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Fraser Island T
Explore the transcendent World Heritage-listed Fraser Island
1800 811 728 or 1800 214 789 Information and Bookings Fraser Coast Visitor Information Centres
Travel Essentials
- the largest sand island in the world. Stand next to the colossal, furrowed trunk of an ancient tree more than 1200 years old as you explore one of the most awe-inspiring islands on earth with its beautiful blue-hued, freshwater lakes and coloured sand dunes.
VEHICLE & CAMPING PERMITS All vehicles require an access permit and National Park campers must have a prepurchased camping permit attached to their tent. Permits can be obtained: online nprsr.qld.gov.au/fraser, by phoning 137468, or at Visitor Information Centres. For a full list of locations: recreation.npsr. qld.gov.au/booking-offices .
DINGOES Particular caution should be taken with the island’s dingoes. Do not feed, provoke or encourage the dingoes and stay close to children. If approached, face the dingo and retreat calmly. Heavy fines apply for interacting with dingoes.
ACCOMMODATION National Park campgrounds are located at Waddy Point, Dundubara, Wathumba, Central Station and Lake Boomanjin. Beach camping is allowed where signed. Fraser Island also offers excellent private accommodation options from holiday
houses and units at Orchid Beach, Happy Valley and Eurong to the awardwinning Kingfisher Bay Resort.
ACCESS Self-drive: A four-wheel-drive vehicle is essential on Fraser Island as almost all roads are sand tracks. Reasonable undervehicle clearance is necessary. 4WD hire vehicles are available from Hervey Bay, Eurong and Kingfisher Bay Resort. Offroad camper trailers are allowed, however caravans are discouraged. Air: Air charters and transfers depart from Hervey Bay Airport. All air charters and transfers should be pre-booked. Barges: Barges take vehicles and passengers each day from River Heads to Kingfisher Bay and Wanggoolba Creek. Bookings are essential for barges departing from River Heads. Private boats can moor off the island with jetty facilities dotted around the shores.
visitfrasercoast.com We love seeing all your holiday snaps. Be sure to use #visitfrasercoast. Enjoy your stay with us!
Fraser Island K’gari Fraser Island marked the 25th anniversary of its World Heritage Listing in December, 2017. This ancient place, the largest sand island in the world, offers incredible experiences. DID YOU KNOW? You’ll never forget the wonder you feel when you let your eyes drink in the beauty of the blue hues of Fraser Island’s Lake McKenzie, or gaze for the first time at the tops of the towering ancient trees in the Valley of the Giants or experience the thrill of zooming along 75 Mile Beach - which doubles as a fourwheel-drive highway and a landing strip for light aircraft. Hosting modern resorts and attractions, carefully managed to preserve the pristine beauty, the island is home to relics from 200 million years ago, including the magnificent giant King Fern which reputedly has the largest fronds of any fern on earth. Crystal-clear, freshwater streams fed by the water table and rainforest trees literally growing out of the sand are matched with an, at times, alien landscape created by huge sand blows from winds belting across the Pacific.
The clean air and smell of the ocean belie its strength, with the corroding wreck of the hospital ship Maheno a silent and constant reminder. Even the most experienced traveller will be inspired by this place, lying just south of the Great Barrier Reef and off the coast of Hervey Bay. It stretches for 123km and is 22km wide at its widest point. The island has been built up over 800,000 years of tidal action. It is the world’s largest and oldest dune-building sequence. The traditional owners, the Butchulla people, named the island K’gari which means paradise. Birds are the most abundant form of animal life seen on the island with more than 350 migratory and coastal species recorded but visitors may also spot the famous Fraser Island dingoes, humpback whales off its coast, swamp wallabies, possums, flying foxes, soldier crabs, turtles, dolphins, manta rays and dugongs.
There are many ways to experience the island’s exceptional landscapes • take a self-drive getaway • join a guided tour • go on a camping safari • book a room at a resort • explore the island on foot through part or all of the 90km Fraser Island Great Walk.
Much of the water from the annual average rainfall of 1600mm is absorbed into an enormous domeshaped water table below the dunes. Some of this water may be stored 30m or more below sea level and for up to 100 years before resurfacing.
Daily barge services run to the island from Hervey Bay with a trip to the main resort taking about 50 minutes while the journey for four-wheel-drive enthusiasts to Wanggoolba Creek is about 30 minutes.
DID YOU KNOW? Fraser Island was the secret training ground of Z Special Unit, the forerunner to Australia’s Special Air Service commandos, which carried out one of the most audacious raids behind enemy lines in Singapore Harbour during World War II. Remnants can still be seen near McKenzie’s Jetty on the western side of the island.
Purest strain of dingo
LAKE MCKENZIE White sand and sparkling blue water -— Lake McKenzie is one of the best-known freshwater lakes and a popular swimming spot. To see one of the world’s rare barrage lakes also consider visiting Lake Wabby.
Rooney Point
The Maheno
Ngala Rocks Orange Creek
Platypus Bay
Ocean Lake
ORCHID BEACH
Champagne Pools
Towoi Creek
SOUTHERN
THE PINNACLES The Butchulla people believed these iconic cliffs of coloured sands were permanently stained when the gods brushed up against them.
GREAT SANDY NATIONAL PARK
Bowal Creek
PACIFIC OCEAN
INDIAN HEAD Corroboree Beach
WORLD HERITAGE AREA
Awinya Creek Bowarrady Creek
Great Sandy Marine Park
INDIAN HEAD This distinctive rocky cliff is a natural grandstand for absorbing captivating views of crystal-clear water dotted with manta rays, dolphins and other marine life.
