Last summer I had the opportunity to go 4 Wheel Driving on the beach with some friends. They were heading up to Double Island Point for the day and asked us to join them. Of course me being up for anything that sounds remotely like fun, I jumped at the chance! We had never done it before and were keen to learn the ropes from our more experienced friends. My Rav 4 was getting old so it was the perfect car to thrash around on the sand.
So from Brisbane to Tewantin is about a 2 hour drive depending on traffic. Once you reach the town of Tewantin, you need to drive to the car ferry at the end of Moorindil Street. Its a short 2 minute trip across the river and costs about $10 each way. You also need to get a beach driving permit ($25 for a day pass) before driving on the beach too so we stopped at the Parks and Rec centre which is the last point before actually driving onto the beach. You have to check the tides and conditions before driving on the beach and the most ideal times are two hours before and after low tide. This is when the sand is the hardest and makes it a lot easier to drive on. Now for the scary part! Actually getting onto the beach.
You have to drive through thick, soft sand so first things first before even attempting to drive on the beach is to let some air out of your tyres. We dropped the tyre pressure to about 15 psi. Note: Make sure that you have a compressor to put the air back in once you are back on the road again!
So we had made it to the beach, out tyres were soft, and it was show time! I have to say I was slightly nervous but excited at the same time for this part. All we were told was to floor it and don’t take your foot off the accelerator. So thats what Andrew did while Im screaming at him “Floor it, Floor it”! The last thing I wanted was to get bogged where everyone is trying to get on and off the beach! We made it through easy and were on the hard sand in no time!
Driving along a secluded beach like this that goes for miles is such an awesome feeling of freedom and makes me so happy to be living in this amazingly beautiful country! I can see why people get addicted to this and spend weeks camping along this pristine stretch of beach. After driving for about 20 minutes we pulled over and had a picnic on the beach then went for a walk up the top of a sand dune to check out the views. The colour of the water was incredible.
After getting hot and sweaty climbing up the sand dune it was time for a swim in the amazingly clear, warm waters!
Feeling refreshed we were back in the car to drive right down to the end of the beach as far as we could to the Double Island Point Lighthouse.
There is a walk that you can do up to the lighthouse which gives you incredible views either side of the headland.
After getting hot and sweaty again from the walk up to the lighthouse it was time for another swim. By this time it was late afternoon so we had some fresh mangoes on the beach, packed up the cars for the beautiful summer afternoon drive back along the beach and headed home. It was such an awesome day and one I won’t forget in a hurry.
If you haven’t been 4 wheel driving on the beach before, I highly recommend it. Its such an awesome experience and something that you should do at least once in your life! I am slightly bummed now that I sold my Rav 4. I will just have to convince my friends to take us next time! Nicki? Nathan? haha.
Have you ever been 4 wheel driving on the beach? If so, let me know what your experience was like! I would love to know, so leave a comment below!
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I’ve dine the same trip – such a good day out! Maybe I’ll see you there next time!
hahaha, maybe Andrew! You just never know! 🙂
That looks like so much fun! Something Im yet to try but Im feeling a bit braver after reading about your experience. Thanks Larissa!
haha, thats awesome Kiki! You will love it! 🙂
Thanks for sharing – looks like so much fun!
Thanks so much Ella!