Fraser Island (its real name is K'gari). We'd heard so much about it, but we worried it was going to be one of those over hyped disappointments. We were also quite nervous as we've never done beach driving or sand 4WD'ing before!
It was going to be tricky, its not the kind of place that's 'budget friendly' and travelling with a dog adds another problem - K'gari is a National Park and home to the Fraser Island Dingo, so understandably theres no dogs allowed.
We decided on a day trip, we figured we could see a lot of what the island has to offer without the stress and financial pressure of finding a dog sitter, paying for caravan storage as well as camping on the island or forking out for a resort.
But could we do it? Would the weather and tide times align? After speaking to the locals in Rainbow beach, we decided it can be done. The people at the info centre were so helpful, and having visited Fraser for 20+ years, we followed their advice to a T.
The info in this blog post is for trips to Fraser from Inskip Point.
First things first, you need to figure out what the best day for tides is going to be. Access from Inskip is all beach, no roads. So to be able to get up to the middle and northern parts of the island, you need the tide to be low. It takes about an hour to get from Inskip Point to the SS Maheno Shipwreck.
The first barge is at 6am, the last return barge is usually around sunset, 5:30pm. We found a day where the low tides lined up perfectly with these times, and better still, the weather forecast was clear and sunny!
Next, you'll need a vehicle access permit. Unfortunately Queensland Parks stopped doing the cheaper 'Day Pass' permit, instead opting to sting every visitor for a month long permit (thanks for that!!) which will cost you a whopping $52.75.
(https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/recreation-areas/vehicle_access_permit_fees.html )
Then, a barge ticket. We were camping at the glorious Sarawak Camp at Inskip Point so took the barge here. It was wonderful, super quiet, super quick and two minutes from our camp site! $125 return, and we purchased this at the info centre near the Shell Petrol Station.
On the day of our adventure, we woke at 5:30 am, said goodbye to Pip (she stayed comfy at our van for the day) and headed to the barge to catch the first crossing at 6am. And what a wonderful experience that was, driving along the western beaches of Fraser while the sun was coming up over the horizon. An absolute magic experience and already our $175 is money very well spent!
The beach driving is very easy, huge, flat and hard, we didn't let our tyres down or even have it in 4WD at this point.
We headed straight for the SS Maheno shipwreck. Here we put the car in 4WD as there are some interesting rocky areas and a couple sandy hills.
We arrived at around 7am, the sun was still low which allowed for some beautiful golden light, and better still, we had the place to ourselves! Its so beautiful and the kids had a lot of fun imagining it as a pirate ship!
Just a little side note: Please don't climb the shipwreck (like we saw some annoying tourists doing), its not only extremely dangerous, but you are literally ruining it for other visitors, both in the present (really don't want your teenagers in my shots!) and also future visitors, as your heavy footprint will likely destroy this shipwreck quicker than the ocean will.
On advice from the experienced locals, we didn't go any further north, but headed south to Eli Creek.
What a stunning spot! We arrived at 8am, so again had it all to ourselves, EXCEPT for the resident Dingoes! There was a small pack hanging around when we arrived, they made the kids very nervous as they had been reading the warnings about! These are wild Dingos, not cute pet dogs, so you really have to watch your back, kids and adults alike have been mauled - some to death. So read the advice that is given!
We stayed for a while and eventually the Dingos moved on, but we were still too nervous to explore too much into the creek.
Next we drove down to the Eurong Resort to access the fun inland tracks! We were headed for Lake Mackenzie!
It took about another hour to get there, again pretty easy 4WD tracks, we had the Ranger in 4WD but still hadn't let our tyres down - seemed really unnecessary.
We arrived at Lake Mackenzie at 10am, had some snacks in the special fenced off picnic area (there is no food or drinks other than water allowed at the Lake).
Lake Mackenzie was empty! We enjoyed a wonderful swim, read our books. And then at about 11am the tour busses arrived! The place was packed, but we had set up at the very end of the beach area (turn left as you enter the beach) so we didn't feel affected by it.
The crowds stopped coming after 2pm, at which time it became empty once again! Woo!
We left Lake Mackenzie and headed to Central Station for a little bushwalk. It was so beautiful!
On our way back to the western beach we stopped at the bakery in Eurong for an ice cream.
Then it was time to head home. Low tide wasn't until 7pm that night, so the beach drive back to the barge was a bit tight and a bit soft in places, but we made it no worries (still without letting our tyres down).
Hopped on the barge at 4:30pm and got back to camp just in time for a beautiful sunset swim. An absolute magic end to one of the best days we've had on this trip so far!
This experience was an absolute highlight, if you're wanting to go to Fraser but worried about the cost or you're travelling with a dog, I'd highly recommend doing a day trip from Inskip, it was so easy and SO fun!
Trip Particulars:
Costs :
$52 permit
$125 barge return
$15 coffees & ice creams
=$200
Visited :
Maheno Wreck
Eli Creek
Lake Mackenzie
Central Station
Eurong
