Most Caloundra riders ask us one thing first. Where on the Pumicestone Passage can I actually let a jet ski run? It's a fair question, and the answer has layers. The Passage sits inside the Moreton Bay Marine Park, which begins at Caloundra, and in the park's go-slow areas motorised water sports aren't allowed. Two new 6-knot zones came into force here on 9 January 2026. And about four fifths of the Passage is under two metres deep.
You learn all of it on the water itself. The course runs from our Caloundra venue in Golden Beach, with the theory done online first and a one-on-one session on the ski.
A jet ski is built to go fast. The Caloundra end of the Pumicestone Passage is mostly about knowing where you can't. That's the tension every new rider here has to sort out, and it's why the local detail matters more than the machine.
Start with the marine park, because it's the rule set most people have never heard of. The Moreton Bay Marine Park runs from Caloundra down to the Gold Coast, and the Passage is part of it. In the park's go-slow areas, every vessel has to travel off the plane, in a way that keeps the chance of hitting a turtle or dugong low. Motorised water sports are banned in those areas outright. Your licence card won't mention any of it. We can't tell you from a desk exactly where each go-slow area starts and stops on the Caloundra water, because they're drawn on the park's zoning maps. What we can do is make sure you know the maps exist and that they apply to you, before you ride.
Then come the speed limits. On 9 January 2026 two 6-knot zones took effect at Caloundra on the same day. One sits in the Passage around the Military Jetty and the Lamerough Canal. The other covers Bells Creek. Both apply to all vessels, and a jet ski is a vessel. Both boundaries are set by coordinates on MSQ's maps, so check the map before you assume where a zone ends. Just up the coast, Currimundi Lake has been 6 knots across the whole lake and every creek flowing into it since 2004.
The third layer is depth. Roughly 80% of the Passage is less than two metres deep, and the tide flushes it from the mouth at Caloundra and from Deception Bay at the other end. A ski pulls its water in from underneath, so shallow sand banks matter to a rider as much as to a boat skipper. The water has also changed shape lately. When council designed the new Golden Beach seawall, its engineers allowed for a 300mm rise in the Passage's tidal range caused by the Bribie Island breakthrough. More range means more water moving in and out, and banks that show up at different times from what an old-timer might tell you.
Put all that together and the case for training here is simple. If you're going to ride the Passage, learn it on the Passage. The practical runs from our Caloundra venue in Golden Beach, on this water. Theory is online first, then on the day there's a theory recap and assessment before you get on the ski.
The ski itself is a Sea-Doo. ABC chose it on purpose. It has braking, reversing and a learner mode, which gives a first-time rider a head start, and it's very stable, which helps with the docking and figure 8 manoeuvres you'll be assessed on. For the jet ski course on its own, the Caloundra practical is published as roughly 45 minutes, one-on-one. If you're doing the Boat and Jet Ski Combo, that ski session comes on top of an approx 3 hour group session in the boat.
Who books from Caloundra? Plenty of people who've waited a while to do it. At the 2021 Census the Caloundra locality's median age was 58, twenty years above Queensland's 38. If that's you, two things are worth knowing. The licence doesn't expire once it's issued. And if you need more time on the water to feel competent, we'd rather you took it.
The course itself is the same wherever you sit it: the theory online first, in your own time, then a day on the water with a trainer before the assessment. You need a licence for any boat with an engine over 4.5 kilowatts, which is nearly every tinny, runabout and cruiser. Pass, and the Queensland licence never expires. Pick the date that suits you and book online.
