Fraser Island Australia
Fraser
Island - Always Welcoming - Always Beautiful
Located of the coast of
South Queensland, Fraser
Island is one of
Australia's most in demand holiday and four wheel driving destinations.
No wonder why, it is just a magnificent spot that offers incredible
beauty, natural diversity and, almost always, predictably good
weather.
Fraser
Island is the world's largest
sand
island being 123 kilometers in length. It has over 100 fresh water
lakes
set in the sand dunes, even though the island is made up completely of
sand and, apart
from Tasmania, Fraser has the highest concentration of lakes
in
Australia. |
A perfect Fraser Island Beach
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Lake
McKenzie
and below with a rainbow
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Lake McKenzie is one
of the more popular and is
situated roughly in the middle of the island inland from the Eurong
Beach Resort, on the east coast and the Central Station
Campground. The lake is approximately 100 metres above the sea level.
Some of the sand dunes rise to around 250 metres high and are caused by
coastal currents and winds. As the sand falls on the island it covers
the vegetation and new growth takes its place as it combines
with minerals in the soil and forms a substance called coffee rock.
It is this that gives the islands dunes stability as well as
being the reason that the water in the lakes doesn't just seep
out.
There is an wide
variety of
flora and fauna to be seen on the island including the long necked
turtle, an interesting species.
In addition you are likely to see dingos, flying foxes, swamp
wallabies, possums and their cousins the sugar gliders, echidnas, the
occasional brumby and a variety of goannas, skinks, snakes, lizards and
frogs.
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Bird life includes over 340 species from the very rare ground parrot,
to birds of prey, including falcons, osprey and eagles, cockatoos
and parrots.
The
main access onto the
island is via ferry from Rainbow Beach, south of
Hervey Bay. Booking is
desirable as there can, at times, be long queues and long delays
getting onto the ferry.
However it is also very popular to be on an
organised tour and stay at one of the island's resorts, or to fly in
and also stay at a resort. Don't be surprised to see the odd walker who
is simply walking and camping. |
The Long Necked
Turtle
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After all there is the Fraser Island
Great Walk that can take you through some pretty remote areas of the
island. If you are planning to walk the Great Walk you should not do it
on your own. Always go at least with someone else.
If you are driving on Fraser
Island is regarded as being a fairly
easy four wheel drive trip. Follow your common sense and observe a few
basic
precautions and you should have a wonderful and very memorable
trip.
Glorious beach
sunsets are common
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If you are driving
yourself over then lower your
tyre pressures as you approach Rainbow Beach and the ferry. Many have
overlooked this
small point and have got themselves stuck in their haste to get on the
ferry. You will
need them lowered on the island anyway.
Again, if you are driving yourself, Try
and plan your arrival
on the island for a falling tide, low tide is best, because the high
tide will push you up into soft sand and a probability of getting stuck
once you get onto the beach. Initially, when you leave the ferry, take
the inland road up the island for the first few hundred meters and then
head onto the beach.
The
lower the tide the
better choice you have as to where you drive. High tide can
force you
into very wet water on occasions. |
Take
caution driving on
the beach, drive slowly and watch out for creeks flowing over the
beach. These can create deep enough channels to give you a seriously
uncomfortable crossing if you hit them with any speed, at best, and
they are probably likely to cause serious damage.
Be
careful passing rocky
outcrops close to the water and always attempt to pass them inland to
the sea. Nothing worse than being bogged close to the water with a
rising tide. Many a vehicle have been written off in this manner.
Please
always follow
existing tracks where possible.
Don't try and make your own, firstly it spoils it for
everyone else and you will get a heavy fine if caught.There
are designated
camping areas on the island with facilities, however you are allowed to
camp away from these areas if you wish, but you do require permits to
do
so. |
Eli Creek flowing onto the beach |
Whilst it has several local names along the way you
are able to drive the
full length of the beach on the eastern, or seaward side of the island,
which is Seventy Five Mile Beach, which, in fact is only 58 miles long,
or 92 kilometers.
There is lots to see and do on the way up the beach including a
shipwreck, volcanic outcrop, cliffs of coloured sand and creeks that
flow out over the beach, of which, Eli Creek,
located a little north of Happy Valley Fraser Island Wilderness Retreat
photographed above, is the largest. Also, don't be surprised to see the
odd plane landing on the beach
You can actually walk up a boardwalk to the head of Eli Creek and then
swim back or come down on a board. You could experience some difficulty
getting through the creek at high tide.
The Maheno Shipwreck on
Seventy Five Mile Beach
The
Maheno Shipwreck
is located a little over halfway up the beach between Happy Valley
Fraser Island Retreat to the south and Frasers at Cathedral Beach
Resort.
She was built as a luxury passenger cruise ship in 1905. Used as a
hospital ship during World War 1 it was de-commissioned in
1935
as it was decided that it was too old for the purpose that it
was
built.
During the tow to a Japanese ships scrap yard from Melbourne it broke
its tow and ran aground on Seventy Five Mile Beach.
Not much of the ship is now visible as most of it has become
buried.
Look, take photos but if you feel tempted to start climbing over it,
don't, it's out of bounds.
Indian Head towards
the north
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The beach is
the quickest route from one end of the island to the other and a
reasonably easy run up to Indian Head
where the sand gets a little softer.
Just north of Indian Head is the Orchid Beach exclusion zone.
You can walk in the area if you wish, but you have to drive inland a
little up to Waddy Point.
From here the run is still OK up to Ngkala Rocks, where it gets a lot
tougher.
Do not attempt to go further than Ngkala Rocks if you are inexperienced.
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The beaches around Waddy Point tend to be a little more sheltered than
other beaches on Seventy Mile Beach, probably because the beach now
Faces north rather than east and is not quite so exposed. Not that the
beaches on Seventy Five Mile beach are unpleasant by any measure.
About 25km north of here is Sandy Cape and the Sandy Cape Lighthouse.
Here you turn
westwards and are able to traverse a very small distance down the beach
on the western side.
The
inland tracks on the
island lead to the many inland lakes, many of which are larger than you
would expect, with their crystal clear waters and gleaming beaches.
Take
time to stop and unwind. This is nature at its best.There
are tracks leading
all over the place and you could spend quite a while here seeing
something different every day.
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Beware
of Dingos
The look just like a pet dog but be very cautious dingos are wild
animals, treat them as such.
Do not feed the dingo or any other wild animal or bird on the island. |
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A Perfect Fraser Island Beach |
A Perfect Setting for a Day With Nature
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The Perfect Inland Basin Lake |
Copyright and
Acknowledgments
This
web page and images are copyright and may not be copied Photograph
acknowledgments to
Jenny Rollo, Lana Howard, Jana Stiller, David Simmonds, Damien
Moorehouse, Neil Gould and Damien King
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