New owners for Rainbow Waters

Change is underway at Rainbow Waters……new owners, new management and a new fresher look.

The first thing I noticed was how clean and modern the reception area looked, a great improvement. The second thing was the warm welcome and genuine smiles from Glenda and Julie!

Gateway Lifestyle have officially taken over the Rainbow Waters caravan park at Carlo Point and I had the great pleasure of meeting their new managers.

Julie and Mark Channer are new to living in Rainbow Beach, but know the place well having holidayed here many years ago.

Originally from the Sunshine Coast, they have lived and worked in the Northern Territory for the past four years, so it has been a huge readjustment for the couple.

What has been the biggest difference or change?

“The cold!“ shivered Julie. “I am finding it really cold compared to the Territory, and how populated it is, there are so many people that actually live here!

“And the shops, it was a good three hour drive to do shopping and collect mail, now it’s a five minute drive down the road. I like that.”

”Going crabbing…..getting into the water to put the pots in……never in the N.T!! You would be eaten,” laughed Mark. “I don’t miss the flies or the mozzies….they are unbelievable up there!”

Not that there has been a lot of time for crabbing or getting to know their new home town. They worked 24/7 for the first month and a half, getting to know the lay of the land, so to speak, and starting on the refurb of the park.

They have employed local staff to help run the place. “We have Errold and Glenda Misso as live-in managers and Julie Eden helping out on reception.

“We have also outsourced all the cleaning to a local company, Pristine Cleaning, and local guy Marty comes in and does a bit of groundwork and maintenance,” said Mark.

“We are really keen to keep everything local, even the tree loppers are local. We want ourselves and the park to be a part of the community.

“We were really happy to sponsor the Fishing Comp this year. It’s important to be a part of the town and to support community groups as much as we can.”

They are also encouraging schools to come and enjoy the facilities and learn about our beautiful area, having recently hosted kids from Gympie and Maryborough on school camps.

The park sits on nearly 27 acres of beautiful bushland. They have already made a difference to the look of the place with roads, cabins and sites being upgraded and a lick of paint on the office and facilities.

“We want to look after our permanent and casual tenants. They are an important part of the park. So far they all seem happy with the changes.

“We are really excited to be here and excited to be a part of Gateway Lifestyle. I think it is going to be a positive change and we are looking forward to meeting the locals and becoming a part of the community.”

Being such warm and down-to-earth people, I don’t think they will have a problem at all.