Coochin Creek Camping Area, Beerwah State Forest, Sunshine Coast QLD.

Coochin Creek Camping Area.

On the southern end of the Sunshine Coast, Coochin Creek campground is the only national park run campground anywhere near the Glasshouse Mountains. It is ideal for fishing and boating but be aware that at times the mosquito and sandfly numbers become overwhelming. We deliberately chose to visit in the middle of winter and on a high wind day so that we could enjoy a wander around the area. 

The terraced area for fishing and launching canoes at Coochin Creek Campground.

The unformed boat ramp and boat parking area 1 km from the campground.

There is a formed boat ramp 7 km away on Pumicestone Passage. Both ramps are referred to as Coochin Creek Boat Ramp which could understandably cause confusion.

Coochin Creek Boat Ramp on Pumiscetone Passage,off Roys Road.

While standing at the ramp an Osprey flew overhead with some nesting material. 

Not the best photo but we were impressed by the size of the branch this Osprey was carrying.

Pumicestone Passage has long been a favourite of ours for viewing shorebirds by boat but we saw quite a few just standing on the ramp.

Details for Coochin Creek Camping Area:
Where: 78 km, just over an hour, north of Brisbane. On the eastern side of the Bruce Highway. Take the Bells Creek exit to Roys Road and follow signs to the campground.
Access: Conventional vehicles.
Camping Type: 21 numbered sites. Each site designated for a particular type of rig. Limited space for big rigs.
Fees and Booking: Standard Queensland National Park fees: Adults $6.15 per night. Book online or by phone 13 74 68.
Facilities: Composting toilet, fire rings, non-potable water. We had Telstra phone reception.There is a Day Use Area adjoining the campground with tables and gas BBQs. There is a terraced area for fishing and launching kayaks. Small unformed boat ramp 1 km away. No hiking trails.
Prohibitions: No domestic animals. No generators.
Cautions: Mosquitoes and sandflies can be overwhelming.

Maleny, Sunshine Coast Hinterland, QLD.

Platypus in Obi Obi Creek, Maleny.

Maleny and its surrounding hinterland is a nature lover’s wonderland. Add to that, great cafes and highly regarded restaurants, famous quality dairy products, fresh local produce and a great village vibe; it makes sense to place Maleny on your must visit list.

Lookout over Obi Obi Creek

Obi Obi Creek Boardwalk: 

The boardwalk starts opposite Bicentenary Lane on Coral Street, Maleny. It may be only 300 m long but it is the premier place in the Sunshine Coast hinterland to see platypus. On this visit, we started the walk about 7 am on a very cloudy day. We immediately saw a platypus but we didn’t have the camera ready. Typical, we thought but we needn’t have worried because we saw several more before heavy rain set in. The platypus here seem oblivious to traffic speeding by, the local gym pumping to the beat of loud music and the steady trickle of fitness and dog walkers. The platypus are very active and it is possible to observe them foraging for food and going about their daily business. We observed a variety of behaviours including swimming, floating, sifting through mud, climbing over logs in the water, scrambling through small cascades and rolling around in what can only be described as playing. I even saw one leave the water, roll over and wriggle on its back over some smooth pebbles.

Other wildlife we saw were turtles, Eastern Water Dragons, Pacific Black Ducks and Azure Kingfishers. 

Eastern Water Dragon

There was a chorus of birdsong along Obi Obi Creek but forgive me if I didn’t pay them my usual attention as the stars of the show were the platypus and my focus stayed on Obi Obi Creek.

Azure Kingfisher

Maleny Showgrounds Camping:

The boardwalk connects to a path which makes for easy and convenient access between the town centre and the showgrounds.

Camping is available for tents and all rig types at the showgrounds for $15 for two adults per night. It is the same price with or without power and water. Dogs are allowed. Camping is restricted to three nights and be sure to check for blacked out dates before arriving. There are also regular markets held at the showgrounds.

