After spending a lovely morning photographing the sunrise at Point Cartwright over the weekend I thought it would be a great little spot to show case on my Mini Guide Monday! Point Cartwright is located on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. It is at the southern end of the Sunshine Coast and the northern end of Kawana Beach. Its a very popular spot for its surfing break and there is a big area of flat rocks that are the perfect spot for capturing the beautiful colours in the sky around dusk and dawn.

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 Location:

Pacific Boulevard, Buddina, QLD

Drive to the end of Pacific Boulevard and park in the car park. Walk towards the beach where the lookout is. There are two sets of stairs. Take either set down to the beach and turn left and walk towards the rocks.

MapPC
Map of the rocks at Point Cartwright. The love heart is the car park!

What you will need:

Of course you will need all of your camera equipment: Camera, tripod, filters, shutter release cable/wireless remote etc but also a pair of reef shoes, waterproof shoes, or waders. The rocks can get wet and slippery and you can also get splashed by waves that are coming in. Take a spare pair of clothes in case you get smashed by a big wave!

A sun star as the sun is starting to rise. Settings: Canon 5D MK III, Canon 16-35mm Lens. F22 at 0.05 seconds at 16mm. ISO 400
A sun star as the sun is starting to rise. Settings: Canon 5D MK III, Canon 16-35mm Lens. F22 at 0.05 seconds at 16mm. ISO 400

Time of Day:

This is a great location at sunrise or sunset as you can face East or West depending on where you stand. For sunrise head to the carpark at the end of Pacific Boulevard. If you are wanting to photograph the sunset, then park in the car park at the end of Harbour Road and follow the path around the headland until you get to the rocks.

Sunset at Point Cartwright. Settings F8 @ 59 secs. ISO 50. 36mm
Sunset at Point Cartwright. Settings F8 @ 59 secs. ISO 50. 36mm

Tides

It doesn’t really matter about the tides here. Its just means you will have different rocks as your foreground interest depending on the tide. There is one rock that sticks up and kind of looks like a dolphin that looks great if its a high tide and there is water surrounding it, but I am yet to be there when the tide right is right.

Have you been to Point Cartwright at the sunshine coast and seen these rocks? If so, let me know by leaving a comment below. I would love to know what you thought of them!

6 thoughts on “Mini Guide Monday: Point Cartwright, QLD

    1. hahaha, are you a fan of the show Community by chance Andrew? I love that show! So glad the guide was helpful for you! 🙂

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