THE Great Noosa Trail Walk 2016 held on the first weekend in October was a huge success, with tickets booked out months in advance. This year over a 150 walkers and volunteer guides tip-toed through the Noosa Hinterland, taking only pictures and leaving only footprints while on the trails.
They experienced some of the very best of Noosa Hinterland’s nature, culture and communities.
Event founder Shaun Walsh said the event was an exceptional opportunity to inject a bit of extra life into the smaller towns along the way.
“Over the three days, walkers stop at Cooroy, Pomona, Cooran and Kin Kin, and we conservatively estimate that over $40,000 is injected back into the local economy to businesses and community groups,” Mr Walsh said.
The Great Noosa Trail Walk prides itself on being a safe and enjoyable way for people to experience the quiet beauty of the Noosa Hinterland with volunteers and trail guides scattered along the tracks to make sure walkers didn’t lose their way.
As well as guides and volunteers, the Great Noosa Trail Walk offered a shuttle service that transported walkers’ heavy luggage and camping gear to the evening’s campsite, freeing up walkers so they could really enjoy their time.
The trail boasts a beautiful scenic walk with sights beyond compare, and thanks to the volunteers who worked tirelessly over the long weekend walkers of every fitness level and any profession were able to see every bit of it.
Noosa Mayor Tony Wellington joined the walk on the first day with fellow councillors Ingrid Jackson, Jess Glassgow and Joe Jurisevic.
“The Great Noosa Trail Walk is a terrific adjunct to our local events calendar, and a wonderfully inventive way to showcase the incredible offerings of our Noosa hinterland: not just the natural wonders, but our superbly friendly rural villages as well,” councillor Wellington said.
“One of my favourite spots on the trail is the Cootharaba Lookout at the top of Wahpunga Range.”
“This stopping point offers a 180 degree panorama of the coast, from the Cooloola sand mass in the north, Lake Cootharaba stretching across the middle, and Noosa Heads in the south.”
The planning for Great Noosa Trail Walk 2017 is already underway with many walkers eager to pre-order their tickets due to be released shortly.
For more information, head to www.greatnoosatrailwalk.com.au or head to the Great Noosa Trail Facebook page at www.facebook.com/GreatNoosaTrailWalk .
