Paradise at Elanda Point

April 2001

(Please be patient - lots of pictures on this long page)

Camped right beside the beach at Elanda Point

Paradise Elanda Point Qld

Australia is not blessed with too many natural lakes actually full of water. However, around Noosa Heads in Queensland there certainly are plenty. Elanda Point is a fair way in from the Bruce Highway, but nonetheless a well worthwhile delightful trip and is on the shores of Lake Cootharaba the largest salt water lake in Queensland. Towing an A'van, it is about two hours north from Brisbane on excellent roads. Click on the compass further down to see a large area map.

The Elanda Point camp ground is of course, the main gateway to the famous Everglades slightly further north, and is a private lease situated well inside Cooloola National Park. You will instantly fall in love with this place at first glimpse as it is just so pretty. Kangaroos are always present and on the southern side there are several Lace Monitors as well as hundreds of birds. There is every type of camp site you could wish for including waters edge, riverside, sandy, dense bush, open heath, short green grass - the lot! The camp is gently undulating with tons of shade, mostly under safe to camp near Melaleucas, as branches rarely fall on you!. Your car and A'van also stays unstained!

For enthusiastic youngsters there is a huge oval behind the camp usually occupied by 100 or so friendly kangaroos and at Xmas and Easter this is used as an overflow camping area. Very interesting the kangaroos are too, as apart from eating the wild mangoes, they regularly hop along in the water up to 300 meters offshore! How do they manage that? Well it is only human thigh deep and using their rear legs and tail as a balance, they can make incredible speed through the gentle water. We have stayed here many times and don't actually have a favourite area - we just pick a spot away from potential noise makers! Well that's a lie! The most perfect campsite is right down by the beach under a couple of really old gnarled trees. The pictures right at the top are THE spot! Down here you get the delicious lap of the tiny waves to lull you to sleep as the moon rises up over the water and lovely refreshing sea breezes waft through the A'van. The lapping ceases around midnight and you awake in the morning to totally still water. You actually can't put a price on the feelings you get waking up in the A'van with all the curtains and windows open with glorious sunshine flooding inside - but you all know that don't you? Then you take a couple of steps and have breakfast on the beach, sharing with an abundance of kangaroos and ducks. This truly is living and what retirement is all about.

National Parks do a wonderful job on tracks

We usually pop down to this spot late on Sunday afternoons when most of the weekend campers have scampered off home, as during the weekend proper, the tranquillity is replaced by the happy laughter of children enjoying themselves. The security lighting on the beach doesn't intrude on the A'liner. It is also always cooler in this spot and mostly there is a gentle breeze. This is fantastic! Thank heavens so few guide books mention this place! Lonely Planet give it a complete miss! It is a bit of a hassle moving camp, but well worth it. Of course if you visit outside holidays during the week, chances are you will get this site all on your own.

Bearing in mind the relatively low rate charged, the amenities are first rate and spotlessly clean and very disabled friendly. Paper towels and a soap dispenser are provided and natural lighting is excellent. All windows are screened and large exhaust fans operate on a timer. One quirky thing though - you have to pay 20 cents if you want to dry your hair for ten minutes or for that matter, shave electrically. Another very odd thing is the shower doors. The insides of all locks have been removed and on each door is a sign "Knock before entering". What this is all about is anyone's guess! We suggest you don't allow your children to use the showers unless accompanied. Any clues anyone? We dare not ask Brian!

It is a bit of shock when you first arrive due to all the "nasty" signs! Most unwelcoming and almost as if they are trying to deter you from staying! Probably so they can have the place all to themselves! Anyway the pictures tell the story. Needless to say Brian the present lessee for the last 25 years is an ex-schoolteacher and it sure does show and quite honestly this is one of the best managed parks we have ever stayed at!

Brian has just about eliminated the rowdy yahoo set who now certainly give this park a miss and we could see zero vandalism. It is gloriously peaceful at night and very pleasant during the day, as there are very few day visitors possibly as a fee is charged.

There is a manually opened security gate using the same key as the showers. Other toilets scattered throughout the grounds don't require a key. Watch out though as there is a second main gate kept locked between 10PM and 7AM. Now a word about check in! When it says office shut it means just that! There is even a recorded message telling you this. Best to arrive before 6:00PM or you will have to camp outside, but next to the front gate and move the next morning! If you have an urgent problem you are directed to worry the ranger not management! Bit odd we thought. Our first attempt at trying to camp here was a total disaster! We "missed" the 20 foot long Elanda Point sign and ran out of map. Using a compass, we eventually found it at eight o'clock at night. We were forced to retrace our steps to Boreen Point and sadly ended up camped on a cesspool of effluent in the grottiest park nightmares are made of! Had we gone another 100 metres we would have been in a park almost as nice as Elanda Point! Arriving in the dark to any unknown camp site is a health hazard!

