AUSTRALIA’S NATURE COAST:
Queensland
Following the coast road right down to South East
Queensland brings you to Australia’s Nature Coast:
a region that stretches from the Fraser Coast and
beautiful Fraser Island, to Noosa and the Glass
House Mountains.
Australia’s Nature Coast is a region that is filled with
natural beauty, along with a range of adventure
experiences, from bushwalking and hiking, to 4WDing, farm experiences, fishing charters, food trails,
water sports and whale watching.
You’ll find an abundance of National Parks and
gardens to explore as you travel through the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, the Glass House Mountains
and Pumicestone Passage. Visit Noosa and you’ll
have the chance to experience the wonders of
the Cooloola National Park, with remote golden
beaches, sub-tropical rainforests, freshwater creeks
and some of the largest and most colourful coastal
sand dune systems in the world.
The Cooloola National Park is World Heritage listed
and covers around 70,000 hectares. It’s also home
to the southern hemisphere’s largest pine plantation. One of the best things to see here is Rainbow
Beach, with coloured sand dunes that reach up
to 200 metres high. And if you have the chance,
visit Double Island Point with its towering rainforest
growing on the sand, and the Double Island Point
Lighthouse on the rocky headland.
This is all part of the Great Sandy Straight, which
leads you to the iconic Fraser Island.
Fraser Island itself stretches more than 123 kilometres in length and 22 kilometres at its widest point.
The island has uninterrupted white beaches, striking sand cliffs, rainforests and more than 100 freshwater lakes and it is World Heritage listed.
Explore the sites on Fraser, from Lake McKenzie, Lake Wabby, Eli Creek and the Champagne
Pools, to the Pinnacles Coloured Sands and the
Maheno Shipwreck. There’s no other way to see
Fraser than by 4WD, so book ahead and take the
controls yourself.
Other highlights of Australia’s Nature Coast include two UNESCO Biosphere Reserves - the Great
Sandy Biosphere and Noosa Biospheres; Lady Elliot Island - the most southern island on the World
Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef and a key part
of the Great Barrier Reef turtle habitat; along with
47 State and National Parks, Reserves and Forests;
and more than 200 kilometres of pristine beaches.
The Sunshine Coast offers a relaxed lifestyle with
an abundance of adventure, from water sports
and cycling, to mountain climbing and hiking:
including the Hinterland 56 kilometre Great Walk
which is a must for any walking enthusiast. The
Glass House Mountains National Park was formed
millions of years ago thanks to volcanic activity in
the region and the mountains are craggy volcanic plugs, rich in vegetation, birds and animals.
Here you can climb, abseil and bushwalk to your
heart’s content.
Meanwhile, the Fraser Coast is such an amazing
place that the humpback whale goes here every year to play for months. Visit between August
and November for peak whale watching season,
and you can also visit the beautiful coastal city of
Hervey Bay to enjoy the beach lifestyle. See the
iconic Urangan Pier, which stretches for almost a
kilometer. It’s one of the longest piers in Australia
and was originally built in 1917. There is so much
to see and do in Australia’s Nature Coast for the
adventure lover that you are guaranteed to want
to stay a while, so be sure plan ahead.