Exploring K'Gari Fraser Island A Natural Paradise of Adventure and Beauty

I can’t believe its taken us over 30 years to actually get to K’gari Island to discover its inner beauty and explore the islands amazing history and stunning scenery. Realistically, I think I’ve been avoiding the island because I thought there would be massive crowds and a lot of sand recoveries across the island, but boy was I wrong. It’s a bit daunting when hitting a new place especially somewhere that has an amazing reputation worldwide.

When doing my initial research I thought the only way onto K’gari was via Inskip point where the barge drops you off onto the southern part off the island. Now I think most of us have heard about the crowds that swarm Inskip waiting for 4wds to get bogged on the way to the barge, and this where my research started and where I was hoping there was another way onto the island. I mean, I didn’t want to succumb to embarrassment for the masses.

But we soon found another option, it was the River Heads barge that lands directly at Kingfisher Resort on the western side of the island and crosses the Great Sandy Strait. It’s a 40min enjoyable cruise on the barge across the straight through crystal clear water that has a diverse mix of marine life including turtles, dugongs, fish and dolphins.

Now I’m not one for flash accommodation, I’d rather camp and soak up the area but we decided to spend a few nights at Kingfisher so we could explore the western side of K’gari before making our way across to the other side for my due camping dates.

After checkin, we headed south to Ungowa, where it's known for the ship wrecks that are jammed into the mangroves. Ungowa does offer bush camping but also has a good day use area near the old boat sheds.

There has been 23 ship wrecks recorded around K’gari and from the cliffs at Ungowa two logging barges can be seen, namely the Ceratodus and the SS Palmer that was abandoned in 1942.

The old jetty here at Ungowa is on its last legs and was used to load timber onto the barges that headed across the bay to the mainland, the barges carried gravel on the return trip for use on the island.

The next port of call was to find a historical gem called Postons’ Logging Camp that friends had told me about. The walking track to the old camp isn’t marked, but with a little bit of research it can be found online. There were several timber cutters camps on the island when timber was in high demand.

Logging began in 1863 when the island wasn’t protected where massive Kauri, Hoop and Cypress Pine were logged as well as Blackbutt, Tallowwood and Satinay ( a form of Turpentine ) Trees. Thankfully logging stopped in 1991 just before the Island was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage area.

Today Postons’ camp is a step back in time where there are dozens of all types of machines, log trucks, dozers and an old bus rusting away. There are the remains of the workshops where the roofs have collapsed, concrete slabs and service pits can be found plus there are a few cottages that still stand since the workers walked away from them.

It’s an amazing place wandering around all the old gear where I thought, ‘would the gear been better off being moved and preserved, or left like it is now and just let nature take its course ?’   

The camp was built on the top of a hill to get away from the mozzies and midges in the lower parts and to get a summer breeze.

After a few days exploring the western part of the island and resort life, it was time to head into the middle towards Central Station. Driving the sand tracks through ancient trees that were left when logging stopped is mind blowing. Today the islands forests are dense with lush undergrowth and towering trees, its amazing to think how the trees can strip away nutrients from the sand to survive, and survive well.

Central Station is an amazing place that was once the hub for the island where between 1920 and the 1950’s it was the main settlement with nearly 30 houses, a school and machinery sheds.

When logging stopped around 1991 it was transformed into a new hub for tourists with creek boardwalks, information signs and if you look around there are still a few relics amongst the trees.

I had a booked camp site on the east coast for a few nights so we continued across the island after an explore Central Station. Heading across the islands sand tracks it isn’t a race as they can be a bit rough after traffic and on the mainstream tracks, but one thing I did observe is that the 4wd tourist buses really don’t want to give you an inch on the tracks, so its best just to move off and let them pass.

K’gari has over 40 fresh water lakes that can be found all over the island and where some are more famous than others. I headed to the stunning and very popular Lake McKenzie with its warm waters and bright white sand, that must be in the top 5 spots to explore when on the island.

Other lakes worth exploring and definatly less populated are Lake Allom with its massive little turtle population, Lake Birrabeen has crystal white sand and Basin Lake that’s perched on top of a sand dune.

Around the island there is a multitude of camping areas including Central Station but for the masses the east coast is the place to be. My spot was in Camping Zone 1, south on the island just behind a dune to slow down the easterly winds. No fires are allowed on K’gari which was my only disappointment, but during the day it was only a short walk over the dune to the beach to watch the morning sunrise and watch the traffic heading north and south racing to and from the barge.

After a peaceful camp listening to the sounds of the ocean we headed up the east coast along the beach to explore the most popular side of the island. Now this side gets pretty hectic and there are road rules like on the mainland.

Up the beach strip there’s the Maheno wreck to stop at, swimming at the champagne pools, a float down in the cool waters of Eli creek, grab a feed at Orchid beach or for the super keen, head right to the tip and camp at Sandy Cape.

The Dingo’s were real friendly up the east side where the tourists were, when I was there they had no fear of people when they were looking for food.

Now while I have only touched on my experience at K’gari there’s a lot more to discover and enjoy through natural history, the discovery of the Island by European’s and the remnants of the Butchulla people who have called the island home for thousands of years.

I know we will be back.

WHERE IS - K’GARI

Located 360km north of Brisbane, this world heritage sand island offers surprises at every turn. Officially the worlds largest sand island its been home to the Butchulla people for thousands of years. Once called Frasier Island, the name K’gari means paradise and it reflects the culture, natural beauty and history associated with there island. There are two barges that you can take your 4wd on across to the island. One departs from the south at Inskip Point and the other departs further north from River Heads at Hervey Bay.

WHAT TO DO ON THE ISLAND

It should read, what can’t you do on the island. K’gari is known for stunning swimming holes both salt and fresh water, 4wding through the inland tracks or beach driving, the island has a stack of indigenous culture to explore, there’s a host of European history across the island and some of the best beach and offshore fishing that you’ll ever come across. Not only can you stay in one of the two resorts on the island, there’s multiple camp sites scattered across the island. If you don’t have a 4wd, there are hire companies or maybe head out on an organised tour to explore the islands highlights.

OTHER FACTS

There are rules and regulations when on the island due to the amount of traffic the island gets and to ensure the safety of visitors and permanent residents that live on the island. You’ll need a Queensland parks and Wildlife pass if taking your 4wd onto the island and you’ll need to obey the relevant signs. The barge at Inskip point is where the true adventure starts, is tide dependable and where you’ll have a stunning drive up the beach. If coming across from River Heads, the barge landing on the island is at KingFisher Resort, where you can find accommodation, resort facilities, food outlets and fuel. I found the best website for all the relevant information including things to do and see, vehicle and camping permits, discovering the island is www.visitfrasercoast.com/destination/kgari-fraser-island .