Cooloola Great Walk: Part I

Standing next to our backpacks waiting for the bus felt the same. Just like always, I wondered if we were at the right stop, at the right time, on the right day. As usual we were and as we took our seats towards the back of the bus, we could hear that familiar mix of foreign languages.

As expected, moments after pulling our packs from the luggage compartment we were approached by a couple of people from the local backpackers asking if we had accommodation for the night. And just like always, we said we did.

So the script was identical to the one we’d been through dozens of times in Argentina and Chile, but we were much, much closer to home. And yet even the familiar view of gum trees and golden grass looked different from the long distance bus.

I know what the locals sitting on nearby park benches were thinking - Stupid tourist! Look at her posing with that huge cheesy grin on her face in front of a gigantic kangaroo!

The 5-day Cooloola Great Walk is an 88km trail running from Noosa to Rainbow Beach (or the other way around) and involves car shuttling, which is why we were on a bus having public transport flashbacks (and pretending we were on a grand, many month adventure instead of making the most of a long, long weekend). Incidentally we’d always wondered if employees from backpacker’s places stood around like vultures waiting to accost weary bus travellers and offer cheap accommodation in Australia. Given that we got our answer, I would say the Greyhound experience was definitely rewarding!

Well that and we got to the start of the trail. Though funnily enough, as soon as we put our packs on, it felt like no time had passed at all since the last time we’d done this. No wait, it actually hurt a lot more than I remember which clearly shows I’ve gone soft in the last few months!

Rainbow Beach to Kauri Walker’s Camp
Given the late start and still short winter days, the first days mission was to get to camp before sunset. At the first sand patch not far from the trailhead, a woman took one look at the size of our packs and complimented us on our obviously superior fitness. So as a display of said strength we charged across the sand, muttering to each other that snow was easier to walk in and we didn’t really stop to take in the ocean views. In any case, we’d be looking at them for 5 days straight, right?

Well after 10 or so kilometres of forest, we reached a lovely little lake that reflected the afternoon light on it’s still waters. In the trees above the white cockatoos were squawking away as their black counterparts could be heard somewhere in the distance. Unfortunately, with the sun heading for the horizon, we couldn’t stay.

Not long after we heard the sound of an engine. Knowing we needed to cross a road before reaching camp, I was pretty excited thinking we were close. Except the engines turned out to be mounted on motorbikes and instead of being on the road, they ripped through the hiking trail. If they didn’t expect to see any hikers that weekend, they were in for a shock since there was someone on each leg of the hike, walking north to south. Except us, we’re rebels and walked it the other way around and for the better!

Anyway, after a bit of a climb, it was already twilight when we reached our campsite deep in the rainforest where another group where already chowing down on fine smelling dinner and dreaming about their pub meal the following day at Rainbow Beach. Lucky for us steak and wine were far from our minds since we'd carried smoked chicken for that night's dinner.

Kauri to Litoria
Leaving Rainbow Beach a few people had told us (okay they burst out laughing that we were going to camp before informing us) that rain was on the way and it came during the night. But by the following morning the skies looked clear, so we laid all our gear out on a bench ready to re-pack our bags. Moments later it started to pour down and we rushed into the only roofed spot in the campground – the toilet. But lucky for us the new pit toilet designs don’t smell much. Cooking breakfast while trying to prop the door open for some ventilation, I wondered if I’d cursed us when I wrote that we’d never had rain on a multi-day walk before.

Luckily the rain came down heavy and hard, but soon moved on and stayed away for the rest of the walk.

That day we didn’t see the ocean. In fact we didn’t see all that much except for lots of conveniently placed logs to rest our packs on when we needed a break.

Evidence of the Cooloola's past logging history.

After 20km walk through the rain forest we were relieved to get to the campsite on the ridge around sunset.

Litoria to Dutgee
By the third morning we were hoping for a bit of change of scenery. Luckily right from the outset we were in wallum scrub full of blooming flowers, grass trees and gums.

From the ridgeline we soon started to see the floodplain of the Noosa River that during the summer had overflowed and closed the whole area.

Nearer the river the ground was still a bit boggy even though the grassland seemed dry.

A little further along, the track almost disappeared in a sea of yellow flowered shrubs and the sound of buzzing bees filled the air.

It turned out to be a short walking day and we spent a lazy afternoon at one of the nicest campsites of the trail. It was located on the bank of the river, shaded with huge gums and surrounded by flowers.