No wonder our feet are wet.

You can see from this image that even the rescuers needed rescuing. A fire truck on its way to rescuing individuals found that the road under the water had been washed away.

Not a comfortable experience at any time. However, when you are supposed to be doing the rescuing it is even more embarrassing.

I can see now why emergency services advise all not to drive across flooded roads. They should use these images as part of their advertising.

In the meantime, we almost always flood as soon as a cloud appears – not this time. Everyone else is being flooded out yet, despite the rain, we are not seeing any flooding – yet!

This is the main street of Gympie, aptly named Mary Street. When the Mary River breaks its banks, Mary Street becomes part of the Mary River. These pictures where taken from the 1992 flood where flood waters peaked at over 20 metres.

Unfortunately these pictures are part of a ten year cycle. The current Queensland Government are using these floods as one of the excuses for creating a dam on the Mary River. Whilst the dam may prevent some of these floods, it will destroy thousands of acres of prime land and displace hundreds of families. The wildlife, well the consequences for them are unthinkable.

Floods are hard on businesses and local people, however most residents in the Gympie would much rather put up with the occasional flood than a dam.

The following photos are from the 1999 floods.

This next photo is from the bottom of my street – about 200 yards from where I live.

Where are almost due again – and its raining – bring it on!

Rainbow Beach has everything to offer the adventurous sun seeker, with camping spots in every direction, the world’s largest sand island a short ferry ride away and spectacular coloured sands along the coastline. A hire car is the ideal choice to visit this region as you can pick and choose your favourite location to base yourself and spend the rest of your holiday enjoying the idyllic surroundings.

Located close to three hours drive from Brisbane, it is easily reached via the Bruce Highway just past Gympie. It is often known as the gateway to Fraser Island and is surrounded by the incredible Great Sandy National Park. On the final stretch into town there are tall trees on either side of the road, and thick forest as far as the eye can see. These eventually lead to white endless beaches popular for camping.

There are two camping grounds that stand out from the rest, Rainbow Waters Caravan Park, accessible just as you enter the town, and Rainbow Village Caravan Park, located in the heart of town. We have enjoyed numerous family holidays at these locations and each have a different atmosphere and cater to most travellers.

At Rainbow Waters, we noticed there was plenty of space for everyone, with trees and grasslands surrounding the entire park you feel instantly relaxed. Camp fires are permitted, great for that Billy tea and damper. There are pelicans on the river bank waiting to greet you, with the nearby jetty the best place to watch the fishing boats. With excellent amenities, a kiosk and restaurant nearby, it is an ideal place to set up especially if you have a boat and are keen to fish or get out into the calm waters. Bring the insect repellent as the midges come out at dusk.

Rainbow Village is fantastic for families with the pool and playground, barbeque areas and great facilities, and as it is within walking distance from the beach it is an ideal choice for those who want to be close to everything. Head to the beach in the afternoon to fish for dinner and enjoy the beach air. You might to need to call ahead to ensure there is plenty of spots still available, as it is very popular. Come prepared with as much of your own food as you can bring as there is only one grocery shop which can be expensive. We caught our dinners as much as possible, adding to the family fun.

There are a number of natural tourist attractions within easy reach. The coloured sands are the most popular, with bright red, orange and yellow sands amazing to look at. You can climb to the top of some of these sand dunes for incredible panoramic views of the coast. The combination of colourful sands with the long stretches of beach and deep blue waters is what attracts visitors from all over the world to stay in this untouched paradise. Surprisingly, tourism has not affected the friendly township and it is easy to unwind and enjoy the surroundings.

You can’t visit Rainbow Beach without a taste of Fraser Island. As the only way to travel around the sand island is by four wheel drive, you might want to look at the number of excellent day trips available. Choose from a number of walking, adventure or short day tours available which can be easily organised from the mainland. The ferry leaves from Inskip Point, which is also a haven for campers and fishermen.

