About Inskip

Park features

Some waters surrounding Inskip are protected within the Great Sandy Marine Park. The Great Sandy Strait, including Tin Can Bay and Tin Can Inlet, has been listed as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention. For more information see the Australian Wetlands Database.

For thousands of years, Inskip and Cooloola have been special places for Aboriginal people. Through timber-getting, agriculture and sandmining, the areas have undergone many changes in the past 150 years. Today, Inskip and Cooloola protect valuable coastal ecosystem remnants and are among the most popular tourist destinations in Queensland.

• Read more about the nature, culture and history of Inskip and the Great Sandy National Park.

Looking after the park

For everyone's safety, keep dogs under control and on a leash at all times as this helps to minimise disturbance to this fragile area and its wildlife.

Also see: Keep wildlife wild—a short video.

The following guidelines will help to care for Inskip so it can be enjoyed now and in the future.

Also see: Walk softly guidelines for more information.

Everything is protected

Leave flowers, ferns and all other plant material undamaged. What is easy to take may take years to replace.

Keep forests free of pests

Clean all camping and personal gear before entering the recreation area. Insects, weed seeds and soil pathogens can stick to boots and camping equipment.

Also see: Weeds, animals and pathogens for a short minimal impact video.

Carry it in – carry it out

Please take all rubbish out of the recreation area.

• Bulk rubbish bins are provided at the exit to each designated camping area.
• Don't burn, bury or leave anything—including dog droppings.
• Carry out sanitary products, disposable nappies and cigarette butts.
• Please do not put any rubbish in the toilet facilities.
• Remove excess food packaging at home.
• Keep wildlife away—take strong sealable bags or containers to store food and rubbish.
• Avoid bringing glass as this can’t be crushed and if broken can harm other visitors and wildlife.
• Never hang rubbish bags from trees or tents.

Also see: Reduce and recycle rubbish for a short minimal impact video.

Let native animals find their own food

• Please do not feed or leave scraps for wildlife.
• Animals that are fed can become aggressive to humans.
• These habituated animals become reliant on the food source, suffer from disease or can over-populate to the extent that they dominate an area and aggressively exclude other wildlife.

Also see: Keep wildlife wild for a short minimal impact video.

Use a fuel stove

• Please bring a fuel stove for cooking.
• Campfires are permitted at Inskip, but remember to bring your own firewood as it is illegal to collect bush wood from the recreation area.
• Use firelighters as collecting leaves and twigs is also an offence.
• Check any Park alerts in case QPWS-imposed fire prohibitions or QFES-imposed fire bans are in place—no fires permitted under these conditions.

Also see:

• Campfire prohibitions and fuel stoves for a short minimal impact video
• Campfire, fuel stoves and barbecues.

Generator use

Generators up to 2.0Kva are permitted in the Inskip Recreation Area, but can only be used between 7am and 9pm so everyone can enjoy a quiet night.

Portable toilets are preferred

It’s best to bring a portable toilet, if you intend camping away from toilet facilities.

• Please do not empty contents of portable toilets into the camping area toilets.
• The nearest toilet waste disposal facility is on Clarkson Drive just outside Rainbow Beach.

Bush toileting

If bush toileting is necessary in undeveloped camping areas:

• Dig a hole at least 50cm deep.
• Fill in the hole properly afterwards—burying all faecal matter and the used toilet paper.
• Cover the spot well.
• Don't bury sanitary items, including disposable nappies—bag them and take them out of the recreation area.
• Bush toileting is not permitted in the developed camping areas at Inskip.

Also see: Bush toileting practices for a short minimal impact video.

Stay on the tracks

Shortcuts damage plants and cause erosion. Please stay on designated tracks and off the vegetation on the foredunes.

Also see:

• guidelines on caring for parks for more information about protecting the environment and heritage in parks.
• Driving on sand for a short minimal impact video.

Park management

The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) manages the Inskip Peninsula Recreation Area, to conserve its natural and cultural resources.

Inskip Peninsula was declared a recreation area in 1996. This enables the department to manage increasing use of this fragile, sandy environment. The Inskip Peninsula Recreation Area extends to the low water mark, except in parts of Pelican Bay. Unlike nearby national parks and recreation areas, dogs are allowed in Inskip, provided that they are kept on a leash and under control at all times. Dogs must never be allowed to block the way, when rangers visit camp sites for permit checks.

A no-vehicle zone on the southern side of the spit conserves shorebird roosting and nesting areas. All of the Great Sandy Strait and waters between Inskip Peninsula and Hook Point on Fraser Island as far down as Tin Can Bay and mouths of the creeks that flow into it, are protected by the Great Sandy Marine Park’s shorebird roosting and feeding designated area. These waters and the adjacent coastal areas hold the distinction of being classified as Ramsar sites—that is, they are wetland areas of international importance.

Tourism information links

Destination Gympie Region

www.visitgympieregion.com.au
24 Bruce Highway, Lake Alford, Gympie QLD 4570
ph 1800 444 222
email tourism.info@gympie.qld.gov.au

For tourism information for all regions in Queensland see www.queenslandholidays.com.au.

Cooloola and Inskip recreation areas discovery guide:

The Cooloola and Inskip recreation areas disovery guide (PDF, 4.0MB) provides compact versions of key information listed for the area, complete with maps, travel distances and times.

Obtain a copy at a QPWS Information Centre—Tewantin or Rainbow Beach—when visiting Cooloola or Inskip Peninsula recreation areas.