It happened in Rainbow...

A couple days ago, we met two guys, one from Montreal, Chad and the other, Fred from Germany who were travelling together. The pair turned out to be a lot of fun and also musically inclined. Here's a short video of Fred playing his Ukulele he got from his band mates before he left to travel Australia. Enjoy...

Carlo Sand Blow

Yesterday my brother and I decided to take a hike up to Rainbow Beach's famous "Carlo Sand Blow". This growing sand dune, which overlooks stunning coloured sand cliffs, covers over 15 hectares. Pictures won't do it justice, this place is beyond anything I have ever seen. 


We started by taking a hike up hill through the Sandy National Park, making our way up the many stair cases that popped up every couple 100 metres. It takes about 40 minutes to actually reach the sand blow so if you plan on going, make sure to pack some water and wear sunscreen!



Carlo Sand Blow was named by Captain Cook after one of his deck crew named Carlo. The unique sand mass overlooks the towering coloured sands of Rainbow Beach. 


The 360 degree views are spectacular, to the East has magnificent views of the ocean where one can often see the migrating whales from August to October (which we did not see). To the S.E. is Double Island Point and the cliffs of coloured sand. Fraser Island and Inskip Point are to the North, while Tin Can Bay and the Great Sandy Straits lie to the West.


Anyway, enough with the information... let's get to the pictures!

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Made in Canada, Exported to Oz...

This has been a long time coming, but internet and uploading sources have been far and few here in Australia. So thanks for your patience, and enjoy this video of memories from back home in Canada...

The Coloured Sands of Rainbow Beach

Yesterday, Trev, Ryan and our new two fellow Canadian friends, Lauren and Lindsay took a trip down to the coloured sands along the beach to see what Rainbow Beach's claim to fame was all about.


I'm not exactly sure if we walked far enough, but the sands weren't exactly "rainbow-ish". More like nice shades of reds and oranges sands. Needless to say, it was still pretty impressive to see. There is a dream time story from the Aboriginals about how the coloured sands came to be:

"Way back in dream-time, there lived on the banks of the Noosa River a beautiful black maiden called Murrawar who fell in love with the Rainbow, which came to visit her here every morning. She would clap her hands and sing to this lovely rainbow.

"One day the Burwilla, a very bad man from a distant tribe, stole Murrawar for his slave wife, beating her cruelly and making her do all his work, while he sat in the shade admiring his terrible killing boomerang. This boomerang was bigger than the biggest tree and full of evil spirit.

"One day Murrawar ran away and as she hurried along the beach, which was all flat in those days, she looked back and saw Burwilla's boomerang coming to kill her. Calling out for help, she fell to the ground too frightened to run.

"Suddenly she heard a loud noise in the sky and saw her faithful Rainbow racing towards her across the sea. The wicked boomerang attacked the brave Rainbow and they met with a roar like thunder, killing the boomerang instantly and shattering the Rainbow into many small pieces.

"Alas, the poor sick and shattered Rainbow lay on the beach to die and is still there with all its colours, forming the hills along the beach."

To ruin the whole story for you, geologists say that the sands are stained by decaying vegetable matter as it seeps through. But in the spirit of a really interesting story, let's just say that geologists are full of shit.

Rainbow Beach

So we've been in Rainbow Beach for a few days now and I can definitely say that it is so nice to be around people again! And not only people, but people from around the world – new people coming and going everyday. I can see how that could become tough if you end up meeting some people that you take a liking to, to only see them take off the next day.

In the past couple of days I have been in Rainbow Beach, I have come to learn that this is the hub for backpackers to stay before the leave for the Fraser Island journey. Fraser Island is the ultimate escape with pristine beaches, a national park and wildlife beyond any expectations. Fraser Island is on the list of things to do before we head to our next destination.

Speaking of things on our list of things to do – The rainbow coloured sands of Rainbow Beach is what all tourist brochures boast about for Rainbow Beach but from what I gather from the locals here, it's not that big of a spectacle. But, being the stubborn person people have grown to love and also hate, I need to check it out for myself. So, this afternoon, when the tide is low (after 12:30PM today) me, Trev, Ryan a guy from Edmonton, Canada we have become close with and also a couple other very experienced backpacker Canadian girls will get together today and rally up anyone else who would like participate in the venture to see the coloured sands.

