Couple sitting by the romantic fairy pools in Noosa
You may well have fallen in love with a photo of the fairy pools in Noosa (located in Queensland, Australia) too, only to find out that it's location is a well kept secret. We set out to find these crystal clear and beautifully colored pools ourselves on one fine day during October 2016. With very little instructions, we Googled "fairy pools Noosa" in our Google Maps app on our mobiles, heading into the unknown. Our GPS lead us to Noosa National Park and parking was already very hard to find when we arrived there at 10am! At the information desk, I was informed that the fairy pools are actually located in the park but it's not a safe area and it's not recommended to go there as there has already been many accidents, the lady advised. If you decide to go there and follow this blog, please do so at your own risk and be careful. The information center is a great stop to stock up on water bottles and a map of the location. The below map shows the route followed for this blog in red.
Section of Noosa National Park map showing in red, the romantic walking path covered in this blog.
You should see the following landmarks at the start of the path (pictured below in order): The Welcome sign of the park, the bridge to walk over and another park sign.
Throughout the walk, you can expect to see lovely picnic areas, romantic walkways with gorgeous views of the ocean and smaller paths or steps that flow from the main path to secluded locations.
The lady at the information desk said the walk up to Hells Gate is 45 minutes long. We didn't stop to explore all the sub paths but I can't wait to go back to do it! I recommend taking a backpack instead of any other bags and wearing hiking boots that protect your ankles - the walking paths are easy walking but the parts closer to some of the beaches and fairy pools are very rocky and you will need both hands free to keep your balance and help you to climb over larger rocks (not too difficult). There's only 1 toilet along the path (see map) so make sure you go! Some areas have shade but for the areas that don't, you might want to bring a sunhat. There were also quite a lot of flies - you might want to bring a fly net hat if you are someone that would be very bothered by it. Also consider packing your snorkel gear :)
What I didn't expect to see was lost underwear haha but seeing now how romantic some of the areas here are, I guess it is to be expected :P
When you get to Dolphin Point (look for the sign), you will see an interesting man-made concrete couch for two complete with drink holders where you can take a break from walking and sit for a bit to see if you can spot any dolphins.
It was between Dolphin Point and Granite Bay that we spotted what looked like it could be the fairy pool we were looking for - it wasn't but it might be worth checking out. It also may turn out to be too shallow like some of the other potential pools we had a closer look at. As you are walking you will come across a pretty but busy beach that is easy to get to. There were quite a few couples there but a beach that I found more interesting was just after the sign for Granite Bay - it seems it leads to a very secluded and romantic beach. We haven't figured out to get there yet but the walkway at the Granite Bay signs look like it will be a good start to find it. We will be sure to check out this spot next time we return to the this park. The pictures below show the signs around the romantic beach and the beach itself :)
Once you see the Picnic Cove sign, you are getting very close. Start looking down to see if you can spot people or pools. Then look for a path just after this bench (you can do a steeper climb down there or walk along a little bit to find the entrance of the path that slopes down easier - THAT is the path that leads to the dreamy fairy pools!! If you don't see a path, just start making your way down there.
Just before the pools - look for a heart shape in the water among the rocks!
The climb down to the pools wasn't that bad and when we finally found the dreamy rock pool, it was every bit of romantic and wonderful as I had hoped - perhaps not as secret after all as there were quite a few people coming and going but nobody seemed to stay too long and we got to have the lovely fairy pools mostly to ourselves every now and again :)
Every now and again, waves flow in from the entrance of the pool filling it with sea foam - it feels a temporary bubble bath :D
This pool is rich in colourful coral but while we were there I saw broken pieces of it floating around which is a concern that the true beauty of this pool might not be around for much longer if not looked after. Please be mindful of the coral! Some couples enjoyed cliff jumping into the pool.
If you feel like more walking after your Noosa Fairy pool adventure, I can recommend continuing along the path towards Hell's Gate - the views there are just incredible!
The walk back to the car park was just as beautiful. The National Park in Noosa is certainly a very romantic place to visit!
That concludes our Romantic Day out in Search of the Fairy Pools in Noosa! I hope you've enjoyed this blog, let me know in the comments below! To find and share more romantic places, be sure to join the Romantic Explorers community on Facebook! Written by Romantic Explorer Michelle du Toit
