Discovering the magic of Fraser Island

One of Fraser Island's famous dingoes. Pictures supplied

I WAS planning my annual visit to family in Bundaberg, Queensland, and when I mentioned my plans to my daughter, Christine, she told me they were planning to spend a week on Fraser Island with their good friends Marcus and Julia and three young boys. So I invited myself along.

Marcus and Julia are regulars to Fraser Island so it was a golden opportunity to be shown around by someone who knows the island. It was a three-hour drive for us from Bundaberg down to Rainbow Beach Holiday Village, where we met Marcus and Julia, who had had a four-hour drive up from Ipswich.

Rainbow Beach Holiday Village is taken over by camper trailers, caravans and tents in the September school holidays and everyone is in holiday mode. From there, we had another 15-minute drive to Inskip Point, where all the vehicles were either pumping up their tyres if they had just come off the barge or letting them down to around 20 psi for all the four-wheel driving that was ahead.

There were three barges constantly plying the short stretch of water between the mainland and Fraser Island. There was a mixture of vehicles, some towing boats, caravans or camper trailers. Even the rubbish trucks and gas bottle delivery trucks were towing.

And then there were many like us, loaded up to the gunwales with all our food and bedding for the week. As the island is mostly just sand, any vehicles going there must be 4X4 and normal road rules are supposed to apply. It was a bit of a shambles with vehicles lining up to get on and vehicles coming off the barge, as once you are on the beach it is a bit of a free for all — four or five abreast and some struggling in the sand already.

Once off the barge, we had a 95km-stretch of beach-driving in front of us. We had neap tides to contend with so there was never a lot of hard sand available. Although we had planned our trip to take advantage of the low tide, we frequently found ourselves having to drive in soft sand at least 30cm deep. We called in at Eurong briefly, where there is a resort, general store and fuel, and a small amount of bitumen-luxury. This built-up area is fenced to keep the dingoes out and people can roam freely around.

There are dingo signs everywhere on the island advising how to react if you come across one while out walking. It was a three-and-a-half-hour drive to Orchid Beach, where we had rented a holiday home. Power to the house was solar, with a couple of large gas bottles for our cooking and hot water. We had been advised not to take electrical appliances, hair dryers, etc, or we might blow some fuses. We had taken a slow cooker, which served us well for a couple of gourmet meals Marcus had prepared for us.

Whales blow at breakfastFrom our deck at Midyim Cottage where we stayed, we had a view of the ocean and most days we saw a whale blow or two while having breakfast.

Every day, we went out exploring one or another of the many interesting places to see on the island, with Marcus as our “travel guide” and “pilot vehicle”.

Marcus and my son-in-law, Rick, were in radio contact and Marcus would constantly be pointing out one thing or another of interest along the way. As many of the inland tracks were only one lane and with lots of passing spots, Marcus was able to warn us when other vehicles were approaching. The roads were narrow and windy and very bumpy. We were constantly rocking from side to side or bumping up and down in our seats. Because there had been no rain for months, the deep, dry sand made driving difficult and slow.

Several times, we came across vehicles stuck axle deep in the sand. Travelling with another vehicle is a good idea because you can help each other out, if needed. Fortunately, both of our vehicles avoided getting stuck, although we did have a couple of near misses.

Indian Head and Champagne Pools are very popular sightseeing spots. Indian Head is one of the few genuine rocks on the island and had a commanding view: while there, we saw a whale cruising around below us, as well as dolphins, sharks, turtles, stingrays and a few fish in the beautiful clear water. We also saw a pair of white-bellied sea eagles nesting on a tree precariously growing out from the steep rocks well above the water. Champagne Pools are nearby and a natural fish trap, they are very popular snorkelling and swimming holes. During high tide, the water crashes over, causing champagne-like “bubbles” — hence the name.

Snorkelling around, we saw several different varieties of gorgeously-coloured reef fish and one large ugly sea slug. Swimming is not recommended in the ocean because there are no patrols and lots of sharks.

One day, we drove north along the beach to Sandy Cape, the most northern point, and around to Sandy Cape Lighthouse. It was a short climb from the beach up to the lighthouse.

That afternoon, we tried some fishing, which was quite uneventful but pleasant enough sitting on the beach at Waddy Point. One of the children caught three small fish though, which caused plenty of excitement.

A week or two after we were there, there was a competition for one of Fraser Island’s most popular fish — the tailor which sounds a bit like our kahawai. There were people fishing up and down the beach every day, especially by the many designated camping spots scattered along the shore.

