Kinaba Visitor Information Centre - Noosa Everglades

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The Kinaba Visitor Information Centre provides a tourist information hub for visitors to the Noosa Everglades on Gubbi Gubbi Country. The centre has facilities for visitors who are exploring the area by boat and by foot and forms a popular stop on the Cooloola Great Walk, and for kayakers heading up into the Noosa Everglades.



The Noosa Everglades are one of only two everglades systems in the world, with the other in Florida in the USA. The Noosa Everglades is home to more than 40% of Australia's birdlife throughout the year, as well as other wildlife such as swamp wallabies, eastern grey kangaroos, koalas, and goannas.



Kinaba Visitor Information Centre location and surrounds

The Kinaba Visitor Information Centre is located in the Cooloola Recreation Area of the Great Sandy National Park that includes the World Heritage Area, K'Gari / Fraser Island , and is set upon stilts over Lake Cootharaba where the Noosa River enters from the Everglades Wetlands.



This idyllic location provides visitors with the chance to view many birds and an abundance of plant life, with swallows frequently using the information centre's rafters as a place to rest between flights.



Inside the Kinaba Visitor Information Centre

The main building of the Kinaba Information Centre is entered via glass sliding doors that visitors are asked to close behind them to keep the wildlife out. Inside there are a number of displays on the Noosa Everglades and the wildlife that inhabits them, as well as maps and heritage information.



There is also a wall displaying photographs taken by visitors to the Kinaba Visitor Information Centre, and the option for visitors to send high-resolution photographs via www.kinaba.org for display there.



Exiting the glass sliding doors on the other side of the building takes visitors to a set of stairs that lead to the information centre's upper deck. This provides stunning views across Lake Cootharaba, as well as access to flush toilets. The water at Kinaba Visitor Information Centre is not suitable for drinking, however, so visitors should bring enough for their entire trip.



There are two short guided walks that lead from the Kinaba Visitor Information Centre. The first, the Mangrove Boardwalk, is a 300m circuit. The second, the Melaleuca Peninsula Track leads through the forest to the edge of Lake Cootharaba and is 500m each way. Both of these short walks are graded as easy.



Accessing Kinaba Visitor Information Centre

Kinaba Visitor Information Centre has steps leading down to the lake on two sides, leaving ample room for multiple kayaks, canoes, or small motorised boats to come alongside it. There is also a boardwalk leading from the Cooloola Great Walk for those visiting the information centre by foot.



Additionally, both walkers and kayakers can explore multi-day trails from here, and Kinaba Information Centre provides a map with information on the Queensland Parks and Wildlife campsites for visitors who wish to explore further into the Noosa Everglades area that is famous for its tannin-stained waters and stunning reflections.



Despite how tempting these waters might appear, visitors are advised swimming is not recommended in the waterways of the Noosa Everglades as bull whaler sharks are known to frequent them.



Facilities at Kinaba Visitor Information Centre include:




Visitors can request updates on conditions within the Great Sandy National Park by calling 13 74 68, and if heading out for multi-day hikes or kayaking trips should leave an expected date and time of return with a family member, friend, or a nearby Queensland Parks and Wildife office.



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