1 Inskip Point Beach
Inskip 4581, QLD
Rainbow Beach is a 23 km long, curving beach located in Wide Bay between sandy Inskip Point, opposite Fraser Island, and rocky Double Island Point. The open bay faces north-east and the beaches in the bay face variously north, east and north-east as they swing around between the two points. The growing town of Rainbow Beach is located in the centre of the beaches, with the northern end of the large Cooloola National Park extending south of the southern half of the bay. Inskip Point beach (1528) is a 2 km long recurved spit that forms the southern shore of the 1 km wide Wide Harbour channel, with Hook Point of Fraser Island forming the northern shore. The beach is relatively narrow and steep and receives low waves, however strong tidal currents and the wide, deep channels run just off the beach. The beach is used as a landing site for the Fraser Island car ferry. A road from Rainbow Beach runs up behind the main beach to the westernmost tip of the point, where the ferry landing is located.
The central and northern beach is dominated by rips and is potentially hazardous. Be very careful if swimming here, particularly when waves are breaking. Watch out for the deep rip channels, as well as currents in the longshore troughs. Stay close inshore and on the attached parts of the bar. Definitely swim between the flags at Rainbow Beach. Beware of the strong tidal currents at Inskip Point and, while the southern beach is usually the safest with the lowest waves and few rips, be careful of the vehicle traffic on the beach.
