Day trip to Rainbow Beach from Noosa by 2WD

While my daughter was visiting us in Noosa we went for a day trip to Rainbow Beach. Since we don’t have a 4WD we took the inland route, through Cooroy and Gympie. If you have a high clearance 4WD you can cross the Noosa River on the ferry and then drive along the Cooloola Beach Drive which would be spectacular.

Arriving in Rainbow Beach mid-morning, we drove straight to the start point for the Carlo Sandlow Walk. This 2.8km walk takes you through the coastal eucalyptus forest and rainforest to reach the Carlo Sandblow. The day we went was showery, but the rain held off while we were walking. At the end of the walk, we emerged from the forest onto the large sandblow. There are views out to Inskip Point and Fraser Island from the top. It was a short walk down to the cliffs overlooking the beach, where we had magnificent views up and down the coast.

This is an out-and-back walk. Once back in town, we took up a perch at one of the tables on the balcony of the Surf Lifesaving Club. It was lunch with a view and the kites put on a display flying circles just off the coast.

After lunch we headed back towards Noosa with a stop to walk to Poona Lake. This walk passes through tall rainforest with kauri and hoop pines, strangler figs and piccabeen palms. Then it was up and over the dune to Poona Lake. This is a perched lake like the ones on Fraser Island. Researching this walk, I was drawn to the pictures of the lake that we saw showed a white sand beach but despite searching, we couldn’t find a beach when we were there. Possibly the big rains of the last few seasons have lifted the water level.

The Cooloola Recreation area is part of the Great Sandy National Park which also includes K’Gari (Fraser Island) and they share similar features. Last year my daughter and I visited the southern end, kayaking through the Noosa Everglades. It is certainly a unique and beautiful part of the world.