Fraser island is probably on every “must see” list for Australia. This island is famously known for being an island of sand where people 4WD along crazy pathways cut through forests and literally drive on the beach chasing the tides. Now I cannot drive manual and barely like driving in general so I booked a tour. My hostel showed me one they liked and had me book direct with them. For $350 I got a pick up from Noosa, 2 days driving around the island, meals, accommodation in a small cabin, and a tour guide to manage these “roads”. Sign me up.
There’s a bunch you can do on Fraser Island but my 2 day trip covered the most classic things to see. 3 days would have been great, 1 day definitely not enough time. You spend 2 hours easily just driving across the island trying to get to these places. There are literally no roads, only sand pathways through forests and the ones you make along the beach.
This island is removed, I took a bus from Brisbane to Noosa to spend a couple days closer but from there it is still an hour to Rainbow beach. Then a 20 minute drive to the ferry to take you across to the island. Once you land it is bumpy driving forever. Our driver had the tides written on his window so he could understand if he should take the beach road or the horrible inland road. The tide was up so we bailed inland on the types of roads a roller coast ride at theme parks only try and simulate.
Lake Mckenzie
How white and fine sand is is based on their silica percentage. For example Whitehaven is 98% or something ridiculous. Lake McKenzie is 95%. This sand is good for your skin, jewelry, and the water good for your hair. Besides this it is just stunning. Traveling Australia with closed boarders means instead of finding these places crazy packed you find them completely empty. Me and 2 other couples had this lake entirely to ourselves.
Wanggoolba Creek
Our tour guide tells us this creek used to be restricted to only the local women of the island. Love a good #nomenallowed spot. The serene area was used for birthing and blessing of children. The creek drifts by silently and the water is so clear that honestly we thought the bottom was top. The trees block almost all the bright hot sun from creeping down and the air is light and refreshing on this hot summer day. In the silence you can feel the generations of people who used to turn to this place for comfort.
Eli Creek
Driving down the beach highway there is a little creek that trails out from the forest and meets the ocean. If you park there and walk down the boardwalk you can start about half a k up the creek and float down. The water is barely to your knees and if you go with a smart tour like I did they provide the floaties. We grabbed one and sat down to let the little stream take us to the ocean. While floating it started raining, let me tell you, there is not much more peaceful than floating through a forested creek listening to the warm rain fall on you.
Maheno Shipwreck
This ship served in a couple wars, was used to house and treat soldiers, and eventually was sold to the Japanese for scrap metal. When they were towing it a storm took it and it landed here. They tried to remove it for a while but then gave up. Apparently it still had food and booze on it so the locals partied on it for months. Today it sits here rotting but looking pretty dope.
Lake Wabby
Imagine you start in the ocean, you head through the forest covered so thick with trees you can see nothing else and loose the sound of the crashing waves. You climb, descend, and then climb more. Eventually you break through and see sand everywhere. The ocean sparkles in the distance and trees line this massive desert. Only because you were told where to go you head inland and, once climbing a peak, see a small lake tucked between the trees and the dunes. Down in this oasis are fish, the ones people pay to have eat their dead skin in spas and a family of catfish patrolling the drop off.
Fraser Island is probably the most unique and diverse place I have been to. From the hikes through dense forests to the different bodies of water I was surprised and wildly in love. As you drive through the island you go through different regions that have different ecosystems basically because of their elevation, wind, sunlight, etc. All of this is compounded on the fact that the entire island is sand not earth. I went for the island but stayed for the trees.
my feet don't want to go to sleep 