Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist)

© irene waters 2014 Noosa Everglades

The Noosa River commences life in the Wahpoonga in the Great Sandy National Park (of which Fraser Island is a part) and travels south via the Noosa Everglades which open up into a series of fairly shallow lakes, Lake Cooloola, Lake Cootharaba and Lake Cooroiba and Lake Weyba. The Queensland Lakes District.

© irene waters 2014 Lake Cooroiba

Makepeace Island (from internet images)

Richard Bransen owns a heart shaped island on the Noosa River on which he has built a luxury resort initially for the use of himself and his staff. It is now open to the public for an exclusive use fee of $3,250 per day plus a fee of $550 per adult. Although the vision you have of it from the river is that of total luxury I doubt that I will ever have the opportunity to stay a night. The most I will get to do on the river is the odd fishing trip in a hired tinny and there are plenty of fish to be caught between the first lake and the river’s mouth at Noosa Heads.

© irene waters 2014

The aspect of the river that I love is that it is not commercialised. . There are numerous people who live on/in the river. Our guide on one Everglades Tour told us that there are 65 permanent house boats registered to be on the river, most located between Tewantin and Noosaville. There is now a push to get rid of the houseboats and I think that the character of the river would go with the houseboats. When a houseboat is now sold the mooring can no longer be sold with it and the number of moorings are being decreased with each sale.

© irene waters 2014

Apparently of the 65 house boats most were purchased by couples planning on living permanently on board. At the time of this trip we were told that there was now one with an entire family of four, two that still had the couple living on board and five where the man had remained alone, the wife having scarpered. The remainder are now used as weekenders or virtually abandoned. Of course I can’t find the best photo I have that I took up close whilst on one of my fishing trips but I have included all those that I have. I love the resemblance  to a normal house that many of these house boats display.

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The other aspect of Noosa River is walking along its edge at Gympie Terrace particularly as the sun sets. Often spectacular but more arresting is the cacophony of sound as the parrots come in to roost in the trees that line the river’s edge. Black swarms flying in as the sun sets and as though a light switch is turned the noise abruptly stops. Just the perfect end for a perfect day.

© irene waters 2014