“Named after shipwreck victim Eliza Fraser, the World Heritage listed sub-tropical, Fraser Island has a truly amazing array of natural wonders including beautiful rainforests, pristine lakes, endless surf beaches, immense sand blows, cliffs of coloured sands, crystal clear streams and vast stretches of mangroves. Fraser Island is 125km long and over 160,000 hectares in area. It was formed during the ice age when the prevailing winds transported vast quantities of sand from New South Wales and deposited it along the coast of Queensland forming Fraser Island as we know it today”- Koalanet
I knew Fraser Island would be the highlight of my trip . It was as I still cannot fully describe. If you are here looking at these pictures, then you better get your ass over there. I was beginning to experience some strong homesick pains prior to my departure from Hervey Bay. Upon arrival on Fraser Island we were greeted by our ranger, Peter Meyer of Kingfisher Bay Tours.
Peter was to be our guide for the next three days. I have some pretty amazing pictures of Fraser Island here. However, since Peter spends so much of his time on Fraser he has some spectacular pictures. His website The Living Gallery shows his expertise and pays homage to one of the most amazing and diverse places on earth. Peter also turned out to be incredibly informative and a hell of driver as well. Our vehicle as shown had huge clearance. It had to be, the place is all sand. It takes forever to go even a few km. Oh what a bumpy ride indeed. Hang onto your kidneys!
Day one was hike through the rainforest on Fraser. The ghost gum trees were really impressive and huge. I also got up close and personal with a carpet python. I was thankful it was not a repeat of the deadly brown snake encounter I had in Mission Beach, We had a really multinational group of about 25. Japanese, British, Scottish, Irish, German, Italian, Dutch, American and even a couple from Canada (Mississauga). It was about a month into my trip and these were the first Canuks I had met so far. After a not so long hike we stopped for lunch.
What amazed me most about Fraser, even on the first day, was it’s diversity. After some more hiking and driving we arrived a Lake McKenzie. Lake McKenzie is a freshwater lake in the middle of sand island that also happens to be an island in the South Pacific Ocean. Kind of of Mind-blowing eh? Ranger Peter keep the whole gang belly laughing all day long with his sharp Aussie wit. I will never forget when we first jumped into the big sand bus and Peter played Flight of the Valkyries as we embarked on our adventure. Very fitting music indeed.
“It’s a beautiful day, the sky falls and you feel like it’s a beautiful day. It’s a beautiful day. Don’t let it get away”
-U2
Like everything on my trip each day seemed more wonderful than the next. Fraser Island elevated this to new levels. Our accommodations on Fraser were hostel lodges, kind of like what I remember from summer camp. The food was a pretty mean buffet <both breakfast and dinner). Lunch was packed for us as we had very busy days. It was on my way to breakfast this second day I saw my first but not last Dingo. It ran right in front of me. I scrambled for my camera but by the time I got it out the dingo was gone. I had read a newspaper article about a dingo killing an 8year old boy so I was somewhat apprehensive each time I came across the dingos of Fraser island. Although they always seemed to appear when my camera was stored away. I do have a brilliant pic in the first row of the Billabong Zoo page. Check it out.
Fraser Island dingoes have been exposed to enormous numbers of humans in recent years and their natural instincts for have been altered by the constant rubbish left around for them to scavenge upon and hand-feeding. Some basic Dingo tips: do not run if approached, do not feed them and do not leave rubbish or unwrapped food around your camp area.
Pictures on this page are of the Coloured Sands. Absolutely brilliant in colour as you can see in the pictures There are 70 different colours in the sands. Follow the link above and you can read an Aboriginal tale about the Coloured Sands. The Aborigines have wonderful stories about all the amazing and unique geography of Australia. Next stop was the Champagne Pools. These are natural fish traps that the aborigines used. The tide comes in and leaves fish trapped in these pools. I went wading in and gazed into the water to find an abundance of colourful fish.
Our next stop was a huge sand dune. Now it was official, I now realized how out of shape I was as I struggled to climb the sand dune with the rest of my group. Not only did they all reach the top before me but they had an abundant amount of energy to jump off it.
The next stop was to be the highlight of my Fraser Island trip and right up there with the Whitsundays. These pictures are among the best pictures I have ever taken in my life. It still all looks dream-like.
“On the first part of the journey I was looking at all the life There were plants and birds and rocks and things There was sand and hills and rings”
-America
Captain James Cook on the 29th of May 1770. He skirted Fraser Islands eastern shore & supposed it to be a long headland. Cook named Indian Head (after the number of Aborigines he saw assembled on this huge rock formation), Sandy Cape & Breaksea Spit. This is a great place for photos and gives you a chance to spot Stingrays, Sharks, Manta Rays and Dolphins. I saw all of them. I saw a huge whaler shark jump out of the water and do a twist like a dolphin. It even surprise Ranger Peter.
I could have sat on the top of the Indian Head rock for eternity. I watched as numerous sea turtles, stingrays. dolphins and sharks swam by. I really regret not having a better zoom lens on my digital camera. The pictures here show nothing more that dark outlines in the water. The second row last pic is of Ranger Peter. I do envy his job. Next I walked across the beach for a while until I reached a couple of blue condoms on the beach. How disgusting I thought until Ranger Peter yelled out “Don’t touch”. It turns out I was looking at a Portuguese Man of War jellyfish. Could have been a painful afternoon.
We headed down the beach towards a shipwreck. The Maheno Wreck is on the beach north of Eli Creek. It came ashore in 1935 after breaking its rudder while being towed to Japan and was used as a practice bombing target during World War 2.
The last but not least stop was lake Wabby. deepest of Fraser’s lakes and supports more aquatic life than any other. The walking track from the beach can be done as a circuit taking the sand blown down and the ridge track back. Wabby was formed when a large sand blow dammed up a small stream. Eventually the sand blow will engulf the whole lake. Thus in time there will be no Lake Wabby. Walking there is like a short hike through the Sahara desert.
However, unlike the Sahara Desert, you know that fresh pure water is just around the corner. The day and my adventure came to an end. I was sad to leave Fraser Island. I had a wonderful smile on my face knowing I had experienced one of the most amazing places on earth. Hell, I’m still smiling thinking about it.
