Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Best places for family fun at Rainbow Beach (kinda secret too)


Have your own Tom Sawyer adventure exploring along freshwater Searys Creek. On a hot day, get there early to avoid the crowds.  You could catch a massive eel on your GoPro!  Remember your googles or snorkelling mask too.  Please take care with the delicate environment of the creek and only use the steps and boardwalks.  It is part of the National Park.

Swimming under the old logging bridge at Searys Creek is a team effort.  As parents you would already know to supervise your children at all times while swimming under there.

 
Sand tobogganing at Carlo Sand Blow on sunset.  How spectacular is this place.  James Cook knew a good sand blow when he saw one!  Take something to help you slide such as a boogie board with a really smooth bottom.  Sitting down is a good idea because we've seen some nasty stacks when people try to stand up - normally backpackers pushing the limits!

Sand tobogganing is another great spot to capture Go Pro action.

Learning to surf at "North Beach" near Double Island Point.  This is one of the top surfing spots in Australia because of the very long and gentle break.  To get here from Rainbow Beach you need a 4WD and to work in with the tide times - and remember to leave enough time to get back!  There are no toilets or water, so take plenty of snacks and drinks.  It is a wonderful place to hang out for as many hours as you can.  The shallows are sheltered and there are rocks to explore.  You may spot dolphins, and whales in migration season.  From the beach you can also walk up to the Double Island Point Lighthouse (about 20 minutes uphill).
 

And, of course, more Go Pro footage so that you can preserve forever the memories of your fun adventures at Rainbow Beach.

We hope you enjoy these best places for family fun at Rainbow Beach.  All these "secret spots" are very special to us and many other families.  Please take care of the precious natural environment while enjoying them, and take all your rubbish away.
 

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Paragliders in the sky over lunch


Carlo Sand Blow is a very popular spot from which paragliders launch, and Scribbly Gums is under the flight path as they ride the updraft along the sand dunes on their way to land down near the Surf Lifesaving tower.  It's pretty special to spot their colourful canopies while eating lunch.

According to Paragliding Rainbow Beach, a paraglider is a lightweight foot-launched glider with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness suspended below a hollow fabric wing whose shape is formed by its suspension lines, the pressure of air entering vents in the front of the wing and the aerodynamic forces of the air flowing over the outside.  Paragliders can fly for hundreds of kilometres and many hours.  Carlo Sand Blow is one of the top 10 coastal launch sites in the world.


 Lunch on the deck at Scribbly Gums.


Sunday, November 1, 2015

Mother whale protects calf caught in net off Rainbow Beach

Photo from Gympietimes.com.au
On 16 October, a five-metre-long humpback whale calf became entangled in shark nets just off Rainbow Beach.  Thankfully, the whale was freed by Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol's marine animal release team in a five hour operation.

The Gympie Times reported that witnesses on the beach said the mother seemed agitated as the rescuers cut the net from the calf.  The massive humpback breached and tail-slapped the water many times before swimming in a continuous circuit to check on her calf.

These photos tell the story of this amazing mother protecting her baby.  Despite the rubber duckie boats and other threats to her safety, the whale stayed guarding her calf.

These gentle giants of the sea are sentient creatures that need our protection.  Scientific studies have shown that whales and dolphins demonstrate self-awareness, suffering and a social culture - not deserving of being treated as an animal commodity to be harvested from the sea (source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk)
Photo from 7 news Yahoo
Learn more about why and when whales migrate past Rainbow Beach >

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Hidden gem north of Noosa - discover it before everyone else does!

What a fantastic wrap up of the fun and adventure to be found at Rainbow Beach and Double Island Point ... so good that it may not be the hidden gem we all love much longer!



The video is a great promo for several Rainbow Beach businesses, including Epic Ocean Adventures who run surfing lessons and dolphin view kayak trips off Double Island Point.
On their website, Epic Ocean Adventures says: We know we have the most spectacular uncrowded location in Oz. There is no better place to learn to surf in Australia. Double Island Point is a long sandy point break making the easiest and safest wave to learn on. Because it is only accessed by 4wd this makes it less crowded than many other locations with plenty of waves for everyone. The boys have first time surfers getting rides 100’s of meters long.
Double Island Point is remote and relativley untouched making it a very popular place for many different types of marine life. Don't be too surprised if Bottlenose dolphins pass you by whilst surfing or a turtle pops up in the crystal clear sandy shallows for a breath of air.
Dolphin View Kayaking tours are also run at Double Island Point. This is a special place for wildlife as it always seems to be abuzz with marine life. Whales (in season) have numbered 16000 passing by last season and are growing strongly every year. Dolphins, manta rays, turtles, sting rays, sea birds and soldier crabs in their thousands.  It’s a great place to see local marine life in their habitat, in the wild.
And who doesn't have the dream of riding a horse along a beautiful beach?  Rainbow Beach Horse Rides.  Here's what they say about their horse riding tours:
Rainbow Beach Horse Rides is owned and created by Andrew and Kirsty McCarthy, along with their two children Courtney and Zac.  They own high quality horses that are as experienced mustering under helicopters as they are walking along the beach. 
Rainbow Beach is located in south east Queensland, approximately 3 hours north of Brisbane. It is an incredibly spectacular ocean beach nestled nearby the World Heritage listed Fraser Island. 
Whilst riding on the pristine white sands with Rainbow Beach Horse Rides during the whale season, it is very likely that you will see whales breaching or dolphins playing in the beautiful turquoise waters. 
Rainbow Beach has been internationally rated in the top 5 "Most Incredible Beaches of the World" and the "Third most colourful beach in the world.
Rainbow Beach Horse Rides have the only permit in existence to operate horse rides on this environmentally sensitive stretch of pristine coastline which is surrounded by World Heritage listed National Park.
It is amazing that you can drive a 4WD along the beach.  We just hope that everyone drives responsibly and respects the incredible privilege of being able to do so.  

