About the new Carlo Sand Blow walk

The beautiful Carlo Sand Blow bush walk at Rainbow Beach takes you through eucalypt forest and rainforest with diverse towering trees, shrubs, ferns, flowers, sedge, vines, and grass trees along the way.   Of course, September is wildflower season, so a particularly beautiful time to go.  Much of the walk is under the dappled shade of the forest, so it is lovely even in the heat of summer.

The trail commences at the QPWS (Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service) office (situated on the right as you drive in Rainbow).  Or, you can walk to the start via the Double Island Drive fire break (walk to the top end of Double Island Drive and turn right onto the fire break).  It is approximately 2.8km to the Carlo Sandblow.  

At the peak of the walk, you will emerge from the forest onto the high, southern side of Carlo Sand Blow, where the 'moonscape' of windblown sand before you is breathtaking.  

Carlo Sand Blow is part of the huge accumulation of windblown sand known as the Cooloola sandmass.  Wind is carrying sand across a forest and burying everything in its wake.
From points around the sandblow, enjoy stunning 180-degree views over Rainbow Beach, Tin Can Bay, the Coloured Sands, Double Island Point, Fraser Island and Inskip Peninsula. 

Once you are at this point of the blow you can either return the same way you came, or continue across the sand blow to the viewing platform, follow the track to the car park, and then down Cooloola Drive through town to wherever you started from!

Spotted on the walk

Early on the walk, you'll come across patches of this mysterious feathery brush-like plant with distinctive 'burnt' brown rings on the stem.  It looks like a cross between a fern and a pine!  It is in fact a class of plants known as a 'sedge'. Caustis Blakei, or Foxtails.  We searched widely to try to find what it was and eventually I joined a Facebook Plant Identification Group, who were able to name it.

It has inflorescence, not leaves. 

From NoosaLandcare.org: This sedge can be found in wallum woodland and dominating the grass species in Scribbly Gum or Blackbutt forests on sand islands - the coastal lowlands being a preferred habitat. It ranges from Bundaberg in QLD to Taree in NSW and also in the Greater Brisbane Region west to Helidon. The flowering ‘tails’ are 20- 50cm long but many plants have non-flowering (infertile) branches these each with clusters of branchlets. C.blakei has rigid, erect, smooth stems up to 2m tall.

This massive Scribbly Gum must be hundreds of years old.  No doubt it was standing when Captain Cook sailed past and named the sand mass, Carlo Sandblow.

 

Did you know that at the end of every scribble trail there is a loop, where the grub circles back and starts re-consuming the trail it has been on.   You can also see here how the grub has grown in size as it has eaten its way from the thinnest line to the thicker line. 

Don't miss the turn, unless you want to walk to Double Island Point!  Here you also join the very last section of the Cooloola Great Walk, a five day 102km trek from Noosa North Shore to Rainbow Beach.  200 metres to go to the blow!

Just after the turn off, look out for our tree fondly known as "the booby tree".

Fascinating burl on a gum, bark stripped away above but clinging on below.

The sun is starting to set through the Eucalypt forest.   We timed the walk perfectly!

Arriving at the Sandblow

Listen out for wonderful birdlife twittering in the banksias (including tiny birds with a big song that we think they may be Mistletoe-birds). Look overhead for birds of prey, such as brahminy and whistling kites. 

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.
 

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 sucked 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.

 

Carlo Sand Blow

We never tire of taking new people to explore all corners of Carlo Sand Blow. The wind rushing up from the ocean over the expanse of sand blows away all other thoughts. From the striking beauty of the coloured sand cliff edge to sand tobaganning, sand dune sprints and admiring the coastal vegetation.

Carlo Sand Blow is accessed from the top of Cooloola Drive.  From the car park is a moderate 10 minute walk that is easily accomplished by young children.  Once at the sand blow you can spend a brief time admiring the view from the platform or spend hours wandering the extremes -- to the back end where the sand is creeping towards the houses in Rainbow Beach, to the cliffs on the ocean side and up the sides!

Searys Creek, Rainbow Beach

During April 2012, we visited Searys Creek, a beautiful freshwater creek in the Great Sandy National Park near Rainbow Beach, Queensland. 

The kids adore the adventure of swimming along this bush creek with a white sandy bottom - even with the eels!  Our tip is to arrive early and you will often find yourselves the only people there.  The water is always "crisp" but on a hot Summer's day it is divine.

At Searys Creek you can enjoy a little piece of what Fraser Island is famous for...without leaving the mainland.  The water is fresh and clean ... the reddish colour of the water is due to tannin from the tea tree leaves.

