Fraser Island

Fraser Island - Paradise on This Side of the Earth


Do you want to experience the antiquity and uniqueness of nature in an island? Do you want to have an adventure on a sandbar-jungle island without venturing to the other side of the world? Wait no more as now you can feel nature's hidden and best kept treasures just around the corner.

You heard it right! You and your family can now experience one of nature's spectacular wonders by visiting Fraser Island.

Eden of the East

To borrow words from a famous magazine: "Aboriginal gods wanted a paradise on Earth. So they created K'gari, or Fraser Island." There is no doubt that this 1,840-square kilometre (710 square mile) dot on Queensland's seaboard is a magnificent work of art.

On Google Maps, all you can see is the predominant greenery covering the island. With a land area almost the size of the Australian Capital Territory, what is green on the skies is a luscious mix of colours below.

K'gari, as the Aborigines called this island, offers a palette of colours and wonders that will leave you breathless. For people - locals and aliens alike - who are completely foreign about this island, this is Australia's sixth largest island and the country's largest sandbar island. It surrounded by azure beaches, covered by trees, and dotted by aquiline lakes.

Its first habitants

The island has a long history of flora and fauna. Its rainforests, sand dunes and coastal heaths were developed 750,000 years ago. Aborigines inhabited the islands thousands of years ago, and English explorer James Cook reached the island in a hot sunny day of May, 1770.

The island's luscious greens are the island's first inhabitants. It is also a lively introductory course on environmental history that reveals wonders to eager adventurers. The overwhelming variety of trees and plants makes the subtropical rainforest of the island - a perfect option for Fraser Island adventure tours.

One of the exotic and historic species includes the living fossil fern, piccabeen palms and carrol (small-leaf grey myrtle). Other dominant trees in the rainforest include the brush box and the Fraser Island satinay. There are also tall eucalypt trees at the centre of the island.

Trees are not the only mainstay of the sandbar island. It also has rich flora like strangler figs, lilly-pilly and quandong, together with mosses, orchids and ferns. This is where birds, insects and ants proliferates the vast forest of the island.

Sands of time

As many people call this a sandbar island, it is an environmental reality. Arch Cliff has brightly-coloured red sand which is painted due to iron oxide. The sand is a life-supporting medium that allows vegetation to grow.

Some sand dunes are dotted in the middle of the forest. One of the most spectacular views is when the sand meets the waves crashing from Hervey Bay to Fraser Island and its surrounding waters.

If you are lucky to view the island on an airplane, a visual festival of colours is about to happen. Wathumba Creek, which empties the Platypus Bay, is a cappuccino-like display of hues.

Beaches - genuine and fake

Most tourists arrive at the island on boat from Hervey Bay. They will first notice the sparkling blue waters and the island's breathtaking coastline any sun worshipper can enjoy.

The island's interiors have lakes that look like a landlocked beach. One of nature's seductions is called the Lake McKenzie, among the dozen lakes in Fraser Island. During the day, it's a body of water that shines endlessly. As the stars fill the sky, it becomes a peaceful blue diamond that reflects like a mirror. Tourists and tour operators call this lake as a "Fraser Island must-see attraction."

Beyond the Blues and the Greens

Fraser Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, offers more than you can possibly imagine. It is a place where overwhelming abundance of blue seas and green forests meet. Whatever you are planning to get there from different resorts in Hervey Bay, you are rewarded by the ancient gods to experience and enjoy the scenes of this one-of-a-kind adventure island.