A small passenger ferry again crosses the Mooloolah River from The Wharf Mooloolaba to La Balsa Park at Point Cartwright, as boats did for picnickers in the 1930s. Today's boat makes five loops a day, Thursday to Monday, and carries on up the canals to the Kawana Waters Hotel.
Mooloolaba Ferry timetable as published on its website, read on 13 October 2026; the operator's booking calendar confirms Thursday-to-Monday operation through October 2026. No end date is given Mooloolaba Ferry – Timetable · 2026-10-13
In the early 1930s ferry boats were already making regular trips across the Mooloolah River to Point Cartwright, especially in the holidays, and for a while the boat was the only way to reach it. Sunshine Coast Council's local history notes that in 1936 the Maroochy Shire Council borrowed money to build jetties at both ends of that crossing, and photographs from 1956 and the 1960s show children and adults boarding boats at the Point Cartwright wharf, the later one for the trip back to Mooloolaba.
The Kawana Waters development lease was signed in July 1960, and the canals and suburbs around Point Cartwright grew up afterwards. Today's Mooloolaba Ferry, which Visit Sunshine Coast describes as the first regular passenger ferry on the canals between Mooloolaba and Kawana Waters, runs a scheduled boat across those same waters.
The current service is simple. From Thursday to Monday a single vessel makes five loops between The Wharf Mooloolaba and the Kawana Waters Hotel, crossing to La Balsa Park on each run; the short Cross River Jump from the Wharf to the park costs $12 one way for an adult.
The fare depends on how far along the loop you go. The short Cross River Jump covers any stop between The Wharf and La Balsa Park; a one-way ticket runs the full length to the Kawana Waters Hotel and lets you get off and back on in the same direction that day; the all-day ticket allows unlimited rides in both directions. Concession prices apply to pensioners, students and carers, and children aged three and under ride free.
| Adult (15+), one way | $ 12 |
| Concession, one way | $ 10 |
| Child (4–14), one way | $ 6 |
| Adult (15+), return | $ 18 |
| Concession, return | $ 16 |
| Child (4–14), return | $ 9 |
| Adult one way, same day | $ 16 |
| Adult all-day, both directions | $ 28 |
| Child one way | $ 8 |
| Child all-day | $ 14 |
| Family (2 adults, 2 children), all-day | $ 66 |
| Mooloolaba Hop, Wharf to Fisheries, return | $ 10 |
| 5-day Explorer Pass, adult | $ 36 |
| 3-month All Access Pass, anyone | $ 99 |
Mooloolaba Ferry fares on its website and in its online booking catalogue, both read on 13 October 2026 Mooloolaba Ferry – Fares · 2026-10-13
The Wharf Mooloolaba stands beside the river's northern shore close to the mouth, and La Balsa Park on the Buddina side, inside the headland of Point Cartwright, a little over a kilometre away in a straight line. Southbound, the boat calls at Pier 33 by the marina and at Mooloolah River Fisheries before crossing to La Balsa Park, then heads into the Kawana canals to finish at the Kawana Waters Hotel on Point Cartwright Drive. The whole one-way run takes about 35 minutes, and a full loop about 80.
For a river boat that is part of the public transport network, compare Brisbane's CityCat ferry further south in Queensland: a 50-cent Translink fare and boats every 15 minutes, against a private operator here with five loops a day.
Stop 5 on the operator's list and the northern end of the line, in the waterfront precinct beside Mooloolaba's esplanade and surf beach. It is the stop the operator names for wheelchair access, with accessible ramps, and The Booking Box here sells tickets as well as the crew on board.
Stop 2, on the Buddina side of the river mouth inside Point Cartwright, with a playground, picnic lawns and paths up to the lighthouse. Ferry signs mark the pick-up point; as at every stop, the floating pontoon and gangway can be steep at some states of the tide.
The operator's own timetable page still says Thursday to Sunday in one line, but its banner, its five-day pass and its booking calendar all show Monday sailings, the last checked through to 26 October 2026. Tuesday and Wednesday have no ferry.
Missed departures are not refunded, and the operator asks passengers to arrive at least 10 minutes before the boat is due.
Pushbikes, surfboards and beach gear are welcome but must be stowed or held during the trip. Dogs need to be restrained and muzzled.
The vessel takes wheelchairs, prams and walking aids up to 740 mm wide, but the floating docks and gangways change angle with the tide. Crew can help with boarding, and the Wharf is the stop the operator names for accessible ramps.
When the operator cancels a sailing for weather or a mechanical problem, passengers get a full refund or can rebook, according to its terms.
The river itself has a longer working history. Lieutenant Heath of the Royal Navy surveyed its mouth in 1861, and from the 1860s William Pettigrew's timber depot at what was then called Mooloolah Heads shipped logs, produce and passengers to Brisbane by steamer. Protected by Point Cartwright, the harbour was preferred to the Maroochy River's bar. River traffic declined after the North Coast Railway reached Yandina in 1891, and the town's first allotments were sold in 1921.
Point Cartwright itself became a public reserve in 1933, and a lighthouse was built there in 1978 to guide shipping into Moreton Bay. The ferry's La Balsa Park stop is the closest landing to both.
About 20 minutes southbound, with stops at Pier 33 and Mooloolah River Fisheries; the 10:45 from the Wharf reaches La Balsa Park at 11:05. Northbound, La Balsa Park to the Wharf takes 18 minutes.
No. It sails Thursday to Monday only. Tuesday and Wednesday have no scheduled boats, and the five-day Explorer Pass covers the Thursday-to-Monday stretch.
$18 for an adult, $16 concession and $9 for children from four to fourteen, between The Wharf Mooloolaba and La Balsa Park on the same day. One way is $12, $10 or $6.
16:47, arriving at The Wharf Mooloolaba at 17:05. The last boat from the Wharf to La Balsa Park leaves at 17:15 and continues to Kawana.
Yes. The operator sells tickets on board, online through its booking site and at The Booking Box at The Wharf Mooloolaba.
Yes. Council history records regular ferry trips across the river to Point Cartwright by the early 1930s, new jetties funded in 1936, and boats still carrying day-trippers back to Mooloolaba in the 1960s.