Rainbow Beach

Introduction

Rainbow Beach

© Utrecht

Rainbow Beach takes its name from its coloured cliffs, created in Aboriginal legend when the rainbow spirit of the gods, Yiningie, was killed in a fight, spreading his colours across the rock. There's not much happening in the town itself, but it's from here that you can dive Wolf Rock to see sharks. It's also possible to access Fraser Island from Rainbow Beach.

Sights and Activities

• Wolf Rock is a set of underwater volcanic pinnacles that attracts several species of shark, in particular a high concentration of grey nurse sharks. Grey nurses are critically endangered - Wolf Rock is one of their main mating sites in Queensland. Various species of turtles and rays can also be seen, as well as smaller sea creatures. Wolf Rock is more appropriate for advanced divers due to the depth of parts of the site. Dive courses and charters are available from Wolf Rock Dive Centre
• Fraser Island, the world's largest sand island, can be reached on a tour from Rainbow Beach.

Getting There

By Bus

Greyhound buses stop at Rainbow Beach between Hervey Bay and Noosa.

Sleep

Upscale

You can use the form below to search for availability (Travellerspoint receives a commission for bookings made through the form)

Keep Connected

Internet

Internet cafés are very common in the larger Australian cities and popular tourist destinations. However, once you leave the major population centres, you might have trouble finding somewhere to log on. Free wifi is getting more and more common (either with or without a code) in places like restaurants, some bars and coffee places and hotels. Sometimes a fee is required.

Phone

See also: International Telephone Calls

Australia is on a GSM 900/1800 network, so if you have an unlocked phone that works on those frequencies, you will be able to buy a prepaid SIM-card and stick into your phone when you're in Australia. You will receive a new Australian phone number with the SIM-card.

To dial out of Australia use the prefix 0011, followed by the calling code of the country you are trying to reach, followed by the area code of the city/town (without the 0!) and finally the phone number.

Within Australia, it is necessary to add an area code to the phone numbers if you are calling from outside the area. Below are Australia's area codes:

• 02 - New South Wales & Australian Capital Territory (Sydney, Canberra)
• 03 - Victoria & Tasmania (Melbourne, Hobart)
• 07 - Queensland (Brisbane)
• 08 - Western Australia, South Australia & Northern Territory (Perth, Adelaide, Darwin)

000 is the emergency telephone number in Australia, but the international GSM mobile emergency telephone number 112 also works on mobile phones.

Post

Australia Post is the government's postal service. Most suburbs will have at least one post office. Opening times are mostly from around 8:00 or 9:00am to 5:00pm though larger ones keep longer hours sometimes. A standard letter or postcard sent within Australia will cost $0.60. Internationally, it costs $1.70 to send postcards anywhere in the world. Letters cost $1.85 to send within the Asia Pacific region and $2.60 to anywhere else in the world.^[1]. It is also possible to send things as parcels or by express mail. You can also use use private courier companies like TNT, UPS or DHL as they are competitive and reliable.

External Links