Holiday Destination: Fraser Island

Fraser Island is an island located along the southern coast of Queensland, Australia, approximately 200 kilometres north of Brisbane. Its length is about 120 kilometres and its width is approximately 24 kilometres. It was inscribed as a World Heritage site in 1992. The island is considered to be the largest sand island in the world at 1840 km². It is also Queensland's largest island, Australia's sixth largest island and the largest island on the East Coast of Australia. The island has rainforests, eucalyptus woodland, mangrove forests, wallum and peat swamps, sand dunes and coastal heaths. Unlike many sand dunes, plant life is abundant due to the naturally occurring mycorrhizal fungi present in the sand, which release nutrients in a form that can be absorbed by the plants. Fraser Island is home to a small number of mammal species as well as a diverse range of birds, reptiles and amphibians, including the occasional saltwater crocodile. The island is part of the Fraser Coast Region and protected in the Great Sandy National Park. Explorer James Cook sailed by the island in May 1770. Matthew Flinders landed near the most northern point of the island in 1802.

Climate

Summer 30 °C (84 °F), Winter 14 °C (63 °F)

Tourist Season

June to September Months best for tourism.

Accommodation

Hotels and Apartments.

General Information Of Fraser Island

• Land Area: 710 sq mi (1,840 km2)
• Population: 360.
• Capital City: Queensland.
• Language: English.

Tourist Attraction in or Near by Fraser Island

River Heads

River Heads is a town in Queensland, Australia, 18 km south of the city of Hervey Bay. The town is built on a narrow peninsula surrounded by the Great Sandy Strait, the mouth of the Mary River and the mouth of the Susan River to the west. At the 2006 census, River Heads had a population of 931. Vehicular ferries linking the mainland with Wanggoolba Creek and Kingfisher Bay Resort on Fraser Island depart from River Heads.

Champagne Pools

Champagne Pool is a prominent geothermal feature within the Wai O Tapu geothermal area in the Bay of Plenty Region of the North Island of New Zealand. The terrestrial hot spring is located about 30 km southeast of Rotorua and about 50 km northeast of Taupo. The name Champagne Pool is derived from the abundant efflux of carbon dioxide, similar to a glass of bubbling champagne. The hot spring was formed 900 years ago by a hydrothermal eruption, which makes it in geological terms a relatively young system. Its crater is around 65 m in diameter with a maximum depth of approximately 62 m and is filled with an estimated volume of 50,000 m3 of geothermal fluid. The colourful deposits are in sharp contrast to the grey white silica sinter surrounding Champagne Pool.

The Maheno Wreck

The Maheno Wreck is after thirty years of service in Australian waters the Maheno, a huge cruise vessel, was being towed to Japan as scrap when it hit cyclonic conditions off the coast and was washed ashore on the 9th July 1935. The past 60 years of waves and weathering have reduced this once huge vessel to a rusting skeleton but it is still an imposing landmark.

Lake McKenzie

Lake McKenzie is a perched lake on Fraser Island in Queensland, Australia. The lake is located 6.2 km southeast of Kingfisher Resort. It is 1200 meters long and up to 930 meters wide. It is approxmately 80 hectares in area. The sands around the lake are composed of pure, white silica and the water in the lake is also so pure it is unsuitable for many species. 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.

Lake Wabby

Lake Wabby is a small freshwater, green colored lake. It is located in the Great Sandy National Park on the eastern side of Fraser Island off the coast of Queensland, Australia. The lake is directly adjacent to a sand blow, which is slowly moving into the lake. Eventually it will disappear under the sand. Unlike most other lakes on Fraser Island which are too acidic, Lake Wabby provides habitat to several species of fish. The lakes is both a window lake and a barrage lake. Barrage lakes form when water flows from a natural spring are blocked by a sandmass. With a maximum depth of 12 m, it is the deepest lake on the island.

Fraser Island Great Walk

The Fraser Island Great Walk is a long-distance trail in Queensland, Australia. Hikers must be fully self sufficient and carry water. The walk is rated easy to moderate on a difficulty scale being mostly at sea level and is traversed in one direction. The track it leads from Dilli Village, an environmental education camp of the University of the Sunshine Coast, to Happy Valley. The entire 90 km walk, which includes numerous smaller walks branching off the main trail, can be completed in 6 to 8 days. The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service provides 8 walkers' camps for which a booking is essential. The landscape during the walk changes between coastal heathland, mangrove forest, woodland and subtropical rainforest. The crystal clear lakes and sand dunes are the highlights of this track.

Sandy Cape

Sandy Cape is the most northern point on Fraser Island off the coast of Queensland, Australia. The place was named by James Cook during his 1770 voyage up the eastern coast of Australia aboard the Endeavour. To the south the next two ocean headlands are Waddy Point and Indian Head which was also named by Cook. The cape is protected within the Fraser Island section of the Great Sandy National Park. BreakSea Spit extends about 30 km north of Sandy Cape. Nesting loggerhead and green turtles use the remote, sandy location as a rookery. Nighttime driving along the beach at Sandy Cape is banned during the nesting season. The vegetation at the cape is stunted and windswept. The foredunes are lightly covered by spinifex grass. Vehicle access to Sandy Cape is only available by the eastern beach at low tide. Camping is permitted in the area and it is a popular location with anglers.

Accessibility

Bus Terminal in or Near by

Hervey Bay Transit Centre

Stockland Shopping Centre/Central Avenue
Hervey Bay, Australia

Urangan Boat Harbour

Shely Street
Australia

Airports in or Near by

Fraser Island Airport: For international and domestic flights.

Maryborough Airport: For international and domestic flights.

Railway Stations

Maryborough Railway Station

Maryborough, Australia

Maryborough West Rail Station

Oakhurst, Australia