Fraser Island - The worlds largest sand island

Using Hervey Bay as a base we took a guided tour of Fraser Island. It is a World Heritage site located along the southern coast of QLD, approximately 200 kilometres north of Brisbane. It is about 120 kilometres long and approximately 24 kilometres wide. The island is considered to be the largest sand island in the world. It has rainforests, eucalyptus woodland, mangrove forests, wallum and peat swamps, sand dunes and coastal heaths. It is made up of sand that has been accumulating for approximately 750,000 years on volcanic bedrock. Unlike many sand dunes, plant life is abundant due to the naturally occurring 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.
Fraser Island has been inhabited by humans for as much as 5,000 years. Explorer James Cook sailed by the island in 1770 and Matthew Flinders landed near the most northern point of the island in 1802.The island became known as Fraser due to the stories of a shipwreck survivor named Eliza Frazer.

We were up early for our tour to Fraser Island. A courtesy bus picked us up at the door of our hotel and took us to River's Head ferry landing where we caught the ferry across to the island and boarded the 4WD bus for our tour. We visited Mackenzie Lake, Central Station - where the loggers and their families used to live- and walked along Wanggoolba Creek which was incredibly clear. After lunch at Eurong Beach Resort, we drove up 75 Mile Beach to the Pinnacles, the wreck of the Maheno and Eli Creek. The trip across the island was VERY bumpy as we were a few feet deep in the sand ruts. There were lots of other vehicles stuck on the way. The beach drive was fast and smooth - 80kph! It was like a highway at times. The shipwreck was very scenic and we also saw a dingo eating fish offal down at the waterline. Some saw a whale, too. A light plane flight was on offer - they take off and land on the beach, too!



Leaving Hervey Bay



En route to the island

Susie and Nancy looking for whales

The east coast of Fraser Island



Speed limits on beaches which are actual highways

Nancy and Susie disembarking from the barge.

Mackenzie Lake

Mackenzie Lake



A dingo safe storage locker

Wangoolba Creek

Wangoolba Creek

Driving along 75 Mile Long Beach

Off the bus for a bit

The Pinnacles

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75 Mile Long Beach



75 Mile Long Beach



75 Mile Long Beach

Our bus

The SS Maheno wreck was a 5,000-ton steel-hulled ship was built inby Scotland in1905. At 400 feet in length and 50 feet in the beam, she was powered by three turbine giving her a speed of 17.5 knots. She could carry up to 420 passengers and also had a refrigerated cargo hold. The ship was lit by electricity, and was fitted with all the latest safely equipment, which included sulphur dioxide fire extinguisher. In 1935 the Maheno left Sydney under tow but the line parted a few days later during a servere cyclone about 50 miles offshore. She was later found  but ultimately the ship was stripped of her fittings and since then much of the ship has been destroyed or disintegrated and it quite rusted.

The SS Maheno wreck.

The SS Maheno wreck.

The SS Maheno wreck.

The SS Maheno wreck.

The SS Maheno wreck.

The SS Maheno wreck.




The SS Maheno wreck.