Fraser Island Favorites

Favorite thing: If you want to go to Fraser Island, you have three different options of visiting: You can do a guided tour, as I did, you can take part in a self drive backpacker tour, or hire your own Four-wheel drive.

To hire your own 4WD is probably the most expensive one, but of course it gives you the most freedom, you can go where and when you want, stay as long as you choose, and nobody tells you what to do. On the other hand, driving a 4WD in the sand is not easy, and if you are not used to it, it can get stressful and dangerous as well.

Backpacker tours are organised by the hostels in Hervey Bay, Rainbow Beach and Noosa. You get into a 4WD with about six to eight other backpackers, one person is announced to be the driver, and off you go. The positive side is that it can be fun to travel with other people, you are not alone, but still not on an organised tour, and you can decide as a group what you want to do. The negative side is that it can be quite dangerous to drive a 4WD under the conditions of the island (there have been fatal accidents with backpackers). Moreover, if you do not like the people in the group, or if you want to see the island while they only want to drink and party, there is nothing you can do about it and you will still have paid your money.

To do a guided tour obviously gives you the least freedom. You are in a bus with a group of other people and your guide tells you where to go and when. Still, I chose this option because I did not want to do a backpacker tour for the reasons I described above. Guided tours can of course be a little stressful and with a tight program, but they guarantee that you will see a lot of the island, and you don't have to worry about driving a 4WD, getting stuck in the sand or having an accident due to inexperience.

Favorite thing: I needed a long time to decide if I wanted to take part in a backpacker self-drive tour or rather book a guided tour, and then decided for the latter option. I was very pleased with it because I had a fantastic tour with a friendly and knowleadgable tour guide, and a great group. Already on the ferry I became friends with a teacher from Sydney, a British traveller and two friends from New Zealand, and together, we had a great trip.
I did a two day tour and I think that it would absolutely have been worth to do a three day one!

During the tour, we visited all the sights you can see on my page. I started from Noosa and we first drove to Rainbow Beach, picked up some more people there and then took the ferry to the island. Once we were there, we first hiked up Hammerstone Sandblow and had a swim in Lake Wabby, then we had a nice lunch at Eurong Beach Resort. After that, we drove along Seventy Five Mile Beach to Eli Creek, then to Maheno Ship Wreck, the Coloured Sands, and Indian Head. We then had dinner at the resort and enjoyed a nice evening in their outside areas.
The second day, we drove to Central Station and then walked along Wanggoolba Creek until Lake McKenzie where we had lunch and spent the rest of the time until we left the island in the early afternoon.

I think that it was a very good tour that covered most of the main sights in a reasonable time, I in fact never felt rushed or hurried, and had plenty of opportunity to enjoy the special atmosphere of the island.

The company was Fraser Explorer Tours. However, I think that most of the tours are simply the same, although this one has won a lot of awards. The companies might stay in different resorts, but I think that most of them more or less have the same programme. However, as I said, I would book a three day tour if I had the chance again.

Phone numer: 1800 249 122
Website: http://www.fraserexplorertours.com.au
Other contact: (07) 4194 9230

Favorite thing: Always leave something for the next visit! These are the things I didn't do on Fraser Island so far and that I want to do when going back:

If I go to Fraser Island again, I will choose one of the longer tours that include some of the things that I have not seen last time!

Lake Jennings, Lake Birrabin & Lake Boomanjin - three lesser known lakes of the island

Champagne Pools - natural rock pools at the beach

Favorite thing: Backpacking on Fraser Island is a fantastic thing to do if you are young and want to meet new people while exploring this amazing Island.

I took about 9 friends from University - all from Canada along with me one break from University and they absolutely loved it.

The best thing to do is to hire a 4WD - we hired ours from a backpackers in Hervey Bay - Koala (http://www.koalaresort.com.au/fraser.htm) where they give you a safety briefing on how not to get your car caught in high tide and be stranded in the salt water and then have to pay for damages - and other helpful hints! This is also a great thing to do if you are travelling alone or with 1 or 2 others, as then you can join a couple more people are hire a car together to go over.

You really need to bring ALL your food for the whole time you are there with you. There are a couple of shops, but they are few and far between. This includes bringing matches etc for starting your camping stoves and so on. The good thing about the backpacker 4WDs is that they give you all the cooking equipment and you just need to bring your food. It also includes camping equipment, return ferry costs, camping permits and national park costs. (Remember if you are going to go without a tour and plan on camping etc, you MUST have these permits)

The great thing about hiring a car is you can go anywhere you want, stay as long as you want, and go back there again if you like! Driving on the island can be a bit bumpy as there aren?t any real roads, its all sand tracks until you get close to the resort - I think I almost got knocked unconscious hitting my head on the roof a few times... but that could also have been my friends really bad driving.

Fondest memory: Camping at night was great. We stopped near the beach most of the time - there are plenty of places to camp behind the sand dues and so on in specified areas, and there were normally 4 or 5 other backpacker cars there too, which meant lots of people to chat to and someone always had a guitar. (Please notes most of these places do not have toilets or showers) We did stay one night at a camping ground, which is fine if you have a family - but there are rules such as when you need to be quite, which is quite early, so I wouldn?t recommend it if you want to stay up late having fun.

Please see my recommended to do list of things you should see while you are there!

All in all, taking a backpacking car tour of Fraser Island is great fun if you want to meet new people and explore one of the most naturally beautiful places on earth!

Favorite thing: Unless you have your own 4 x 4 handy, and one that is rust-proof, I would suggest you purchase a spot on one of Fraser Island's many tours. I personally went on the 3 day / 2 night tour by Koala's. It came with a Toyota 4 x 4, all the cooking and camping stuff we needed, but not the alcohol or food. Those items were left up to the 8 people in my group, and we decided to purchase the bulk packages of both at discount rates from Koalas. This turned out well. Obviously, your group will depend on the level of fun you have, but there is little chance that you will not enjoy this island!

Favorite thing: Fraser Island is the only place in the world where rainforests grow on sand - it is a unique natural environment and an abundance of wildlife inhabit the island and its surrounding waterways. There are freshwater lakes and sandy white beaches, dense rainforest and winding streams, forlorn shipwrecks and waif-like dingoes.

Fondest memory: The beautiful natural surroundings.

Favorite thing: On Frazer Island, you can enjoy 5 star resort holidays, do a day tour, 2 or 3 day safaris, or camp for a few days. There is much to see, shipwreck, rainforest, wildlife, a beach that is also a highway and a runway for planes.

Fondest memory: You see so much in a day, beautiful lakes you can swim in, fresh water springs, and one of the best Chicken and Champagne or Beer Lunches I have had in a long time. This would be a great place to camp..

Favorite thing: Frazer Island has a beautiful Surf Beach, unlike Hervey Bay, which has a more peaceful Bay.
There is always good fishing here, and they hold an annual fishing competition, which is quite famous in these parts.