The Largest Sand Island in the World: Fraser Island

In my opinion, Fraser Island is the best place in the whole of Australia and you will agree with me if you like clear lakes, white sands and hurtling down a beach at 80 km/h in a Landrover. This was my first time driving on a beach and the feeling of swaying through the sands while dodging the waves was very surreal.

I loved it.

Fraser Island is the best stop for anyone traveling up the east coast of Australia and here is my travel guide on how to do it.

Ways to explore the Island

Rent a Vehicle

When exploring Fraser island I recommend doing what I did and rent out your own vehicle and get three mates on board.

I was traveling solo so I posted on Facebook groups and found a group to go with. Alternatively, you probably could just turn up to the hostels at Hervey Bay and make friends there and go with them.

By renting your own vehicle you can explore the way you want too which made me feel like it was an exciting expedition. However, you can only explore within reason as your road is a beach and when the tide comes in, your road is gone.

Before you start your journey the rental company will plan out your trip with you. You have to structure your visit around the tides but don't worry you will be able to see everything you want to see.

4x4 Bus

Personally I would never opt for this unless you hate driving and even then you can just be a passenger in the land rover.

The 4x4 bus option is like glorified public transport and who enjoys that?

The idea of being crammed on a bus is not how the Island should be explored. It also prevents you from going inland on some of the dirt tracks as the vehicle is too big.

See photos here.

Landrover guided tour

This option is the most expensive of the three options. On this tour, you drive in convoy of about 3 or 4 Landrovers and each passenger takes it in turn to drive.

Two major benefits of this option are that you don't have the hassle of keeping track of times to make sure you get to each place as the tour guides do it for you and you also get to meet loads of new people which is great as a solo traveler.

Places to visit

Lake Mckenzie

On Fraser Island, there are multiple lakes to go and visit. The most popular is Lake Mckenzie, this place is ridiculous, the water is crystal clear and the beach is a perfect white.

This lake is my second favorite part of the island simply because of its beauty.

My personal favorite place you are going to have to keep reading for.

Lake Wabby

Another incredible lake is Lake Wabby this place is where the desert meets tropical rain forest with a lake in the middle.

On the guided Landrover tours some of them do sandboarding on the dunes in this area and into the lake or grab yourself a boogie/bodyboard and go for gold.

Eli Creek

Eli creek is a natural lazy river, the first time I went down it I did it on my hands but this wasn't that good. Luckily there were some friendly locals with massive inflatables.

We felt like kings.

We had a massive unicorn, turtle, and flamingo and floated past everyone else in style as they either walked or semi floated down the creek.

This place was my favorite of all the places

Sadly I didn't snap a pic while I was there, as I was having too much fun but check out some images of it here.

The Shipwreck

Here I discovered the SS Maheno shipwreck and that I will never be able to do a proper cartwheel (see picture below).

The ship has an interesting history with surviving crew member being scared to step off the ship through fear of cannibalism and aboriginal women traveling to it to give birth as they view it was a sacred place

Now it is one of the major attractions on Fraser Island and is very busy throughout the day.

Champagne Pools

I didn't go here because we didn't have time with the tides and it is one of the more tricky places to get to.

A coral wall traps water into pools that are perfect for swimming in, there are also small fish in the pools which makes this attraction even better.

I feel between Eli creek, champagne pools and Lake Wabby you have the makings of a natural water park.

Places to stay on Fraser Island

Camping

I went for the camping option as I am a backpacker with a budget and picked up a tent for cheap from a Kmart: I think it was less than $20. It was a bit of a squeeze for me at 6ft 6in but I managed.

You can wild camp and not pay for campsites but we did not opt for this as we wanted toilet facilities and to be away from the dingos.

There are multiple campsites on the Island which are fenced off which is recommended if you have kids.

Hotels and Hostels

For the less outdoorsy people that still want to explore the island, there are hotels/hostels available to you on the Island.

You can see the available options here.

Permits and licenses

Now for the boring part.

You will need two permits for Fraser Island.

The first is a vehicle access permit to be able to drive on the Island. Rangers check these regularly and you will be fined if you are not displaying it.

The second is a camping permit you will need to have this on display where you decided to camp.

And there you have it,

Our travel guide to Fraser.

Fraser Island is the largest and coolest sand island in the world and does not disappoint when living up to being one of the best places to visit in Australia.

Thanks for reading,

Happy travels

Matt