Rainbow Beach is so laid back that I feel positively overdressed in my bare feet.

Although Rainbow Beach is the jumping off place for 4WDs barging it from Inskip Point to Fraser Island, a mere 15 minutes away, the town is now a destination in itself.

Rainbow Beach didn't become a town until 1966. Until then, it and its sister town across the inlet, Tin Can Bay, were isolated communities favoured by surfers and fishermen. (The nearest large town is Gympie, about 70kms away.)

Now the town has a population of around 1,000 which swells to many thousands in peak holiday times. Adventure is usually on their minds with the town offering a range of challenging activities including skydiving, hang gliding, paragliding, sea kayaking, and scuba diving among grey nurse sharks, as well as surfing, especially on Double Island Point's legendary righthand point break.

Nearer Rainbow Beach is the huge Carlo sandblow, named by Captain Cook for his deckhand. Its spectacular sandmass, 100-metre takeoff and soarable ridge of 12kms make it one of the 10 best Queensland sites for hang gliding and parasailing.

Glenn assures us that the thermals are so good there that you could hang around all day.

For the full Story: http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/australia/3585797/Laid-back-Cooloola-Coast-beach#share