Last night, was mine and Trev's first night of really tasting Goon. Goon is basically the cheapest alcohol you can buy in Australia and it comes in a form of a 4litre box of wine – red or white. We had planned to meet some other people down at the beach for a bonfire beach party, but we ended up getting a torrential downpour which ruined our bonfire hopes. So we settled under the veranda of Pippies and broke out the ipod dock and took on a game of crazy eight countdown which quickly formed into a type of goon drinking game.

At the peak of the night, we gathered up a blanket, the ipod dock, a couple boxes of leftover goon everyone had and traveled down to the beach for some time to take it all in. And boy, we did.

How amazing is it to be sitting on the beach at midnight with some great music, great people, stories and horrible horrible wine to continue on the social event? I reckon it can't get much better than that... Maybe if we sub the goon for a really nice bottle of whiskey... but seriously, life is good.

Wrapping up Roma

Not much to post here, just thought we would share some pics we took on our last night here...

enjoy.

Gone Fishin' at Croydon River

Since we arrived at Croydon, Trev and I always wanted to go out fishing. We learned from Brendan that the creek nearby was "great" for catching carp. With that in mind, one of our last days at Croydon Trevor made a make shift hook out of barbed wire and some fishing line he found and we packed up some brews, music and out handy fishing gear and set forth for Croydon Creek to see if we could catch ourselves a carp.We have a video, but our country internet is not the best, so when we get city internet we'll post the video!

Stay tuned...

Leaving Croydon

Trev and Teenie

Me and Diesel (mini-man)

 

Well the time has come and our time here at Croydon is up. After some careful consideration and thought, Trev and I have concluded that our time here at Croydon Ranch is coming to an end. The once unfamiliar sounds of tractors, crickets, cows, magpies, and complete and utter silence have become scarily familiar after having spent 6 weeks here. Our longing for the sounds of hustle and bustle in the busy streets of a city is almost sickening. It's funny how we always crave the one thing we can't have.

We have now established a destination up next on our journey through Oz. Rainbow Beach is the secret pinnacle of the Sunshine Coast nestled close to Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world that also manages to have a full fledge rain forest even though the expected rain fall for the island is only a mere couple days a year. Also in close proximity of Rainbow Beach is the famous Tin Can Bay where the whales and dolphins lurk and also just a short journey away to Queensland's Noosa.

With the new arrival of an additional worker at Croydon, Kelly who is from England and very experienced in horse back riding and t he great feedback we gave Outback Packers on Brendan's hospitality, we hope Croydon will continue to progress into what Brendan's vision is.

As for us, Rainbow Beach seems like the perfect spot to ease into the coastal life. This city that thrives on it's fishing and tourist industry is still small in population, but massive with the new list of opportunities to explore and learn more about this country's heritage, history and it's iconic uniqueness it boasts about in our world.

Our first stop in Rainbow Beach will be one of it's accommodationn landmarks, Pippies Beach House, a backpackers place to call home and soon another two Canadians will settle in, hanging up their work boots and Aussie hats trading them in for a pair of Havaianas and sunnies.

This former sandmining town is perfectly situated as the "Gateway to Fraser Island", but Rainbow Beach has so many attractions that it's an eco-tourism destination in its own right.

The town takes its name from the towering coloured sand cliffs nearby which are part of an aboriginal legend. The legend states than an ancient aboriginal god threw himself into the sand cliffs in a fight over a woman, colouring them forever. You can visit the Coloured Sands and other outstanding natural attractions such as the Carlo Sand Blow, Double Island Point and Inskip Point, the launching point for Fraser Island.

You can take a four-wheel drive adventure around the rainforest, freshwater lakes and deserted beaches.  The Park is full of bush-walking tracks, picnic facilities, and offers the only beach camping facilities between Fraser Island and Noosa.

Boating is also an excellent option from Rainbow Beach, as Carlo Point offers access to the protected waterways of Tin Can Bay Inlet. From here, recreational boats can put into the Inlet and open up a host of fishing and watersports options for your holiday. And, of course, fishing from the beach remains one of the primary activities of visitors and locals alike.

Here's some memories we've collected from Croydon and Roma...

Emu, or as Brendan likes to call them; "Fence Wreckers"

Kangas!

Home Sweet Home - A place to hang your hat.

Teenie, the mouse hunter

Boudley

Mural on the public washrooms (or toilets as the Aussies say) in Roma