Conqueror of the Mountains of Australia in General and South East Queensland in Particular: Kinaba Track

Location: Great Sandy National Park (Cooloola section), South East QLD
Date: 1st November, 2014
Distance: 12.2 km (return)
Time: 3 hours

Great Sandy National Park (Cooloola Recreation Area) Map

Lake Cootharaba from Kinaba Information Centre

The Kinaba Track follows a series of old roads to the Kinaba Information Centre at the mouth of Kin Kin Creek at Lake Cootharaba. From the Elanda Point day use area there is clear signage all the way to the lake (which is handy since there are numerous ex-roads that criss-cross the area). The first 3 km follows the Cooloola Wilderness Trail through open eucalypt forest. Tall grasses smother the ground and wide roads offer little shade in the middle of the day. Even starting after 3pm it was hot going.

Following the Cooloola Wilderness Trail along an old road

After turning off from the Wilderness Trail the vegetation changes and the walk becomes more interesting and far less exposed. A highlight is the twisty, bendy, gnarly trees that line the track.

Cooloola is well known for the diversity of flowering plants that decorate the park in late Winter and early Spring. Doing this walk in early November, I noticed two purple flowers that increasingly dominated the scenery as I approached the lake.

The track becomes increasingly rocky underfoot, before passing through a thick stand of cabbage tree palms that provide a complete overhead canopy. Shortly afterwards Kin Kin Creek comes into view on the left and from here it's only a few minutes to the Information Centre.

Passing through a thick stand of cabbage tree palms

Boardwalk leading to Kinaba Information Centre

The Information Centre is built up over the north-western shore of Lake Cootharaba, and is a popular stop-off point for canoeists and motor boatists journeying from Elanda Point. The steps leading down to the water are a great place to sit, relax and take in the views across the lake. Towards the south I could see the distant outlines of some of the Sunshine Coast's coastal peaks, including the distant Mount Coolum.

The mouth of Kin Kin Creek at Lake Cootharaba

Looking south across Lake Cootharaba from the Information Centre

I covered the 6 km return to the car park fairly quickly to avoid getting caught out in the dark (not that it would be any trouble to navigate the wide, flat tracks with a torch). The setting sun created a different world to the one I had walked through earlier in the day.