Author, John Burrows, on the Noosa Trail
It’s hard to resist the beach at Noosa, but for an adventure off the beaten track you must travel west a little way into the hinterland.
Exploring here has become a lot easier with the establishment of the Noosa Trail Network. It offers 106 kilometres of trail through a smorgasbord of landscapes – rolling hills and mountain peaks, bushland often in National Parks and State Forests, farmland, a scenic lake and the hinterland townships.
The Network was designed for horse riders, walkers, and mountain bike riders, and caters for all tastes and levels of fitness and experience. It utilises gazetted roads, road reserve, bush tracks and some private property, it crosses paddocks and small bridges in quiet valleys or climbs hills of daunting steepness.
Access is possible from many points, particularly the townships which can be reached by public transport, except for Kin Kin.
The Network is made up of eight separate trails, and the ultimate experience would be to combine some of these into one long circular trip.
Lake Macdonald near Cooroy is a good starting point for such a circuit. A picturesque spot, the artificial lake is Noosa’s main water source. Birdwatchers will find many species here – it’s one of 32 sites on the Noosa Bird Trail, and you’ll encounter more of these sites as you explore the Noosa Trail Network. The lake has Canoe Trails, but swimming is not allowed. In any case, Lake Macdonald is infested with cabomba, a pernicious water weed controlled to some extent by Council’s weed harvester which you may see crossing the lake like some weird contraption from Mad Max.
Our circuit begins by following Trail 4 – all trails have excellent signage, some markers may be obscured by vegetation so keep a sharp eye open. There’s interpretive signage too, describing the vegetation or snippets about the first Europeans in the area.
Trail 4 passes through pleasant bushland, dropping and climbing a little, a taste of things to come. It crosses a portion of Ringtail State Forest along an old Cobb & Co route – there’s some nice vine scrub here, although the track is boggy and unpleasant after rain and the alternative Trail 4 route may be preferable.
The country starts rising now up along a watershed separating the Noosa River and Six Mile Creek catchments. There’s a chance to rest and take in admirable views at Twin Hill Views Lookout. The Trail then runs along fence lines through private property and road reserve, the climb continuing to the top of Sheppersons Hill. The going here is steep, rocky and difficult.
Further along is Cootharaba Hills Lookout, offering one of the best panoramas along the Trail. Eastwards, the outlook includes the Cooloola Sandpatch, Lake Cootharaba and the ocean. Camping is permitted – there’s water and a picnic shelter – and it’s a beautiful spot to spend the night. The lights of Noosa Heads can be seen twinkling after dark.
To the west, the Cooran Tableland dominates the horizon, with rolling hills of the Kin Kin Valley in the middle distance. Immediately below, the view is less appealing.
Preliminary work has begun on a mega-quarry which has locals worried. They’re concerned with the danger posed by many large trucks on small winding roads, including Sheppersons Lane which is part of Trail 4. The quarry spells bad news for the Network, could even result in this section being closed. Residents are organising legal action to have the scheme scrapped, or at least wound back.
For the moment you can continue peacefully along Trail 4. It leads a short distance westwards to Kin Kin, but our circuit switches to Trail 1, and runs through undulating farming country to Wahpunga Lane, the northern-most part of the Network.
Trail 1 then turns south to meet Trail 3, which follows quiet country roads until heading west and ascending the Cooran Tableland. There’s a short excruciatingly steep section up to Johnstons Lookout. A good spot to rest – it has a picnic shelter and water – it’s mostly enclosed in bushland, with limited views northeast into the Kin Kin Valley.
After this, the Trail is merely very steep. The long climb out of the valley reaches an altitude of 450 metres and leads to the shady rainforest of Woondum National Park, a welcome relief on a hot day. It’s one of Queensland’s newest National Parks, 4001 hectares in size.
It’s also one of the few National Parks where horse-riding is allowed. Conservationists objected strongly when the State Government amended the Nature Conservation Act to allow horses in Woondum and several other National Parks. They were dismayed with possible impacts – increased erosion, compromised nutrient status and water quality, and a general undermining of the integrity of National Parks.