Open fires are allowed, but only in the pits provided. There are quite a few BBQs, but these are a bit hard to use as they have zero ventilation and not enough room for wood, but at least they are at waist height. The best bet it to use a fire pit and bring your own BBQ plate. You are not allowed to bring your own wood nor collect any wood from inside the park. You can buy wood by "reporting" to the woodshed between 5PM and 5:30PM. It costs $5 a plastic wrap and is excellent hardwood and very good value. Take your car to collect it or you will do your back in. All axes are banned from the camp, so bring heaps of kindling!

Telstra CDMA works only just in some parts of the camp failing totally near the water, and GSM works great with full strength on the lakeside beach.

The hall and kitchen - ideal for a club rally

At the park entrance is a cluster of basic cabins used for groups, and an excellent kitchen with dining room/hall. The office also doubles as a mini general store and you can get all the basics including daily papers and even hot take away food during holiday times. The hot showers are in the same building which means a fair walk if you are camped lakeside.

Saturdays and Sundays sees the lake come alive with sailing boats mostly from the yacht club at nearby Boreen Point. You can hire canoes and dinghies although these are a bit on the dear side at $10 an hour. There is also a very screwball rule allowing you to use your own canoe on weekends only.

The lake is VERY shallow and safe for kiddies

There are no defined sites - just pick a spot, set up and hang a green number on your camp. Water taps with cold showers are quite plentiful and very well made on wooden bases - an idea that other camps should perhaps look at. The water is delicious and very soft. Bring torches as there is little in the way of lighting at night, but all amenities are lit all night. You get a bit of an idea at what the TV reception is like by looking at the 20 metre mast on top of the manager's house. Truly it is sacrilege to watch TV in such a beautiful place! With an aerial as high as you can go we did amazingly get all channels with ABC quite acceptable - just to test it mind you!. Fellow A'vanners using rabbit ears got zilch. There is plenty of free hot water for washing up behind the older yellow amenities block. The laundry is quite modern, but is a wee bit expensive at $3.00 a time. Dryers are smaller than normal. There are two Hills Hoists - that's it!

The number of biting insects are not too good. Remember you are smack bang in the middle of a natural wetland area so bring gallons of repellent or you will have an absolutely miserable time. Mossies are the big problem, but diminish near the waters edge. March flies have their own inbuilt electric drills on their snouts! Flies are about zero, possibly because there is only one large bin near the front gate. Sadly this is always overflowing after the weekend and has been like this for years! Sand flies don't appear to be a problem - probably all eaten out by the mozzies. Be ABSOLUTELY certain to take repellent on all walks and bike rides. If you are canoeing PLEASE wear long pants otherwise your legs will turn bright red! Been there - done that!

Walking opportunities are absolutely superb! On the southern side of the camp, cross the wooden bridge near the beach and head towards the lake. Cross the mini boardwalk and follow the lake shore south towards Boreen Point. You come to what looks like a fantastic camp site with a very private swimming beach, but sadly there is a no camping sign! Head towards another wooden bridge and pause to look at the water lilies and clear water. Now you can camp here, but getting in is a bit tricky due to a wet track, but well worth the effort. As usual we found this spot AFTER we were fully set up! Well there's always next time. The northern walks all start at a gate on the northern boundary. There is a speaker on top of a pole with a solar panel. This tells you how to read your map given to you at check in. There are numbered poles and these match the map. The choice of walks is VERY extensive, but most people either go to Mill Point, the army suspension bridge over Kin Kin Creek or the information centre at Kinaba. The latter is a 14kms return walk and Telstra GSM works along most of the route for those with medical problems. It truly is bush walking at its very best and there are zero hills, so it can be undertaken by those not used to walking. The track is mostly mown grass and quite a lot of it could even be undertaken in a wheel chair, but in summer it is wise to take two litres of water per person as none is available on this particular walk. Most of the time there is an overhead canopy given fair shade, but an early start is still a good idea.

Kinaba - sit on a lounge and watch the water!

The Kinaba facility is absolutely brilliant and an absolute credit to National Parks. How many bush walks allow you to sit on a comfortable lounge chair two stories above the water and gaze out over the lake munching on smoko? A truly magical place! The displays are excellent and how about tiled flush toilets! We counted eleven solar panels on the roof and there is even a blue phone - best not to rely on this working though. There are a couple of really good mini walks at the centre. Go out along the peninsula and on the return go left to the lagoon. The photos below with Siggy trying to photograph a Dragonfly, were taken at the lagoon. On the return walk from Kinaba you can deviate at Mill Point and come back some of the way closer to the lake. The maps handed out when you book in at Elanda aren't too good for walking. Just wander back out the main road and pick up some free maps at the National Parks Registration Hut. They are also at Kinaba but if you got there successfully you really don't need one do you? For some strange reason you are not allowed to bike ride on any of the tracks mentioned. But do bring your bikes as the camp is surrounded by quite scenic dirt roads and the really adventurous can cycle all the way up to Harry's Hut on the Noosa River right in the heart of the famous Everglades.

