My total time for the Cooloola Great Walk FKT from South to North was 9h 54m 02s (https://www.strava.com/activities/15623577500).
My run included a run 2.54km from the Northshore Ferry which took 15m 40s. Total run time, including the run from the ferry to the start, was 10h 10m 02s.
Previously I had ran the Great Walk in the opposite direction (North to South) in 11h 26m 38s. I found the Noosa to Rainbow direction has a few hundred metres more total elevation.
The weather was perfect, hardly any clouds in the sky. There was set after set of clean waves rolling on Northshore Beach on a glassy ocean and a gentle breeze blowing.
The morning was fresh though it warmed quickly once underway. The trail in the first few kilometres had some wet sections that couldn’t be avoided, I expected this from rain in the week prior.
All the water tanks were well stocked with water. I loaded up with a couple of litres at each water tank and used all my water between each walker’s camp. I used liquid nutrition the entire time other than a couple off lolly snakes and some cliff blocks. The walker’s camp tanks are generally quite close to the main trail (within 100m).
The entire trail was well maintained and is not technically hard. There were only a couple of trees over the trail in the entire route, these were easy to navigate. I used the bearing on my watch to cut a line across the Cooloola Sandpatch, although a walker had recently crossed from the opposite direction and his footprints were on the exact bearing required.
There were quite few walkers making the trek, I didn’t see any other runners. The other walkers were very friendly, I stopped to chat with quite a few interested people, this helped break up the journey and made it fun.
It was a great feeling to cross the Carlo Sandpatch near the end and watch a bunch of paragliders soaring above in a beautiful blue sky. This route is a must do, weather running or walking, it is just a great adventure in a stunning part of the world!