New plans to manage Teewah, Double Island Point camping numbers

The increasing number of visitors to popular campgrounds between Rainbow Beach and Noosa North Shore means management plans may need rewriting, a report has revealed.

A potential cap on daily visitor and camper numbers could be on the cards at one of the Cooloola Coast’s most iconic tourists spots as its surging popularity increases pressure and puts visitor’s safety at risk.

A potential cap on daily visitor and camper numbers could be on the cards at one of the Cooloola Coast’s most iconic tourists spots as its surging popularity increases pressure and puts visitors’ safety at risk.

A sustainability report and response by the Department of Environment, released Monday, reveals how the state government is likely to manage camping and tourism at the Cooloola Recreation Area.

The area stretches from Rainbow Beach to Noosa North Shore, including Teewah Beach and Double Island Point.

The 2022 sustainability report says vehicle access purchases (or permits) increased for the area by 29 per cent between the 2016-2017 and 2020-2021 financial years.

There were 116,689 purchases in the latter period.

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A 2022 sustainability report says vehicle access purchases (or permits) at the Cooloola Recreation Park increased for the area by 29 per cent between the 2016-2017 and 2020-2021 financial years.

Figures were only available for the first half of the 2021-22 financial year, but initial indications were purchases were up another 30 per cent on the year.

The government’s response says options to maintain sustainable visitor numbers at peak periods “are currently being considered”.

New types of permits may be on the cards too.

Vehicle numbers may also be regulated on the 20 busiest days of the year at the park, but the possibility of using shuttle buses to transport visitors has been knocked on the head, the 2024 response says.

In some good news for campers, the government has not endorsed any increase to fees and charges to access the park “given the current cost of living pressures”.

Trials of barring vehicles from some parts of the park, and installing time limits at key spots, were under consideration too, the 2024 response says.

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The 2022 study says it was estimated about 30 per cent of vehicles visiting the park, which includes Teewah Beach and Double Island Point, did not have the correct permit purchased.

The 2022 study says a key driver for how the park will be managed is visitor safety, which “outweighs other considerations”.

“It is reasonable to assume that a combination of peak visitor volumes and behavioural issues such as speeding, and dangerous driving in populated beach areas could relate to increased visitor safety risks,” the report says.

“There would seem to be a number of visitor hotspot areas, where it would be legitimate to take visitor management actions solely on the basis of improving visitor safety.”

There was evidence of “high levels on noncompliance” of visitors having the correct visitor passes.

Traffic monitoring cameras used across the park shows the rate of vehicles without the correct access permits was estimated to be “about 30 per cent”, the 2022 report says.

The report says the region’s continuing population growth, and a surge in SUV and 4WD sales, meant the existing management plans “may not be tenable beyond the short to medium term”.

In a media statement accompanying the release of the report and government response, Environment Minister Leanne Linard said in 2023 “more than 182,000 camper nights in the Cooloola Recreation Area, and almost 100,000 vehicle access permits were purchased”.

“With increasing patronage, fuelled in part by South East Queensland’s growing population, there’s a risk the area’s unique natural environment will be adversely impacted if we don’t manage the area correctly,” she said.

“It is important that well informed planning is at the forefront of QPWS’s future management of the park and recreation area.”

Public feedback on the draft management plans will start in May 2024.

Originally published as New plans to manage Teewah, Double Island Point camping numbers