You can even discover the remants of an old wooden bridge - we assume from when this was the main road into town for loggers?

Double Island Point lighthouse at sunset

At the southern end of Rainbow Beach is Double Island Point, which is about one hour drive from Rainbow Beach via Freshwater Track and Teewah Beach.  To reach the Double Island Point lighthouse, park at the very end of the beach and then walk up the signposted track about 600 metres.  The beginning and end sections are quite steep, so you do need energy, water and hats.  We were lucky to see masses of Blue Tiger (or Blue Wanderer) butterflies in the She-oak (Casuarina) trees.  Blue Tiger butterflies migrate each year from North Queensland to South East Queensland around March-April.

Double Island Point lighthouse is still an important functioning lighthouse.  When it was built in 1884 the lantern burnt oil, then in 1923 vaporised kerosene, later it was converted to electric power and in 1992 it was automated and converted to solar power.

Lichen grows on a rock with one of the historic lighthouse keepers' cottages in the background.  Noosa Parks Association volunteers are undertaking the huge task of ridding Double Island Point of introduced weeds and revegetation with native plants.

Excerpt from Accidental-Greenie eco blog: Have you ever sat on the beautiful beach at Noosa or walked through the National Park and thought "thank goodness there is no high rise in Noosa"?

In 1969, Noosa Council had approved a high rise development on the beach side of Hastings Street and in the late 70's was proposing a 12 storey limit on the other side of Hastings Street.  Today, there is a three storey limit.  How this happened is the story of two legendary couples, Arthur and Marjorie Harrold and Bill and Mavis Huxley, and the volunteer organisation they founded, Noosa Parks Association (NPA).

Queensland's Noosa and Cooloola National Park region works its magic on all who are fortunate to visit.  Noosa is one of our most valuable tourism destinations because the concrete development has harmonised with the natural beauty of rainforest scrambling down coastal headland to pristine beaches.

We also have these people to thank for there being no coastal road around Noosa Heads and the existence of the Cooloola section of the Great Sandy National Park stretching from Noosa River to Double Island point.  In the 60s and 70s, this area was destined to be ripped apart for sand mining and when the miners moved on, suburban development would have moved in.

The NPA and the people that have volunteered their time and hearts since 1962 are true legends of conservation.  Today, the NPA is regarded around the world as a shining light for successful community environmental organisation.  Unlike well known single issue battles such as the Franklin and Gordon River, the NPA has relentlessly fought and won successive battles over 40 years.



If you are looking for the best water bottle, visit Biome in Brisbane for a wide range of drink bottles, glass water bottles, stainless steel, leak proof and BPA free water bottles.

Fire on Fraser Island

As dusk fell today, the glow magically appeared from this fire that has been burning on Fraser Island for a couple of days.    The air has been heavy with the smoke all day, but it was not until evening that we could actually see the fire.  The tiny light across on the right of the fire is car headlights way up along the coast of Fraser Island.

Aborigines used fire to manage vegetation on Fraser Island for thousands of years.  According to the Fraser Island Defenders Organisation (FIDO): "We know that Fraser Island Aborigines used fire by the comments of Captain Cook, who passed along the main beach in the hours of darkness on 18 May 1770. He said, "Our course at night was guided by the great number of fires on the shore". Thus Fraser Island would have had relatively frequent, low intensity burns which would have resulted in a landscape with "a park like appearance". That is the description most early explorers gave to describe the lack of a dense understorey in the Australian bush."

Spectacular views from Carlo Sand Blow

There is no need to go to Fraser Island to see a spectacular sand blow. The expansive Carlo Sand Blow can be found near Rainbow Beach, three hours drive north of Brisbane.

Covering around 15 hectares, Carlo Sand Blow offers beautiful 360 degree views from Double Island Point around to Tin Can Bay. You can walk down to the steep cliff face of the coloured sands from where the sands are blown up, and you can trek to the back where you see the sand slowly engulfing trees and bush as the blow inches inland.

The National Park walking track to the Carlo Sand Blow, which starts about 300 metres up the road from Scribbly Gums beach house, meanders through woodlands with massive scribbly gums and banksia. We love an early morning walk to watch the sunrise over Double Island Point or to go at sunset and watch the sun go down over the waters of Tin Can Bay inlet.

This view shows Inskip Point and the hills of Fraser Island in the background.  Near the middle of this photo there is a tall pine tree with a wind sock flying from the top that is used by the paragliders.  Scribbly Gums beach house is located just over the road from this tree.

You will often see paragliders taking off from the Sand Blow, joining the sea eagles making the most of the thermals along the cliffs. The sand blow was named by Captain Cook after one of his crew named Carlo.