Rainbow Beach

[jimmy91 Member Find all posts View Profile Close jimmy91]

hey all i will be heading up to rainbow beach for my 20th birthday this weekend with a few friends. Does anyone have some advice for 4wding on the beaches up there? its my first time and was just looking for a few pointers. i have some recovery gear and tyre deflators. Was going to set tyres on 20psi for sand? Also what are the wash outs like? my dad has warned me they can get a bit scary at times and to take caution.

thanks in advance

[ToeEdge Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ToeEdge]

One tip, don't attempt to drive around Mudlo Rocks on the incoming tide, and never at high tide! Lots of vehicles lost there. If your heading from the south, go in to Noosaville and drive up the beach in Cooloola national Park... it's a great drive. You can take an inland track at the end, or keep going up to Mudlo rocks if the tide is right.

[stevensr34 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close stevensr34]

I think the rocks near Rainbow Beach (Mudlo Rocks) are currently impassable at any tide. Some years there's enough sand to drive over them, but for the last few years, there's been very little sand, even at low tide. Otherwise, just follow the simple rules of sand driving:

1. Lower your tyres to about 24 psi hot.
2. Keep up your momentum over soft sand - the softer the sand, the more the momentum (known as the "drive it like you stole it" method)
3. Don't turn sharply on sand. You will dig in and bog or roll.
4. U-turns are done by turning DOWN from softer sand onto hard sand at the waters edge. NOT the other way round.

Have fun!

[BradLee Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BradLee]

Freshwater track is a nice drive too. You can head off the beach to a day area and then through to rainbow beach township and back out to the beach at inskip point. Poona lake walk is a nice ( a couple of k's before you hit bitchumen - well signed) and the rest stop at the start of the walk is a nice bit of rainforrest.

Enjoy
Brad

[craigm Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close craigm]

Jimmy91, have a look at the cooloola beach condition report here http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/register/p01713aa.pdf . Some useful info and take particular attention to the tide times.... Have a safe weekend!

Craig

[REV Find all posts View Profile Close REV]

I think the rocks near Rainbow Beach (Mudlo Rocks) are currently impassable at any tide. Some years there's enough sand to drive over them, but for the last few years, there's been very little sand, even at low tide. Otherwise, just follow the simple rules of sand driving:

1. Lower your tyres to about 24 psi hot.
2. Keep up your momentum over soft sand - the softer the sand, the more the momentum (known as the "drive it like you stole it" method)
3. Don't turn sharply on sand. You will dig in and bog or roll.
4. U-turns are done by turning DOWN from softer sand onto hard sand at the waters edge. NOT the other way round.

Have fun!

That has been the case for several years now but, on the 8th Oct the 2011 GTG went over the Leisha track @ DI Point & up to Rainbow Beach.
We were at least 1 hour before low tide & got through Mudlo Rocks without a problem.
There was the top of 1 rock above the sand & the rest of the rocks were covered by sand. It was practically a 3 - 4 lane highway.

Having said that, you always have to take care when driving on any beach, particularly Rainbow as it can change very quickly.

You will have a ball, that whole area has some of the best drives around.

Cheers
REV

[Brett1979 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Brett1979]

Congratulations, Jimmy. It's a nice spot. I've been up there a few dozen times and in my experiences it's a very easy beach to drive. You don't really need to let your tyres down at Rainbow or DIP (Double Island Point) with the Prado unless you're carrying a bit of weight, towing, or still learning to drive your car off-road, but of course it doesn't hurt just incase. So it's a terrific place to do your first beach drive and you'll pick up some valuable experience at the same time.... Plus there's plenty of people around to help with a recovery if you do get bogged. Even though it's your first time there you'll do fine and I'd recommend to let your tyres down to 25psi and that should be enough insurance keep you out of trouble. When you park the car on softish sand and take off from a stand still keep your front wheels pointing straight which will make it a breeze to get moving again. If you go to DIP and it's not 1 or 2 hrs either side of low tide, take the Freshwater Rd track 5 minutes back up the highway outside of Rainbow Beach. It's a nice drive and even though there are some muddy spots, they can be driven through very slowly with no problems. You don't need to hit them at speed.

If you drive along the beach more than 2 hrs either side of low tide to and from Rainbow to DIP there is a chance you'll be cut off by some large dead trees laying across the beach at one spot. You have drive around them near the water's edge in parts, and if the water's too high, don't risk it because the bottom drops off pretty steep and it's not worth losing your car to 1 + meters of sea water on a strong angle.

The tidal lake at DIP is brilliant to park your car on the edge of at low tide. It's formed by a huge circular sand bar which runs around the perimeter of the lake. Keep an eye on the tide if you drive around to the surf side of the lake as if the tide is 3/4 in you'll be in a bit of strife getting back to the track. The longish up-hill track from here to Teewah Beach on the otherside is a trap for soft roaders. At times late in the afternoons they cause major delays with you getting back to your camp site. Once an X-Trail kept getting repeatedly stuck up-hill and we were caught up in a traffic jamb starting a few hundred meters back for over 2 hours. The police had to come in full force to stop people from queue jumping and contributing to the obstruction. The cops were getting pretty nasty towards people asking questions and walking up to the front of the traffic jamb to see what was causing the delay and went as far as telling people to "f'off and shuttup!" Unfortunately the police didn't really know how to unbog the car quickly due to the major delay and wouldn't let others have any input. But this incline is a breeze in a car with low range gearing. As for washouts, just drive close to the water's edge and they're merely a little corrugated bump in the road. Normal road rules apply on the beach, so drive to the left of oncoming cars. The higher up the beach you drive, the deeper the sand walls of the washouts become. Sometimes they can drop 1 to 2 feet vertically which will do to your car whatever you can imagine at speed.

Always steer gently and easily on the beach when driving over 20km/h. If you get bogged and don't go forwards for 1 second, then try reverse for 1 second. If still going nowhere after 1 second in each direction then stop or you'll just dig yourself deeper and make it harder to get out. So many multitudes of people make the mistake of keeping on trying and it never works and only makes the recovery more difficult. After the 1 second each way attempt, you can do a pushout with 2 people at the back or front pushing you out of the bog while you feather the accelerator in low range. No shovel needed and you're out of the bog within seconds.

But most of all, just remember beach conditions change all the time and you'll need to keep your eyes peeled infront of you scanning the beach/track for potential hazards. Always drive to the conditions and you greatly reduce the risk of a potential mishap.

[jimmy91 Member Find all posts View Profile Close jimmy91]

ok cool thanks guys. went and bought a tow hitch from arb today just to be safe i can put the snatch strap onto it. Now to get a gas bottle and im set!