Please don't speed, don't drive over sensitive vegetation and sand dunes, and please don't leave your rubbish.

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Wood-fired pizza at the beach - Arcobaleno



Tucked behind the Rainbow Beach hotel in a peaceful courtyard, you will find Arcobaleno Italian restaurant serving delicious wood fired pizza.   We have been eating out at Arcobaleno for several years under the current and former management and have always enjoyed friendly service and great food. 
 
Pancakes and coffee after a lovely walk along the beach towards the Coloured Sands.

The open courtyard means that our little dog can also join us after the walk on the beach.

Find Arcobaleno Rainbow Beach on Facebook

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Why did the sink hole happen at Rainbow Beach?

Sink hole north of Rainbow Beach.  Image source: www.abc.net.au Facebook: Kieren Hudson
It might be time to experience camping at Inskip Point before it disappears.   Inskip Peninsula is an isthmus of sand that once connected Fraser Island with the mainland, but is now separated and is just a thin strip of sand sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean and Tin Can Bay.

Inskip is one of the most popular camping spots in South East Queensland hosting thousands of campers during school holidays.  It lies across a small channel of water from the southern tip of Fraser Island at the entrance to Tin Can Bay, 10 minutes drive north of Queensland's Rainbow Beach.  Most people travelling to Fraser Island drive from Rainbow Beach north along the peninsula to Inskip point, from where they catch a barge across to the southern tip of Fraser Island.

Around 11pm on Saturday, 26 September, a car, a caravan and a camping trailer were swallowed by a giant sinkhole that opened up at the Inskip Point camping ground.  Thankfully no people were injured.  Police estimated the hole to be about 100 metres by 100 metres and around three metres deep.

The last sink hole occurred in 2011 a little further north of this one at the MV Beagle campsite, which is about half way up the peninsula.  There are plenty of opinions about why the sink hole happened at Rainbow Beach.  However, it is actually one of many that have occurred over the years and which will continue to happen.

On the Clayton's Towing Facebook page, Debbie Campbell Myers posted this excerpt from The Brisbane Courier of 3 July 1901
LANDSLIP AT INSKIP The harbour-master at Maryborough (Captain Boult) has Informed the Port master that the coxswain at Inskip had advised him that a land-slip has occurred there, by which a truck and part of the boat tram gear was lost, but the boats and a spare bar buoy were saved with difficulty. The beacon and light-stand near the boatshed are liable to go at any time. There is now 14ft. of water near the beacon, and the next spring tides will show whether any more trouble may be expected.
Back in 2011, the Brisbane Times reported this opinion as to why the sink hole happened at Rainbow Beach:
Canberra-based landslide and disaster risk management scientist Dr Marion Leiba said the dramatic sinkhole-like conditions were likely caused by an “eddy” or “loop” current creating turbulence in the water and destabilising sand.

``Sand is permeable which means the water gets in to it and when you get enough water pressure, it holds the grains apart and it turns in to quicksand,'' she said.

``It loses cohesion and it just sort of collapses down.  It's just sort of s
ucked down in to the bottom of the water."
 View of Inskip looking south to Rainbow Beach - showing point where barges depart to Fraser Island (Double Island Point in the very far distance).  Given the Pacific Ocean is crashing into one side, there is no surprise that the peninsula is slowly subsiding into the ocean.  Image source: http://4wdaction.com.au
Image source:  http://indicatorloops.com/inskip.htm
The Wide Bay Bar at the entrance to the channel between Fraser and Inskip is notoriously treacherous.   If you love history, check out this fabulous recounting of the history of the Inskip Point Light and Signal Station.  

This film was recorded in 2005, moments earlier they were a number of 4X4 parked in this section of beach with guys fishing near by.   These sink holes appear every now and again along Inskip Beach near where the ferrys cross between Inskip Point and Fraser Island.


 

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Dog friendly accommodation Rainbow Beach


Scribbly Gums beach house accommodation at Rainbow Beach welcomes your dog to stay.  The back garden and deck area is fenced.  Dogs are not allowed inside the house, but can sleep in the laundry or garage.

There is lots of fun for dogs and their people down on the beach - just be careful of the waves coming in when you are climbing around the rocks at high tide!

Please note the terms and conditions that apply for dogs including an additional cleaning fee. You can find out more information on the holiday letting agent's website.

Dog friendly accommodation at Rainbow Beach.  Beautiful morning walks along Rainbow Beach.