Small-group, low-impact days in the oldest rainforest on earth — Springbrook, Lamington and Tamborine — led by local guides who know where to tread lightly and what to look for. Nature travel with a conscience, the Cooee way since 1974.
An eco tour is not just a tour that happens to be in the bush. It is a day built around the idea that the rainforest is the point — to be understood, respected and left exactly as we found it — rather than a backdrop to tick off.
The Gold Coast hinterland is one of the great natural treasures of Australia, and most visitors never see it properly. Barely forty minutes from the high-rises of Surfers Paradise, the land rises into the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, a World Heritage Area protecting some of the oldest subtropical rainforest on the planet — forest whose lineage stretches back to the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana, before Australia drifted away on its own. Walking into it is like stepping back through deep time.
Our eco tours are designed to share that wonder gently. We keep groups small, move at the pace of the place rather than the clock, and put a knowledgeable local guide alongside you who can read the forest — naming the birdsong, spotting the camouflaged python on a branch, explaining why an Antarctic beech tree growing on a Queensland mountaintop is one of the most remarkable living things you will ever stand beneath. The aim is to leave you not just with photographs, but with a real understanding of why this country matters and why it is worth protecting.
We are careful about the word "eco", because it is too often used loosely. We do not make claims we cannot stand behind. What we can promise is a way of travelling that is genuinely low-impact and genuinely focused on nature, built on a handful of simple commitments.
That is the honest version of what "eco" means on a Cooee tour. It is about behaviour and respect, not a badge.
The Gold Coast hinterland packs an extraordinary amount of protected wilderness into a small area, and our eco days are built around its finest pockets. We tailor the route to the group, but these are the places at the heart of it.
A high plateau on the rim of an ancient volcano, draped in rainforest and laced with waterfalls. The Purling Brook Falls circuit drops behind a hundred-metre cascade; the Best of All Lookout earns its name on a clear day; and Natural Bridge shelters a glow-worm colony in its cave after dark.
The largest tract of subtropical rainforest in the region, and a stronghold for Gondwana relict species. Its walking tracks thread past waterfalls, mossy gullies and stands of Antarctic beech, with some of the best birdwatching in the country.
The accessible introduction to the hinterland: gentle rainforest circuits at Witches Falls and Curtis Falls, the canopy-level Rainforest Skywalk, and an easy pace that suits every fitness level.
A short rainforest loop leads to a basalt arch over a cave, where — after nightfall — thousands of glow worms light the darkness. One of the genuinely magical experiences of the Gondwana forests.
These parks form part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia, inscribed on the World Heritage list for their outstanding natural value — the most extensive area of subtropical rainforest in the world, and a living record of the evolution of life on this continent. Visiting them with someone who understands that significance changes the day entirely.
The Gondwana rainforests are a refuge for plants and animals found almost nowhere else, many of them survivors from a far older, cooler world. Part of the pleasure of an eco tour is learning to notice them.
The signature species is the Antarctic beech, Nothofagus moorei — gnarled, moss-cloaked trees whose ancestors grew across Gondwana when Australia, Antarctica and South America were joined. Some of the individuals on these mountaintops are over a thousand years old, growing in cool, misty groves that feel a world away from the coast below. Around them grow strangler figs, ancient cycads, tree ferns and an understorey of orchids and fungi that shifts with the seasons.
For birdwatchers, the hinterland is hallowed ground. The Albert's lyrebird — a shy, ground-dwelling master mimic found only in this small corner of the country — performs here, and the brilliant gold-and-black regent bowerbird is a regular sight at the forest edges. You may also meet pademelons grazing at dusk, brush turkeys tending their mounds, paradise riflebirds, and, if you are lucky and quiet, a carpet python coiled on a sunlit branch. Wild animals keep their own schedules, so nothing is guaranteed — but the richness of this forest means there is almost always something remarkable to see.
This is not empty land, and it never was. The Gold Coast and its hinterland are the Country of the Yugambeh and Kombumerri peoples, whose connection to these mountains, forests and waters stretches back tens of thousands of years. The rainforest we walk through was — and is — a place of food, medicine, story and ceremony.
