Fraser
Island
After a 3-hour 4WD coach trip
up the Bruce Highway from Brisbane we reached Tin Can Bay, where, with lowered
tyre pressures for increased traction whilst driving on sand, we boarded the
small ferry to go over to Fraser Island. This World Heritage Site is considered
the world's largest sand island - about 75 miles long and 15 miles wide. It is
made up of sand that has been accumulating on volcanic bedrock for over 750,000
years, carried on an offshore current northward along the coast. The island
comprises of rainforests, eucalyptus woods, sand dunes, mangrove forests, peat
swamps, and coastal heaths; and is home to a number of mammals, and a diverse
range of birds, reptiles and amphibians, including the occasional saltwater
crocodile. For somewhere so small, you need to be careful here; as well as
crocodiles, it has 12 types of snakes – 5 of which are included in the world’s
most dangerous; sharks, killer spiders and jellyfish. Fraser Island has been inhabited
by humans (probably the Butchulla tribe) for over 5,000 years, which explorer
James Cook saw as he sailed past the island in 1770. It was then called The Great
Sandy Island and only became known as Fraser Island after a shipwreck survivor Eliza
Fraser (wife of Captain Frazer), gave birth in one of the lifeboats, after
everyone else from the ship had died. She was then stranded with aborigines for
6 weeks but survived her ordeal and became a quite celebrity. Seventy-Five Mile
(75) beach is the sandy highway that runs up almost the entire east coast and
is accessible only by 4WD drive vehicles - officially designated a main
road.
It is also used as a landing strip, and highway rules state that all vehicles must give way to any oncoming aircraft. We drove off the ferry at Inskip Point, directly into the shallow ocean; the tide was particularly high and for the first hour, we couldn’t get onto the beach-road, so we had to travel on the inland by-pass track which was a real bone-shaker.
Eventually, we got onto the welcoming smooth sands and continued our journey - a picturesque ride along the breaking waves. There were a few people fishing off the beach, but no-one was swimming – there are too many things that can kill you here (3 types of man-eating sharks as well as lethal jellyfish).
Our welcomed lunch stop was at Eli Creek, the largest creek on the eastern coast, which pours up to 4 million litres of clear, fresh water into the ocean every hour – a surprising volume when it only appears to be a trickle.
It is a popular picnic and swimming spot and has a boardwalk that follows the
creek inland through banksia and pandanus. At the end there are steps down to
enter the water, and you can swim or float along the swiftly flowing creek back
out to the beach.
Quite a few people had stopped here for a rest, to relax and have some fun – even driving their 4WD vehicles through the deeper waters; and it was interesting to watch the small planes land and take-off.
There is a very welcomed eco toilet block in the dunes, with a great outlook high above the ocean.
After lunch we continued north up the beach, passing the coloured sands of the Cathedrals and the Pinnacles - examples of where the sand has been stained over thousands of years due to it conglomerating with clay. The mineral pigment hematite, responsible for the staining, acts like cement allowing steeper cliffs of coloured sand to form.
Our furthest stop was a rocky outcrop, originally created by volcanic activity about 50 million years ago; Captain Cook passed here on 19 May 1770 and named it Indian Head, after viewing Aboriginal people gathered there. (The term "Indian" was used at that time for any native people)
I struggled up the sandy and rocky pathway to the top of the headland, but it was worth the effort for the marvellous panoramic view, back across the island, down the length of the beach and out to sea. It is a good place for wildlife spotting, as rays, sharks, whales, dolphins, dugongs, and turtles are frequent visitors to the area.
On the way back down the beach is the shipwreck of the S.S.Maheno - a major landmark . She was built in Scotland in 1905 as a luxury passenger ship for the trans-Tasman crossing; served as a hospital ship in the English Channel during WW1 and afterwards returned to her commercial duties. In July 1935, while being towed to Osaka, to be broken up, she was caught in a cyclone off the coast of Queensland; the towline broke and the Maheno was beached on the coast.
Her remains are now severely rusted; but surprisingly there are 3 storeys still buried under the sand that cannot be seen. It is quite an impressive sight sitting on the water’s edge.
Our last pit stop was at the Coffee Rock which appears to be hard rock until you touch it, and then it crumbles in your hands, and dissolves in water to look like coffee.
Our overnight stop was at Eurong Beach Resort, which offers a variety of accommodation to suit all budgets. We entered the resort from the beach, over an electrified cattle grid – to keep dingoes out - which had been running alongside of the coach most of the day.
It has its own shop, bar, restaurant and swimming complex. After a delightful buffet style dinner, I was happy to have a very early night – it had been a very long, tiring day.
Next morning, several of us got up to see the sunrise – which didn’t happen, but it was a special moment in a remarkable place. The beach was so smooth and clean, and stretched as far as you could see in either direction – although it was dotted with different types of jellyfish.
