We will be leaving Brisbane at 12pm making our way up to Rainbow Beach. Once settled in, there is an opportunity for a short walk, perhaps the Double Island Point Lighthouse Walk. This is a 2.2km walk, short but steep, taking us out to the lighthouse, which is spectacular, standing tall against a backdrop of low wind-stunted pandanus and coastal banksia. The views are well worth the walk, with amazing 360-degree views reaching from K’gari and rainbow Beach around to Noosa on a clear day.

Saturday we will undertake the Carlo Sand Blow to Poona Lake Walk. This walk is part of the Cooloola Great Walk. Starting from the Carlo Sand Blow carpark at Rainbow Beach, it is a short 10min walk to the Sand Blow, from there we cross to the other side and continue along the track, following the path to Poona Lake. Apparently, a lovely spot for lunch and a swim. We return the same way. According to ‘Parks and Forests’, this is a 20km return walk, of medium difficulty and taking up to 7hrs. At this stage we have not done the preouting, so will let you know what we find out in next month’s Jilalan.

Sunday morning, we will look at doing the Coloured Sands Beach Walk. The walk is 8km return, taking us along rainbow Beach to discover a natural ‘art gallery’, where wind and rain are constantly re-sculpting cliffs of coloured sand. As we walk south from Rainbow Beach township, we quickly begin to see the spectacularly eroded cliff lines of swirly coloured sands. The cliffs extend along the beach to Double Island Point, so we can walk as far as we wish before retracing our steps.

We plan to leave Rainbow Beach not long after lunch time, hopefully missing some of the Sunday afternoon traffic and returning us to Brisbane in plenty of time to head home and prepare for the week ahead.

Come and join us for a lovely weekend, hopefully full of sunshine with plenty of walking. Let me know if you wish to come.