Maroochy River

• What to expect
• Paddling Options
• Logistics

• Tides
• Distance table
• Map

• What to take
• Wildlife
• Tributaries

The Maroochy River is mostly tidal and has a long paddlable section between the Bruce Highway and Maroochydore.

What to expect

The estuary at the river mouth can be up to 500 m wide, but as you head upstream this reduces to around 100 m for much of the journey up to Yandina. Due to the tidal reach, the current will significantly hinder progress unless you paddle with the tide.

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Paddling Options

There are multiple options from short trips based at one of the put in locations, to longer trips of the main river itself noting that a full return trip of the tidal section from Maroochydore to the Bruce Highway is over 50 km, reduced slightly if you start at Bli Bli at 40 km.

Goat Island

Start

Picnic Point

Length

6.1 km

Type

Circumnavigation

Time

half day

Technical difficulty

Open Water I

Rating

Elevation Loss

N/A (tidal)

Notes

Southern side can be shallow at low tide.

Lower Maroochy

Start

Picnic Point

Turnaround

Bli Bli

Length

10.2 km

Type

Return

Time

half day

Technical difficulty

Open Water I

Rating

Elevation Loss

N/A (tidal)

Middle Maroochy

Start

Bli Bli

Turnaround

Coolum Creek

Length

13.5 km

Type

Return

Time

half day

Technical difficulty

Open Water I

Rating

Elevation Loss

N/A (tidal)

Notes

Turnaround is at the creek junction. It's another 1.0 km to Coolum Creek Boat Ramp.

Upper Maroochy

Start

Lake Dunethin

Turnaround

Bruce Hway

Length

11.1 km

Type

Return

Time

half day

Technical difficulty

Grade I

Rating

Elevation Loss

N/A (tidal)

Notes

Turning around at the north south branch junction cuts 1.5 km off the trip.

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Logistics

There are multiple spots along the river to put in, mostly around the lower sections and operated by Sunshine Coast Council.

The following are likely the better spots to put in, but there are some other locations that you can use too. Refer to the Distance Table and the Interactive Map for additional details. Parking is easier away from the main built up areas.

Boat Ramps

1.0 km

Cotton Tree Park

3.0 km

Bradman Avenue (Eudlo Creek)

7.5 km

Bli Bli

21.8 km

Lake Dunethin

For those paddling solo trying for a longer trip, Translink provide a couple of options:

• Bus Route 612 runs between Maroochydore and Bli Bli before heading up to Nambour. Bus Route 610 runs directly to Nambour.
• Both the train and bus route 631 go between Yandina from Nambour, although access to the river at Yandina appears to be very difficult.

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Tides

There is a significant tidal influence for most trips, with care required near the mouth, and enough flow to provide a noticeable current in the tidal sections that are best paddled with the current. Tidal flows can peak around 3-4 kph in places.

Tidal info for Maroochy River Entrance

HAT

2.20 m

MSL

1.01 m

MHWS

1.70 m

MHWN

1.30 m

MLWN

0.60 m

MLWS

0.30 m

November

20

Wed

04:19

0.33 m

11:20

1.81 m

18:19

0.55 m

23:28

1.07 m

November

21

Thu

05:11

0.46 m

12:14

1.70 m

19:20

0.59 m

November

22

Fri

00:37

1.04 m

06:14

0.57 m

13:12

1.59 m

20:20

0.60 m

November

23

Sat

02:03

1.07 m

07:28

0.65 m

14:11

1.52 m

21:14

0.57 m

Tides for selected locations on the Maroochy River for Wednesday, 20th November

Picnic Point

06:11

0.33 m

12:23

1.81 m

20:11

0.55 m

Eudlo Creek
Bradman Av Boat Ramp

06:27

0.33 m

12:37

1.81 m

20:27

0.55 m

Bli Bli

00:07

1.13 m

06:44

0.33 m

12:55

1.81 m

20:44

0.55 m

Coolum Creek

00:28

1.13 m

07:09

0.33 m

13:16

1.81 m

21:09

0.55 m

Lake Dunethin

00:46

1.13 m

07:27

0.33 m

13:34

1.81 m

21:27

0.55 m

Nth/Sth Junction

00:51

1.13 m

07:31

0.33 m

13:39

1.81 m

21:31

0.55 m

Tide predictions are estimates only. The tidal datum is for Mooloolaba. Tide predictions are calculated from Mooloolaba with times adjusted by 0 minutes for low tide and minus 1 minutes for high tide. Other locations use a similar offset calculation.
Please refer to the Bureau of Meteorology and Australian National Tide Tables for official tidal information.
© Commonwealth of Australia

