Web Resources

Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

FRASER ISLAND
Fraser Island is 123 kilometers (76 miles) long with an average width of 15 kilometers (9 miles). The widest point is 22 kilometers (14 miles). It has a total area of 184,000 hectares making it the largest sand island in the world. The island features enormous sand dunes, some reaching up to 240 meters (787 feet) above sea level. In addition, it's home to 354 species of birds and 25 species of mammals. Fraser Island is so special that in 1992, UNESCO made it a world heritage site because there's a tall rainforest growing on sand and it has half of the world's perched freshwater dune lakes. This is a unique place and travelers love it, especially campers who are the overwhelming majority of overnight visitors.

EURONG BEACH
The moment we stepped off the plane we were picked up by the lone airport coordinator, who drove us five minutes to the Eurong Beach Resort. Eurong is one of the two major resorts on the island. The other is the Kingfisher Bay Resort, about an hour drive on the Western side of the island. Both are owned by the same company. At Eurong, Natalie and I had breakfast – eggs, hash browns, baked beans and spaghetti that tasted just like Chef Boyardee. We chased it with watered-down Tang. Eurong Beach Resort looked decent, like a typical three-star motel, but it sure wasn't eco-tourist central. Everyone staying there was lining up to either jump in an oversized 4x4 tour bus or into the SUV they had either rented or brought over on the car ferry.

4x4 TOURS
Though the Eurong Beach Resort is right next to the Eastern Shore beach, you can't swim there because of dangerous currents and Tiger Sharks feeding just five to 20 meters out. Those uh, minor inconveniences, combined with the craziness of 75-Mile Beach means that no one really lounges here like at a typical beach resort. Instead, virtually everyone who comes to Fraser Island, takes a 4x4 tour since there's plenty of wilderness to be discovered. There are no paved roads but the island has about 1,500 km (932 miles) of tracks. Tour prices vary but Kingfisher Bay charges $155 AUD for adults and $85 for children four to14 years old. If you don’t bring your SUV you can rent one. Half-day, 4WD rentals begin at $155.

PRIVATE GUIDED TOUR
We made the most of our time by hiring Hayden, a private tour guide working for the Kingfisher Bay Resort (costs $1,000 for up to 4 people.) Hayden is one of those typical, laidback Aussie sorts who love the outdoors. He began by giving us a brief introduction to the land and then we were off for our eight-hour tour that began sharply at 8:30am.

DID YOU KNOW? Only 180 people live on Fraser and most of the workers commute daily by ferry.

75-MILE BEACH
We jumped in Hayden's Toyota SUV and sped down the famous 75-Mile Beach. It's crazy driving here; the sand is knee deep, the ocean is lapping at your tires and not only do you have to make sure your car doesn't slide into oncoming traffic, but you have to avoid the fishermen, too! There's supposedly some of the best beach fishing in the world, here. Plus, there are the families camping, kids playing and ... oh yeah, planes landing. It's chaotic! And people aren't cruising at a leisurely pace either. The speed limit on 75-Mile Beach is 80km/h (50 mph). And keep in mind: guides have to plan around the tides because when high tide comes in, it washes away some of the road.

MAHENO
Our first stop was at the S.S. Maheno. The 1905 luxury passenger steamship was built in Scotland exclusively for trans-Tasman crossings. In 1935, it was sold to the Japanese for scrap and en route from Melbourne to Japan, a cyclone snapped the towrope. That's how it ended up here. During World War II, the Royal Australian Air Force used the S.S. Maheno as target bombing practice and today, it's a protected monument. The 135-meter long rusty old thing is amazing to look at as it sits peacefully on the shore of the beach. Thirty-five feet of it is buried under the sand so it's not going anywhere but be sure not to touch it or climb up on it – you'll get a steep fine.



THE PINNACLES
Before going inland, we stopped by the Pinnacles. They are multicolored sand cliffs compacted and bonded by silt and clay. They are pretty to look at and the colors reminded me a lot of the Badlands in South Dakota. We made our way into the middle of the bush passing maybe two cars on the bumpy and desolate sand roads. At times, it really felt like we were out in the middle of nowhere. We stopped to see the island's largest sand blow, a real phenomenon, then headed towards the popular Lake Allom.

LAKE ALLOM
Lake Allom is touted as a shady sanctuary of cool waters and tall forest. There are picnic tables set up, so Hayden suggested he lay out the lunch that had been prepared for us. But before eating, we walked down to the lake to see the freshwater river turtles swimming. At first they were none around because some people were swimming but after the swimmers emerged, the turtles appeared. Over lunch I drilled Hayden with questions – I was so intrigued by the island. When I asked, "Does Fraser Island have snakes?" he practically spit out his food and said, "Why, God yes!" It turns out that there are 19 species in all and only two of those are NOT poisonous. Yikes! It's also home to the top five of the world's deadliest snakes. Did you know that the world's number one most venomous snake is the Taipan? And the man still walks around in his bare feet. Is he out of his head or what? Earlier, Hayden got bit by a jumping jack ant which he said really hurt – so all through lunch, not wanting to take any chances, Natalie and I ate standing up on the bench.

WANGGOOLBA CREEK
Wanggoolba Creek is in an ancient rainforest valley at Central Station. It's similar to Eli Creek, which is on the other side of the island but both are fed by a natural aquifer (well). While walking along the perched boardwalk, Hayden explained to us that Fraser Island is like a sponge. The rain soaks into the ground and it doesn't come out for anywhere from five to 200 years! The average is between 80 and 100 years and it is believed that some of this water may never have been exposed to the outside environment. How do you like that for purity? It's so pure that the lakes have very few nutrients and pH varies. And it's not just a little flowing stream -- Eli Creek sends 4 million liters of fresh water into the ocean every hour!

LAKE MCKENZIE
Driving to our last stop, Hayden explained that we were about to see nine different types of forests in the matter of minutes. He said that on the mainland it would take driving 1,000 kilometers to see this. Lake McKenzie is a 150-hectare, clear blue lake, unlike anything you've ever seen before, that is on everyone's agenda. This is the place where people pull up a beach chair, relax and go for a dip. The lake is so beautiful that it's on practically every brochure advertising Fraser Island. The color of the water against the snow-like sand is truly spectacular. What shocked me is that the soft white sand is so bright, it hurt my eyes even with sunglasses on. That sand is nearly pure silica and it is possible to polish your jewelry with it. Natalie tried it on one of her silver rings and it really worked. If you wanted, you can even wash your hair, teeth, or exfoliate your skin with it. I passed on that, but I did make sand angels – then waded through the warm, shallow water. See the video below.

Page 1 | 2 | 3 | LAST PAGE >>>





Copyright 2007 JohnnyJet, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.