Queensland · Attraction
Blue Lake (Karboora) - Naree Budjong Djara National Park
Sacred pool, deep silence
schedule 1 min read / Updated Jun 2026
Blue Lake, Karboora in the Quandamooka language, meaning 'deep silent pool', is one of the most spiritually significant sites on North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah) and sits within Naree Budjong Djara National Park, whose name translates as 'My Mother Earth'. The lake is reached via a 5.2-kilometre return walk through wallum woodlands, flowering coastal heath, and stunted eucalypts from the Kaboora car park on Alfred Martin Way. Its vivid blue-green water shimmers in a setting of rare stillness and natural beauty.
The walk is rated easy to moderate and takes between 1.5 and 2 hours return, passing through some of the most botanically diverse heathland in south-east Queensland. The track is well-marked and suitable for walkers with reasonable fitness; solid footwear and a hat are recommended. Seasonal wildflowers paint the heathland in purple, yellow, and white between August and October, and the path opens to the lake at a viewing platform with benches for resting.
Visitors are asked not to swim in Karboora, in respect for its deep importance to the Quandamooka people, who consider it home to a spiritual serpent entity and approach it with great reverence. The national park itself was established in 2011, incorporating the former Blue Lake National Park, and is managed jointly by Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation. Entry to the park is free, and the Kaboora car park is located approximately 9 kilometres east of Dunwich ferry terminal.
Scenic views
