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

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 and can quickly spread through the area, sometimes killing native species.

Dogs

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:

• Weeds, animals and pathogens

Carry it in – carry it out

Take all rubbish out of the recreation area.

Rubbish bins are located at the following camping areas:

• Sarawak West
• M.V. Sarawak
• M.V. Beagle
• M.V. Natone
• S.S. Dorrigo

Alternatively, take your rubbish home with you. Littering and inappropriate waste storage are prohibited, and penalties apply for non-compliance. Littering and illegal dumping are prohibited, and penalties apply for non-compliance. Report littering and illegal dumping.

Waste management tips when camping:

• Do not hang rubbish bags from trees or tents. Securely store your waste until disposal, in sealed containers to prevent negative interactions with wildlife.
• Be part of the solution - reduce, reuse and recycle.
  • Choose a menu with less packaged goods.
  • Take recyclables home for proper disposal.
• Choose good quality camping equipment that will withstand the harsh elements of the coastal environment.
  • Reuse camping equipment.
  • Repair broken equipment – do not be a consumer with a throwaway mentality.
• Remove all waste, including broken camping equipment and domestic waste.
• Don't burn or bury anything.
• Carry out sanitary products, disposable nappies and cigarette butts. Do not put these in the toilet facilities.
• Avoid bringing glass as it can’t be crushed. Broken glass can harm other visitors and wildlife.
• Bring small sealable canisters for cigarette butts. Don't discard butts in the park.

Also see:

• Reduce and recycle rubbish

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

Use a fuel or gas stove for cooking and heating

Camp fires are permitted at Inskip. No camp fires are permitted when a QPWS-imposed fire prohibition or Queensland Fire Department (QFD)-imposed fire ban is in place. Check park alerts and the Cooloola conditions report (PDF, 691.0KB) before going. Always use pre-existing camp fire sites. Firewood is not provided, bring clean milled firewood.

Bring kindling and fire lighters. Collecting and burning wood, including leaves and twigs, from the protected area is illegal and penalties apply. Don't bring bush timber for firewood. It may contain pests and diseases, which could kill native plants.

Do not dispose of non-combustible or toxic material (e.g. glass, cans, plastics) in a camp fire. Penalties apply.

Preferably bring a gas or fuel stove for cooking. Ensure your cooking and heating appliances meet the below requirements.

• The appliance must use gas or manufactured fuel (heat beads, briquettes). Manufactured fuel does not include timber or wood.
• It must be used only for cooking and/or heating.
• It must be a minimum of 20cm off the ground and more than 2m from flammable materials, which includes vegetation.
• It must not have the potential to generate airborne embers, or possibly ignite nearby ground fuels.
• It must be fully self-contained (heat source enclosed and no exposed flame) and never left unattended when in use.
• Appliances that are not fully self-contained, such as braziers, are not permitted.
• All appliances, materials and burnt fuel must be removed from the recreation area on your departure.

Approved cooking and heating appliances may vary from above list during Queensland Fire Department (QFD) total fire bans. Check park alerts and QFD fire bans and restrictions for more details. Test your cooking appliance before leaving home and never use them in confined spaces, such as tents.

Also see:

• Fire prohibitions and bans – cooking appliances (PDF, 729.4KB)
• Campfire, fuel stoves and barbecues
• Campfire prohibitions and fuel stoves

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.

Toilets

Most camping areas have hybrid toilets (minimal water use).

Bush toileting, including digging pit toilets, is not permitted at Inskip. Use existing toilet facilities or bring a portable toilet.

Portable toilets

Portable toilets are mandatory to camp at Dorrigo South and Pelican Bay camping areas (penalties apply). Even if you are only staying for one night you must bring a portable toilet.

Bush toileting

If bush toileting is unavoidable 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

Stay on the tracks

Shortcuts damage plants and cause erosion. Stay on designated tracks and do not drive on vegetation on foredunes. Penalties apply.

Also see:

• Guidelines on caring for parks for more information about protecting the environment and heritage in parks.
• Driving on sand

Park management

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 discovery guide (PDF, 4.8MB) 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.