sunset

Noosa River

The Noosa River source is deep in Great Sandy National Park as a small, often dry sandy creek. It has more permanent water once you get to the flatwater around Teewah Creek that can be followed down to Lake Cootharaba, before another river section that passes through Lake Cooroibah and then down towards the tidal estuary section at Noosa.

What to expect

The upper section is mostly flat water paddling on tannin stained fresh water that provides an excellent mirror like quality on calm days. The water is exceptionally pure other than the tannins and because of this it doesn't support much life and fewer water birds will be noticed. Water can be brackish up past Lake Cootharaba and mangroves can be seen lining the shores.

The lower and mostly tidal section ranges from 100 m to 300 m and passes through Lake Cooroibah on its way to a larger estuary near the mouth. This section is linked directly to Lake Doonella and is indirectly connected to Lake Weyba via Weyba Creek.

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Logistics and Tides

It will be easier if you travel with the gentle tidal flow in the lower section, but it shouldn't affect your trip too much up past Tewantin. Tidal flows peak are likely mild at around 2 - 3 kph though could be as high as 4.5 kph near the mouth during spring tides.

For the lower section, you can easily put in anywhere around the estuary that is away from the river mouth. The trickiest part will be finding a park especially around Noosa and Noosaville. For Noosa Woods Bay, Noosa Spit, it will be a short portage upwards from 50 m depending on your carpark.

For those doing the upper section, Elanda Point is the normal put in spot. This requires approx. 4.5 km traverse across Lake Cootharaba to Kinaba that can get rough in the afternoon, so plan your crossing for the morning.

0 km
Noosa Woods Bay
3.1 km
Noosaville Boat Ramp
5.1 km
Doonella Lake Entrance
5.3 km
Tewantin Boat Ramp
8.0 km
Moorindil Street Boat Ramp
23.5 km
Boreen Point Boat Ramp
26.4 km
Elanda Point QPWS Kayak Ramp
36.6 km
Harrys Hut (4WD)

The tidal heights seen at the Noosa Head (26° 22' 52.7" S, 153° 5' 51.4" E) directly affect the height of the river, with an average difference of 1.07 m between low and high tides. The key tide height indicators are:

Highest Astronomical Tide (HAT)
2.28 m
Mean High Water Springs (MHWS)
1.78 m
Mean Sea Level (MSL)
1.08 m
Mean Low Water Springs (MLWS)
0.38 m

The Bureau of Meteorology maintains the official tide tables for Noosa Head and the rest of Australia. More detailed Queensland Tide Tables can be downloaded from Maritime Safety Queensland, Queensland Government.

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Distance & tide table

The northern end of Lake Cootharaba above Kinaba Island is often referred to as Fig Tree Lake.

Location * Features  Tides  Distance (km)
Low High Leg Elanda Pt Mouth
Source - 53.2 80.4
L Teewah Creek 25.7 27.4 54.6
R Camp Site 15
R Camp Site 13 2.0 25.5 52.7
L Camp Site 9 1.7 23.7 50.9
R Camp Site 8 0.6 23.1 50.3
L Camp Site 5 3.7 19.5 46.7
L Camp Site 4 1.9 17.6 44.8
L Camp Site 3 0.7 16.9 44.1
L Camp Site 2 1.9 14.9 42.1
L Camp Site 1 1.7 13.3 40.5
R Harrys Hut 3.0 10.2 37.4
R Fig Tree Point
Also marks Lake Cootharaba Head
4.6 5.6 32.8
R Kinaba Information Centre 1.3 4.3 31.5
R Elanda Point QPWS Kayak Ramp 4.3 0 27.2
R Boreen Point Boat Ramp 2.9 2.9 24.3
Lake Cootharaba Mouth 4.0 6.9 20.3
Lake Cooroibah Head 7.6 14.5 12.7
Lake Cooroibah Mouth 2.3 16.8 10.4
Noosa North Shore Ferry
Toilets eastern (Nth Shore) side, boat ramp on the western side.
1.9 18.7 8.5
R QPWS Great Sandy Information Centre
200 m back towards Tewantin along Moorindil St.
R Tewantin Boat Ramp 1:47 1:02 2.5 21.2 6.0
R Lake Doonella Entrance
Ramp off at the end of Hilton Esplanade by the mouth.
1:46 1:00 0.5 21.7 5.5
R Noosaville Boat Ramp
Toilets just past the tennis court as you head downstream (100 m).
1:39 0:50 1.9 23.6 3.6
R Weyba Creek 1:30 0:38 1.4 25.0 2.2
Mouth
Toilets and cold showers can be found at the two main car parks on the Spit.
0:00 0:00 2.2 27.2 0

