Life . . . Reframed: Fraser Island

Cars headed down the 'highway' on Fraser Island.
4-wheel drive only here, please.

We decided that this is probably the closest we'll ever get to Fraser Island, so it would be smart to take a tour bus up there. Our day started at 6:30 am when we were picked up by the bus right outside our house, and then we drove for 90 minutes to the Great Sandy National Park. On the way, we saw a group of 4 kangaroos hopping in the distance through a farmers field. Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo!

We drove through the little town of Hervey Bay out to a sandy tip of land, and drove onto a large barge of a ferry. No dock - they just put down the car gangplank and on you go! It was about a 15 minute crossing to Fraser Island, and once on the island, away we drove along 75-Mile Beach. Fraser Island is a giant sand dune - it's 123 km in length and 22 km at the widest spot. It's covered in freshwater creeks and lakes, as well as beautiful rainforest. Sharks are common in the ocean off Fraser, so the lakes are a better bet for swimming!

Leaving the 'dock' at Hervey Bay

Looking back on the 'ferry terminal'

Tour busses on the ferry.

Arriving at the Fraser Island ferry terminal

75-mile Beach highway

After about 15 minutes, we stopped along the beach at one of the creeks and had morning tea. From there, we drove up the beach a bit further and then onto one of the sand roads to go inland to Lake Mckenzie. The beach sand here is pure white silica and powdery soft. The water was incredibly clear and a perfect temperature for a swim. We were told the water is so pure that few species of fish can actually live in it. Weird!

We stopped by a stream for morning tea on the beach

Stream flowing - so clear you can barely see the water!

These little sand balls are apparently left behind by sand crabs.

Lilies in the stream

The super clear waters and white sand of McKenzie Lake

Glen went in the water too!

White silica sand - gorgeous to look at and lovely
to stand on!

We spent about an hour in the water, and then walked back through the trails to the picnic area where our bus driver had laid out a beautiful bbq lunch for us, complete with wine and beer. We had pre-ordered our lunches. I had fish and Glen had steak. There were a few kookaburras lurking in the branches above - just waiting for someone to leave their lunch unattended so they could swoop in and steal it. I don't think they managed to get anything! The picnic area was all fenced to protect against dingos, and the signs everywhere warn against leaving out food that will attract them.

Pathway from the lake to lunch. They put down these
interlocking plastic tiles to keep the path intact
I guess. This entire island is a sand dune - crazy
how much plant life lives on it. This was a lovely fern-tree.

Looking to share some of our lunch?

Glen enjoying his lunch

Kookaburras hovering above Glen's head

After lunch, we drove along the sand road ( it was really bumpy! ) to Wangoolba Creek in the heart of the rainforest and did a tour through with our guide who had a wonderful knowledge of the plants and trees we were seeing.

Near a campground - a locker for storing food so the dingos
can't get at it.

Looking down on the creek - it looks like I'm looking at sand. The
water is so clear it barely registers to the naked eye.

Wangoolba Creek hike - beautiful!

Strangler fig tangling itself on a big tree

Beautiful - but I doubt the tree thinks so. The strangler
fig will eventually kill it.

Ghost gums in the forest - startling white trunks
against the darker forest.

This plant is its own little ecosystem on the trunk
of the tree. It traps water and sediment from the
rain, and uses that to grow on the tree. It takes
nothing from the tree itself. So pretty.

Same thing - higher up!

The great sandy road on Fraser. You can see how deep and soft
the sand is. The ride is VERY bumpy! It's obvious why only
4-wheel drive vehicles are allowed on the island.

There is a lot more to Fraser Island that we didn't get to see on a one-day tour, but I was so glad to get to see the small part of it that we did - it's a truly spectacular place and well deserving of it's World Heritage listing. If I ever get the chance, I'll go back and spend a few days there.

Our trip home was interesting as well. We didn't take the roadways - instead, we drove along the sand highway of Rainbow Beach for a long ways. Our final stop of the day was for afternoon tea and a good look at these beautiful sand cliffs - the colours were amazing. We were advised to stay away and avoid climbing on them in case of a sand avalanche!

Colourful sand cliffs on Rainbow Beach!

This gives an idea of the height of the sand cliffs

The beach highway with some beach crab leavings

Afternoon tea stop

Only in Australia - speed limit signs on the beach!

So most of the traffic is coming from the beach - one wonders
about this set of tracks . . .

The bus dropped us back at home at about 5:30 pm - nice to have door-to-door service. It was a really fun and interesting day, and if I had it to do over again, I'd sure have spent more time there. Beautiful!