Fraser Island
Fraser Island is the most spectacular of the Queensland islands and the largest sand island in the world. World heritage listing has protected the island for future generations and ongoing management by the National Parks authorities ensure that the future of Fraser Island as a natural wonderland will be protected for all time. Fraser Island is one of Australia's natural treasures and a tourist icon the rivals Ayers Rock and the Sydney opera house. Hundreds of thousands of international tourists visit Fraser Island every year to see and enjoy wonderful and unique scenery that the island presents.
Fraser island is 140 kilometers in length and 40 kilometers wide and a magnificent beach extends almost its full length on the ocean side. It is broken only by one rocky headland near Orchid beach, known as Indian Head. This is actually the birthplace of the island as it was the place where sand first started to gather and grow into the island we see today. Captain James Cook sailed past it on his first voyage of exploration along the Australian east coast and the island is exactly the same now as when Cook passed by. Fraser Island has a history that includes thousands of years of Aboriginal occupation, shipwrecks, sand mining and logging. Some of these have been detrimental to the island in the past but all have now stopped and the island has rehabilitated, leaving only the magnificent beauty spots and rain forests that everyone wants to see. Today, Fraser Island is part of the Fraser Coast tourism region and the island can be accessed from either Hervey Bay or Rainbow Beach. Vehicle barges depart from both regions and you will need a four wheel drive vehicle as there are no sealed roads on the island.
Fraser Island has some unique attractions. It is the only place in the world where rain forests grow in sand and some of them are awe inspiring. A long established timber industry on the island milled both softwoods and hardwoods and was only completely stopped around the turn of the century. The Satinay tree produces the hardest timber in the wold and it is native to Fraser Island and grows into huge trees. During the construction of the Suez canal, Satinay logs were shipped to the middle east to line the sides of the canal as the timber is impervious to marine worms. Huge Satinay trees can still be seen around Central Station and Pile Valley in the center of the island. Central Station is one of the most beautiful places to visit on the island and a boardwalk has been built along the banks of Woongoolba creek for tourist to make the walk through the rain forest and see the giant and rare king ferns and Satinay and Kauri pines that grow there. Fraser Islands famous lakes are the other main attraction. There are two types. Window lakes occur on the island when the water table rises above the surrounding sand dunes. These lakes are truly magnificent and show crystal clear water surrounded by perfectly white silica sand. They are the most beautiful places to visit for a swim on a hot day. Lake MacKenzie is the most famous of these and is featured on many Fraser Island travel brochures. The other type of lake is a perched lake and the largest perched lakes in the world occur on Fraser Island. A perched lake is formed when rotting vegetation fills a depression in the ground and forms an impervious skin that traps the water above it. These lake, although containing pure water are sometimes TiTree stained into a brownish colour. Most of Fraser Islands lakes are home to a number of species of small turtles.
Fraser Island has several small towns where there are holiday homes and a few small resorts. Kingfisher Bay resort is the largest on the island and it is situated on the inshore side. Guided tours of the island beauty spots are easy to arrange with tour companies operating from the mainland or from the island itself and you can do a day tour or spend a few days exploring the island. Wildlife abounds on Fraser island. Its Dingo population is the purest remaining in the country as it has not been able to interbreed with domestic dogs. Reptiles, mammals and birds provide the visitor with many different things to see.
If you are planning a holiday in Queensland in Australia's north, make sure you include Fraser Island into your travel itinerary.
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