Fraser Island Australia

Fraser Island Australia is a very popular destination.
The world-heritage listed Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world.
It happens to be in a spot off the coast of Queensland where ocean currents bring a lot of sand. It is also known for its beautiful lakes and dense rainforests, and of course, as one of the popular four wheel drive destinations in Australia.

Don't have a four wheel drive vehicle?

Take this great Fraser Island Tour!!!

FRASER ISLAND GUIDED FOUR WHEEL DRIVE ECO TOUR






















Animals of Fraser Island: Dingo and Other Animals
The island is also known for its populations of dingoes. Other animals easy to see are bats, possums, wallabies and echidnas; and off the coast is one of Australia's best areas to watch whales and dolphins. Among the island's 350 species of birds are kookaburras, cockatoos, pelicans and many species of birds of prey.  


Dingo, Poster by AllPosters. Click on thumbnail to buy.

Kingfisher Resort - Fraser Island Australia
Kingfisher Bay is a great place to start a Fraser Island trip. It’s a small township with a few facilities such as a fuel station, a grocery shop and accommodation like Kingfisher Bay Resort. You can get around the Kingfisher Bay area by bushwalking, but you cannot walk the whole island - it is too big.


Kingfisher Bay. Poster by AllPosters. Click on thumbnail to buy.

Fraser Island Four Wheel Drive
To get around the whole island you need to drive, and not only that - you need a four wheel drive vehicle. The largest parts of the island are only reached by small tracks and beach drives, which have made the island a popular four wheel drive destination. Read more about four wheel driving on Fraser Island (link coming soon).


Fraser Island four wheel drive. Poster by AllPosters. Click on thumbnail
to buy.

Fraser Island Australia: Southern Walks
Not far from Kingfisher Bay, in the central part of the island is Central Station, where many bushwalks start. Amongst vine forest and kauri pines is a ranger station, and if you take a southern walk towards Dillie Village (21km), you come to some sand dunes  and an old logging track through some tall forest that (after 7.5km) takes you to Lake Benaroon. Further south-east the vegetation changes to woodland along another 7.5km track to Lake Boomanjin. From here, it is another 6.3km through some open forest and eucalypt woodlands to Dillie Village, where there is some accommodation and camping. You can also camp at both lakes.


Rainforest boardwalk. Poster by AllPosters. Click on
thumbnail to buy.

Lake Wabby and Eurong Beach Fraser Island Australia
Back at the Central Station, there is another long southern bushwalk to Garrys Anchorage, past Wanggoolba Creek. East of the Central Station are walks to Lake Wabby – the deepest lake on the island, and Eurong – a small settlement with a fuel station and a shop.


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Lake McKenzie Fraser Island Australia
North of the Central Station is one of the most popular places on Fraser Island - Lake McKenzie. While the ocean water around the island is too dangerous to swim because of sharks and rip currents, here you can spend time swimming in the bright blue water of this beautiful freshwater lake.


Lake McKenzie. Poster by AllPosters. Click on thumbnail to buy.

Fraser Island Australia: Walks to Lake McKenzie
There are two ways to get to Lake McKenzie from the Central Station. The shorter track (6.6km) takes you through some tall open forest, Banksia woodland and Melaleuca wetland past Basin Lake. The longer one (11.3km) follows an old forestry tramline through cool, shady rainforest to Lake McKenzie.


Rainforest walk. Poster by AllPosters. Click on thumbnail to buy.

Fraser Island Walk: Great Sandy National Park
You can also walk from Lake McKenzie to Lake Wabby (12km), past some east coast sand dunes and a lookout point. From Lake Wabby there is a walking track (16km) to the Valley of the Giants with some of the island’s tallest trees. There is a lookout point where you can see the vast sand dune Badjala Sandblow. From the Valley of the Giants, there’s another 13km track past a historical logging site to Lake Garawongera, and from there there is a final 6.5km to Happy Valley - a small settlement with a shop, an eatery and accommodation.


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Drive to Eli Creek - Fraser Island Australia
North of Happy Valley you are best off getting around by a vehicle. You can drive the Seventy Five Mile Beach with a 4WD and it’s a lot of fun. North of Happy Valley is Eli Creek – the biggest stream on the eastern coast of the island and a nice place to have a dip. Not far from it is the most famous shipwreck on Fraser Island - Maheno Wreck.


Maheno shipwreck. Poster by AllPosters. Click on thumbnail to buy.

Fraser Island Australia: The Pinnacles
Further north are the coloured sands and the eroded cliffs at The Pinnacles, and two camp grounds just north of the Pinnacles: K’gari, and Frasers at Cathedral Beach. Inland are Lake Coomboo and Lake Allom, and north along the coast is Red Canyon with Dundubara camping ground and a walking track to Wungul Sandblow and Lake Bowarrady.
 

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Fishing Fraser Island: Seventy Five Mile Beach
Further north there is more driving along the Seventy Five Mile Beach until you get to Indian Head, where you have good views over the ocean and can watch turtles, sharks, manta rays, and dolphins and whales (between August and October) passing by. Seventy Five Mile Beach is also a great place to fish.


Fishing Fraser island. Poster by AllPosters. Click on thumbnail to buy.

Fraser Island Australia: Champagne Rock Pools
Just north of Indian Head is Champagne Rock Pools – the only safe place for saltwater swimming on Fraser Island. North from here are Middle Rocks, and Waddy Point with gas barbeques, toilets, tap water and a camping ground.


Indian Head. Poster by AllPosters. Click on thumbnail to buy.

Join a Fraser Island Tour
You can join different tours on Fraser Island. The Kingfisher Bay Resort and Fraser Island Company have tours to different parts of the island, overnight tours include accommodation and some even transfers from Hervey Bay.


Backpackers’ hostels often have self-driving tours, where you can join a group of backpackers. It’s cheaper because it doesn’t include a driver, and it’s also a good way to meet other travellers.


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Accommodation and Camping on Fraser Island Australia
There are camping grounds scattered around the whole island, so you can camp almost anywhere.


There are also a few other accommodation such as Eurong Beach Resort and Fraser Island Beach Houses in Eurong, Fraser Island Retreat in Happy Valley and Kingfisher Bay Resort in Kingfisher Bay.


Accommodation on Fraser Island Australia. Poster by AllPosters. Click
on thumbnail to buy.

Fraser Island Ferry Services
You can catch a ferry to Fraser Island from a few different places. The most usual way is to catch the Fraser II from Urangan Marina in Hervey Bay to Kingfisher Bay on Fraser Island. You can also catch a ferry from Hervey Bay to Moon Point on the western side of the island. If you bring your own transport, vehicle ferries go from River Heads, south of Hervey Bay, to two places on the island: Kingfisher Bay and Wanggoolba Creek on Fraser Island.


Light airplane, Fraser Island Australia. Poster by AllPosters. Click on
thumbnail to buy.

Here's a map of Fraser Island Queensland where I have tagged the places that I mentioned on this web page. You can click on the tags to see what places they are, and double-click anywhere on the map to zoom it in and see the places closer. Drag the map to move around, and if you want to see the satellite image with Google Earth, click on "Sat" in the top right hand corner.

 
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