The first time I visited Fraser Island was on a four night weekend escape with my husband. This time, our party was extended by our two children and my mum. Both trips were equally wonderful.
Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world. It sits just off the coast of Queensland, about a 3 hour drive north of Brisbane, and marks the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef.
For us, the joys of Christmas are over for another year and we’ve returned to Brisbane in order to pack up and head off on our summer holiday. Holidays are a bit different these days to what they used to be. Just getting out of the house with two small children can sometimes be an exercise in itself so packing up the car for a week on Fraser Island takes some planning, as well as three adults, to execute.
On the road and the drive goes reasonably well, we make it in plenty of time for our transfer on the Kingfisher Bay barge. We also need to organise a permit to drive on the island. The barge takes about an hour and by the time we get to Kingfisher Bay Resort, we’re all a bit tired. We manage to get the boys down for a sleep and unpack the car. A bit later we’re refreshed enough to head down to the pool at the resort for a dip before dinner.
When we visited in 2009 we were on a tour and stayed in the backpacker accommodation which was very comfortable, yet quite rustic. This trip we’ve booked a family villa, a little up the hill from the main resort. Very comfortable and very spacious with full kitchen facilities. At the time we booked it seemed like a good idea to arrive and spend New Year here but the reality is, we’re all too tired to see it through.
Lake Mackenzie with children
New Year’s day we wake up refreshed and pack up for a day trip to Lake Mackenzie. This is a fresh water lake about a 13 km drive from the resort. But this is a sand island and there are no sealed roads. It’s a bumpy 40 minutes before we arrive on the pure cilia sand of the beach and immerse ourselves in the crystal clear waters. This is a ‘perched’ lake. It contains only rainwater, no groundwater and has no inflow or outflow. The sand acts as a filter and the water is so pure that it doesn’t support much life. It’s so beautiful here. There are lots of people swimming and enjoying the beach today. The blues of the sky and water play in the sun and the children swim and laugh with Grandma.
After a while we’re all hungry. Picnics, however, are restricted to the fenced picnic areas to avoid attracting the local dingo population. It’s not wise to take snacks to the beach so it’s not too long before we’re unpacking our picnic behind the fence. After a few more hours of swimming and playing, it’s time to pack up and get back to the resort. The ride back is equally as bumpy and Grandma dutifully holds sleepy babies heads to stop them lolling about as they doze.
The next day we take in Eli Creek, the Maheno ship wreck and the Champagne Pools. It’s a lot of driving but thankfully most of it is on the beach ‘highway’. The speed limit used to be 100 km/h here but it’s been reduced due to a few nasty accidents and even at 80 km/h it seems fast. The sands shift and the sea moves, every one is careful but there just isn’t too much room for error, especially when you throw the landing strip in for good measure.
Eli Creek is the largest of many freshwater creeks that flow into the ocean on the eastern side of Fraser Island. The Visit Fraser Coast website provides us with the staggering statistic that this one creek pours up to 4 million liters of clear, fresh water into the ocean every hour! Not only this but it’s a great place to stop for a swim and a picnic.
We pull up on the beach where 4WDs galore form something akin to a parking lot and stake our claim on a patch of sand close to the millions of liters of water that are running out to the sea. From here we paddle up the creek to the boardwalk that takes you a further few hundred meters inland into the bush where you can climb into the creek and ride the current all the way out to the ocean if you wish – being careful not to meet a 4WD as it crosses over the creek, closer to the waves.
The creek is shallow enough for the kids to float around and we have a few turns each. It’s cold though, even at this time of year, and so after a few laps and some floating and fun, we set up the tent for lunch.
From here it’s only about 10 minutes up to the wrecks. The S.S Maheno was a New Zealand ocean liner that was also used as a Naval vessel during the First World War. She was washed up on the shores of Fraser Island by a cyclone in 1935 and still sits here, rusting away. It does provide an interesting place to stop and stretch and there are a lot of people about. Almost as many are watching the planes land on the beach as taking in the wreck itself and we stop for long enough to enjoy both sites.
Back in the car and it’s time for a nap. From here it’s another two and a half sandy hours up to the Champagne Pools. We sing some songs and play some games but after a while, sleep gets the better of the children and the car is quiet for a little bit.
The views along this stretch of coast are spectacular. Indian Head, the most easterly point of the island, is a particularly wonderful vantage point and we saw lots of stingrays in the water off here on our previous visit.
As well as sting ray, the occasional turtle and fish, it’s also quite common to see dolphins and whales from here but unfortunately it’s the wrong time of year for whale watching although it is popular to whale watch from here during winter as well as further south from Brisbane.
We arrive at the Champange Pools and the little one is still asleep so I wait in the car while my mum and Jason take Jasper for a walk. It’s a steep flight of stairs down to the pools where the waves keep the pools constantly ‘bubbling’.
A few people are swimming but when the little one wakes up, we content ourselves with a paddle and take a walk around the rock pools, looking for crabs, sea urchins and little fish.
It’s getting late now and it’s a long drive back. It’s still tempting to go for a dip in the bubbly pools but there are no facilities down on the beach and I don’t feel like driving back wet and salty. Besides, it’s getting a bit stormy looking and the wind has picked up from this morning. It’s good to be out stretching our legs and I don’t want to push it for the drive back to Kingfisher Bay. After all, we still have to get back across to the west side of the island.
We call it a day and jump back in the car for the long ride back. There are lots of cars heading back at this time of day – the label of ‘highway’ seems somehow less of a stretch this afternoon. There’s still a chance of getting held up on Northern Road though.
Thankfully snacks and games keep the boys going most of the way. Eventually they fall asleep again, though, it’s a bumpy ride on the Northern Road and their little heads bob around in the back.
We have to stop a couple of times but it’s not too bad and we’re back in time for some dinner. We’ll all sleep well tonight.
The next day we take it easy around the resort with a lazy breakfast followed by some time at the playground, a walk down to the beach and some exploring of the local flora and fauna.
Almost the entire island, bar the resort and a couple of small settlements is national park. Even these are set in amongst the bush. While you’re driving, the forest looms large all around.
The pockets of ghost gums are my favorite, so tall with their straight white trunks, they tower above the rest of the trees. The birds call out and we spot the noisy Rosella all around the place but there are hundreds of varieties and I don’t get close enough to see most of them, let alone identify them (although it’s unlikely that I could anyway). The call of the kookaburra is unmistakable though and one of the sounds of Australia that I cherish.
We don’t spot any dingoes but we’ve heard a few at night time. There are also a variety of reptiles on the island, rest assured that snake spotting is rare. We do hope to see a few lizards though. We’re not lucky today, perhaps it’s got something to do with the noise of my two little monsters, but we’ve seen Lace Monitors before on Straddie. It’s also possible to spot wallabies, possums and sugar gliders but for that a night time walk is a better idea.
For today we settle with sightings of lots of birds, different trees and some bottle brush. Then we head to the pool at the resort and enjoy the remainder of our holiday. I take a deep breath of the fresh air and exhale slowly. Tomorrow we have to pack up and get home, back to the realities of life and a new year. For now though, I close my eyes and listen to the birds and hope I can carry this moment of pleasure with me for a few days’ more.
Would I Return?
Yes. I love Fraser Island and while it’s not top of my list to get back to, I would definitely return. It’s high on my list as a recommendation for international visitors.
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