With the September holidays coming up, everyone is gearing up for some family holiday fun in the sun. Personally, my favourite spot to visit, or even to spend a holiday, will always be our world famous Rainbow Beach, just North of Noosa and the Great Sandy National Park.

What makes this beach stand out among the rest? It has some of the most unique and breathtaking natural sites and views you could ever imagine, not to mention some awesome surf. So if you’re looking for somewhere for your next beach trip, then look no further than right here on the unbeatable Sunshine Coast.

The Carlo Sandblow is an absolute must see when visiting Rainbow Beach. The Blow sits atop Rainbow Beach’s famous Coloured Sands. It is a 15 hectare sand mass formed thousands of years ago that has an incredible resemblance to a moonscape. Offering an easy 600 metre walk from the car park at the top of Cooloola Drive next to the water towers, the track can be accessed with strollers, due to a series of wide steps that meander through characteristic local vegetation. Many marriage proposals and weddings have been officiated at this stunning location due to the absolute beauty and unforgettable, lasting impression of the 360 degree views. If you are lucky enough to visit on a full moon, you can watch the sun go down in the west and the moon rise in the east. A magical experience.

Rainbow Beach’s famous Coloured Sands are steeped in Indigenous Australian folklore and mythology  The story goes like this. A beautiful woman named Murrawar fell in love with the Rainbow who visited the beaches every evening. Burwilla, a man from a distant tribe, took Murrawar for his own against her will. One day Murrawar escaped and fled along the beach. But Burwilla followed her with his boomerang in hand. She called for help and so the Rainbow raced across the sea to her. Burwilla threw his boomerang at the Rainbow and they met with a thunderous roar. The boomerang was destroyed instantly while the Rainbow was shattered into tiny pieces, covering the beach’s sands. It is still there, its colours forming the hills along the beach. Aboriginal women of many tribes make long treks to obtain and carry or place these sands in their hair in the belief that the Rainbow is their protection or good luck charm.

These coloured sands have been created by iron-rich minerals in the dune sands which, over thousands of years, stain the sand a complex array of tones and hues. The yellows, browns and reds blend to compose over 70 different colours and tints. When the dunes collapse or the top layers are removed by wind and rain, the amazing multi colours are exposed. These towering coloured cliffs and canyons caress the shoreline and amaze visitors with an intense and diverse palette of sand shades. A rainbow of colours, hence the name Rainbow Beach.

Inskip Peninsula is a narrow finger of land 12 minutes north of the Rainbow Beach Village. It boasts absolute beach front camping sites, nestled in an unformatted natural beachside bushland, with surf beach one side and a still water tidal bay the other, no wider than 500 metres in most parts. A bitumen road takes you all the way to a roundabout, 500 metres short of the 4 Wheel Drive Barge access track. This makes it popular with campers without 4WD’s. The Peninsula is popular all year round due to our temperate sub-tropical climate. The natural bushland offers a lot of protection from the elements. Inskip is serviced by Hybrid toilets (minimal water use) only. All campers must carry in and carry out all other requisites. A water station and Portable Toilet disposal point is available on Clarkson Drive, free of charge. While Inskip Peninsula is not a National Park but a Recreational area, it is managed by Qld Parks & Wildlife Service, which is controlled by the Department of Environment, Resource Management. This means that a camping permit is required prior to camping.

For more information on Rainbow Beach and its surrounds visit the Rainbow Beach Tourism and Commerce Association’s website.