Lake McKenzie (Boorangoora), just one of the many lakes on the island, is why the Butchulla people called it K'gari or "paradise." Photo / Getty Images
Lake McKenzie (Boorangoora), just one of the many lakes on the island, is why the Butchulla people called it K'gari or "paradise." Photo / Getty Images
It's been 30 years since K'gari (Fraser Island) was named a Unesco World Heritage Area. But on a multi-day hike, Jessica Wynne Lockhart discovers the destination is still evolving.
Invariably, the first thing you'll ever learn about K'gari, also known as Fraser Island, is this: It's the world's largest sand island, which is part of how it landed its Unesco World Heritage designation 30 years ago.
But the more times you hear the phrase, the more its meaning becomes obfuscated. It wasn't until I spent four days walking across the Queensland island with Fraser Island Hiking that I began to delve into what its claim to fame truly means.
Consider this: A grain of sand is fine. It's flighty. It can be blown away by a gust of wind or washed away by the smallest drop of water. Its instability alone makes it an impossible place to take root, and it offers no nutrients to new life. And yet, against all odds, K'gari is covered in thick greenery. It's the only place in the world where a vast subtropical rainforest thrives in the sand.
Despite being covered in sand, the island boasts an abundance of greenery. Photo / Jessica Wynne Lockhart
As my group follows our guide deep into the Valley of the Giants — hidden in a location that's only accessible to hikers and those with an intimate knowledge of the island —we find living proof that sometimes miracles are possible. Above us, ancient tallowwood and satinay trees tower 50 metres into the sky. Elsewhere on the island, kauri pines and giant king ferns thrive, their existence made possible by a symbiotic relationship. Fungi in the sand provides nutrients to the plants, which supply the fungi with the organic compounds it needs to survive. The fungal spores are then distributed by echidnas and bandicoots, which dig in the sand.
It's common to spot dingoes on K'gari. Photo / Jessica Wynne Lockhart
On our 40km journey, which covers portions of the island's 90km Great Walk, we don't see any bandicoots or echidnas. But we do see the island's most famous residents within 20 minutes of arrival. A pair of dingoes soak in the winter's sun under a mangrove tree, unaffected by our presence. At night, after we've returned to our accommodation and had our fill of wine and cheese, we head out for a nighttime tour. Microbats whiz past our heads and out of the corner of my eye, I see a sugar glider, its appearance fleeting as a shooting star.
The flora and fauna aren't the only thing that makes K'gari (pronounced "gar-ree") extraordinary. It's also home to half of the world's perched freshwater dune lakes, including the famous turquoise blue of Lake McKenzie (Boorangoora), which is just one of the many lakes we hike past. It's no wonder that the Butchulla people called it K'gari or "paradise."
Sunset at Kingfisher Bay Wharf. Photo / Jessica Wynne Lockhart
It was through their shared respect for the island and love of hiking that Fraser Island Hiking's owners Jane and Ashley Needham secured the island's only permit to guide hiking tours.
"My first experience of the island was walking," says Jane Needham. "It allows you to get into some of the really remote wilderness of the island and see something different."
She's right. During our hike, we don't pass any other tourists. Nor do we even have time to stop at the island's most frequented attractions: The remains of the Maheno, a former New Zealand ship that was driven ashore by a cyclone in 1935, or Eli Creek, which pours up to four million litres of fresh water into the ocean every hour. But I don't feel like I've missed out — and I suspect that when I return, there will be something new to discover.
Even in the last year, the island has undergone a major transition. In 2021, the World Heritage Site officially became known as K'gari, and public consultation to change the island's official place name is currently under way. Fraser Explorer Tours is now K'gari Explorer and Fraser Island Hiking also has a new name in the works. ("It's really important to recognise the name change," says Jane.)
Another new addition is the K'gari World Heritage Discovery Centre at Kingfisher Bay Resort, where I'm staying for my final nights in paradise. As the sun lowers in the sky, I board the resort's sunset cruise and start chatting with Ranger Louis. He tells me that he, too, is most captivated by the island's unlikely existence. He points to a distant dark lump on the horizon.
"That's Pelican Bank," he says. "Right now, it's just a bit of sand. But one day, it's crazy to think it could be as big as K'gari."
DETAILS: K'GARI
Fraser Island Hiking
Fraser Island Hiking's tours range from self-guided pack-free camping to full guided luxury walks, inclusive of meals. Learn more at fraserislandhiking.com.
Kingfisher Bay Resort
Don't want to hike? No 4WD? No problem. Located directly at the ferry terminal, Kingfisher Bay Resort offers guided tours and excursions across the island. Seasonal specials and package accommodation deals are frequently available. kingfisherbay.com
