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Kayaking the Noosa Everglades in Queensland, Australia!
Recently we got back from another road trip in Australia! Thus, there is no better time than now for our first blog post about that trip! We still have so much writing to do from last year’s adventures, but this was so good I couldn’t keep it off the website. The Noosa Everglades is one of two Everglades worldwide, making it a unique and exciting experience. The only other everglade is the well-known Florida Everglades. Home to alligators, the Florida Everglades can only be explored safely by boat. Therefore, the Noosa Everglades is a much better alternative as it is croc-free! Situated so close to a backpacker haven, Noosa Heads, you cannot miss the opportunity to see this incredible natural wonderland.
The Noosa Everglades
After almost seven months of working and living on Moreton Island, it was time to explore again. Thanks to our lovely friends Kane and Jenna, we had a car to borrow for several weeks. That’s how the idea for a Southern Queensland Road Trip was born. Being only a small section of the east coast, we had not taken much time to explore thoroughly last time, so we decided to track only as far north as Noosa and as far south as Byron Bay (in the far north of New South Wales). In planning, this would allow us to see so much more than just the popular destinations, and we were super excited to get started!
After a quick trip home for myself and a short trip for Yentl to Sydney, we met again in Brisbane. We made our plan and headed north from Brisbane, stopping in Redcliff, Beachmere and along the Sunshine Coast before finally reaching the Noosa Shire. Not having much planned in Noosa, we knew we wanted to get to the Noosa Everglades. After looking at the options for exploring the Everglades, we finally decided on an all-day Kayak tour. I didn’t realise that it was an 18km Kayak along the river, not the 5km I was led to believe by Yentl…
Our tour company – Kanu Kapers
After looking at the different options, we took the full-day self-guided kayak tour with Kanu Kapers. As I mentioned above, Yentl had failed to tell me that this one wasn’t just 5km, so I had a rude shock when I got to the drop point and looked at the map. It was alright, though; I just wasn’t sure if I had the upper body strength and endurance to make it through the whole day, but somehow I did.
Of course, while we thought we were running late, we were once again the first people to arrive for our trip. We had to wait quite a while for some of the other guests, but as tourism workers, we knew the struggle. Once everyone was ready, we started the briefing and were on the water steaming away at 9:30 am. This left us with 5.5 hours on the water! While that may seem like a mere amount of time – when you get back, you cannot feel your arms, so that’s plenty!
The beginning of a long paddle
Somehow, we have created a race mindset for everything we do: hiking mountains, walking trails and kayaking. We started strong before realising we could not maintain this power pace that Yentl had set us at. After we got a nice distance away from everyone, we were finally able to slow down and take our time navigating ourselves. Navigation was more challenging than we thought in places, but thanks to continuously double-checking one another’s directional skills, we made it all the way with only one wrong turn. We made a few stops on the way up to the Narrows and went ashore at Fig Tree but didn’t take any real rest breaks before we turned around – we wanted to make it to the River of Mirrors before anyone else got there. This was not just our competition mindset; this was to experience it in its full beauty – and be completely alone.
The River of Mirrors
The section of the river known as the Narrows is also the section that inspired the name River of Mirrors. Not long after entering the passage, you see the incredible reflections of the surrounding trees and even your paddle in the water. The further you go, the better the reflections get. It got to the point that I was getting confused and dizzy, trying to work out where the trees ended and where the water started.
Having decided to have lunch on the way back at Fig Tree, we made it almost to Harry’s Hut, the furthest point on the Kanu Kapers Map, before turning around. We had got so far, but we were both getting hungry and decided it was best to eat, so we both came back on the kayak. Thankfully, Yentl still had lots of energy, and we made it to lunch quickly without trying to throw one another out of the kayak, so that’s a win for couples travelling together full-time.
The exhausting paddle back
Lunch, a quick nature walk and a swim later, and we were back on struggle street, pushing into a headwind to get back to the launch point. We caught up with everyone else here, even the guided group, and boy, oh boy, I think we were all regretting going so far downstream at this point. Considering we had heaps of time to get back before three, the stretch of the lake that only took us 25 minutes to cross in the morning took almost the entire hour on the way home. When I finally got sight of where we were meant to go, it was a significant relief. It was even more, relieving when we landed and got out of the boat; you do not realise how your back would crack after a full day of sitting and paddling.
Our take away
Overall, it was an incredible experience that we were so happy to be able to do. While it was much longer than we expected, we loved it and would absolutely do it again. If anyone is considering doing a Noosa Everglades tour, we highly recommend it. While it is expensive, you cannot do it anywhere else in the world, so it is worth that extra bit of money.
Our decision to do the tour with Kanu Kapers may be different from the one for you, but we recommend it if you want a more individual trip. We did go past the Eco Safari Tour, primarily a boat trip with a 5km canoe option available, and we were satisfied we picked the right tour. We went at our own pace, explored everything we wanted to, and even got our exercise in for the day! For more information and guidance for choosing your tour or self-guided experience in the Noosa Everglades, keep a look out for our next guide!
Read all the 2023 Greater Brisbane Road Trip Chapters:
1: Kayaking the Noosa Everglades.
2: The Best doughnuts in the Hinterland?
3: Attempt to Climb the Glass House Mountains.
4: Camping and Hiking in D’Aguilar National Park.
5: Mt Maroon and Its Incredible Views on the Scenic Rim.
7: Is Mullumbimby the new Byron Bay?
8: Springbrook National Park.
9: Lamington National Park.
10: Mount Tamborine National Park.
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