On our eco tours we acknowledge that history rather than walk past it. We speak about the cultural significance of the places we visit, treat any sites with the respect they are owed, and recognise that caring for Country is a tradition far older than any conservation movement. Travelling well in this landscape means honouring the people who have cared for it longest.
An eco day is for anyone who would rather understand a place than just be photographed in front of it. It suits nature lovers and birdwatchers who want a guide who knows their stuff; families wanting to give children a real, screen-free encounter with the wild; photographers chasing rainforest light and waterfalls; and travellers who simply feel that a holiday should leave the world a little better, not worse.
Because the walks scale from flat boardwalks to graded forest circuits, the day works for a wide range of fitness levels, and we are happy to keep it gentle. It also makes a thoughtful private charter — for a family group, a walking club, a school or a corporate team looking for a day with substance. Tell us who is coming and what they would enjoy, and we will shape the route to suit.
The rainforest is rewarding year-round, but it changes with the seasons. The cooler, drier months from autumn through winter (roughly April to September) bring clear lookouts, comfortable walking temperatures and crisp mornings in the high beech forests — arguably the finest time for an eco tour. Spring adds wildflowers and the most active birdlife. Summer is lush and green, with the waterfalls at their fullest after rain, though the forest can be warm and humid and afternoon storms are common; we time summer departures for the cooler mornings.
The glow worms at Natural Bridge can be seen throughout the year, though they are at their most spectacular on warm, still, moonless nights after rain. Whatever the season, we read the conditions and steer the day toward what will be at its best while you are here.
Booking an eco tour starts with a conversation. Because we shape every day to the group — which parks you want to see, the pace, the walking distance you are comfortable with, and any access needs — we quote each booking individually rather than publishing a fixed price list. That quote covers your transport, your local guide and door-to-door pickup across the Gold Coast; park entry and any extras are confirmed up front so there are no surprises.
Eco tours run as small shared groups capped at 14, or as private charters for groups who would prefer the day to themselves. Pickup is from your accommodation across all Gold Coast precincts, and cancellation is free up to 48 hours before departure. To start planning, call 0409 661 342 or email contact@cooeetours.com.au with a rough idea of what you are after, and we will come back with options.
An eco day with us is unhurried by design. We pick you up from your accommodation in the morning and drive up out of the suburbs, watching the landscape change from canefields and acreage to dense forest as the road climbs into the ranges. The timing is deliberate: the forest is at its most alive in the cooler hours, when the birds are calling, the light slants through the canopy and the tracks are quiet before the day-trippers arrive.
We walk when the walking is best, choosing tracks to match the group — a gentle boardwalk to a lookout, a longer circuit past waterfalls for those who want it. Your guide sets a pace that leaves room to stop, listen and look properly, because the best moments in a rainforest are rarely the ones you are rushing toward. There is time for a relaxed lunch, whether that is a picnic in a clearing or a stop at a mountain cafe, and the afternoon might bring a second walk, a waterfall swim where conditions allow, or — on the right departures — the short trail to the Natural Bridge glow worms as the light fades.
Throughout, the emphasis is on understanding rather than ticking off. By the time we drive back down to the coast, the idea is that you see the hinterland differently: not as scenery, but as a living, ancient place worth protecting.
The hinterland is the heart of our eco touring, but the Gold Coast's natural story does not end at the rainforest. The coast itself holds pockets of protected wild country that most visitors walk straight past. Burleigh Head National Park wraps a rocky headland in littoral rainforest and open eucalypt, with a coastal walk that often turns up koalas, brush turkeys and, in season, whales passing offshore. The Broadwater and its quieter channels are alive with shorebirds, pelicans, dolphins and turtles, and the dunes and wetlands of the Spit and Federation Walk shelter their own communities of plants and birds.
