Mar 10

Mar 10 Paddling the Noosa Everglades

Picture this: still water that looks like a mirror and the only sounds are the birdlife and your paddle breaking the surface as you glide along.

You don’t have to imagine it because this is the very real experience of kayaking through the Noosa Everglades.

It is amazing to think that there are only two Everglade systems in the whole world and one of them is right in our backyard here on the Sunshine Coast. It may not sound that exciting but over 40 per cent of Australia’s bird species can be found in the Noosa Everglades! Unlike the Florida Everglades, there are no alligators cruising the waters here.

The unique ecosystem offers up a tranquil experience of being disconnected from anything but nature as you paddle along the river.

Our experience started out by meeting Rob from Lake Escapades near Boreen Point for a safety briefing and gathering of maps before we headed off to put our hired kayaks in the water for the day.

The paddle starts crossing Lake Cootharaba to Kinaba Information Centre. We had perfect conditions with almost no wind for our adventure and just stopped at the centre for a quick snack and to use the bathroom after just over an hour of paddling. There are raised boardwalks here to stretch the legs on a short walk – just pack the bug spray!

Kinaba is the entrance to the more narrow waterways of the Noosa Everglades, and after a slight miscalculation on direction we soon found ourselves in a serene, silent environment. This minor detour made us feel safe as Rob kits out the kayaks with a GPS tracker and texted us to let us know that we had veered just a little off course.

The kayaks are actually sea kayaks, so you are able to steer using foot pedals and a rudder at the back of the kayak. They also have ample storage in dry areas for our picnic supplies and cameras for a day trip.

The further you head upstream, the more narrow the river becomes and the more intense the reflections in the water from the overhanging trees. It is a magical experience.

We made our way to our halfway point at Harrys Hut – about 10km. You can access this point by 4WD and I would love to come back and put some kayaks in here to go further into the river. There is a campground and lots of people around. If you wanted to, you could organise camping here or even further in and stay for a night or two. It would be amazing to wake up to the birdsong and first light on the river.

After a dip in the tannin-infused river that looks like flat coca cola – and many flips off the jetty into the water – we sat down to enjoy our lunch.

The sun was beating down pretty hard on our kayak day, so we stopped for another swim on the way back at Fig Tree Point. There is a little beach here that is perfect to paddle from.

All too soon it was time to paddle back to Boreen Point. The reflections seemed even more intense on the trip back until we reached the river mouth at Lake Cootharaba. The wind has picked up and it was a much slower trip across the lake with chop pushing against us. No being a regular kayaker, my arms were definitely feeling the effort.

This was an adventure that needs repeating and I can’t wait to go back in a different season to see if anything has changed.