K'gari | Fraser Island

Though we sailed/motored along Fraser Island both on our way north and south and anchored nearby, we didn't really experience it. We decided to take a long weekend off & drive up to see K’gari / Fraser Island, the world’s largest sand island, a magical paradise of lakes, forests and beaches.

We spent the night at the seaside village of Tin Can Bay to catch an early ferry the short distance over to K’gari’s 75 mile beach – an amazing beach highway as long as you have a 4WD or maybe an airplane. Old inland logging tracks cross the island linking pristine lakes, rainforests and more beaches. Glad we hired a guide to drive us around, or we would likely be writing a new chapter of Lord of the Flies.

K’gari (the K is silent) is home to soaring satinay trees, kauri pines, ghost gum trees, rare giant king ferns (the largest ferns in the world, have been around since before dinosaurs), huge staghorn ferns growing on trees, glistening creeks and tranquil bird calls – and where Dingo families roam wild and free. Camping and fishing is a big deal here, with some of the best beach fishing in the world.

Hidden away at the heart of the island, Wanggoolba Creek is fringed by ancient king ferns and lush rainforest, and with water so crystal clear it's essentially invisible and all you can see is the silvery sand rippled below.

Since we didn’t have a tube, we walked down the “lazy river” of Eli Creek which pours up to four million liters (over 1 million gallons) of clear, refreshing water into the ocean every hour. Not sure where all this fresh water is coming from!? And, we walked the white sandy shores and got wet in the clear blue waters of Lake McKenzie (Boorangoora).

The S.S. Maheno found its stormy end on the beach during a cyclone in 1935 – now an artistic sculpture slowly changing in the rough salty sea.

After catching the last ferry back to Inskip Point, we stayed at Rainbow Beach and after our morning coffee, found the walking track through eucalypt forest to reach the Carlo Sandblow, part of the huge accumulation of windblown sand known as the Cooloola Sandmass where wind is transforming a forest and burying everything in its wake with sand. If the wind doesn’t blow you away here, the stunning views do.

On our way to & from K’gari, we drove through the Gympie region north of Brisbane, a strong agricultural area of beef, dairy, sugarcane, tropical fruits, macadamia nuts and a strong timber industry among the coastal beaches, lush rolling hills and majestic hinterlands. We even found a few good craft breweries and a couple of camels.
Back to work! XOXOXOXO Gma & Gpa