Easter a cracker season

Police, Lifeguards and QPWS Rangers worked together to keep everyone safe over the massive Easter holiday period. It was a double whammy – with school holidays and Easter followed by ANZAC day.   It is not often we have two long weekends in a row, and tourists made the most of it with Rainbow Beach still humming the first week back at school.

 Andrew Hawkins from Rainbow Beach Realty said, “The Easter and ANZAC day long weekends have surpassed all our expectations with us being fully booked out each weekend and a huge number of people staying through the week. 

“The best indication of how good the weather was, though, was the amount of people we had wanting to extend their stay and take advantage of perfect Easter conditions.

“Sales enquiries through the holiday period have been good with another two properties under contract and is a continued sign of improving interest in the Rainbow Beach property market.”

Cooloola Cove Shopping Centre Manager, Gary Matthews stated, “The centre had a great period with record trading. It was a record trading day for Cove Fish and Chip Shop on Good Friday and I believe the rest the tenants had a great trade in the Easter break as well.”

Tin Can Bay also fared well. Les Dunstan from the Barnacles Cafe reported visitors were in “good numbers right through to ANZAC Day, better than last year.”

“Mystique and Patch came in each day – they never missed. With the good weather, people have been getting out and about. All the other businesses in Tin Can Bay should have benefited.”

 For the Coastguard, Easter is the time of the roadside collection at the Rainbow Beach turn-off, Tin Can Bay Road. Coastguard Phil Feldman said the collection for this year was $9280 and will reduce the funding shortfall (in the case of QF17 of about $150,000).

He said the takings were down from previous years, possibly due to the fact that the Easter Collection days took place after the school holidays began. 

Member for Gympie, and patron of the Tin Can Bay Coast Guard QF17, David Gibson MP said “Every dollar donated goes directly to the helping our local Coast Guard provide their vital maritime safety and rescue service to the boating public.”

Reports indicated coastal retailers were thrilled with the bumper season. At low tides the service stations were popular, and the beach traffic was constant, with Double Island Point a popular choice.

Town held plenty of work for locals, as crowds converged on the coast. It was great to see the blue skies, so much sand on the beach as well as calm, crystal-clear surf.

Gina Rowe from Brisbane took time out in Rainbow between the two long weekends with her husband and daughters, Chloe and Claudia. She told us after the ANZAC ceremony, “We really enjoyed it and will definitely come back. We hadn’t been here before, but now Chloe wants every holiday to be at Rainbow Beach.”

Let’s hope lots of our tourists go home thinking that too!