Exploring The East Coast Of Australia: Fraser Island (K'gari)

FRASER ISLAND‍

Let’s start this blog post by saying that until our trip to K'Gari (Fraser Island), the amount of camping we’d done together as a couple, came to a grand total of half a night. One cold, soggy night on a hillside on the southwest coast of England, we admitted defeat about 2am and spent the remainder of our sleepless night in the car. But that’s a story for another time.

‍

Despite being far from expert campers, we dived head first into a 6 night camping adventure on Fraser, with about half a day’s worth of research into the island, and not a single campsite booked. It wouldn't be such an adventure if we were prepared right? Nevertheless, we nailed it, and our week on Fraser Island is still one of the best weeks we’ve ever had. Shout out to Nathan (who we hired our rental Jeep from), who provided such an epic car and camping set up, meaning it was next-to-impossible to go wrong, even for two camping amateurs. 

‍

The World Heritage Listed K'Gari (Fraser Island) stretches over 123km long and is the largest sand island in the world. Being sand, you'll need a 4 wheel-drive and an adventurous spirit to get around the island and experience all it has to offer. Here’s our Fraser Best Bits, our top tips for camping and exploring, and everything you need to know to experience the magic of Fraser Island. 

‍

Our Fraser Island Highlights

Lake McKenzie / South Lakes Scenic Drive

Wow, Lake McKenzie! We visited on our first full day in Fraser, starting with the South Lakes Scenic drive, then adding on McKenzie (which is part of the Central Lakes drive). There are a total of three Lake Drives you can do around Fraser Island (the South Lakes, Central Lakes and Lake Garawongera drives). 

We set off from Central Station (where we had just spent our first night camping), with the first stop on the South Lakes drive being Lake Birrabeen. This lake in itself is pretty special - crystal clear water lapping the powdery white sand backed by bushland. Lake number two is Benaroon, which feels wilder with reeds sprouting up through the sand and water at the shore. Lake three on the drive is Boomanjin, where the water is a deep reddish brown colour, due to the tannins from tea trees growing in its watershed. This made for some epic drone shots. The scenic drive route from Central to Lake Boomanjin is around 17km, so with stops at each lake for photos, drone-flying and exploring, it took us around 3 hours. 

With plenty of time left in the day, we headed for Lake McKenzie. Being a world-heritage site, we were expecting big things, but weren’t really prepared for just how beautiful and jaw-dropping it is in real life. Mike literally walked onto the beach and just stood by the water scratching his head for a good few minutes, trying to take it all in. The sand is that powdery-white, squeaky beneath your feet kind of sand that almost hurts your eyes to look at without sunnies on. The water at McKenzie is so crystal-clear by the shore, you could easily just lay in the shallows all day. There is a deep drop-off a few metres into the water, meaning it then suddenly turns this deep, rich blue.  Mckenzie is pure magic, and if you do get the chance to visit, much like us, you’ll want to go back for more. 

Eli Creek 

Around half-way along the east coast of Fraser, you’ll find this fun little creek. It’s official policy to take an inflatable on your visit to Eli Creek (not really, but you absolutely have to). Follow the boardwalk inland, jump on your inflatable, and enjoy the view as your float down Eli, through the hanging trees, and in the most beautifully clear, refreshing water. The beach parking spot where you arrive at Eli also makes for a good picnic spot for lunch. 

Bowarrady Creek / Western beaches 

If, like us, you like a bit of peace & quiet from time to time, and if, like us, you like a stunning, white-sand, lapping-water kinda beach, we found just the place. Bowarrady Creek is actually a camping area on the Western side of the island, but being so remote and having no facilities, meant that we had this place all to ourselves for 2 nights running. We had been adamant that to see as much of the island as possible, we weren’t going to stay in the same spot twice. We immediately changed our minds once we set eyes on Bowarrady. 

The beauty of this place is really that there’s nothing but white-sand, beautiful calm ocean, and a cool, freshwater creek backed by some bushland. Take your snorkel out (or fly your drone) to spot turtles, sting rays and baby sharks, relax on the beach, and then get ready for one of the best sunsets of your life. We particularly loved Bowarrady, but the whole stretch of western beaches are absolutely beautiful. Whereas the eastern coastline is more wild, with surf and golden sands backed by big dunes (and a lot more cars, being the main highway on the island), the western side feels more like you’ve taken a wrong turn and arrived in the Maldives or the Caribbean. For us, West was best. 

Champagne Pools

At the top of the eastern coast, just around from Indian Heads, you’ll find the Champagne pools - a section of naturally formed rock pools at the edge of the ocean, which fills with bubbly seafoam with every wave that crashes over the rocks. We visited on a bit of rainy, overcast and windy morning, but even so, this place was so fun! It’s like a natural saltwater jacuzzi, and I can imagine if you get a better day than we did, you could sit there and soak up the salt for hours. 

Driving around + Pile Valley 

You can only take a 4WD on Fraser as you’ll be driving on sand for the entire trip. Driving the beaches and along the inland tracks on Fraser are a whole adventure in themselves. We heard so many stories of people getting stuck, getting bogged in etc before we went. Luckily, we had no issues despite visiting the more ‘remote’ locations. The thing that we loved most about Fraser and made it such an epic adventure, was the variety. In a single morning you could pass through paperbark forests, into dense rainforest and onwards into dry, vast Aussie bushland. We'd be driving on a wild, rugged coastline past clay-red rock faces and then next thing we know we'd be on pristine white-sand beaches that stretch as far as we could see. If you want to see as much of Fraser as possible in your time there, then you’ll likely be doing a lot of driving. For us, this was such a huge part of the experience. The scenery, the tracks and the pit stops. 

