Dolphin and Rainbow Magic - No, I'm not going all New Age.

As we were informed in Gympie, the main tourist things in this area are Tin Can Bay, Rainbow Beach, and especially Fraser Island, which is accessed via a ferry from Rainbow Beach.

Tin Can Bay is on a stretch of water called the Great Sandy Straits, which opens to the sea between Rainbow Beach and the south end of Fraser Island, where the ferry goes. Fraser Island then goes on about a hundred k's further north, up past Hervey Bay, which it protects from the worst of the weather. Well, that's the geography lesson over - so lets move on.

To get to Tin Can Bay we had to drive over 60 kms through empty wilderness. In some areas we found some pine plantations, which we thought was rather strange, as pine tends to grow in cooler climes. However, our friend at the tourist info centre informed us this was a particular type of pine which likes to grow in sandy soil. Apparently almost nothing else does.

We finally got to Tin Can Bay which was on a long thin tongue of land, with water on both sides, and the road going right up to the pointy bit at the end. It had a marina, and various jetties, and was surrounded by boats of all shapes and sizes. Whether it was because we had travelled a couple of hundred kilometers further north, or whether it was just a wave of good weather, suddenly it had got quite warm and we were keen to go for a swim.

Despite being surrounded by water, this was harder than it sounded. The tide was out, and the 'beaches' stretched on for about half a kilometer of what looked like boggy mud. If you looked closely, you could see thousands of tiny soldier crabs marching across the mud. At one point there was a boat completely grounded. So we went for a nice walk, but never got that swim.

So where is the magic? One of the main attractions at Tin Can Bay was the dolphin feeding each morning. Now we have been on many cruises to see dolphins, have seen dolphins from jetties, got close to feeding dolphins at Tangalooma Island (though never actually did), and tried to swim with the dolphins at Bunbury WA (but they didn't turn up that day.) So we weren't really expecting much.

We turned up at 7 am, and found there were 4 dolphins already present waiting for us. We walked into knee deep waters, and they were there just a few inches away. We were not allowed to actually reach out and touch them, but we could put our hands in the water and see if they would come to us. And they did, several times, and a couple actually came right up and rubbed against my legs! That was even before we got to feed them. It was magic.

We then moved on to Rainbow Beach, which is so named as it is a semi-circular shape and is lined by sand cliffs of various shades of yellows, pinks, reds and beige. And we finally got that swim. The beach was wonderful - wide soft squeaky sand, rolling waves, gentle swells, and even flags to swim between. We swam, lay on the beach, went for a long walk, then swam some more. Finally feeling like we are actually having a full on beach holiday.

And the town is lovely and small, with the caravan park right in the middle of town, two minutes from the beach, and from everything else. Love this place! The only problem is there is so much of nothing before you get here, but that is probably why it is so lovely.

Next day we took off for Fraser Island, but more on that next entry.

GeorgeY's bit

After we fed the dolphins, we attended to ourselves with a coffee and a dessert from the marina cafe and had a relaxed morning in absolute bliss conditions. The caravan park is well equipped with renovations taking place to amenities, but the lady was more than happy for us to have an easy stay, including using the laundry trough for our washing up of kitchen, cutlery and crockery.

A lot of the residents are long term and had set up in this ultimate paradise for very little, about $100 per week electricity included and insurance? We all know they don't need it.

A short drive to Rainbow Beach, and we fell in love at first sight with the place and decided we are here longer than expected, and so it was.