After a very early breakfast we were off, heading inland this time - on nightmare terrain again.
We travelled through open eucalyptus forest before reaching the rainforest with its pines, gum trees, palms and pandanus. (Interesting fact - there are 714 types of eucalyptus trees in Australia, but the koala is very picky – and only eats 26 varieties). It wasn’t too long before we arrived at Pile Valley with its 1,000-year-old rough-barked satinay trees.
Pile Valley, Central Station and the surrounding area was logging took place, although today it is prohibited, and the trees are protected in this World Heritage Site. We were dropped off at the start of a designated walkway and told which way to go and what to avoid – such as funnel web spiders’ nests.
The huge satinay trees were mesmerising, both the width of them and their height – the ones that grow completely straight are worth an incredible amount of money.
We walked through the amazing ecosystem that has survived, below the tree canopy, for thousands of years - especially considering the sand which everything is growing in, isn’t very fertile. Although the bush walk is one of the most popular things to do, we didn’t encounter any other hikers; just lizards, and birds singing in the treetops. The lush rainforest and its natural beauty is described as paradise; it certainly is incredibly picturesque – especially the variations of greenery.
As we delved deeper into the atmospheric forest the path followed the Invisible Wanggoolba Creek; this crystal-clear, silently flowing freshwater creek certainly lives up to its name – most of the time you could hardly tell there was water below on the forest floor.
Fringed with dense rainforest, it was a privilege to walk through such a natural area, with so many cultural tales. The creek was the Butchulla women’s “special area” where they gave birth – and even now aboriginal men won’t approach this ritual place.
After almost an hour walking, the last section of the path was a boardwalk; and below was the primitive, rare King Fern growing by the edge of the creek.
This fern is found nowhere else on the island and is said to be over 2000 years old – originating from its parents’ rhizome. Then we were at a large clearing, Central Station, that was the headquarters of the forestry operations until the late 1950s. An old logging village of around 30 houses and a school were located here from days when tree felling was permitted; not many of these buildings have survived; but there are interesting historical notice boards to read.
Back on the coach for some more rib-shaking until we arrived at Lake Birrabeen. Fraser Island has over 100 freshwater lakes, and some of the cleanest in the world; Lake McKenzie is a the most popular tourist area, a perched lake (with no outflow) sitting on top of compact sand and vegetable matter 100 metres above sea level.
Lake Birrabeen is much quieter; it is also a perched lake, renowned as being one of the most beautiful lakes on the island with blue water and a glistening white sandy beach that is nearly pure silica. When we rubbed the sand over our skin, it was like having the best scrub and left us feeling wonderful.
The lakes have very few nutrients, and nowadays sunscreen and soaps are polluting them – so we were all careful as to what we used whilst bathing in the refreshing water. It was a wonderful quiet, peaceful hour relaxing in the lake - an experience I can highly recommend – and there was even an eco-toilet block close by!
From here, it was time to head to the ferry and begin our journey back to civilization. It had been a delightful trip to Fraser Island, our guide Andrew from Sunset Safaris had been so helpful and informative – it was definitely a trip to remember. www.sunsetsafaris.com
It is also used as a landing strip, and highway rules state that all vehicles must give way to any oncoming aircraft. We drove off the ferry at Inskip Point, directly into the shallow ocean; the tide was particularly high and for the first hour, we couldn’t get onto the beach-road, so we had to travel on the inland by-pass track which was a real bone-shaker.
Eventually, we got onto the welcoming smooth sands and continued our journey - a picturesque ride along the breaking waves. There were a few people fishing off the beach, but no-one was swimming – there are too many things that can kill you here (3 types of man-eating sharks as well as lethal jellyfish).
Our welcomed lunch stop was at Eli Creek, the largest creek on the eastern coast, which pours up to 4 million litres of clear, fresh water into the ocean every hour – a surprising volume when it only appears to be a trickle.
Quite a few people had stopped here for a rest, to relax and have some fun – even driving their 4WD vehicles through the deeper waters; and it was interesting to watch the small planes land and take-off.
There is a very welcomed eco toilet block in the dunes, with a great outlook high above the ocean.
After lunch we continued north up the beach, passing the coloured sands of the Cathedrals and the Pinnacles - examples of where the sand has been stained over thousands of years due to it conglomerating with clay. The mineral pigment hematite, responsible for the staining, acts like cement allowing steeper cliffs of coloured sand to form.
Our furthest stop was a rocky outcrop, originally created by volcanic activity about 50 million years ago; Captain Cook passed here on 19 May 1770 and named it Indian Head, after viewing Aboriginal people gathered there. (The term "Indian" was used at that time for any native people)
I struggled up the sandy and rocky pathway to the top of the headland, but it was worth the effort for the marvellous panoramic view, back across the island, down the length of the beach and out to sea. It is a good place for wildlife spotting, as rays, sharks, whales, dolphins, dugongs, and turtles are frequent visitors to the area.