Fraser is beautiful rain or shine. We headed out in the middle of a thunderstorm, and the scenery was still breathtaking. There was thick birdlife in every direction, giant trees in every direction, and freshwater lakes that are like an oasis within an oasis. Lake McKenzie is the most popular, the white sands setting off the blue of the lake beautifully. Lake Wabby can only be reached by a half hour relatively easy walk. It is the deepest lake on the island and is surrounded by sweeping sand dunes.

If you have the time, it is worth driving further north to visit Tin Can Bay, the main attraction being the dolphin feeding which start at 8am through to 11am. The drive is fantastic and it is worth a day trip to see this unique town. Rainbow Beach is unique in many ways, and is the ideal holiday destination. Come any time of the year and enjoy the chance to unwind and explore on the most beautiful places on earth.

Jenny Brewer is a travel agent whose passion is writing. After spending her leisure time writing time writing children’s stories, she now enjoys writing about travel destinations. For more of her articles visit Car Hire Australia

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The last Sunday in May each year sees Goomeri’ population explode as over 13,000 visitors invade the area to enjoy the fun, the games, and some of the silliness that goes with a pumpkin festival.  The festivities begin the night before the festival with a dinner dance. Here, you can enjoy a country style dinner, local wine and continuous dancing until midnight.

The following morning and Goomeri is full of action with up to 200 market stalls lining the streets. Entertainment and displays vary and often include a street parade,  whip cracking demonstrations and competitions, Clydesdale competitions, square dancing and fashion parades. A variety of music plays throughout the day. Goomeri’s speciality shops are open for the day and local wineries are in attendance.

What is a festival without some hilarity and with the Pumpkin Festival we have the legendary Great Australian Pumpkin Roll. Come 2pm pumpkins of all shapes and sizes go rolling down Policeman’s Hill – some make it, some become pumpkin mash.

As if the Pumpkin Roll is not enough, you can try your hand at Pumpkin Bowls, enter the Decorated Pumpkin competition, of course the Giant Pumpkin competition and a Pumpkin Patchwork Challenge and Quilt Show.

You want food, then try these tempting pumpkin delights which include soup, damper scones, pumpkin pie and the delicious pumpkin fudge.

I discover Goomeri shortly after arriving in Gympie on one of our casual aimless trips around the area. The pumpkin pie is an absolute treat. The people warm and friendly. The atmosphere is calm, relaxed and easy going.

Goomeri is the perfect spot for a lazy day trip – well lazy unless you visit on that last weekend in May.

Yum – pumpkin pie – it’s not May yet is it – beauty – I am off to get some before the tourist invade the place and eat the lot.

The story of Nash’s discovery is a typical rags to riches story of luck. Nash was so down on his luck at the time that he literally had nothing more than a dog, a pick and a panning dish. When his pick broke he walked to Maryborough (5o miles to the north) where, with an ounce of gold which he had panned, he bought rations and some more equipment. He returned to the Gympie area and within a week had 75 ounces of gold which he sold for £200. The rush was on. Tales of the early months in Gympie are typical of a wild mining town. Every night it was brawls and fights. The cause in nearly every case was beer and barmaids. Nash managed to make £7000 from the field.

Located 166 km north of Brisbane and 95 m above sea level, Gympie is one of those strange towns which stretches for miles and miles. Gympie is named after a local stinging tree which the local Aborigines reputedly called ‘gimpi gimpi’ and was officially named in 1868. At this time all that existed was a mining shanty town with tents, small stores and of course, liquor outlets.

As with all mining towns, Gympie grew quickly. Within months there were 25 000 people on the goldfields. Within a year a gold battery had been built. It was proclaimed a municipality in 1880, became a town a decade later and was a city by 1905. The railway arrived in 1881 and in 1888 it became one of the few towns in Australia to have its own stock exchange. The gold mining continued until 1925. The city then became the most important regional center for the area servicing the rich variety of agricultural activities which spread from the coast into the hinterland. In recent times with the increase in gold prices, the mine has reopened and whilst only produce small quantities, is financially viable.