Make sure you visit Pile Valley, an area of ancient rainforest - such a good spot for a pic!

Maheno Wreck

This wreck is from 1935 when ocean liner S.S Maheno hit a cyclone and drifted ashore to Fraser’s eastern beach. It’s definitely worth a stop, and is just a short distance along from Eli Creek, so good to combine the two. 

The Best Campsites

You’ve got plenty of options when camping on Fraser. Most of the sites are run by Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) and have little in the way of facilities, but there are some private campsites with amenities if you like things a little less wild. If you’re travelling with kids, there are also options for fenced campgrounds, which deter the dingoes that roam around Fraser. The QPWS sites are defined by ‘camping zones’, so you’re free to find a spot you like within that ‘zone’ along the beach. 

Here’s where we stayed each night, and our thoughts. 

1. Central station - Great location for the first night if arriving onto Fraser via Inskip Point, and then for exploring the lakes. This campsite is in the forest and has facilities. The showers are $2 but there were a couple of giant spiders that put us off using them. Good spot if you like being in the forest. We did get eaten by mozzies.
2. Eastern beach zone 3 - Beautiful spot. We were the only people there, in the whole camping zone it seemed. Woke up to watch the sunrise over the ocean. We did get absolutely molested by sand flies. No facilities here.
3. Bowadarry creek (western beaches) - Best camp spot in the world! Freshwater creek, white-sand beach, beautiful calm ocean lapping the shore and the best sunset we ever did see! No facilities here and it's far from any, so make sure you stock up before arriving.
4. Bowadarry creek (western beaches) - So good, we did it twice. 
5. Wathumba (western beaches) - Much more beautiful at high tide than low tide. Popular area for fishing, so there were quite a few groups fishing around here. Few dingoes hanging around for some food. No facilities here. 
6. Woralie Creek (western beaches) - Loved this spot. Similar to Bowaraddy with a freshwater creek, white sand and another great sunset. No facilities here. 
   

Getting to Fraser

‍

From Inskip Point (to Hook Point)

We picked up the Jeep in Brisbane and drove up to Rainbow Beach. Here, we stopped for lunch and fuel, and then made our way to the Manta Ray Barge at Inskip Point. This barge will take you to the south east coast of the island. Manta Ray barges run every 30 minutes, and take about 10 minutes to reach Fraser, at Hook Point. 

Cost for standard 4wd: $85 one-way or $130 return (including passengers) 

‍

From Hervey Bay (to Kingfisher Bay)

The alternative option is to drive to Hervey Bay and take the Fraser Island Barge from River Heads to Kingfisher Bay. They run this ferry 5 times daily at set times, and the journey takes 50 minutes.  

Cost for standard 4wd: $132 one-way or $220 return (plus $7 pp)

Our experience: We ended up doing both (arriving to Fraser from Inskip Point and returning to mainland at Hervey Bay). We much preferred Inskip Point - it was cheaper, far quicker and more enjoyable all round. You also save money by buying a return trip from the get-go, so I would recommend starting and ending at Inskip Point. 

‍

Top Tips for the Ultimate Fraser trip

1. (Maybe) plan ahead! We visited Fraser at potentially the best time possible in terms of visitors - just after many of the covid restrictions had ended, but before any international travellers were heading back to Australia. It was also right after summer holidays when the kids had just gone back to school. This meant it often felt like we had the entire island all to ourselves, and therefore had the flexibility of booking campsites right before we rocked up. This may not always be the case - it might be worth having an idea of where you want to camp and the sites you want to visit before you go. 
2. Take bug spray/be prepared for bugs - a couple of nights we got absolutely molested by either mozzies, sandflies or march flies. Honestly, I’m not sure the bug spray even helps a whole lot here. I think if you’re camping in Queensland, you might just need to take it on the chin (or in my case, the thighs and butt cheeks). 
3. Stock up on food and other items you’ll need before you go. Groceries are limited and hugely expensive on Fraser Island. Hit the supermarket before you make your way to the island and have plenty for your entire trip. 
4. Fuel up! Again, this is very expensive on Fraser, but depending on the length of your trip, you’ll likely need to fill up at least once. To help keep costs down, make sure your tank is full right before you head onto Fraser. 
5. Phone reception is only available at ranger stations, which are few and far between. We hadn’t booked campsites ahead of the trip, so would make a quick stop at a ranger station as we headed around the island, to make a booking for the same night. If you want to avoid this last-minute pressure, I’d book your camping before your trip. 
6. Don’t forget some $2 coins if you like to wash! There are some campsites where you can enjoy a hot shower for a $2 coin (for about 2 minutes before they switch off, so wash fast). We found the most decent showers to be at Dundaburra, which also has some good sinks for washing up your dishes.
7. Dingoes roam the island, especially around busier campsites and fishing spots. There are signs absolutely everywhere warning about the dangers of dingoes and what to do if you come across them. We saw a few, especially at Wathumba, but they didn’t seem bothered by us. They are mostly keen on your food, so make sure you pack lots of air-tight food containers, rubbish bags etc, and keep everything shut away in your car. 
8. Take plenty of water. We grabbed a couple of 15 litre water tanks at a supermarket before heading onto Fraser. There are only a few places with drinking water to fill up your containers. These are at Eurong, Dudubara and Waddy Point.