Fraser island on the east coast just north of Brisbane is the largest sand island... in the world (queue impression of Jeremy Clarkson). This rather large sand dune or series of sand dues it dunes, is therefore an obvious stopping point along the Bruce Highway (which has become a bit of a second home for us).
 |
| Bruce |
There are two places to get on the island - Hervey Bay and Rainbow Beach - however, as its made out of sand you need a 4WD... something our little rental was not. As we were travelling south we decided to pick up a tour from Hervey Bay.
The best way to see the island is from a self drive in land cruisers but these tours and rentals are a min of 2 days and we didn't have time (and there was limited availability) so we had to stick to a 1 day tour.
We were able to see the main sites but you have less time and don't get to camp or drive a 4WD on the island.
 |
| 4WD bus |
The company we went with was Fraser Explorer Tours who have a monopoly in Hervey Bay so the price is high. But the tour was very well run, picking us up from our YHA hostel (yes we were staying in a hostel ... shock!), providing a good lunch, all transport incl ferry, guide (very good) and return drop off.
We got picked up at about 8am and went to the ferry. You are a walk on passenger and pick up the off road bus on the other side. We saw turtles and dolphins as we went across the bay which was nice and whales are common in October, so quite a 30 minute journey.
The bus took about 40 passengers and was well suited to the sand roads on the island. After about 30 mins traversing the island going through many different types of forest, we hit 75 mile beach. The beach is essentially a highway with highway rules... you just need to watch out for the additional hazard of the waves, rivers and tides.
 |
| 75 mile beach highway |
First stop was the iconic Maheno Shipwreck followed by the pinnacle rocks and Eli creek - a fresh water creek which you can swim in / float down!
 |
| The wreck |
After a buffet lunch we was back on the road... or sand and into the centre of the island to visit central station where logging once took place, and Lake Mackenzie.
 |
| Floating down Eli Creek |
Lake Mackenzie was the highlight and we wanted to stay longer. The crystal clear fresh water and pure white sand (very similar to Whitehaven Beach) made it a fantastic experience! We could have stayed there for hours, but sadly after an hour and a half it was time to catch the ferry back.
 |
| Freshwater version of the whitsundays and no jellyfish! |
It was a great day and we wish we could have stayed longer, but we had a 2 hour drive ahead of us to get to our next stop Noosa and the Sunshine Coast.
No comments:
Post a Comment