Camping at Maleny Showgrounds

Maleny Attractions:

Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve, 148 Mountain View Road, Maleny: A must do when visiting the area. Picnic tables (many with shelters), Electric BBQ’s, toilets, children’s playground, new Information Centre, new Café opening soon, walking tracks including a 1.7km wheelchair friendly loop track, and views over the Glass House Mountains. This is a great place to see Red-legged Pademelons, a variety of birds and other wildlife. No pets allowed.

BBQ's overlooking a Children's Playground at Mary Cairncross Reserve.

McCarthy’s Lookout, 563 Mountain View Road, Maleny: One of our favourite lookouts. There is a large shelter with two picnic tables overlooking the Glass House Mountains and an additional sheltered table next to the road. Usually the view here is mesmerizing but on this occasion we were in the clouds, which has its own kind of magic.

McCarthy's Lookout

Gardners Falls, Obi Lane South, Maleny: We didn’t visit the falls on this trip due to the rain. Perhaps it was just as well as I am still hobbling around in a moonboot due to my broken ankle; apparently a broken talus bone takes longer to heal than other bones. It’s a 300 m walk from the car park. Swimming is popular on warm days.

Restaurants and Cafes: There are many highly regarded cafes and restaurants to choose from in the area. Some you might like to try: Maleny Food Co, Icebox Cafe for Vegetarian and Vegan, Monica's Cafe, Lumbini Nepalese Restaurant. The new cafe at Mary Cairncross Reserve is opening soon and it has been designed to enjoy magnificent views.

Soon to be opened, cafe at Mary Cairncross Reserve.

Other Attractions: Maleny Dairies, Maleny Cheese, Maleny Botanical Gardens and Bird World (entry fees), Gerrards Lookout, Maleny Mountain Wines and McLeod Brewing Co, Sweets on Maple, Maleny Markets.

Nearby: Mapleton National Park/Mapleton Falls, Kondalilla National Park/Kondalilla Falls, Montville, Lake Baroon, Sunshine Coast Hinterland Great Walk.

Ewen Maddock Dam, Sunshine Coast, QLD.

View of Glass House Mountains over Ewen Maddock Dam

Ewen Maddock Dam is a 16 km drive west of Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast or a 12 km drive north of Australia Zoo. Access is limited to daylight hours from 6 am to 6 pm, however, Seqwater is reviewing access hours so these might change in the future. Swimming is permitted in a designated area, however, keep in mind that there are no lifeguards present. Boating is limited to paddle craft and there is a small launching ramp near the main car park. No camping is allowed but dogs are permitted on a leash. There are dedicated walking only trails and several kilometers of multi-use trails for walkers, mountain bikes and horses. Unfortunately it is not possible to walk right around the lake as there are no trails on the eastern side and there is no public access to the dam wall. The dam contains bony bream and is stocked with bass, silver perch, golden perch and southern saratoga. Fishing permits are not required to fish in the lake. We have never fished here but we have walked all the trails and enjoyed a few picnics.

View of the dam wall from the picnic area.

Goanna in the picnic area.

Rainbow Lorikeets in the picnic area.

 Maddock Park, located off the Mooloolah Connection Road, is a good place to start the trails and access the short boardwalk over the lake edge. There is a parking area, toilets, picnic shelters and BBQ's. Access to a more remote area of trails is from the unsealed Ford Road.

Launching ramp for paddle craft.

Boardwalk at Ewen Madock Dam.

Once past the boardwalk there is a nice section of forest with plenty of woodland birds.

White-throated Treecreeper, female

Red-browed Finch

Brown Thornbill

Fan-tailed Cuckoo

Shining Bronze-Cuckoo

White-browed Scrubwrens

We often walk to a curved causeway before retracing our steps back to the car park. This section of the walk is good for viewing water birds. 

Causeway

Australasian Grebe

Intermediate Egret

Darter, male.

Some birds just like to enjoy both habitats.

Variegated Fairy-wren

Willie Wagtail

Wooroi Day Use Area, Tewantin National Park, QLD.