Another day, we headed west across the island to Platypus Bay, which was supposed to be a 20-minute drive; however, uncharacteristically, Marcus took the wrong turning and we ended up at Wathumba, 40 minutes away where there was another camping and fishing spot. We skirted around Wathumba Swamp on our way, which is one of the largest swamps on the island and is another fine example of Fraser Island’s diversity.

Different coast on western sideThe western coastline is different from the eastern. On the west, no beach driving is allowed: a lot of the coastline is swampy and the few camping spots are accessible mostly by boat. We drove back to Orchid Beach and then off to Platypus Bay over a fairly rough management track. It was a lovely stretch of crystal clear water (as it was pretty much everywhere), with vehicle access to the beach but only for 200 metres either way.

We settled down to our picnic lunch and were treated to a most magnificent display of whales performing.

There were several whales easily visible but the best was a mother and her calf.

For about half an hour, our eyes were glued to a display of tail slapping, breaching and pectoral fin manoeuvres. A couple of times, both were completely out of the water.

That for me was the icing on the cake of an already-fabulous holiday.

Hervey Bay (on the mainland) is one of the worlds premium whale watching spots and several boats leave daily during the whale season of August – October and cruise out into Platypus Bay to see the whales, that is a great experience too but seeing them from the beach made it so much more natural. During the whale migration the mothers will come into Platypus Bay to rest and teach their calves the finer points of being a whale. The Southern Humpback Whale is the most commonly sighted.

Eli Creek is a popular swimming and picnicking spot. It is the largest creek on the island and pours millions of litres of beautiful clear fresh water into the ocean every hour. There is a boardwalk which follows the creek inland for approximately 100 metres through banksias and pandanus .Hundreds of people walk up there daily and float down on whatever devise they had brought with them. Young and old alike were enjoying it, although it was only knee deep but fun all the same. We saw our first dingo there late afternoon when they come around to scavenge any food scrapes the day trippers may have left.

There are a few lakes on Fraser Island, Lake Wabby is a shrinking dark blue lake with the large Hammerstone Sandblow on its edge where the young amongst us slid down on their boggy boards and straight into the lake with a splash, great fun once or twice but it is a steep climb through the sand to get to the top again. This lake at 11metres is the 2nd deepest lake on Fraser Island and will in time be consumed by the sandblow as it creeps westward. There are many massive sandblows around the island easily seen.

Last day adventureOur last day we set off at 7.30am to drive to Lake McKenzie about three hours away, an hour of which was driving through some magnificent rainforest, a welcome relief from driving in the heat. There are several different varieties of eucalypt trees on Fraser Island, some of which are easily recognisable like the scribbly bark gum that is named after the “scribbles” on its bark. These zigzag tracks are tunnels made by the larvae of the scribbly gum moth and follow the insect’s life cycle.

Some of the gum trees with their bare trunks and contorted shapes make for an interesting landscape vastly different from the density of NZ native forests. Our first glimpse of Lake McKenzie was dazzling with its pure white sand and as the lake deepens the colour changes from an exotic shade of clear blue to a deep dark blue. This lake is full of rain as no streams or underground aquifers feed into or out of it. The build up of decaying plant matter, over thousands of years, has settled on the lake floor acting as an almost waterproof lining.

By the time we arrived there were already hundreds of people there with more arriving all the time. This is one of the island's most popular attractions and I could see why. We all enjoyed cooling off in its beautiful water. From there we drove to Kingfisher Bay Village on the western side of the island to enjoy a restaurant lunch and a wander around. This area is also dingo fenced and offers a world class resort, self contained villas and other group accommodation. A passenger ferry comes from Hervey Bay daily and vehicles can be hired.

Whale watching trips leave from here during the season. We tried to take a different, shorter route home across the island but we came across a vehicle well and truly stuck so had to back track and go the way we had come. We arrived back home at about 6.30pm, after seven hours of driving and bouncing around that day. We all went to bed tired but happy that night.

Most days on our driving we passed along Cathedral Beach, so named because of its cathedral-like and multicoloured sand formations stretching the length of the beach providing a dramatic backdrop. Camping is available there and always lots of fishermen, women and children trying their luck.

Wreck of MahenoThe wreck of the Maheno is a stark reminder of the power of the sea and its rusty colours against the white sand and clear blue water make a great photo shoot especially at sunset or with a whale performing in the background. We saw a few of the native animal species, a lovely wallaby with a joey poking its nose out of mothers pouch, a snake early one evening and a goanna - a fairly ugly looking creature!!

It was a long drive home but we had all had an amazing time and I would be keen to go back again as there is lots more to see and do.