On the way back down the beach is the shipwreck of the S.S.Maheno - a major landmark . She was built in Scotland in 1905 as a luxury passenger ship for the trans-Tasman crossing; served as a hospital ship in the English Channel during WW1 and afterwards returned to her commercial duties. In July 1935, while being towed to Osaka, to be broken up, she was caught in a cyclone off the coast of Queensland; the towline broke and the Maheno was beached on the coast.
Her remains are now severely rusted; but surprisingly there are 3 storeys still buried under the sand that cannot be seen. It is quite an impressive sight sitting on the water’s edge.
Our last pit stop was at the Coffee Rock which appears to be hard rock until you touch it, and then it crumbles in your hands, and dissolves in water to look like coffee.
Our overnight stop was at Eurong Beach Resort, which offers a variety of accommodation to suit all budgets. We entered the resort from the beach, over an electrified cattle grid – to keep dingoes out - which had been running alongside of the coach most of the day.
It has its own shop, bar, restaurant and swimming complex. After a delightful buffet style dinner, I was happy to have a very early night – it had been a very long, tiring day.
Next morning, several of us got up to see the sunrise – which didn’t happen, but it was a special moment in a remarkable place. The beach was so smooth and clean, and stretched as far as you could see in either direction – although it was dotted with different types of jellyfish.
After a very early breakfast we were off, heading inland this time - on nightmare terrain again.
We travelled through open eucalyptus forest before reaching the rainforest with its pines, gum trees, palms and pandanus. (Interesting fact - there are 714 types of eucalyptus trees in Australia, but the koala is very picky – and only eats 26 varieties). It wasn’t too long before we arrived at Pile Valley with its 1,000-year-old rough-barked satinay trees.
Pile Valley, Central Station and the surrounding area was logging took place, although today it is prohibited, and the trees are protected in this World Heritage Site. We were dropped off at the start of a designated walkway and told which way to go and what to avoid – such as funnel web spiders’ nests.
The huge satinay trees were mesmerising, both the width of them and their height – the ones that grow completely straight are worth an incredible amount of money.
We walked through the amazing ecosystem that has survived, below the tree canopy, for thousands of years - especially considering the sand which everything is growing in, isn’t very fertile. Although the bush walk is one of the most popular things to do, we didn’t encounter any other hikers; just lizards, and birds singing in the treetops. The lush rainforest and its natural beauty is described as paradise; it certainly is incredibly picturesque – especially the variations of greenery.
As we delved deeper into the atmospheric forest the path followed the Invisible Wanggoolba Creek; this crystal-clear, silently flowing freshwater creek certainly lives up to its name – most of the time you could hardly tell there was water below on the forest floor.
Fringed with dense rainforest, it was a privilege to walk through such a natural area, with so many cultural tales. The creek was the Butchulla women’s “special area” where they gave birth – and even now aboriginal men won’t approach this ritual place.
After almost an hour walking, the last section of the path was a boardwalk; and below was the primitive, rare King Fern growing by the edge of the creek.
This fern is found nowhere else on the island and is said to be over 2000 years old – originating from its parents’ rhizome. Then we were at a large clearing, Central Station, that was the headquarters of the forestry operations until the late 1950s. An old logging village of around 30 houses and a school were located here from days when tree felling was permitted; not many of these buildings have survived; but there are interesting historical notice boards to read.
Back on the coach for some more rib-shaking until we arrived at Lake Birrabeen. Fraser Island has over 100 freshwater lakes, and some of the cleanest in the world; Lake McKenzie is a the most popular tourist area, a perched lake (with no outflow) sitting on top of compact sand and vegetable matter 100 metres above sea level.
Lake Birrabeen is much quieter; it is also a perched lake, renowned as being one of the most beautiful lakes on the island with blue water and a glistening white sandy beach that is nearly pure silica. When we rubbed the sand over our skin, it was like having the best scrub and left us feeling wonderful.
The lakes have very few nutrients, and nowadays sunscreen and soaps are polluting them – so we were all careful as to what we used whilst bathing in the refreshing water. It was a wonderful quiet, peaceful hour relaxing in the lake - an experience I can highly recommend – and there was even an eco-toilet block close by!
From here, it was time to head to the ferry and begin our journey back to civilization. It had been a delightful trip to Fraser Island, our guide Andrew from Sunset Safaris had been so helpful and informative – it was definitely a trip to remember. www.sunsetsafaris.com
According to Aboriginal
legend, when humans were created and needed a place to live, the mighty god
Beiral sent his messenger Yendingie with the goddess K’gari down from heaven to
create the land and mountains, rivers and sea. K’gari fell in love with the earth’s
beauty and did not want to leave it. So Yendingie changed her into a heavenly
island – Fraser Island.
Lynne
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