Yesterday we took a trip to K’gari (formerly Fraser Island). It’s a World-Heritage listed 120km-long sand island, just off the coast from Hervey Bay. It was a totally fascinating day out. 

K’gari has no tarmac roads so it’s 4WDs only. Our guide and driver for the day was Pete (from Fraser Experience Tours), who has known the island for decades. As he spun us round the tracks and up into the forest, we heard all about the island and its past…the diversity of its flora and fauna….the indigenous people who lived on K’gari and their traditions … its population of Australia’s only wild dog, the dingo … plus a good few stories to keep us and our fellow passengers (a young Swiss couple) well entertained! Pete knew all the best routes and we largely managed to avoid the queues & crowds. 

When we stopped, he showed us ancient paths through the ‘bush’ and we walked down to clear mountain streams. Pete pointed out a myriad of different trees and the diverse uses of their wood. We heard bird song and saw kookaburras and a white-bellied eagle.  He showed us large spiders and holes where others lived… and we were told about snakes and to look where we were walking! 

All the time we kept our eyes peeled for dingoes. There are two or three hundred on the island and everywhere there are signs warning people not to approach them and be ‘dingo safe’ …keep children ‘at arm’s length’…carry a stick…if one comes near stay calm, never run; they are classed as dangerous and can attack!

Back down at the coast, we entered the famous 75-mile beach; a vast ‘highway’ where speeds of up to 80kph speed are permitted in places! One stop on the way was at Eli creek where everyone from pensioners to small children took to the water in a colourful array of ‘floaties’ and drifted downstream. We even saw a baby in her own ‘swan’ – like Moses in the bulrushes! 

Back in the 4WD we continued along the sand ‘freeway’ to a shipwreck battered by the waves for the past 100 years …followed by ‘Rainbow’ rock and its swirling coloured sands. 

Just after this stop we finally caught sight of a dingo! Just a single one at first, then several more appeared, including some young. We were safely in the 4WD and stopped to observe and take photos from the car. They were healthy specimens, looking deceptively like domestic dogs and not big dogs at that…. Those reminders of the ‘dingo safe’ rules are vital!

Off the beach and into the forest again, the best was saved till last…a swim in one of the island’s lakes, perched some 100 metres above sea level. These were formed when moving sand dunes blocked the water course, resulting in lakes of clear sand-filtered water, edged by a golden sandy ‘beach’. Bliss!