Tourists' close call on 4WD beach caught on camera: 'Oh my god'
The young couple were travelling from Toowoomba to K'Gari when part of the sand cliff suddenly gave way.
A young couple has had an incredibly close call with an unstable sand cliff while enjoying a scenic beach drive in their 4WD during a weekend trip with their family.
Hannah Fowler and Riley Stone were travelling from Toowoomba to K'Gari (formerly Fraser Island), in Queensland, on Saturday when their jaunt along the Cooloola Coast took a shocking turn. Footage taken from inside the vehicle shows the pair cruising along the sand as a landslide just metres ahead suddenly sends a wave of debris cascading down.
“Oh!’ Riley reverse,” Hannah exclaims, prompting her partner to back up quickly.
“I’m getting further away,” he says as the sand, trees and rock continue to tumble from a great height and deposit on the sand in front of them.
“We heard a crack and then the landslide just fell straight in front of us,” Riley told 7News.
“It’s the first time we’ve ever seen it so I thought we would pull back and just watch it happen,” Hannah added.
Man’s parents drive by just before landslide
Seconds before the collapse, Riley’s mum and dad had driven past the cliff and were unaware of the event when their son called them over the radio. “Mum, look back! Landslide right after you drove through! Right between you and me,” he says, to which his mum can be heard responding; “Ooh my god!”.
The risk of the cliffs along the 4WD beach collapsing is well-known, with Riley urging other drivers to simply “be careful” when in the area.
Aussies warned after close call at 4WD beach
In January, police urged motorists to avoid the area between Double Island Point and Rainbow Beach — a popular access point for K’gari, which lies in the north — after a “massive” landslide rocked a popular Aussie holiday destination.
Local tour guide Tyron van Santen told Yahoo at the time the area had been “packed” with Christmas holiday revellers. Drivers involved in the event were described as being “very lucky” not to have been hurt.
"One of them was sort of in the car as it was happening and they were able to quickly get away from it but so close to someone getting injured," Tyron told the ABC at the time. The landslip was likely triggered by “heavy rain” and “massive swells” that have continued to lash Australia’s east coast in the following months.
After the latest incident was shared on social media, fellow Aussie explorers cautioned about their own experiences. "I was there on my catamaran and saw some people get their 4WD stuck after a landslide," one person commented on TikTok.
"I was there on my catamaran and saw some people get their 4WD stuck after a landslide," another user said.
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