I had driven past the turnoff to Habitat so many times and yet never once had thought of entering. I had thought it was private property but luckily my camera group had set it as the location for one of our Monday shoots. It is close by, approx 25 mins from Noosa (about 20mins from me) on sealed road until what you enter what appears to be a driveway. This is a good dirt track for a couple of kilometres. We drove to the end which opened up into an camping site on the edge of Lake Cootharaba. It is more than a camping site however as there is glamping of all levels (luxurious to basic) to bring your own tent. There are also some cabins which I think are probably used for school excursions. Curlews met us in the car park and kangaroos fed in a field close-by. A larger building was near the car park and this was a bar, restaurant and micro-brewery.

One of our group went and had a chat with admin and arranged for someone to show us some of the accomodation.

Glamping in the canvas tents seemed similar to having a cabin in a caravan park. They were well fitted out with the luxurious ones having ensuites while the basic had share ammenities. It looked like fun but what appealed to me was not the accomodation but the surroundings.

It is set in 65 acres of Great Sandy National Park and on the edge of Lake Cootharaba giving easy access to the Everglades. Canoes could be hired and excursions organised. There are also a myriad of walking trails and this was what made me go back a second time and come winter I’ll go again. Today however we explored the area around the facilities. After our unexpected tour we separated planning on meeting up again over lunch at the pub.

I headed back down the road we had entered on. At one point it had obviously been a market garden with the shade houses still in evidence. There was also an old abandoned building.

I walked until I came across a car park I had seen as we drove in. Opposite it was a sign post.

Today I didn’t follow any of these trails but headed towards Lake Cootharaba. The route east, through forest was easy but surrounded by swamp land. The reflections were fantastic.

It was like stepping into another world when arriving at the lake. Open and bright.

It was quite windy and the lake had waves and a lot of spume. After a short hike following the lake edge on sand I came to a board walk which took me all the way back to Habitat. I saw the tail end of one large goanna and numerous ducks.

Lunch was delicious in lovely surroundings. It was a good find and next time I will take you on one of the walks that Roger and I returned to do.