The Noosa Trail heads south through Woondum, passing some interesting side tracks. Then it’s delightfully downhill to Tablelands Lookout and a commanding view of the countryside with its spectacular steep-sided volcanic peaks prominent. More descent, including a notoriously steep section known by mountain bike riders as The Mother, before the Trail flattens out and enters Cooran, where Trail 3 ends and our circuit switches to Trail 5.
With the terrain more or less level now, travelling on the Trail is not so arduous. There’s a close-up view of Mt Cooran and you’ll pass by a couple of lagoons that might be good for cooling off on a sweltering day.
Pomona is the next township, on the way the appealing bushland of the Tuchekoi National Park and the start of the walking trail to the top of Mt Cooroora. At 439 metres, it’s steep but manageable and popular.
From Pomona, there’s one last section to complete our circuit. The latest addition to the Network, Trail 7 leads east to our starting point at Lake Macdonald (it’s dubbed Mac ‘N’ Back). Another excellent section of trail, most of it runs alongside or through Yurol State Forest.
Allow plenty of time if doing the entire 70 km circuit as described here, and make sure your trip is well-planned and within your capabilities. Cooler months are best. Cyclists, especially if loaded with camping gear, should expect tough conditions.
Accommodation along the way is plentiful – hotels, bed and breakfast, campgrounds, with bush camping allowed at Cootharaba Views Lookout and Middle Lookout on Trail 2.
Trail users should follow caring-for-the-bush practices and respect the rights of landowners by staying on the trails. In National Parks, horse riders must be aware of the Code of Conduct for riding in protected areas.
More information: the very useful Noosa Trail Network map is available free from any Sunshine Coast Regional Council office, or: the Sunshine Coast Regional Council website.
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John’s observations re the view of the Neilsens Quality Gravels Kin Kin Quarry not being attractive from the Trail get more accurate daily. The court case he refers to was undertaken by the Kin Kin Community Group against the SCRC in October 2010. Result, in spite of having documented proof to support claims that the quarry was not lawfully approved, we lost. Outcome will be one privately owned family company and one property owner becoming rich from a product which will be sold out of the area, with Kin Kin people and its beautiful environment losing in so many ways which include chosen lifestyle, road safety, property values, and other adverse economic impacts including employment.
Yes, employment, the catch cry of the noisy minority (48 members according to the Supporters of the Kin Kin Quarry Facebook page) who seem to believe Ray Neilsen’s initial assurances that around 20 jobs would result from the quarry operation. In his testimony in court Mr. Neilsen amended that statement to say ‘eventually’ there might be 12 jobs. Contrast that with the 60 currently employed by Living Valley Springs Health Retreat, which adjoins the quarry and will be severely threatened by its hugely invasive presence – you do the math. Who wants to stay at a health retreat with huge, rattling trucks rolling past every 5 minutes, six days a week, from 7 am to 6 pm with the accompanying diesel fumes, clouds of dust and gravel, noise and vibration from blasting… you get the picture. Not particularly peaceful or reinvigorating.
The fact is that any short term gains (see above beneficiaries) will be vastly outweighed by the economic loss to the ecotourism industry of one of the most beautiful tracks on the Noosa Trail Network. This project was undertaken by the former Noosa Council and greatly praised and publicised by the SC Council, tourism bodies, the equestrian fraternity and tourists who see the hinterland as an integral part of the Noosa package.
The trail currently features a gate ordering trail users to keep out. The quarry is not required to notify potential trail users of blasts, except for a notice which now says they can happen at any time, 6 days per week, between 7 am and 6 pm. Former trail users unaware of the quarry owners’ takeover of the trail will be greeted by the above, in spite of the fact that the trails are still advertised on Council’s website as viable.
Also greatly at risk are the dozens of small businesses which have been established to service the growing natural health industry, which relies on the clean, green surrounds of the beautiful hinterland. Again, the quarry will add to unemployment as the resourceful locals who took these initiatives are driven out of business.
Shame, Sunshine Coast Council, shame DERM and the other State Government authorities who are not even holding the quarry owners properly accountable for numerous breaches. Shame for the Noosa River, which will inherit the 34% of the headwaters which originate in Kin Kin and which have already been contaminated with silt and clay through sloppy operation of the mega quarry.
We have been betrayed on so many levels, as has our glorious environment. Disgraceful beyond belief.
Robyn Jones
Kin Kin