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.
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
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
Poster by AllPosters.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Poster by AllPosters.
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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.
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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.
Poster by AllPosters.
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
Note:
This site uses
British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will
find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all
correct in the language used in Australia.
Disclaimer: Although
best efforts have been made to ensure
that all the information on this site is correct,
gondwananet.com is not to be blamed should there be a mistake.
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All contents of this website are strictly protected
by the Law of Copyright. What
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