large forested sandhills separating the ocean and large lake

Lake Cooroibah

Including Cooroibah Creek

A small lake on the Noosa River that has a mostly forested shoreline making for a scenic and sheltered paddle. Some residential housing can be seen around the lake but the frontal strip hides most of these.

Cooroibah is named after the Kabi Kabi phrase for "place of possums".

What to expect

A relatively deep channel (1 - 1.5 m) follows the main course of the Noosa River with shallower sections in other areas (0.2 - 0.7 m). There are excellent longer distance views across the lake to mountains in the south-west.

Cooroibah Creek is a small tidal creek that can be found on the south west corner of Lake Cooroibah.

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Paddling Options

There are based on unconfirmed access points. See the logistics section below.

Tidal Section

Start
Esplanade Park
Length
6.8 km
Time
half day
Technical difficulty
Grade I
Rating
Type
Tidal
Elevation Loss
N/A (tidal)

Circumnavigation

Start
Foreshore
Length
10.3 km
Time
full day
Technical difficulty
Grade I
Rating
Type
Tidal
Elevation Loss
N/A (tidal)

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Logistics

Exact logistics are a bit unknown without visiting the lake. There is a likely spot to put in vi

There is apparently a large wooden pier to access the water in McKinnon Park off McKinnon Drive, Noosa Banks. It is best to use the jetty or timber ramp which facilitate access to the water without degrading banks.

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Tides

Lake Cooroibah mean high water mark (MHWM) tidal range is 0.33 m, enough to make a noticable difference in the more shallow sections.

Tidal info for North Shore Ferry
HAT
2.30 m
MSL
1.16 m
MHWS
1.80 m
MHWN
1.50 m
MLWN
0.70 m
MLWS
0.40 m
November
20
Wed
06:11
0.50 m
12:30
1.93 m
20:09
0.67 m
November
21
Thu
00:44
1.22 m
07:04
0.61 m
13:24
1.82 m
21:11
0.70 m
November
22
Fri
01:51
1.20 m
08:11
0.71 m
14:24
1.72 m
22:08
0.70 m
November
23
Sat
moon icon
03:18
1.22 m
09:31
0.79 m
15:25
1.65 m
23:00
0.69 m
Tide predictions are estimates only. The tidal datum is for Noosa Head. Tide predictions are calculated from Noosa Head with times adjusted by 120 minutes for low tide and 82 minutes for high tide.
Please refer to the Bureau of Meteorology and Australian National Tide Tables for official tidal information.
© Commonwealth of Australia

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Distances

Starting at Cooroibah Village and going anti-clockwise around the lake:

Location Distance (km) §
Leg Total
Cooroibah Village 0.0
Noosa River (exit) 4.1 4.1
North Shore 2.8 6.9
Noosa River (entry) -1.8 5.1
Cooroibah Village 5.2 10.3

§ Distances have been manually calculated from the river mouth.

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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.

The map also has markers every 100 metres that start at 0 from the possible access point at Cooroibah Village.

You may need to zoom in to see all of these markers. These do not correlate with any existing numbering system on the lake.

  • Lake Cooroibah
  • Cooroibah Creek
  • Boat Ramp
  • Access Points
  • Pontoon

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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

Lake bank vegetation is characteristically Melaleuca and Casuarina, although the lake’s south western shore has a dense and relatively wide mangrove fringe. The shoreline has extensive reed beds in places.

Bird in a tree
Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus) commonly feed on Bottlebrushes.
seagulls by the water
Silver Gulls (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae) scavenging on the shoreline.
Large ground bird
Australian Brushturkey or Gweela (Alectura lathami) has an omnivorous diet that includes seeds, fruits, small reptiles and insects.

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Cooroibah Creek

Length
7.5 km
Navigable
1.7 km
Boats beside lake

Lake Cooroibah

Perimeter
12.9 km
Navigable
10.3 km
Catchment
22.1 sq km
Area
5.3 sq km
Council Areas
First Nations
Kabi Kabi
19.0°C
Feels like 18.9°C
18.5°C
01:30am
21.1°C
08:12am
Gentle Breeze
SSE at 15 kph, gusts to 19 kph
Strongest Gust: 35 kph ESE at 10:01am
33.2 mm since 9am
Today
Rain.
(19°C)
23°C
Thu
Showers.
90% chance 4 to 30 mm
20°C
24°C
Fri
Showers.
80% chance 1 to 20 mm
20°C
24°C
Sat
Shower or two.
50% chance 0 to 3 mm
20°C
26°C
Sun
Possible shower.
40% chance 0 to 2 mm
20°C
26°C
Mon
Shower or two.
50% chance 0 to 2 mm
19°C
26°C
Tue
Possible shower.
40% chance 0 to 2 mm
21°C
27°C

Sun and Twilight Times

04:46—18:19 / 13hr 32m
Civil: 04:22—18:43 / 14hr 20m
Nautical: 03:52—19:13 / 15hr 21m

Moon Info

Waning Gibbous
Thu 9:31am 11:33pm
Banner image is of Teewah Beach and Lake Cootharaba
© texaus1
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