When we think of Fraser Island and Cooloola National Park, we usually have an image of the fine, white sand that covers most of the island and the coastal dune system, but underneath these masses are buried the spectacular coloured sands that can be glimpsed at several spots on Fraser Island and the mainland. Legend has it they were soaked in the colours of the Rainbow Serpent, which shattered into a million pieces here after a fight over a young woman.
Science, however, will have you believe that it’s merely older sands that mixed with clay and stained by colourful minerals in a process that has lasted thousands of years. As the lighter, dry layers of new sand erode under the influence of the elements, sculptures emerge, such as the gorges, cathedrals, pinnacles… and the Red Canyon, which we visit on our Cooloola National Park day tours.
Most visitors use the sunset-hued backdrop of the rocks to shoot some great selfies, but make sure you climb up through the canyon and get a picture of the red sand formations offset against the azure ocean. Who needs to travel all the way to the Red Centre when they can experience the Red Canyon right here on the Sunshine Coast…