For close encounters with native wildlife, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary is a Gold Coast institution and a genuine conservation organisation, running rescue, rehabilitation and breeding programs alongside its visitor experiences. It is a natural addition to an eco day for families, or for anyone who wants to understand the animals they have been glimpsing in the wild. We can weave any of these coastal elements into a tour, building a day that moves between mountain rainforest and coastal nature — or focus entirely on one, depending on what the group is after.
The Gondwana rainforests are remnants — survivors of forests that once covered far more of the continent, now reduced to islands of green on the mountaintops. That makes them precious and, in places, fragile. Their soils erode easily where feet stray off the tracks; introduced weeds and diseases can spread on muddy boots; and the cool, high-altitude beech forests in particular are vulnerable to a warming, drying climate. Loving these places carelessly can wear them away.
This is why how you visit matters as much as whether you visit. Keeping to formed tracks, travelling in small groups, cleaning footwear between sites, never feeding wildlife and carrying out everything you carry in are not box-ticking gestures — they are the difference between forests that endure and forests that fray at the edges. Visiting with a small-group operator who works within the national parks' rules, rather than a large coach tour, is itself a lower-impact choice, and the park fees and permits that come with responsible operators help fund the rangers and conservation work that keep these areas alive.
We see part of our job as passing that understanding on. Guests leave our eco tours not just having seen the rainforest, but knowing a little more about why it is here, what threatens it, and how their own choices — on our tour and on every trip afterwards — can help keep wild places wild.
Eco days are easy-going, but a little preparation makes them more comfortable. We recommend sturdy, closed walking shoes with grip, as forest tracks can be damp and uneven; a light rain layer, since the rainforest makes its own weather; and a warm layer for the high beech forests, which stay cool even in summer. Bring sunscreen, insect repellent, a hat, a refillable water bottle and a small daypack, plus a camera or binoculars if you have them. Everything else — transport, the local guide, route planning and pickup — is handled, so all you need to do is turn up ready to enjoy the forest. If anyone in your group has access needs, dietary requirements or a particular interest, let us know when you book and we will plan the day around them.
What is a Gold Coast eco tour?
It is a small-group, nature-focused day spent in the protected rainforests and national parks of the Gold Coast hinterland — places like Springbrook, Lamington and Tamborine Mountain — led by a local guide, with an emphasis on appreciating and protecting the environment rather than just passing through it. We keep groups small, stay on formed tracks, and leave the bush as we find it.
Where do the eco tours go?
Most eco days head into the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area, centred on Springbrook and Lamington National Parks, with options including Tamborine Mountain, the Natural Bridge rock arch and its glow worms, and the wildlife of Currumbin. We tailor the route to the group's interests and fitness.
Are the walks difficult?
They range from flat, sealed lookout paths to graded forest circuits, so there is something to suit most fitness levels. We choose the walks to match the group and there are always shorter alternatives, so an eco tour is comfortable for families, older travellers and anyone who simply wants to enjoy the forest without a strenuous hike.
What wildlife might we see?
The Gondwana rainforests shelter species found almost nowhere else, from ancient Antarctic beech trees to the Albert's lyrebird and regent bowerbird. You may also see pademelons, brush turkeys, carpet pythons and, at Natural Bridge, glow worms after dark. Sightings are never guaranteed with wild animals, but the region is exceptionally rich.
How big are the groups?
Our eco tours run as small groups, capped at 14 guests, which keeps the experience personal, reduces our impact on the trails, and means the guide can give everyone real attention. Private charters are available for families, clubs and groups who would prefer the day to themselves.
How do I book and how much does it cost?
Because we shape every eco day to the group — the number of travellers, the parks you want to visit, the pace and any mobility needs — we quote each booking individually rather than publishing a fixed price. Call 0409 661 342 or email contact@cooeetours.com.au with a rough idea and we will come back with options. Cancellation is free up to 48 hours before departure.
Acknowledgement of Country. Cooee Tours acknowledges the Yugambeh and Kombumerri peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the Gold Coast and its hinterland. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and acknowledge their continuing connection to land, waterways and community.