If you’re a fan of natural wonders and dreamy beaches, Fraser island is a must on our Australia road trip. Fraser island is home to many animal species and ecosystems, but it is most renowned for being the world’s largest sandy island. And trust me that sand is everywhere and will stay with you also a few days after leaving Fraser.

The sand was formed from sediments that came from Antarctica’s mountain chain thousands of years ago. Fraser island is a World heritage site since 1991 due to its unique sandmass which posts a variety of plant communities and wildlife. This was also the time when logging, the only industry was abandoned, so the island’s only industry is in fact tourism. It’s growing in popularity not only among Australians but also globally – nowadays has more than 500k of visitors per year. Go there before it gets overflooded with tourists!

How to get around

As adventurous travelers we do like to do things on our own whenever possible. But at times it’s just best to take on a tour like during our volcanos tour in East Java. For Fraser though things also get quite complicated. The roads on the island are all sandy which means you need a 4 WD vehicle. Since our motorhome is not suitable for these roads, we were looking to rent out a jeep, but rentals in Fraser are very expensive. On top of that we saw quite a few get stuck on the soft sand of Fraser. Below that sand there’s more than 100 m of sand below. So better not get stuck before the tide or it might get pretty ugly :O

Our 2-day tour

If you plan on visiting Fraser for a short period of time, joining a tour is the best way. We asked the RatPack team to help us organise it and it was more than we could ask for – they can issue you with 10% off this and any other Oz trip using the code Nika10!

The island is pretty diverse and you’ll find rainforest, eucalyptus forests, mangroves, swamps, creeks and large dunes all within a few minutes’ drive. Our itinerary was pretty packed and in the 2 day Safari tour we managed to see most of the beauties Fraser has to island.

Day 1: we saw Lake Mackenzie, had a short walk through the rainforest, hiked to Lake Wabby and had a great sunset drive on the coolest road on the planet – the 75 mile beach.

Day 2: we visited the Champagne pools, the Pinnacle, the famous Shipwreck, hiked up the Indian head and chilled at Eli creek.

Lake Mackenzie

Probably the highlight of Fraser island. Crystal clear waters and sandy bottom in beautiful surrounding. Think of your favorite dreamy beach but this one has fresh water so salt doesn’t get in your way. On top of that the lake is quite acidic (low pH) and softens your skin and hair like a conditioner. Can it get any better than that? 🙂 The only downside perhaps, is that the water is very refreshing; a bit too much for my liking 😉

Lake Wabby and the dunes

There are actually 100 freshwater lakes on Fraser and Lake Wabby is the deepest one. It takes 30-45 min to reach Lake Wabby but it’s well worth it. We especially liked the bright white sand dunes in the last stretch before dipping in the refreshing lake.

Rainforest walk

After having visited the Daintree rainforest we did not expect much from Fraser island. Still we had a lovely walk among the beautiful trees. It’s fascinating that a rainforest can flourish on sandy grounds!

Coolest highway on the planet – 75 mile beach

It is the coolest “highway” you’ll see; with no lines of course as it’s right there on the beach. The speed limit is generally 80 km/h so you’ll almost go as fast as on the main land. If you’re the one behind the wheel, you should drive as close to the water as possible, where the hard and wet sand enables higher speeds. Avoid the water waves but in any case be prepared for a bumpy ride and scenic views. Admire whales on the ocean side and look for dingos on the land side. Which other highway in the world has that? 🙂

Champagne pools

It’s a natural Jacuzzi of Fraser and actually the only place where it is okay to swim in salt water. The pools were formed by volcanic rocks and offer great scenes. It’s quite touristic though, so you won’t be alone except if you get there super early.

Shipwreck – SS Maheno

The SS Maheno reminds us of the Titanic, though it did serve many more years. It was an ocean liner between New Zealand and Australia and was then reformed into a hospital in WWI in Europe and then returned back to Australia. A cyclone forced it to land on Fraser in 1935 and it stayed there ever since. Today you can actually see only a third of the ship, as the sand absorbed most of the ship.

Eli Creek

A perfect spot to cool off, have a short walk on the boardwalk or just to relax by the creek. A great way to explore Eli Creek is to follow the boardwalk, grab a floatie and move along by the water. When we were the stream was not that strong so we still needed to do some work 🙂

Wildlife

We saw quite a few animals in our short stay; the highlight was seeing many whales flip from afar during our drive on 75 mile beach and from Indian heads, as well 2 dingos. There are only 200 dingos on the island so we got pretty lucky. It’s important not to feed dingos since they can get used to be given food by people and become aggressive if they do not. Still for us they look cute and not dangerous at all, though we there are “Be dingo safe” warnings throughout the island.

Fraser island lived up to the hype and it was a memorable trip under the guidance of Fraser Explorer Tours! And not just because of the sand that is still stuck in some of our stuff 🙂

Heading over to Australia???

Contact the guys at RatPack Travel they are experts in backpacking Oz. They will be happy to answer any questions you might have before your travels. Use the Nika10 promo code and they will discount any trip of transport by 10% for you.