* Side represents either the left / port (L) or right / starboard (R) sides when facing downstream.
Most of the features were taken from QPWS Noosa River Waterway Guide page.
Tide times are offset from the Noosa Head (26° 22' 52.7" S, 153° 5' 51.4" E). BoM tide tables.

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Map

Explore the key locations in the map below. Most locations will have a photograph after being visited that can be seen by clicking on the icon or number in the map itself.

  • Source
  • Teewah Creek
  • Lake Como
  • Kin Kin Creek
  • Kinaba Information Centre
  • Lake Cootharaba
  • Cooloothin Creek
  • Lake Cooroibah
  • Cooroibah Creek
  • Wooroi Creek
  • Lake Doonella
  • Noosa Spit
  • Weyba Creek
  • Lake Weyba
  • Boat Ramps
  • Campsite
  • Kayak Ramp or Path
  • River Campsites

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What to take

Ensure electronic devices and gear have waterproof containers / dry bags if needed.

What to wear

  • Sunscreen / Chapstick *
  • Sunglasses *
  • Hat *
  • Swimwear or shorts
  • Sun protective clothing (rashie)
  • Water shoes

What to take

  • Water
  • Snacks
  • Phone
  • Camera
  • Watch
  • Sponge
  • Rain jacket
  • Spare clothes / Towel

Safety

  • PDF (life jacket) *
  • Whistle
  • Paddle float
  • Bilge pump
  • Paddle lease
  • Spare paddle
  • Light (night paddling)

* Highly recommended (aka required)
You should wear clothing and footwear that you can comfortably swim in.
These are for self or assisted rescues where you can't easily reach the shore.

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Wildlife

The Noosa River starts as a tidal estuary with a number of tidal lakes, before heading north through a number of large freshwater lakes before heading into Great Sandy National Park.

Two birds
A pair of Australian Wood Ducks (Chenonetta jubata).
Birds on water
Pacific Black Ducks (Anas superciliosa) hanging out in the water.
Bird on a tree
A flock of Little Corellas (Cacatua sanguinea) make for a great yet noisy encounter.
Bird on rock standing on one leg
Masked Lapwing (Vanellus miles) on a rock.
bird on branch
Red-backed Fairywren (Malurus melanocephalus) having a micro-pause on a branch.
bird flying
White-bellied Sea Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster) taking off.

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Tributaries

The main tributary of note is Weyba Creek that joins up to Lake Weyba. Refer to the Lake Weyba page for details. As you head upstream you also have Wooroi (1.5 km), Cooroibah (1.8 km), Cooloothin (1.3 km), Kin Kin (5.2 km) and Teewah (0.7 km) creeks. Distances approximations from aerial photographs.

Lake Cootharaba is a large and shallow lake that can get rough with windy conditions. It is 10 km long and up to 5 km wide. See the Lake Cootharaba page for details. Just north of Lake Cootharaba is Lake Como (2.5 km long) that is a small arm off the Noosa River. Going downstream you will meet up with the smaller Lake Cooroibah (3.0 km by 2.0 km) and just below Tewantin you have Lake Doonella (1.5 km long).

Teewah Creek

0.7 km paddlable waters

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Lake Como

2.5 km long

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Kin Kin Creek

5.5 km paddlable waters

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Lake Cootharaba

The lake is 10 km long and up to 5 km wide. Refer to the Lake Cootharaba page for details.

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Cooloothin Creek

1.3 km paddlable waters

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Lake Cooroibah

2.5 km long

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Cooroibah Creek

1.8 km paddlable waters

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Wooroi Creek

1.5 km paddlable waters

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Lake Doonella

1.5 km long

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Lake Weyba amd Weyba Creek

Weyba Creek (5.1 km) leads to Lake Weyba (4.2 km by 2.5 km). Refer to the Lake Weyba page for details.

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