Wungul Sandblow
Woralie Creek
Lake Bowarrady Coongu l Creek
Lake Allom Booomerang Lakes
Moon Point Pelican Bank
Knifeblade Sandblow
Dundubara
Cathedrals on Fraser
The Pinnacles Maheno Wreck
Lake Garawongera
RIVER HEADS
Wanggoolba Creek
DID YOU KNOW?
Hit the water together yer
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Legend
Once renowned for the fastest transatlantic crossing and formerly a World War I hospital ship, the Maheno succumbed to a cyclone, foundering on the shores on the eastern side of Fraser Island in 1935.
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THE MAHENO SHIPWRECK
Dilli Village
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This spectacular stretch of beach running along the eastern side of Fraser Island is officially a national highway and a unique landing strip for light aircraft.
Garrys Anchorage
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75 MILE BEACH
Lake Boomanjin
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Anthropologists believe Fraser Island was the traditional homeland of the Butchulla people for at least 5000 years. The first written record of the region is from explorer James Cook’s discovery voyage of Australia’s east coast in 1770.
Swimmers flock to this location where waves crash over rocks lining sandy pools with a froth reminiscent of champagne bubbles.
Barge Routes
Coolooloi Creek
Roads & 4WD tracks
• Take a dip in Champagne Pools, a natural rock pool, and feel the bubbles all around you.
• Take a boat cruise to the untouched beauty of the western side of Fraser Island where you can go bushwalking, snorkelling, kayaking and swimming.
Eurong
Lake Benaroon
CHAMPAGNE POOLS
OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD ECO ADVENTURES
TIPS FOR DIY ENTHUSIASTS
Lake Wabby Lake Birrabeen
Ungowa
Pumping 4.2 million litres of water into the ocean every hour, Eli Creek is the largest freshwater creek along the east coast.
Happy Valley Yidney Rocks
LAKE McKENZIE
CENTRAL STATION ELI CREEK
• Take a scenic flight in a plane that takes off and lands on the eastern beach.
• Lay on your back or lay on an inflatable to float down Eli Creek, taking in the stunning environment around you in this amazing freshwater creek.
• Snap some amazing photos for your album at Fraser Island’s most popular spots in just one day on a bus or four-wheel-drive tour or book a personalised tour.
• Check out the amazing breathtaking views from Indian Head, and see what marine life you can spot in the waves below.
• Capture some worthy pics and post to Instagram; don’t forget to #visitfrasercoast and #visitfraserisland
The lakes on Fraser Island provide poor habitats for fish and other aquatic species because of the purity, acidity and the water’s low nutrient levels. Some frog species, called acid frogs, have adapted to survive in this environment.
Kirrar Sandblow
Kingfisher Bay
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Hook Pointddle on the calm wa
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Inskip Point
• Be aware that only a portion of the western beach is open to four-wheel drives with the northern and southern sections closed. • QPWS advise the best beach driving times are two hours either side of low tide. • Take care crossing creeks and to travel with at least one other vehicle. • Ever-changing weed banks lie buried under the sand which can trap immediately the unwary and deceive even the experienced driver. • Campers are asked to leave no trace. Take your rubbish with you off the island. • Take a portable toilet, as most camping areas on the western side do not offer toilet facilities. • It’s best to avoid school holiday periods if you want a total break from civilisation. • DIY travellers must have vehicle and camping Unique events permits. • Mobile coverage is intermittent. • Make sure you pack insect repellent.
WESTERN FRASER ISLAND The secluded white sandy beaches, sparkling clear tranquil waters and abundant marine life of the almostuntouched, remote western coastline of Fraser Island have only recently been opened up through jet ski and boat tours. Until recently, only confident boaties and experienced four-wheel drivers and self-sufficient campers have tackled travelling to the western side. Things to do: • Take a boat tour and get the bonus of extra stops on the west coast. • Take a ride on a jet ski and see the sights including turtles, rays, fish, dolphins, birds, dugongs, and dingoes. • Go snorkelling and explore the crystalclear waters.
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Champag
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Visitors are encouraged to take only photographs and leave only footprints to preserve the unique environment.
Explore Fraser’s exceptional landscape on foot with more than 90km of walking tracks between Happy Valley and Dilli Village. Follow the pathways of the island’s original inhabitants and see some of the hidden treasures like the Valley of the Giants. There are many shorter walks along the way. Visit nprsr.qld. gov.au/fraser to plan your trip and check for any track closures.
DID YOU KNOW?
ELI CREEK
HERVEY BAY
FRASER ISLAND GREAT WALK
Waddy Point
Wathumba Creek
The Smok
frasercoastevents.com To check out the upcoming events and festivals, visit
Home to a community of more than 100 people in the 1920s timber logging days, Central Station showcases its history along with several forest walks to peaceful Wanggoolba Creek and Basin Lake.
• Go for a bushwalk and admire the striking nature. • Explore and discover the sensational creeks in a kayak. • Try your luck at fishing, and throw a line in, on the mudflaps.
• Let your footsteps be the first on the beach in the morning. • Depending on where you camp you may have an entire area to yourselves and not see another soul for a week. • Sit back and relax and enjoy the tranquillity of the western side of Fraser. • If visiting Fraser Island between July and November, keep your eye out for the majestic humpback whales, where they stop and spend up to 10 days, resting, socialising and playing. Bookings are essential for whale watching tours. Visit whalesherveybay.com Please note Western Fraser is a remote destination and proper preparations are necessary for self-drive adventures. For more information, search for the ‘About Fraser Island’ page on npsr.qld.gov.au.
©2019 Fraser Coast Tourism and Events
FRASER ISLAND
CENTRAL STATION
Sandy Cape
Sandy Cape Lighthouse
To Lady Elliot Island
DISCLAIMER: This map is for illustrative purposes only and is not to scale
Unforgettable Treasures