Chrissy, Siggy, Kelly & Heather near Kinaba

Canoeing is the most popular pastime here, so if you have one bring it along as hire fees are expensive. Most paddle up to Kinaba and fitter canoeists go on to Harry's Hut. Yes we geriatrics have done it without inducing heart attacks! A word about the weather here! All canoe trips north are best undertaken with an early start before the wind comes up, as there is a big chunk of open water to cross. Coming home it tends to ease in the late afternoon and it does blow onshore which is where you want to go anyway. Upstream the wind has very little effect. Watch the forecasts though as severe storms are a real hazard. Best to head IMMEDIATELY to shore and wait it out. You can hear the storms coming for several minutes, and it is a frighteningly eerie sound. When tent camping we have had waterfront camps completely flattened and extremely heavy rain strong enough to bring tarps down. Canoeing combined with camping in the Everglades is a very popular school excursion.

Using Elanda as a base you can explore the surrounding countryside. If you have a 4WD try a trip up to Harry's Hut - don't forget to take your canoe or anything that floats as this is a particularly nice part of the Noosa River. Going past the Harry's turnoff you travel through fabulous country and eventually end up at Rainbow Beach - the gateway to Fraser Island. For 2WD there are dozens of trips. Going south, try having a peek at Boreen Point just 6kms away. There are two camp grounds one private and one council. The private one is Everglades and is small, but recently totally renovated with FANTASTIC new management. It is also the only park for miles allowing puppy dogs! Anyone who had a bad experience there in the past like us, please give them another go, as all the permanents have now gone and it is truly a tourist park.

Council park at Boreen Point on a cloudy day

Canoe launching ramp near Elanda Point Camping area

The council park is glorious and mostly on a long white sandy beach, though only tents are allowed right on the beachfront. Boreen Point has a cute shop - The Loose Goose General Store. Who could resist shopping here? The Eliza Fraser monument is also on the waterfront. An interesting story here! In 1836, a ship called The Stirling Castle was wrecked off the coast of Queensland, Australia, at a stage when the nearest white settlement was the infamous penal colony of Moreton Bay. The captain�s wife, Eliza Fraser, together with the crew, reached a large sand island now named Fraser Island. There, according to Eliza, the crew were killed by Aboriginals, while she herself was taken on as a slave. Eventually the tribe crossed to the mainland, giving Eliza to another tribe at a corroboree. Here she met an escaped convict, who had been accepted by one of the women of the tribe as the white ghost of her dead husband. He helped her escape and led her back to the penal colony, where she was meant to plead for mercy for him. He took fright and fled back into the bush, eventually returning to tell his version of the tale. Eliza told at least three versions of her story, giving it as a performance in fairs in London. Numerous versions of the story exist, in literature, in ballads, in art, in music, and in theatre. A film was made of the story, but the rights have been sold to Hollywood and the video has not been released. You can find out more by reading Telling Tales Downunder by R. Lloyd. Venturing further afield Tewantin is another 30 minutes and Noosa just a little further.

The nearest larger town is Pomona. There is no Coles or Woolies - the nearest is Tewantin. We found a wonderful little shop on the outskirts - Pomona Second hand. Anyway, they sell everything and very good fruit and vegies. They also give away free Bunya Nuts. We tried these in a vegetarian spaghetti dish we concoct and they were fantastic. The basic recipe was in the A-Cook section of the March 2001 Newsletter. You can find out a bit more on Elanda by going to the archives on The Great South East and also Creek to Coast. There is a good story in Camping in Southern and Central Queensland by Martin Bowerman on page 51. We reviewed this book in A-What's New in the March 2001 Newsletter.

This is a small one - they can be basketball size!

The Elanda camp is ideal for A'liners and would be excellent for club get togethers having loads of space and a good sized hall/dining area. On the downside, for those without solar there are only eight powered sites and most of these have very limited shade and are a fair way from the water, but still have good views.

We absolutely recommend this park to all campers as it is paradise found, despite all the dreadful notices and rules. Cost in February 2001 was a very reasonable $14 a night for an unpowered site for two adults. Key deposit was $5.00 and the office opens at 8:00AM.

Bob & Chrissy Eustace

Click the compass to see a map of the Elanda Point area

Paradise at Elanda Point - Queensland