A guide to off-road adventures and scenic drives in Queensland’s Rainbow Beach.

If you’re travelling Australia with a 4WD and a sense of adventure, Cooloola Recreation Area is a stretch of coast worth slowing down for. Just south of Rainbow Beach, this part of the Great Sandy National Park offers more than soft sand and sea spray, it’s a chance to explore at your own pace. From the sweeping views atop Carlo Sand Blow and Double Island Point to the peaceful beach drives and bush tracks, Rainbow Beach blends wild beauty with a sense of freedom that seasoned travellers will appreciate. Whether you’re set up for a day trip or planning a longer stay, it’s a place that stays with you long after the sand washes off.

If you are staying in Rainbow Beach area with your fury friend, we can recommend Big4 Breeze Holiday Park, or if you want to be closer to nature, and the beach itself, then one of the many Inskip Point campsites maybe for you.

Prerequisite

• Vehicle permit from Parks QLD
  • 1 calendar day = $15
  • 1 week or less = $38
  • 1 month or less = $59.80
  • more than 1 month (up to 1 year) = $300.90
• Know the tides – 2 hours either side of low tide.
  • Seabreeze.com.au – tide table
• A 4WD capable vehicle with decent ground clarence.
• Water & food.
• NO Dogs (domestic animals)
• Check for the latest conditions of the track at Information centre, or the parks website

Map showing route

Our Adventure

We started our day at 8am, dropping Shadow off at a doggy day care place not too far from our campground, then onto the main road towards the entrance to Cooloola Recreation Area.

Turning left onto Freshwater Road, then into Bymien Day use area, had a look around, there are some short walking tracks around, and toilets, flushing as well, and in good condition.

From here it was on to Freshwater Day use area. Along the way the track changed to soft sand, it was along here that we dropped the tyre pressures, there are plenty of passing bays to pull into to stay out of the way.

Here is a list of what we set our vehicle to when going on sand

• Tyres to 15 psi
• 4WD high
• Sand Mode
• Traction control off
• Transmission – Manual mode for the soft stuff

While the sand can be soft in places, we had no problems, the track is well defined, and even though we went in the middle of the week, there are plenty of people around.

We arrived at Freshwater Campground, and wow, what an excellent setup here. Flushing toilets, coin operated hot showers, level campsites, we thought this campground would be an excellent place to stay for a few days with pretty decent facilities, even a dump point a bit further down the track. The day use area was the same, flushing toilets, sheltered BBQ areas, a really good setup considering how remote this place is.

We did see a pop top caravan at the campground, not sure I would be game to take one, but there you go.

NOTE: Low tide for us was 1.45pm, we went on the beach at about 11am (a bit early), with the intention of being off by 3.45pm at the latest.

From here we headed up to Double Island Point to park up and walk to the lighthouse. The walk was about 2Km return, not too arduous, you are walking uphill to get there. I suggest taking water as there is next to no shade on the way and at the lighthouse itself. When we got back it was time to have a swim, and a bite to eat.

It was a popular place to get in the water as there was a few people about. The surf was a bit choppy, you do get pushed around a bit. The water was cool and refreshing.

From here we took the Leisha Track to Rainbow Beach South, wow, this is even better than the other side, it seemed more sheltered, less wind and swell, generally the water was calm and the beach was shallow going out some way so if you just wanted to do wadding, then this is the place, also would be good for small children.

From here, it was back to Rainbow Beach to beat the tide. You must get around Mudlo Rocks before high tide.

NOTE: You cannot get around Mudlo Rocks at high tide, you must know the tides and watch your time.

Some Pics from our Adventure

Carlo Sandblow

We did this on another day, it is very close to Rainbow Beach. A short easy walk, then from the lookout you can walk on the Sanblow itself, watch out it’s windy here, and the sand is soft.

NOTE: Watch out for Google Maps, it may take you to the wrong place! The map below will take you to the carpark for the walk.