Surf lakes Yeppoon dream could be less than 18 months away

The revolutionary wave-making lake turning rural Queensland into a surfing mecca could be open to the public within "12 to 18 months".

After upgrades, wave-making company Surf Lakes has resumed testing at Mulara, inland from Yeppoon, inviting pros and locals to trial and review its wave-pool as well as its newly created learn-to-surf area.

The site rocketed into headlines in 2018 when it was announced as a testing facility for Surf Lakes' technology.

Since then, the company has lodged a development application with Livingstone Council, detailing plans to transform the site into the "ultimate surf getaway", complete with restaurants, camping, and glamping.

Surf Lakes' general manager of global operations, Wayne Dart, told the ABC that the company expected a decision "in the next few months".

"Once we have the application through, we're actually starting from scratch with the commercial upgrades, he said. "There's a lot of infrastructures that has to be developed." That infrastructure includes access roads, a replacement of the wave-making machine with a "stronger mechanism designed for commercial capacity" as well as building a camping-glamping ground.

"It won't be a concurrent sort of switchover, we'll be waiting for the big grand opening," he said. 

"In reality, we'll be open to the public within 12 to 18 months." 

Mr Dart said Surf Lakes had recently upgraded its wave-making mechanism and was ready to "crank up" the testing process.

In the most recent trials last Friday, local surfers were treated to a day with pros Mark Occhilupo, Luca Doble and Dean Morrison at the site's new learn-to-surf area, which Mr Dart said was recently created to allow up-and-comers to participate.

"There were so, so, so many happy faces," he said.

"I had message after message after message from all the local mums and dads just saying how awesome it is, too, and how they can't wait to see it open to the public."