Great Sandy National Park facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Great Sandy National Park Queensland
IUCN Category II (National Park)
The Cathedral coloured sands
Great Sandy National Park Location in Queensland
Nearest town or city	Hervey Bay
Established	1971
Area	2,195.55 km2 (847.7 sq mi)
Managing authorities	Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service
See also	Protected areas of Queensland

Great Sandy National Park is an amazing coastal national park in Queensland, Australia. It's a special place where you can find beautiful beaches, huge sand dunes, and lush rainforests. This park is managed by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.

Exploring the Park's Geography

This national park is famous for its untouched beaches and giant sand dunes. You'll also discover heathlands, rainforests, swamps, creeks, freshwater lakes, and mangrove forests here. It's like a natural wonderland!

Great Sandy National Park is split into two main parts:

• The Cooloola Recreation Area is on the coast. It stretches from Noosa Heads in the south to Rainbow Beach in the north. This section covers about 184,000 hectares.
• The K'gari (Fraser Island) section covers almost all of Fraser Island. This is the world's largest sand island! It's located north of Rainbow Beach and is about 56,000 hectares in size.

Wildlife in the Park

The land within the park is recognized as an Important Bird Area. This means it's a super important place for many different birds.

Amazing Birds to Spot

You might see a large number of black-breasted buttonquails here. The park is also home to many bush and beach stone-curlews. Keep an eye out for green catbirds, regent bowerbirds, and mangrove honeyeaters. You could even spot a pale-yellow robin. The Cooloola area also has the eastern ground parrot and one of the last coastal groups of the emu.

Looking up at a rainforest in the Great Sandy National Park, Cooloola, facing east

Cool Things to See and Do

There are so many exciting things to do and see in Great Sandy National Park!

The SS Maheno shipwrecked in 1935 and its rusted remains in 2007

Hiking and Water Fun

The Cooloola section has the Cooloola Great Walk. This is a long hiking trail that takes about five days to complete. You can also enjoy boat tours and canoeing along the Noosa River. On Fraser Island, there's the 90-kilometer-long Fraser Island Great Walk.

Lake Cootharaba is a great spot for fishing, sailing, and canoeing. You can also go Whale watching, fishing, four-wheel driving, and bushwalking in the park.

Famous Shipwrecks

The park is home to two famous shipwrecks. You can see the remains of the SS Maheno and the Cherry Venture. These old ships have interesting stories!

Unique Rainforests and Lakes

Fraser Island is the only place in the world where tall rainforests grow directly in sand. It also has colorful sand cliffs along its eastern beach. You can explore many walking tracks, from short boardwalks to longer trails that cross "sand blows."

Fraser Island has over 100 freshwater lakes. One of them, Lake Boomanjin, is the largest perched lake in the world. Lake Wabby is another popular spot for swimming and fishing.

The Mystery of Coloured Sands

A special feature of Great Sandy National Park is its amazing coloured sands. These sands are very old and are mixed with clay. The different colors you see, like red, brown, and yellow, come from iron-rich minerals. These minerals have been in the sands for thousands of years. Wind and water bring these beautiful colors to the surface.

Lake Wabby

Getting Around and Staying Safe

To explore Fraser Island, you'll need a four-wheel drive vehicle. Some parts of the Cooloola section also require a four-wheel drive. Remember to get a vehicle permit before entering the park. Both sections of the park have many camping areas.

Camping Adventures

If you want to camp in the park, you'll need a permit. The Cooloola section has about 15 campsites. If you're past Campsite 3, only electric motors and non-motorized boats are allowed.

Keeping Wildlife Safe

It's very important not to feed the dingos on Fraser Island. You can get a fine if you do. Also, make sure to clean up all your food and rubbish. This helps keep the dingoes from getting too close to people.

See also

In Spanish: Parque nacional Gran Arenosa para niños