Noosa koalas: Where to see koalas in Noosa National Park

The Noosa Headland section of the Noosa National Park is the best place to see koalas in Noosa, Queensland. Take on the Coastal Walk and Tanglewood Walk tracks, the Noosa National Park walks closest to Hastings Street, for the best chance of seeing the Noosa National Park koalas.

One of the factors that makes Noosa the best beach town in Queensland is variety. Hastings Street is one of the most expensive shopping streets in the country, with several excellent restaurants to match. Yet take a few steps from the end of Hastings Street, and you find yourself in the Noosa National Park. Which is traditionally one of the best places to see koalas in the wild.

The Noosa National Park is an irritatingly patchy thing, which has several unconnected chunks spreading down the Sunshine Coast from Noosa. However, the section that the vast majority of visitors will end up in is the Noosa Headland section. This is the bit close to Hastings Street in Noosa Heads and Little Cove beach.

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Taste coffee and ginger, do rainforest walks, and visit the best lookouts on a highlight-packed hinterland tour.
Take a serene Noosa Everglades cruise along the mirror-like waterways – or canoe through the Everglades.
Learn to surf at a Sunshine Coast surf school – or try paddleboarding instead.
Combine sight-seeing and thrills on a fast boat tour.
Go e-mountain biking on the downhill trails of Tewantin National Park.
Kayak with dolphins as part of a beach 4WD tour.
Explore the Sunshine Coast from above on a seaplane flight.
Take an indigenous cultural tour – with bush tucker tasting.
Visit the region’s best craft breweries and distilleries on a drinks tasting tour.
Go jetskiing through the gorgeous Pumicestone Passage.
Taste wines, cheeses and chocolates on a hinterland food tour.
Watch migrating humpbacks on a whale-watching cruise.

Noosa National Park Coastal Walk

There are several Noosa National Park walks that can be tackled in the Noosa Headland Section of the Noosa National Park. A steep one from the town takes you to the Laguna Lookout.

Most of the other walks interlink, so you can make circuits and loops out of them. The most popular of these is the 10.8km Coastal Walk. Follow this all the way round, and you’ll stroll along the magnificent surf beach at Alexandra Bay, then finish at laid-back Sunshine Beach.

The coastal walk in Noosa National Park — The coastal walk in the Noosa National Park is an excellent place to see koalas in Noosa, Queensland. Photo by David Whitley/ Australia Travel Questions

The coastal walk is sprinkled liberally with excellent lookouts. Waves crash at Boiling Pot, 300m from the start, while there are more rugged coastal rocks at Dolphin Point (1.2km in) and Hell’s Gates (2.7km). There are also a couple of lovely beaches on the way, but they are not safe swimming beaches.

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Cruise the mirror-like waterways of the Noosa Everglades – a glorious glide through stunning natural landscapes.
4WD along the beaches – AND kayak with dolphins on a day tour full of easy adventure.
Take a dolphin-watching safari down the Noosa River.
Have a go at kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding or waterbiking.
Take a tasting tour of the local craft breweries and distilleries – find out how the locals have devoted themselves to quality.
Get standing on your board by the end of a beginners’ surfing lesson.

Dolphins and turtles can often be spotted in the water below, while humpback whales migrate past between June and November.

Koalas on Noosa National Park Coastal Walk: Tea Tree Bay

The creatures you’ve probably come to see, however, are koalas. The Noosa National Park koalas are often found sleeping in the trees. Tea Tree Bay is a fairly reliable spot for koalas along the coastal walk.

However, there aren’t as many koalas in the Noosa National Park as there once were. Numbers are declining, largely due to disease and habitat encroachment.

If I can do just one thing in Noosa, what should it be?

The Great Beach Drive – a four wheel drive adventure up Teewah Beach towards Double Island Point – is fantastic on its own. To go kayaking with dolphins as part of the same trip makes for a genuinely superb day out.

Take it as a massive personal recommendation – the Great Beach Drive plus Kayaking With Dolphins day tour should be at the top of your Noosa wishlist.

Noosa koalas on the Tanglewood Walk

This may mean you might have to look harder, and step away from the coast. That’s where the Tanglewood Walk comes in. This 8km track winds through the forests of the Noosa Headland from the Noosa Headland day use area.

It’s partly about the trees – blue gums, pink bloodwoods, kauri pines, scribbly gums and hoop pines. But you’ll also hear the whip crack-esque calls of the eastern whipbird, and possibly see lace monitors or echidnas. Koalas also hang out along the Tanglewood Walk, however. So keep looking up in the trees.

Doing the Tanglewood Walk and Coastal Walk in full would be hard work, but they meet near Hell’s Gates. This means choice sections of each track can be combined in a 7.1km circuit. It’s best tackled in September, when the Noosa weather is driest.

More things to do in Noosa

Noosa is a two hour drive north of Brisbane and is a logical stop on the Brisbane to Hervey Bay drive. It is the most affluent resort town on the Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Mooloolaba is more family-focused, while Eumundi is all about the markets and Montville is best used as a gateway to the Kondalilla National Park. Other things to do in Noosa include cruises on the Noosa Everglades, surfing lessons, stand-up paddle-boarding and four wheel drive tours up to Rainbow Beach.