Fraser Island
More pics...!
The overview...
We just got back from a 3 day adventure on Fraser Island, which was tons of fun! We rented a 4WD van with a bunch of backpackers, and got to drive our own way round the island and have our own itinerary. The group was made up of 3 vans with about 9 people in each - our van was 1 Scot, 1 Irish, 1 French, and 6 Germans! Being with a group was definitely fun, although our van could have been a little more pro-active. After sorting our gear and having a brief lesson/overview in 4WD sand-driving, we got the barge across from Rainbow Beach and were 'set free' to follow our plans!
Day 1: Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world, covering an area of 184,000 ha. It is very pure - crystal clear water, golden sand on the main beach area, with rainbow coloured sand dunes, freshwater lakes and rainforest covering the central area - absoloutely beautiful. Taking a brief stop at Eli Creek (where you can float downstream back to the beach!) and Rainbow Gorge (nice walk into the sand dunes with great views out to the ocean as well), we made it up to Indian Head mid-afternoon. Walking over great rocky cliffs and then along the beach again to an area known as Champagne Pools, we'd planned to spend some time there before driving slightly south to set up camp.
Although our 'guide' had suggested this itinerary being perfect based on tide times, the water looked like it was fast approaching despite being 2 hours left to high tide. PD and I ended up reaching the pools, taking a couple of photos and running back to be sure we weren't going to lose the van on the 1st day. Of course it was fine, but we saw a few other backpackers extremely stuck having tried to drive further up an inland track. We had to get back to our camping area driving as high up on the beach as possible, in the soft thick sand, which seemed like a bit of a challenge, but it all added to the fun and adventure!
Two of our vans camped together that night (Team A - us, and Team C who were a fun group!). We hooked up a tarpaulin between the vans, which was way more trouble than it was worth, but kind of fun at the same time. Drinks from the cooler and a stir-fry for dinner...a good start to the adventure :)
Day 2: we stopped to see the Maheno ship-wreck and the Pinnacles - multi-coloured sand cliffs. I jumped out just south of there and ran an access track from the beach inland to Lake Mackenzie - a perched freshwater lake in the centre of the island. The track was gorgeous - over sand dunes and past Lake Wabby (see Day 3!), then through rainforest and giant white satinay trees before emerging at Lake M. I met the group there (who had driven round!) and after lunch we had a swim in the lake - beautifully clear, amazingly blue, and surrounded by a pure white sandy beach - paradise!
5 of us then walked from Lake M to Central Station while the others drove round to set up camp. It was a superb walk, through varying forest to a place called Basin Lake - so calm and peaceful we could have stayed there all evening! We hurried back to help the others make dinner - BBQ steak, salad, and two fresh fish which some friendly fisherman had given our two groups the night before. It was superb!
Day 3: I woke up at 5:30 to the sound of laughing kookaburras, they are SO loud and funny! We drove out via Eurong, where I ran along the beach to Lake Wabby. We walked up to the lookout which has superb views over the sand dunes, the lake and out to the ocean, then hurried back down for a quick swim - very refreshing, and amongst some interesting fish! We would have spent longer if time allowed, but had to leave to drive back and catch the barge at 2pm. It was a fantastic trip though and well-worth doing, especially the extra bits that most tourists don't get to!
The overview...
We just got back from a 3 day adventure on Fraser Island, which was tons of fun! We rented a 4WD van with a bunch of backpackers, and got to drive our own way round the island and have our own itinerary. The group was made up of 3 vans with about 9 people in each - our van was 1 Scot, 1 Irish, 1 French, and 6 Germans! Being with a group was definitely fun, although our van could have been a little more pro-active. After sorting our gear and having a brief lesson/overview in 4WD sand-driving, we got the barge across from Rainbow Beach and were 'set free' to follow our plans!
Day 1: Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world, covering an area of 184,000 ha. It is very pure - crystal clear water, golden sand on the main beach area, with rainbow coloured sand dunes, freshwater lakes and rainforest covering the central area - absoloutely beautiful. Taking a brief stop at Eli Creek (where you can float downstream back to the beach!) and Rainbow Gorge (nice walk into the sand dunes with great views out to the ocean as well), we made it up to Indian Head mid-afternoon. Walking over great rocky cliffs and then along the beach again to an area known as Champagne Pools, we'd planned to spend some time there before driving slightly south to set up camp.
Although our 'guide' had suggested this itinerary being perfect based on tide times, the water looked like it was fast approaching despite being 2 hours left to high tide. PD and I ended up reaching the pools, taking a couple of photos and running back to be sure we weren't going to lose the van on the 1st day. Of course it was fine, but we saw a few other backpackers extremely stuck having tried to drive further up an inland track. We had to get back to our camping area driving as high up on the beach as possible, in the soft thick sand, which seemed like a bit of a challenge, but it all added to the fun and adventure!
Two of our vans camped together that night (Team A - us, and Team C who were a fun group!). We hooked up a tarpaulin between the vans, which was way more trouble than it was worth, but kind of fun at the same time. Drinks from the cooler and a stir-fry for dinner...a good start to the adventure :)
Day 2: we stopped to see the Maheno ship-wreck and the Pinnacles - multi-coloured sand cliffs. I jumped out just south of there and ran an access track from the beach inland to Lake Mackenzie - a perched freshwater lake in the centre of the island. The track was gorgeous - over sand dunes and past Lake Wabby (see Day 3!), then through rainforest and giant white satinay trees before emerging at Lake M. I met the group there (who had driven round!) and after lunch we had a swim in the lake - beautifully clear, amazingly blue, and surrounded by a pure white sandy beach - paradise! 
5 of us then walked from Lake M to Central Station while the others drove round to set up camp. It was a superb walk, through varying forest to a place called Basin Lake - so calm and peaceful we could have stayed there all evening! We hurried back to help the others make dinner - BBQ steak, salad, and two fresh fish which some friendly fisherman had given our two groups the night before. It was superb!
Day 3: I woke up at 5:30 to the sound of laughing kookaburras, they are SO loud and funny! We drove out via Eurong, where I ran along the beach to Lake Wabby. We walked up to the lookout which has superb views over the sand dunes, the lake and out to the ocean, then hurried back down for a quick swim - very refreshing, and amongst some interesting fish! We would have spent longer if time allowed, but had to leave to drive back and catch the barge at 2pm. It was a fantastic trip though and well-worth doing, especially the extra bits that most tourists don't get to!
posted by Mhairi
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