If you’ve ever pictured a paradise island complete with white sandy beaches, oh-so-swimmable lakes, and luscious rainforest, then you’ve pictured Fraser Island (K’gari). It’s an untouched paradise… with a few more 4WDs.
This island paradise has natural beauty in abundance; there aren’t just a handful of sites to tick off the bucket list. It would take weeks to do the island’s lakes, beaches, sand blows, rainforest and swampy fens justice. So, it would be best if you got started. Here are just a handful of examples of the natural beauty of Fraser Island:
The Lakes of Fraser Island
Over 100 freshwater lakes dot the sandy surface of Fraser Island. Only Tasmania has more freshwater lakes in Australia. With Fraser Island’s sandy filtration system and careful maintenance, the island’s lakes are some of the cleanest in the world.
The most famous lake on the island is the photogenic Lake McKenzie (Boorangoora). Lake McKenzie is a perched lake. Perched lakes form when a build-up of organic matter raises the lake floor above sea level.
Fraser Island is home to forty of the world’s perched lakes making a swim in one very special indeed. Aside from being a rare perched lake, Lake McKenzie has another unique feature: the sand is nearly pure silica.
This white silica sand gives the lake it’s aqua-blue colour and a beach that’s reminiscent of a mire exotic locale like the Maldives.
Lake Wabby is the island’s second most-visited lake. It’s the deepest lake on the island at 12.2 metres in depth and also the least acidic. Less acidity means you’re most likely to have a fish nibble on your toes in Lake Wabby; The lake has the most aquatic life out of all of the lakes.
Lake Wabby is perfect for swimming, but if you want to see it’s true majesty, don’t forget to view it from the lookout. There is nothing quite like seeing the meeting of the golden dunes and the green lake –– especially at sunrise and sunset when the sky paints everything in pastels. A perfect example of the natural beauty of Fraser Island.
Lake Boomanjin, the largest perched lake in the world, and Lake Allom, a hidden gem tucked in a patch of rainforest, are also worth a visit. They’re less crowded, making them good stops if you’re looking for a little peace.
Hit The Beach
While most of Fraser Island’s beaches are the unfriendly sort, –– think dangerous rips and sharks –– they are still strikingly beautiful, a true island paradise.
Fraser Island’s most famous beach is the seventy-five-mile beach on the east side of the island. You’ll find that the beach is less of a beach and more of a highway as 4WDs zoom from one end to the other. The beach offers a unique driving experience with the open ocean on one side and an ever-changing landscape on the other. While it’s not for swimming, there is plenty to see and do along the sandy highway. The Maheno shipwreck, access to Eli Creek, and the champagne pools are all situated along the road.
Other beaches on Fraser Island include the Kingfisher Bay Beach and Orchid beach. Both are popular for their beach bars.
Marvel at The Sweeping Dunes
All of Fraser Island’s hills and sand dunes were created by blowing and shifting sand. On Fraser, most of the dunes are called sand blows. The sand blows on Fraser Island are continually moving at a rate of up to two metres a year. Dynamic and ever-changing, the sand blows of Fraser are also some of the oldest of their kind. The oldest formed around 700,000 years ago.
There are plenty of sand blows and dunes all across Fraser Island.
The Hammerstone sand blow is slowly moving into Lake Wabby and can be seen from the viewing platform.
The Wungul sand blow offers expansive coastal views, and the Kirrar sand blow opens up onto the colourful sands of Rainbow Gorge. Other sand blows to look out for are the Binnigih sand blow at Waddy Point and The Pinnacles with its unique rock formations and colours.
The Natural Beauty of Fraser Island’s Sub-Tropical Rainforest
One of the best things about Fraser is that you never know what you might find around the next corner. One its the most surprising natural features is the sub-tropical rainforest which grows in the inland of the island.
It may come as a shock that a sandy island can sustain a lush sub-tropical rainforest, and rightly so. Fraser Island is believed to have the world’s only tall rainforest which grows from sand.
It all comes down to the fungi and lichen that feeds on the rotting vegetation of the forest floor. The fungus breaks down rotting material and returns the nutrients to the sandy ground. Over time, the sand became infused with rich nutrients for the plants. As the sands of the island shifted, layer upon layer of these nutrients formed. The result is a perfect environment for the sub-tropical rainforest to thrive.
You can see the sub-tropical rainforest inland from the coast. Central Station in the centre is an excellent place to marvel at the tall rainforest canopy.
Australia’s Best Example of a Swampy Fen
They’re not just swamps; they’re fens. While most of us haven’t even heard of a swampy fen, they’re pretty special. Fraser Island, and Cooloola, are home to Australia’s only fens.
A fen is a specific type of wetland that is based on peat and formed into a network of potholes. The potholes hold very acidic water, and surprisingly, some animals, including the acid frog and the ground parrot. The swampy fens of Fraser were only discovered in the mid-nineties, making them a relatively new and exciting find.