Today Gympie is the center of the Mary River Valley agricultural district in which beef, dairy, pigs, tropical fruit and vegetables are produced. Tourism plays a major role in the local economy together with events such as the National Country Music Muster and the Heart of Gold International Film Festival. Gympie is also the central to many of the whale watching activities with whale watching cruises leaving Hervey Bay. Whales can also be seen from Rainbow Beach. Campers on Fraser Island ofyen wake up to the scene of many whales playing less than a mile off shore.

Gympie is where I call home. Picture below is part of the camping area at the National Country Music Muster. As you can see, one of the highlights of the muster is the rainfall and the muddy camp grounds. I don’t think there has been one Muster where it has not rained.

Tin Can Bay is actually a taken from the Aboriginal word, Tuncanbar, which means Sea Cow (there once where an abundance of dugongs in the waterways).

Tin Can Bay is known as a fishing and boating paradise and also for the rare indo-pacific dolphins which frequent the area. Tin Can Bay is one of only three places in Australia where hand feeding of dolphins in their natural state is allowed.

Tin Can Bay is a very sheltered area just south east of Fraser Island. Fraser Island provides a degree of protection to the area from some of the storms that hit the east coast.

Tin Can Bay has only a small population, however the population quadruples during the peak holiday periods, particularly those with boats who are looking to do a spot of fishing. One of the feature attractions each year is the Sea Food Festival.

Rainbow Beach

To south of Tin Can Bay lies the busy seaside town of Rainbow Beach. Where Tin Can Bay is fairly quite and relaxed, Rainbow Beach is busy and full of tourists. Rainbow Beach has several claims to fame. First, it is named for the colored sand cliffs that line the beach. Rainbow Beach is also one of the access point for those visiting Fraser Island. Rainbow Beach is also novel as it is one of the few places in the world where the beach itself is actually a declared road. The beach road connects Rainbow Beach with the Noosa district on the Sunshine Coast.

Between Tin Can Bay and Rainbow Beach lies Cooloola Cove. A beatiful almost untouched stretch of coastline and beaches. Cooloola Cove is only now starting to grow as a popular residential area being only 30 minutes from Gympie, 10 minutes from Tin Can Bay and 20 minutes from Rainbow Beach – the best of all worlds.

As a footnote – many thanks to all who have left messages – for some reason they were all put into a moderation queue and the theme didn’t notify me. That has been fixed – again many thanks.

I live in a smallish town in South East Queensland (Australia) called Gympie, the main center of the Cooloola Coast. My eldest daughters name is Ayla. Put the two together and you get a very Cool Ayla – or CoolAlya.

About Cooloola

Gympie is one of the historical towns in Queensland. In fact Gympie has the reputation of being the town that saved Queensland from going bankrupt. What saved Queensland – why of course the one thing that sparked a boom in many nations during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries – Gold.

In 1867 James Nash was prospecting in the area when he found 2.7kg of gold in six days. Nash’s discovery began a gold rush which quickly led to the development of Gympie.

Discovered in Gympie, the famous Curtis Nugget, which weighed 37kg, was the largest ever single nugget found in Queensland. The area was profitable for many years, and although the gold fields peaked in 1903 reef-mining continued until the 1920s. Gold is still being mined today although on a greatly reduced basis.

Gympie is completely surrounded by the Cooloola Coast region, so it is also the turn off point for Rainbow Beach, Tin Can Bay and the Cooloola National Park. I will write more about the surrounding areas in future posts.

Gympie is also famous for the Mary River which is one of the few rivers in Australia to actually flow to the north. Almost all rivers in Australia flow in a generally southerly direction. The Mary River travels through Gympie and heads north to Maryborough where it then head down towards the ocean.

Gympie is approximately 2 hours drive north of Brisbane and approximately 40 minutes drive from the coastal township of Tin Can Bay. If you ever get the chance to visit Queensland then take the time to visit the Cooloola Coast – it is a friendly place with heaps to see and do.