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Quick Stats

Source

Yandina

Elevation 4.2 m

Mouth

Maroochydore

Elevation 0 m

Length

26.2 km

Navigable

26.2 km

Catchment

638 sq km

Current Flow

Yandina

1.87m / 2,182 MLD

Eumundi

3.29m / 1,793 MLD

Dunethin Rock

0.86m

Stoney Wharf

No Data

Dangers

Other boats

Council Areas

Sunshine Coast Regional Council

First Nations

Kabi Kabi

Directions To

Cotton Tree
Bradman Avenue
Bli Bli
Lake Dunethin
Yandina

Maroochydore

19.4°C

Feels like 16.0°C

18.0°C
01:07am

22.7°C
06:24am

Fresh Breeze
SSE at 30 kph, gusts to 39 kph
Strongest Gust: 50 kph SE at 8:28am

20.0 mm since 9am

Today

Rain.

(18°C)

23°C

Thu

Showers.

90% chance 4 to 25 mm

19°C

24°C

Fri

Showers.

90% chance 1 to 20 mm

19°C

24°C

Sat

Possible shower.

40% chance 0 to 2 mm

19°C

26°C

Sun

Possible shower.

40% chance 0 to 1 mm

18°C

26°C

Mon

Possible shower.

40% chance 0 to 1 mm

18°C

26°C

Tue

Possible shower.

40% chance 0 to 1 mm

19°C

27°C

Sun and Twilight Times

04:46—18:20 / 13hr 33m
Civil: 04:22—18:44 / 14hr 21m
Nautical: 03:52—19:14 / 15hr 22m

Moon Info

Waning Gibbous
▼ Thu 9:30am ▲ 11:34pm

Banner image is of kids fishing on the Maroochy River at sunset
© Thomas and Olivia Williams

Some rights reserved CC BY

Distance Table

The very bottom section is wide and you can take either the northern or southern route around Goat Island. Both are about 4.3 km from the mouth to the Maroochy River Bridge and are separated in the table below.

At Yandina, the river splits into a north and south branch.

• The North Maroochy River is paddlable to Ninderry Crossing (~4 km) fairly easily, but it is extremely unlikely that one could make it to Eumundi (~15 km) or above without significant effort.
• The South Maroochy River becomes shallow just past the Bruce Highway around high tide (0.9 km). Wappa Dam that is 7 km from the bridge but no paddling is allowed on the reservoir.

The following distance table has some key locations. Distances are shown from the river mouth and also Bli Bli, along with tidal offsets.

^* Side represents either the left / port (L) or right / starboard (R) sides when facing downstream of the main river or the specified direction of travel for bays or lakes (usually anticlockwise).
^† Most of the features were taken from the Sunshine Coast Council pages.
^‡ Tide times are offset from the river mouth that are in turn offset from the Bureau of Meteorology tide tables.
^§ Distances have been manually calculated from the Maroochy River.

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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.

• River Mouth
• Cornmeal Creek
• Sunshine Cove
• Maroochy Water Canal
• Chambers Island
• Twin Waters
• Maroochy River Bridge
• Eudlo Creek
• Petrie Creek
• David Low Bridge, Bli Bli
• Bli Bli Islands
• Unnamed Island
• Twin Ridges Creek
• Coolum Drain
• Coolum Creek
• Yandina Creek
• Cane Train Bridge
• Lake Dunethin Jetty
• North and South Maroochy River Junction
• Boat Ramps
• Kayak Ramp or Paths
• Access Point
• Pontoons

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What to take

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

^* 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

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Tributaries

The most significant is Petrie Creek that flows from the range at Mapleton (30 km). Aerial photographs hint at the possibility of making it all the way to Nambour (14.8 km), albeit the Bruce Highway represents roughly the end of the tidal reach about 3.3 km downstream of the town. This itself has a small side tributary, Paynter River that could allow for another 3 or 4 km of explorable river.

Just downstream of Petrie Creek is Eudlo Creek, a short tidal section of about 5.7 km can be expected. Heading upstream you can find Twin Ridges Creek and Coolum Drain. Both could provide short side trips at high tide. Coolum Creek runs behind Mt Coolum and has a lot longer waterway to explore, 5.8 km to Yandina-Coolum Rd. The small Yandina Creek could have a very short explorable section.

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