The Noosa Hinterland provides a ready escape to warmer climes, where Cyclist chose our own adventure
Words by Mike Blewitt
Images by Mike Blewitt
I turn through another switchback, pushing through the bars to keep my tyre finding traction in the sandy loam. I’m back on the pedals as I see the exit, following Imogen’s wheel in front so it doesn’t get out of sight. The turns are stacked, the light dappled – and our grins are wide. The short descent flattens out and we hold our speed through the forest as the trail widens.
‘Is it all like this?!’ Matt exclaims.
We are riding from Noosa towards the hinterland town of Cooroy, on a mixed terrain route that will net us about 100km of gravel, roads and at times – proper singletrack.
Hinterland escapes
As a holiday destination Noosa doesn’t need any introduction. From the picture-perfect beach through to great places to eat and relax, and of course incredible linen-clad people-watching, most people know it well. For cyclists, Noosa is already known as a great place for bike riders thanks to the popularity and staying power of the Noosa Tri, and in more recent times the resurgence of the Noosa Enduro Adventure Gravel race, which takes on some of the trails and roads we are riding on our Big Ride.
As lovely as the coastline is, there is so much to discover by travelling into the Noosa Hinterland. Country roads connect a series of hinterland villages from Kin Kin to Cooroy, Pomona to Cooran, Eumundi, Tewantin and of course Noosa. Each village has its own personality with museums, microbreweries, farmers markets or farm stalls to visit. Beyond the bitumen, gravel roads are inscribed into the rolling ridgelines, creating iconic views in the lush, green hinterland. The Noosa Trail Network uses some of the dirt roads and trails to deliver eight diverse trails for off-road riding, walking and horse riding.
While not every part of the Noosa Trail Network will suit a gravel bike, the majority of it does, and when mapping out our route for this Big Ride we wanted to ensure we could ride straight from our accommodation, as all the best holidays happen when your car stays in the carpark. Or even at home.
That morning we had rolled out early from South Pacific Resort and Spa, straight onto the bike lane out the front. While some riders headed east to the beach, we weren’t the only bikes heading towards Tewantin and McKinnon Drive to jump onto the dirt. Our route had dived into shallow gullies under rainforest canopy, broken out onto premium gravel roads and darted back again into wide singletrack – it was as diverse as it was fun.
In time we exit just north of Lake MacDonald and join another perfect gravel road that skirts the corners of a large paddock. With tall forest on our right and a grassy paddock on our left, the competing priorities for parts of the Noosa Hinterland are clearly juxtaposed.
As we join a bitumen road our shade cover disappears, and we start to feel the full strength of the April sun. Cooroy comes and goes with just a small refuelling stop before we climb towards Black Mountain. Far from an alpine climb, this ascent is more like death by a thousand cuts. Each steep ramp is followed by a mini plateau, usually with a property entrance, maybe a bus stop and another farm gate. And then we climb again. Rinse and repeat!
While it’s not the easiest terrain to build a rhythm on, it sure keeps us entertained, especially as Matt is riding each ramp like it’s flat. You know you’re at the top when the road turns to gravel – right after we have stopped to say hi to some friendly sheep and alpacas. Having gained the ridgeline the views around us are immense. To our right we can see Mt Cooroora shielding Pomona from view, and to the left we look across to the high plateau where historic towns like Jimna hold on to the memories of their past.
As gravel crunches under our tyres the ridgeline road twists and turns along the range, before plunging us back into the valley at high speed. As we whizz alongside pastures cows watch bemused while we rocket towards the tiny village of Federal and into our second major climb of the day. Sankeys Road seems to head straight up from a causeway, and like climbing Black Mountain it’s another climb where the effort is doled out like an interval session.
We’re heading towards Cooran and the promise of coffee, and we rejoin the Noosa Trail Network on trail 5, which skirts Tuchekoi National Park. The singletrack is smooth, fast and shaded – a perfect contrast to the open road climbs we have endured. Coming into Cooran we pause to let a horse rider through and pull up right on the compact café strip of town. Given you could probably kick a ball from one end of Cooran’s main street to the other, you’d be hard-pressed to miss the cafés.
Coffees are ordered along with brunch specials as we look to the rest of the route. We’re heading to Tablelands Lookout, but the rising temperature has meant we opt out of taking the off-road trail up, and we resort to Tablelands Road. Those who have ridden the Noosa Enduro Gravel ride or XC marathon would be familiar with parts of the climb, from either the trail we are not taking today, or the dirt road up the back of the mountain which joins our route up Tablelands Road.
With bottles refilled we push upwards – Matt finds his own rhythm while Imogen and I wonder how he manages to make us feel so slow on every ascent. As we near the top the gradient flattens, and at the lookout we are now looking across to the peaks of the area. Mt Pinbarren sits ahead, with its triangular silhouette punctuated by tall hoop pines. Mt Cooroora is to our right with our next stop, Pomona, at its feet.
As we leave the road and join the trails, we ride close on the wide, grassy descent down the ridge before a sharp left towards a farm. This route continually changes and the frequent changes in gradient and terrain make it seem like we’ve been out for longer than we have. From a forested rolling route, to climbing a mountain, riding singletrack, a dirt road hill climb and now the picturesque Ewarts road, a gravel masterpiece that surfs the crests of vivid-green hills as we descend past the base of Mt Pinbarren.
Most long rides hit a point where things feel a bit hard, and as we turn left into Camphor Road to head towards Trail 2 – there’s a pretty unanimous groan. A wall of bitumen lies ahead, but thankfully it is short, and delivers us to the start of another wide, grassy trail that actually ends up on a similar vertical trajectory. A climb is nothing without reward, and the viewpoint at the top, with a covered picnic table, is well worth the effort.
Our reward continues as we descend the wide, grassy trail back to a gravel road and then onwards to Pomona. Our entry into town takes us past the showgrounds, along Factory Street and past Mill Street as Pomona rapidly reveals its agricultural history. Up above the station lies a row of shops, including a few cafés and a bakery. We may have left this snack stop a bit long and we each go our different ways to get some more food in our pockets before the push back to the coast.
Fuelled up and firing, we depart Pomona and pedal into the trails and roads through Yurol State Forest, taking Nursery Road and retracing some of our steps from earlier in the morning. We tack further south to come in near the Tewantin mountain bike trails – diving into the descent down Gyndier Drive. This is a closed road that has 14 turns and a moderate gradient, but it’s well-known as a 1.5km hill climb by motor sport fans, with an event in both winter and summer. On our ride we only see a variety of mountain bikes using the road as a gentle pedal up for another descent.
A break away
As we roll back towards Noosa the GPS ticks over 100km, a pretty firm day out in the hills. But we’re finishing our ride in one of Australia’s favourite holiday destinations. There are pools for a swim, parks to watch the sunset and a Farmer’s Market next door the following morning. A trip to Noosa might just make you think of a beach break – but there is so much more. Bring the family, bring the bikes. But while heading to the coast will always be popular, we’d encourage you to journey through Noosa’s Hinterland and explore some of Queensland’s most glorious gravel.
