Swimming in the sea or the Great Sandy Strait is not advised as the beaches are not patrolled and the currents are wild and dangerous. Sharks are also common and bluebottles are prevalent during northerly winds. Swimming is possible in the freshwater lakes on Fraser Island – Lake McKenzie is an ideal spot. Vistors to Fraser Island’s west coast should be aware that there have been several credible crocodile sightings in the area. There are severe fines for feeding dingoes or leaving food or rubbish where it may attract them; visitors should be aware that these are wild animals and there have been fatal attacks in the past.
BOAT TOURS AND CANOEING One of the best ways to see Cooloola is by boat tour, dinghy or canoe along the numerous tributaries of the Noosa River. Canoes can be hired from the nearby hamlet of Boreen Point; canoe-launching sites are located at Boreen Point and inside Cooloola at Harrys Hut camping area. A tour of the river's everglades is not to be missed. The stunning reflections in the dark water are an unexpected visual delight.
BUSHWALKING Fraser Island has extensive and well-marked walking trails, ranging from several short boardwalks through rainforests to strolls around a lake or longer walks across a sand blow. Wanggoolba Creek boardwalk (900-metre circuit, 30 minutes, easy), fringed with ferns and palms, is located at Central Station campsite. Rainbow Gorge Circuit (1.9 km, 1 hour, easy–moderate) leads from the eastern beach through cypress pines to the coloured sands of Rainbow Gorge. Long-distance walkers will enjoy the Fraser Island Great Walk (90 km), with walkers' camps along the way.
The numerous walks in the Cooloola section include several that start from Elanda Point on the shore of Lake Cootharaba, and four that begin at Harrys Hut camping ground. Boronia walking track (1.8 km, 1 hour, medium difficulty) along Kin Kin Creek reveals the life of cedar cutters who worked in this area from the 1860s to the 1890s. Poona Lake Walk (4.2 km return, 1.5 hours, medium difficulty) leaves from Bymien picnic area and leads through melaleuca woodlands, scribbly gum forests and pockets of rainforest. Cooloola has its own Cooloola Great Walk (up to 102 kilometres), with dedicated walkers’ camps. There are no marked trails on Woody Island.
FISHING Fraser Island has long been renowned for its excellent ocean fishing. The beaches on the east coast of the island draw keen anglers for silver bream, mulloway, whiting, flathead and golden trevally, but more particularly for the huge schools of tailor that pass by on their annual migration north between July and October.
In the sheltered waters of Great Sandy Strait the target fish are barramundi, garfish, red emperor, mangrove jack, bream and sand whiting. At Cooloola, the fishing along Teewah Beach includes catches of whiting, bream and flathead, while inland river fishing is also popular. A fishing licence is not required for fishing in the tidal waters but size and bag limits apply. Call DAFF 13 7468 or visit its website (www.daff.qld.gov.au) for details.
FOUR-WHEEL DRIVING Fraser Island is a major 4WD beachdriving destination. Seventy-Five Mile Beach is a busy 4WD highway of sand, leading past spectacularly coloured sand cliffs, particularly impressive in the vicinity of Cathedral Beach, or stop and walk to Rainbow Gorge. Inland tracks on the island can be soft and sandy and a speed limit of 35 kilometres per hour is recommended.
At Cooloola, Teewah Beach is a straight 40 to 50-kilometre stretch of sand, easy at low tide (you must travel at this time so check the tides before departure). Do not drive on the vegetated dunes. The beach is ideal for beachcombing, camping, fishing and for marvelling at the coloured cliff-faces, and sculptured sands of Red Canyon, where iron oxides have stained the cliffs to vibrant dusty browns through yellows to crimson reds. The inland tracks of Cooloola have soft sandy sections. A vehicle access permit is required.
SHIPWRECKS Two wrecks lie sand-locked on the beaches of the national park and are especially fascinating in the soft early morning light, which turns them rustic gold. These skeletal hulls are a photographer's delight. On Fraser, the Maheno lies just north of the mouth of Eli Creek. It was hit by a cyclone in 1935 while being towed to Japan for scrap metal. At the northern end of Teewah Beach on the Cooloola coast lies the Cherry Venture, which ran aground in a violent storm in 1973.
WHALE-WATCHING Although outside Great Sandy National Park, Hervey Bay hugs the west coast of Fraser Island and humpback whales visit these waters from July through to early November. Australia's premier whale-watching location, Great Sandy Marine Park protects these magnificent animals. Many operators run tours from Urangan pier, on the west side of the bay, at the height of the season.
