Teewah to Double Island Point- Cooloola Great Sandy National Park
Where
Located on the Sunshine coast about 1 1/2 hrs north of Brisbane, take the Cooroy Eumundi turn off from the Bruce hwy and head towards Noosa. Take the Tewantin exit and look for Moorindal street. This will take you to the ferry to cross to the Noosa North shore. From here it's about 5km's to the 3rd cutting onto the Cooloola beach
Permits
100mtrs on the left before the Ferry at Tewantin, is a NQRSR office for permits. It's open during holidays except Christmas and Good Friday. Stop in and grab a map and fill out your details. If travelling to Fraser, a dual pass can also be obtained here. A camping permit will be required on Cooloolah along with a vehicle permit. The Ferry will cost about $7 and the service runs all day. Check with them what time last service is.
What to take
Teewah has a camping section clearly sign posted on a 12 km stretch of the beach. You will need to be completely self sufficiant here, there are no facilities in the camping areas. Beach Fires are permitted, but bans can be put in place over the summer months. Take plenty of water, a shovel and good camp lighting. Sand pegs are a must especially if there's wind around. Camping is situated along the foreshore dune area, this is a direct beach / ocean view camp site.
Camping at Teewah
The locals at Noosa and Tewantin, get over to the North shore and up to Cooloola regulary for over nighters and weekend stays. It's so close to home yet, another world from the daily grind.
You can take any kind of set up here, the hard part is getting on the beach from the 3rd cutting off the north shore, and getting up to the dunes to set up camp. There's always soft sand in these areas and of course it's pretty soft around the high tide mark. Otherwise it's great for new owners of 4WD's to learn the art of sand driving.
We've seen Caravans, camper trailers, swags and open tents used here. Pretty much whatever set up you have will work. The 12 km section of beach camping available does have a rubbish bin set up at the end of the camping zone, so there's no reason to do anything with your rubbish except finding these bins. If you arrive at a site and it has rubbish, help everyone by cleaning it up. Likewise if you see people rubbishing the place up, record there rego plates, take a photo and report to the rangers or the Parks office. Help keep our camping clean, and don't give the greenies a reason to whinge.
Teewah beach camping is roughly half way to Double Island point where the lookout is situated. All of this coastline is also great for fishing. Surf rods are recomended, try pippys, Pillies and worms. Like it's big brother (fraser island) the Cooloola recreational area does develop some nice gutters and with good planning can be right in front of camp.
4WD Tracks
If you're looking for a bit of fun, head up the north end of the beach and look for the Freshwater track & camping zone. The track will run out towards Rainbow beach through the sandy forrest with some sections a little testy, but overall a mild 4WD will have no problems. At the end of the track turn right and head towards Rainbow for about 7 km's. Take it easy if running low tyre pressure.
Have lunch at the Rainbow beach pub to break up your stay.
If the tides are low after lunch, pop down onto the beach at Rainbow and drive back along the Golden sands foreshore, negotiating the rocks at Rainbow will come down to the tide, if it's high go back to the Freshwater track, otherwise head along the beach until you find the "Leisha" track. The entry can be pretty tight but otherwise you can travel through here for about 1km and you're back over to Double island point. Just head south back to camp from here.
Keep an eye out for stingers especially if the wind is blowing in from the South East. It's not uncommon to find blue bottles lining the tide line, and also be aware, sharks live here too. Don't let the little ones stray to far into the surf.
Camping on the beach listening to the waves, or a full moon make this camp spot an absolute ripper. It's a lot cheaper than the expenses to travel to Fraser, and it's closer to civilisation should anything go wrong.
Teewah can be very busy in holiday periods so get online and book in advance. For our pick, come here when it's not peak season and you'll have more to yourself.