Habitat Noosa Everglades Eco-Camp is a camping and glamping resort 30 minutes north of Noosa in Queensland, Australia.

This camping resort sits right on Lake Cootharaba in the Great Sandy National Park and is the gateway to the Noosa Everglades.

With nature aplenty, a wide range of accommodation on offer and an onsite restaurant, it’s a great choice for a weekend of getting back to nature with the family.

The Accommodation

Even for non-campers, there’s a great selection of accommodation on offer:

• Powered and unpowered campsites right on the lake
• Wilderness Safari Tents – tented cabins in the woods with shared bathroom and kitchen facilities
• Paperbark Glamping Tents – tented cabins with ensuite bathrooms and the facilities of a hotel room

We aren’t campers so we chose a Paperbark Glamping Tent.

I was very impressed with the Paperbark Glamping Tent. We’ve had some bad experiences with tented cabins in the past (looking at you Yosemite) but the Habitat Noosa glamping tents are really fantastic. They are modern, clean, well appointed and spacious. Each cabin has a king-sized bed, bunk beds, a fridge, ceiling fan, roomy bathroom and a front deck. Note: there’s no air conditioning or heating and it can get surprisingly cold at night.

The only downside to the Paperbark Glamping Tents is that they’re a little further away from the lake compared to the campsites. There is also zero privacy due to the tented walls. You can hear everything outside your tent so if you’re a light sleeper you might want to bring earplugs. As with any kind of camping, when the first kid on the complex is up, everyone is up.

Good to know: The Paperbark Glamping Tents only sleep a maximum of 4 people. If you have a larger family go for the Wilderness Safari Tents which sleep up to 6 people.

To book your Habitat Noosa accommodation click here.

The Resort

The resort itself sit on 65 acres of national park in a tranquil spot right on the calm and shallow Lake Cootharaba.

There’s nature aplenty here, with kangaroos and wallabies everywhere you look. Top tip: there are also kangaroo droppings everywhere too so don’t wear your best shoes!

As well as the multitude of kangaroos that hang around outside the cabins, we saw a stringray in the lake, a goanna climbing a tree, curlews, kookaburras and plovers.

Apart from the noise of kids having the time of their lives, Habitat Noosa is a very peaceful place to be. For the glampers you can enjoy sitting on your deck watching the kangaroos in the meadow, and for the campers by the lake how can you resist watching the sunrise over the lake?

The Bistro

Habitat Noosa has an onsite bistro and microbrewery serving meals, coffee, drinks and ice cream. An onsite restaurant is quite rare to find in a nature-based camping resort like this so that’s another plus point for non-campers. Of course you can always use the camp kitchen to prepare your meals, but the bistro is just so convenient.

Activities

The lake which the resorts sits on will be the focal point of most of your activities. The lake is large but very shallow, with the water only knee-deep all the way across. Safe for the kids and some peace of mind for the parents. Our kids love nothing more than spending their days on the lake paddleboarding, splashing around, finding secret beaches and spotting wildlife.

As you’d expect, most of the activities on offer are water-based. You can hire canoes and boats on the lake. Bring your own stand up paddle board if you have one. Other activities on offer are walking trails through the forest or you can join a guided tour through the Everglades.

There are fire pits already set up for you all around the complex, and these will be the gathering point for your group in the evening. Don’t forget to bring sticks and marshmallows for toasting on the fire!

Top tip: bring torches for everyone as the resort gets very dark once the sun has set.

Noosa Glamping Overall Review

We are not a family of campers – we like comfortable travel remember? So for us to have all the perks of camping – the outdoors, the tranquility, the nature all around you – while staying in comfortable accommodation is an absolute winner. Habitat Noosa is an accessible form of camping for those that don’t have the equipment or inclination for an out and out camping trip. You’ll feel like you’re bush camping, but with all the modern convenience of staying in a hotel.

This Noosa glamping resort is also an excellent choice for large groups. We go there annually with school families and it works really well for this, allowing the kids the freedom to roam the complex together while the adults relax by the lake or have a few drinks around the campfire. With the wide choice of accommodation it’s easy to find something suitable for every family.

Overall, Habitat Noosa is a really nice place to spend a weekend getting back to nature. Perfect for a large mixed group of campers and glampers, the kids will have a blast and you’ll leave with a truckload of happy memories.

Getting There

Habitat Noosa is located 160km north of Brisbane. This will take you two hours in normal traffic conditions. Allow extra time if you’re travelling in peak times – it took us 2.5 hours to get there from Brisbane on a Friday afternoon.

Further Afield

You are only 30 minutes from the popular tourist destination of Noosa with its calm beach and village feel. This would be a nice place to stop on the way back to Brisbane for lunch overlooking the ocean and a splash on the beach to finish off a perfect weekend.

Or what about Mooloolaba a bit further down the Sunshine Coast. Read my guide to Mooloolaba here where you’ll see there’s plenty to keep the whole family entertained!

If you’re looking for more fun things to do with the family in Queensland check out these ideas.