ATTRACTION FRASER ISLAND

Australia Fraser Island Escapes departs Brisbane on a fully guided four wheel drive eco-adventure to Fraser Island. Spot dolphins, fish, whales, dugong and turtles. Four Wheel Drive to freshwater lakes, beautiful wildflowers, birdlife and a remote surf beach.

Australia Fraser Island Escape has been operating for over 20 years and offers the most extensive tours on the Islands. All tour guides have driver authorisation, experience and training in a four-wheel drive.

Visit Fraser's world famous Lake McKenzie and the Central Station Rainforest. See the Glasshouse Mountains, and also Rainbow Beach and its amazing coloured sands.
 

The Maheno, the most famous of the Fraser Island wrecks, was driven ashore just north of Happy Valley during a cyclone in 1935. Once a well-known trans-Tasman liner, the Maheno was bound for a Japanese wrecking yard when she met her stormy end. Today the hull lies slowly deteriorating in the harsh salt environment, about 10 kilometres north of Happy Valley.

There are many different aspects to Fraser Island, but the awe-inspiring beauty of Lake McKenzie makes it probably the most visited natural site on the island. It is a 'perched' lake, which means it contains only rainwater, no groundwater, is not fed by streams and does not flow to the ocean. The sand and organic matter at the base of the lake form an impervious layer, preventing rainwater from draining away. The sand here is pure, white silica and is not only beautiful to look at but feels beautifully soft to walk on. The sand acts as a filter, giving the water its clarity and helping to make the water so pure it can support very little life. The blues and greens of the lake are endlessly fascinating and it's well worth getting up early to look across it in the soft light of dawn. There are great camping facilities here, each site having its own camp fire with wood provided. Toilets and cold showers are nearby.

The world's largest sand island, Fraser Island is an area of remarkable natural beauty. It was listed as a World Heritage Area in 1992. Lake Wabby is the deepest lake on Fraser Island. Its shore lies at the advancing edge of the Hammerstone Sandblow. The Lake Wabby Track will take you to a splendid lookout offering a view of this barrage lake and the sandblow that is slowly engulfing it. From here, walk to the shore of Lake Wabby for a refreshing swim.

The stunning Fraser Island World Heritage Area is the setting for the Fraser Island Great Walk that winds for 90 kilometres between Dilli Village and Happy Valley. Towering rainforests, crystal-clear lakes, coloured sands and vast sand dunes are just a few of the natural wonders you will discover on the walk. Following the pathways of the island's original inhabitants, the Butchulla people, as well as old logging roads and tramlines, the track passes iconic sites such as Lake McKenzie (Boorangoora), Wanggoolba Creek, Lake Wabby and Central Station. In the centre of the island discover tall, awe-inspiring forests and more than 200 freshwater lakes and creeks that provide sanctuary to numerous birds, including brahminy kites, pied oystercatchers, red-capped plovers, white-bellied sea-eagles, yellow-tailed black-cockatoos and king-parrots. At night, sugar gliders, brushtail possums and flying-foxes become active. You will need to carry reliable communication and navigation equipment and the Fraser Island Great Walk topographic map.

Lake Wabby is relatively close to the ocean side of Fraser Island and unlike the other lakes, it supports several varieties of fish. It is known as both a window lake and a barrage lake. Window lakes form when the ground level falls below the water table. Barrage lakes form when a sand blow blocks the waters of a natural spring. This phenomenon is easy to see at Lake Wabby. On one side its deep green waters are bordered by a giant sand dune that is slowly moving into the lake. In a century or so, the sand dune's inexorable march westward across Fraser Island will see it completely swallow the lake.

Walk through low coastal scrub and sheltered cypress forest to the coloured sands at Rainbow Gorge on World Heritage Listed Fraser Island. The highlight is the eerie lunar landscape of Kirra Sandblow where a spring-fed stream creates small sand formations and has exposed the underlying sandstone rock. This is an area that affords walkers a special opportunity to indulge in some creative photography, so don't forget the camera.

Fraser Island, Great Sandy National Park is a wonderland which can take days to explore. Fraser Island, a World Heritage area, features huge dunes, wide ocean beaches and mighty rainforests growing on sand. Explore the rich cultural history of the Butchulla people and early pioneers. Walk the 90 kilometre Fraser Island Great Walk - or one of many shorter walks. View the landscape by plane or from many island lookouts. Relax beside a freshwater lake 'perched' among the dunes. Fish from the ocean beach, wander through tall rainforests or marvel at the crystal-clear water in Wanggoolba Creek. Because Fraser Island is all sand, you will need a four wheel drive vehicle with high clearance to enjoy driving the inland tracks or the beach at low tide. Purchase vehicle and camping permits in advance.

No visit to Fraser Island is complete without visiting Central Station, which was the centre of forestry operations on the island until the 1960s. There are historic displays, old machinery and buildings, but the gem for bushwalkers is via a small access route through the surrounding rainforest to the well-constructed boardwalk overlooking Wanggoolba Creek; an idyllic haven for unique plants. The shallow crystal-clear water of Wanggoolba Creek winds gently between banks fringed by subtropical rainforest. See strangler figs, piccabeen palms, climbing vines and buttressed trees. This is the only place on the island where the king fern Angiopteris evecta grows and sprouts the largest fronds in the world. Interestingly the giant fronds of this relict and primitive species are supported by water pressure rather than woody tissue typical of more modern ferns. From Wanggoolba Creek's rainforest gully walk through kauri, brush box and tall eucalypt forest to the sedge-fringed shores of Basin Lake.

The Cathedrals on Fraser Island are coloured sand cliffs that have been sculpted by the wind and rain blowing in off the Pacific Ocean. The colours - red, brown, yellow and orange - are spectacular and are best viewed in the early morning light. The size of the cliff faces are a reminder of exactly how large the sand dunes are on Fraser Island. The Cathedrals are situated on 75 Mile Beach approximately 18 kilometres south of Indian Head.

In the great tradition of many Australian place names, 75 Mile Beach on Fraser Island, was so named because it is approximately 75 miles long. Due to the constant movement of sea and sand, it's not always exactly 75 miles long, but then, '75.173 Mile Beach' just wouldn't have had the same ring to it. 75 Mile Beach runs along most of the east coast of Fraser Island. While it may not be the best place for swimming due to dangerous currents and plentiful Tiger sharks, it is extremely beautiful and has a number of excellent highlights such as Champagne Pools, Indian Head (from where you can often see the sharks in the surf), the Maheno Wreck and Eli Creek. Eli Creek is strikingly clear and has its own unique and varied wildlife. This unique stretch of beach is also a National Highway as well as a landing strip for light aircraft. Driving along 75 Mile Beach or taking off and landing during a scenic flight of the island is a must do.

Originally established as a forestry camp when there was logging on Fraser Island, Central Station's beautiful rainforest area houses a display explaining the development of the island and its various flora and fauna, an information centre and picnic area. Central Station has a short boardwalk around Wanggoolba Creek and through the rainforest.