The access to Wooroi Day Use Area is easy to miss. If approaching from Tewantin along the Noosa-Cooroy Road, drive past Beckmans Road until you see a bus shelter and turn left immediately. The access road ends in a car park and a large pleasant picnic area where there are tables and taps but no toilets. This area used to be State Forest but is now a National Park so dogs are not allowed. Several mixed use trails start from this area.

Palm Grove Walk
A Class 4, 1 km circuit walk through cabbage tree and piccabeen palms along Wooroi Creek. This is the only trail for walkers only.

Glider Trail

The Glider Trail is a 2.5 km (one way) walk and links up with some other trails in the park and bike trails throughout Tewantin. This is a wide trail that walkers share with mountain bike riders. We have always found the bike riders here to be a considerate and cheerful bunch. On this trip, one rider who is also an avid twitcher stopped to chat with us to see what birds we had seen in the park. We had a bit of a laugh because we had seen one Lewin's Honeyeater and heard a few Woompoo Doves. He told us that he often sees Varied Trillers at the start of the path. Later we saw a Spangled Drongo. Oh well, not every trip is an outstanding birding experience but you never know what's out there and just looking is half the fun. 

Lewin's Honeyeater and Spangled Drongo

There were plenty of butterflies about. Common Crows and Orchard Swallowtails were in good numbers. We noticed that this Orchard Swallowtail was a bit battered; you can clearly see through the hole in its wings to the greenery behind it.

Varied Sword-grass Brown Tisiphone abeona and Orchard Swallowtail Papilio aegeus

We observed this Lace Monitor rolling over and over in the dust. We haven't seen this behaviour before but we wondered if it was dislodging troublesome ants or perhaps it was just playing as juveniles of any species are inclined to do.

Mount Tinbeerwah, Tewantin National Park, QLD.

Mount Tinbeerwah Fire Tower

Most tourists are aware of the Glass House Mountains in the south of the Sunshine Coast but Mount Tinbeerwah 17 km west of Noosa Heads must be the Sunshine Coasts best keep secret. Mount Tinbeerwah is at the end of Tinbeerwah Road off the Noosa-Cooroy Road. The last section of road contains some gravel sections and climbs up to the car park.

Although signage still indicates that this area is a Forest Reserve it is now listed as National Park. No camping or pets are allowed but next to the car park there is a day use picnic area with pit toilets.

Day Use Area

Mount Tinbeerwah Lookout Track

The 1 km return, Class 4, track to the Fire Tower on top of Mount Tinbeerwah is an interesting walk through a volcanic landscape. The foundation of Mount Tinbeerwah was formed during volcanic activity 27 million years ago. Erosion has removed the soft outer sandstone and left behind the hard rhyolite core that we see exposed today. There is a lookout area about 130 m into the walk that can be accessed by pram or wheelchair.

First Lookout Area

The view out to Lake Cooroibah and Lake Cootharaba

The vegetation does an amazing job existing on the hard rhyolite surface and the mountain is surrounded by lush eucalypt forest.

Keep your eye out for hexagonal shaped cooling columns as you continue on to the Fire Tower.

On your right as you ascend there are several abseiling platforms equipped with anchor points. The cliff faces are largely fenced but please take care especially if you are walking with young children.

Abseiling platforms looking out to Mount Cooroy

Side view of the abseiling cliffs

We have abseiled here in the past. We have also climbed down to the base of the abseiling cliffs; although we didn't do it this time as we were carrying a fair bit of camera gear. The photo below was taken in 2011 and doesn't do justice in showing how high the cliffs are.

Looking back up the vertical cliff face after descending

If abseiling or rock climbing is not your thing then continue up to the Fire Tower, which is open to the public. Here you will find great views in all directions.

Noosa Heads

Mount Cooroora

Mount Cooroy

On this trip, in March 2015, we went in the morning but Mount Tinbeerwah is also a beautiful place to watch the sun set.