Fraser Island ‘K’gari,’- The worlds largest sand island

Fraser Island - the world's largest sand island and home to the only last purebred dingoes! Fraser was right on our doorstep for so long. Being based in Rainbow Beach we were able to see Fraser island almost every day and if we drove 10-minutes north of the township to Inskip Point it would look as though you could almost swim across. Unfortunately, though, there are a lot of sharks between Inskip and Fraser, so we decided to catch the barge instead - our bank accounts suffered from this.

Manta Ray Fraser Island Barge operates daily and will set you back $130 for a return ticket in your 4WD. Pricey! (Although much cheaper from Inskip than from Hervey Bay to Fraser).

We caught the 6 am barge which was pretty perfect. Our first Fraser Island moments were filled with a golden hue as the sun rose over the water and looking back towards Rainbow Beach was a novel sight.

(It is super important to lower your tyre pressure before going to Fraser Island so that you minimize your chances of getting bogged. We were lucky that it had rained for a few days before we went over, so the beach roads were dense and we had no trouble driving around the island).

Our 4-day, 3-night Itinerary on Fraser Island:

Day 1 - Hook Point to Waddy Point Campsite: 108kms

The barge drops you off at Hook Point and as this point is notoriously impassable during high tide, it is advisable to arrive on the island at low tide, or as the tide is going out (there is an inland track if you cannot pass though). We timed our barge to arrive on the outgoing tide which allowed us plenty of time to make the journey north and stop at some must-see icons along the way such as;

The wreck of the S.S Maheno - In its current state, it's very cool to walk around and get a photo in or next to the ship, especially if you can time it when there's not a busload of other tourists.

The S.S Maheno is named after a small town in New Zealand (that appears to only has a petrol station) and lies between Dunedin and sunny Timaru. The boat itself was used as a hospital ship during WW1 and on completion of these duties when returning to NZ it was caught in a cyclone, forcing it onto the east coast of Fraser island where it remains today.

Nearby the shipwreck sits the village of Eurong. Here they have detailed information about the S.S Maheno as well as relics that they managed to save and preserve from the vessel.

Champagne Pools is just past Indian Head as you head north and is a fantastic place to visit as the tide comes in. As the name implies pools of water form during the incoming tide which creates a foamy, or bubbly look as the waves crash over the rugged rocks into the pools.

Here is a timelapse of the tide coming in at Champagne Pools: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wB9gZGRa1I

We stopped at Orchid Beach for lunch this day. Here you can get yourself a decent pie. They also stock souvenirs and ice, as well as a limited range of grocery items. Orchid Beach has a bar onsite and a runway nearby.

Waddy Point was our final stop for the day where we camped. This campsite has fire pits and is about 50 meters back from the beach. Sadly we didn't get a beach view at this campsite. The point itself is a pretty nice spot to walk up and enjoy a sunset and sunrise, or to whale watch in the right season. We saw whales and dolphins up at Waddy Point. Marcus also had a very close encounter with a Dingo just by the campsite. This sneaky dingo followed Marcus for a while as he was running back to the beach after getting our camera - the sunset was pretty alright.

No.1 rule on Fraser: no running! (the dingoes think its a game)

Day 2 Waddy Point to Woralie Creek

Today we drove back down south, stopping at Indian Head, Eli Creek and, Wungul Sandblow. Eli Creek is a freshwater, fast-flowing creek that is a refreshing way to cool down. once parked up, there is a boardwalk you can follow further upstream. We took boogie boards over just for the occasion and floated downstream on them.

Wungul Sandblow was pretty impressive with several undulating sandhills and after walking to the top we got a view of both the east and west coasts of the island.

Woralie Creek is accessed through an inland track just past the Pinnacles landmark. The inland track to Woralie Creek was the roughest track we covered on the island and caution should be taken (if you care for your 4WD). If you're looking for phone reception there is a point about midway along the inland track and on the west coast where there is limited reception.

The west coast is very different from the east coast: The west coast is much quieter, with smaller campsites and crystal clear smooth waters. We tried our hand at fishing on this side of the island but had no luck. Although, much to our envy, our camper neighbour had a fishing drone and we watched on as he caught a few big fish. If we were to go to this campsite again we would travel slightly further north for fishing as we saw some people not far from the shore (on boats) having some luck fishing in a decent gutter.

The west coast is also ideal for watching the sunset over the ocean (this features at the end of the Champagne Pools video above).

Day 3 - Woralie Creek to Govi (zone 1 camping)

Today we drove back to the east coast of Fraser Island, via the same inland route.

Once on the east coast, we traveled to Lake Wabby which is an emerald-colored, inland lake hidden amongst the sand dunes. This lake is good for swimming and has a few catfish that can be seen from above the water. We would definitely recommend a visit to this lake due to its novelty, despite the walkout (it wasn't too long, we promise).

We traveled to Lake Mackenzie in the late afternoon, which was a good time to visit as the crowds were leaving. Lake Mackenzie is probably one of, if not the most, notable icon on Fraser Island. However, during the middle of the day the water will seem more apparent. On the way to Lake Mackenzie, we went through the islands rain forest section which features the only original forests on the island (that were not used for logging). This is a site to see!

Dinner tonight was at McKenzie's Restaurant at Eurong. It was an enjoyable meal, especially so because we didn't have to cook or clean. We left feeling full and satisfied.

After dinner, we drove to our final camping spot for our trip - Govi beach camping area. This is a camping spot just tucked behind the dunes and was a perfect spot to watch the night sky.

Day 4 - Govi back to Rainbow Beach Today was pretty simple other than Marcus' second encounter with a wild dingo. This time the dingo stole his bait - the whole lot! After a second unsuccessful finishing attempt, we decided to call it quits for fishing and drove back to Hook Point to catch the barge back to Rainbow Beach.

Extra notes:

Campsites cost about $6/per person/night. You can choose either fenced or unfenced camp spots.

In hindsight, we would have liked to have stayed a full week to get the most out of the island.

Book in advance (especially in peak seasons) to make sure you get the camp spots you would like.

Don't leave food out. Respect the land - pick up after yourself!