Noosa River & Noosa National Park

Noosa River & Noosa National Park

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Posted 2017-04-03 by Roz Glazebrookfollow
I've canoed, kayaked and camped down the Noosa River across Lake Cootharaba into the Everglades, but recently I took my kayak up to Noosaville to stay with my friend Bea in her unit for three days.



This time we launched my kayak and her stand up paddleboard from a small park next to the Coast Guard building at Munna Point. There was a roller down onto the sand which made it very easy to get my kayak into the water.





On our first paddle we headed across to the other side of the Noosa River. It was very shallow in the middle with only a few inches of water. Even my kayak bottomed out. We were enjoying watching lots of large fish leaping out of the water until a fisherman in a dinghy with a couple of young boys warned us they had seen a few bull sharks in the area. They said a lot of fresh water had come down into the river and the sharks were probably chasing the fish.

At least the sharks had plenty of food, but it was still a bit nerve wracking, especially for Bea on her stand up paddleboard. I half expected one of the fish and/or a bull shark to land in my kayak anytime too.

We didn't go kayaking over the next couple of days but did all the touristy things, starting with an early morning swim in the rough surf at Noosa main beach, delicious coffee and fruit toast at Little Cove Coffee café at 205 Weyba Rd, Noosaville, a calm swim in the Noosa river and unit complex pool, and a bushwalk through the National Park.



I've walked in the National Park many times before and have often seen dolphins, koala bears and goannas, but on this walk we saw sea turtles for the first time. Bea spotted them first in the sea at Hell's Gates. We watched as every now and again a turtle head would come up for air. I managed to get a photo of one of them.



We walked around to Alexandria Bay on the Eastern side of Noosa National Park, which is a well-known nudist beach. We didn't see any nudists this time, although one man looked like he was about to strip off. We got chatting to him. He was very interesting and had traveled widely in Australia and overseas doing volunteering work in developing countries.



Noosa National Park has spectacular coastal scenery and provides an important refuge for native wildlife including koala bears, glossy black-cockatoos, ground parrots and wallum froglets.
[LINK=https://www.npsr.qld.gov.au/parks/noosa/]Noosa National Park

The car park at the end of Park Road at the National Park is often full. We were lucky to get a car park as we got there early. You can also get there by walking along from Hastings Street on the seaside boardwalk. In peak periods there is a shuttle bus to the Park. The track has been upgraded since my last visit and the Coastal track to Dolphin Point is now wheelchair and stroller accessible which is great.



National Parks warn people to never walk alone because there have been serious assaults in this park. They advise people to stay in a group, or walk near a group, to stay on tracks and don't walk at night. I remember years ago when a woman got dragged off the track and had her throat cut by two women who claimed to be vampires. The woman survived and the attackers went to jail.



Bicycles, scooters, skateboards and rollerblades are not allowed on any of the tracks within the park.

Several easy to moderate walking tracks wind along the coast, through rainforest and open woodlands and across colourful wallum heath and sedgelands. Longer tracks lead out through open forest and heath. In winter and Spring, there are lots of wildflowers .
We got brave again and went for a kayak and Stand Up Paddle Board late in the afternoon the following day. This time we paddled down the river, past the Sheraton Hotel, and the luxury homes and units on the river. It was very peaceful and calm and there were no fish jumping this time. It was good to see there are still a few mangroves left.




Thousands of tourists and backpackers go to Noosa every year. It is definitely a beautiful place. There are places to hire kayaks, stand up paddleboards and surf skis for people who don't have their own. One place is Kayak Noosa, which has excellent online reviews.









#walks
#outdoor
#beaches
#animals_wildlife
#adventure
%wnsunshinecoast
127379 - 2023-06-13 04:04:14

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