Rainbow Beach
Best Beach · QLD
Tourism Australia's Best Beach 2023, No. 3.
Ice-filled eskies, beach umbrellas, waxed surfboards, and weathered fishing rods on salty 4WD rigs is the modern-day playground scene here, attracting free-wheeling salty types, young and old, year-round. Rainbows feature prominently in First Nations dreaming.
The richly layered coloured sands of the high-scarped dune face gave this beach region its authentic name. It’s a long stretch to get well and truly beached, from Double Island Point (north of Noosa) through Rainbow Beach township proper, all the way north 10 kms to Inskip Point and K’gari (Fraser Island). Local Aboriginal creation has it that the coastal cliffs were coloured when Yiningie, the spirit of the gods representing Rainbow, was killed in a fight, and spread his ‘colourful’ spirits across the cliffs. The story of the coloured sands actually goes back several hundred thousand years. Each time the sea level rose to near its present height, sand was blown onto the dunes. Over time, layer after layer of sand dune accumulated until it reached the present towering height. After each major accumulation, vegetation and soil slowly formed on the dune surface, colouring the sand – until it, too, was buried by the next layer of sand 100,000 years later. When the most recent sea level rise reached its present position, it not only created the curving bay but also scarped the dunes, exposing the layers. Rainbow Bay, the heavenly hamlet, about 3 hours north of Brisbane, is a key entry point to the sub-tropical 41,000-hectare Cooloola National Park. There’s quality pub-grub in town or from the perched spectacular views at the local Surf Club. Among the dunes you can also saddle up a nag for a beachside trot. It’s all very Queensland.
⚠️ Ocean conditions can change quickly and rips can form even on calm days. Only swim at patrolled beaches, and supervise children at all times.