Fraser Island

Queensland, Australia
Location Map We did a day trip to the World Heritage listed Fraser Island in September 2005. It is the largest sand island in the world.
1: Location Map
 Early Start We made an early start with a trip via back roads of the hinterland.
2: Early Start
 Onto The Beach We left the road at Rainbow Beach and continued north to meet the ferry.
3: Onto The Beach
 Dual Carriageway 1 The fishermen didn't take much notice - 4WD traffic is common here.
4: Dual Carriageway 1
Under The Lines We hoped the lines were high enough so we did not cause a snag.
5: Under The Lines
 Our Transport Our comfortable vehicle for the day - much better than some we have ridden in.
6: Our Transport
 Ferry Ride We didn't have to wait long for the short trip across to the island.
7: Ferry Ride
 Fraser Island We stayed on the island for about 6 hours, covering many kilometres - many of them along the beach.
8: Fraser Island
Follow The Leader We set off along 75 Mile Beach - we had a long way to go!
9: Follow The Leader
 Mile After Mile Fraser Island is 123km long and 22km at its widest point. There are over 100 freshwater lakes on the island
10: Mile After Mile
 Dual Carriageway 2 We shared the beach not only with fishermen but aircraft as well.
11: Dual Carriageway 2
 Taking Off After watching the plane take off we left the beach and travelled inland.
12: Taking Off
Timber Country Fraser Island is the only place in the world where tall rainforests are found growing on sand dunes above elevations of 200m.
13: Timber Country
 Central Station Central Station was the centre of the forestry industry when logging was allowed.
14: Central Station
 Old Wheels One of many relics remaining to give visitors a sense of past times.
15: Old Wheels
 Forest Walk A scenic boardwalk through the rainforest provided a great experience.
16: Forest Walk
Scribbly Gums Some of the many species of tree - others includes Hoop Pine and Brushbox.
17: Scribbly Gums
 Sandy Creek The boardwalk travels alongside the Wanggoolba Creek - it is so clear it is difficult to see the flowing water.
18: Sandy Creek
 Fabulous Fern Among the trees are beautiful ferns.
19: Fabulous Fern
 Spider's Lair There were many large holes - fortunately we did not see the inhabitants.
20: Spider's Lair
Off To Lunch We set off for Lake McKenzie for some lunch and time out.
21: Off To Lunch
 Lake McKenzie This beautiful lake is 100m above sea level, 5m deep and 150 hectares in area. It is a popular swimming destination.
22: Lake McKenzie
 Beware! We hadn't seen any dingos but they have killed several children on the island.
23: Beware!
 Time Out The sand is almost pure silica giving the beach its pure white colour, The water is some of the least polluted lake water in the world.
24: Time Out
Beach Bums Couldn't resist this one - I had the caption before I had the photo.
25: Beach Bums
 Backpackers And I thought snails carried a lot on their backs!
26: Backpackers
 Lunch Time A good old Aussie BBQ!
27: Lunch Time
 Goanna A goanna was observing us from above. There are around 25 species of these monitor lizards found in Australia.
28: Goanna
Black Bird Although this bird was used to visitors I wouldn't want to receive a kiss from it.
29: Black Bird
 Chance meeting And on another tour is a friend I haven't seen for several years - it's a small world.
30: Chance meeting
 Homeward Bound We set off for the mainland via Eurong, a beach resort town. Eurong offers a range of accommodation and facilities for tourists.
31: Homeward Bound
 Eurong Eurong is one of the few towns in Australia where you'll see only 4WD vehicles.
32: Eurong
Heading South Back onto 75 Mile Beach, we were hoping to see a dingo before too long...
33: Heading South
 Bingo! Not what we expected - a dingo with it's prize and licking its lips. I guess this is a major danger for the slow turtles.
34: Bingo!
 Dingo Dingos are mostly seen alone but do rendezvous with a pack every few days. .
35: Dingo
 Almost There The final long leg back to the ferry and the mainland.
36: Almost There
Treacherous Tides One 4WD that did not escape the fast incoming tides near Rainbow Beach. A local hotel has over 100 amazing photos of other such 'carwrecks'.
37: Treacherous Tides
 Break Time Our final break was at Rainbow Beach - tea and coffee were very welcome.
38: Break Time
 Rainbow Beach Rainbow Beach is named because of the coloured sands and rocks in the cliffs. Colours range from yellow through brown, orange and red.
39: Rainbow Beach
 Final View Beyond the beach buggy is Fraser Island - a great place to visit.
40: Final View