K'gari Fraser Island Full-Day 4WD Coach Tour from Hervey Bay

Hervey Bay to K'gari: the ferry across the Great Sandy Strait

The day starts early with pickup at the Whale Bay Marina entrance on Buccaneer Drive in Urangan or at another selected Hervey Bay point, then a short drive to the ferry. The crossing of the Great Sandy Strait, the sheltered channel between the mainland and the island, takes about 45 minutes and is a relaxed introduction to the day: mangrove shores, sandbanks and, between July and October, a chance of humpback whales surfacing in the distance. The 4WD coach travels across with you, so there is no changing vehicles on the island.

K'gari, formerly known as Fraser Island, is the largest sand island in the world, about 123 kilometres long, and has been World Heritage listed since 1992. Its name means paradise in the language of the Butchulla people, the island's traditional owners. The only way to get to K'gari from Hervey Bay is by ferry or barge, and a guided coach tour removes the need for a 4WD permit, driving skills on sand or tide planning.

Lake McKenzie: the island's perched lake

Lake McKenzie is the image most people have in mind when they search for a Fraser Island tour: a lake of pure rainwater sitting in a dune above sea level, sealed from the groundwater by a layer of compacted sand and organic matter. The water is so soft and clear that very little lives in it, which is why it stays so blue, and the beach is fine white silica sand that squeaks underfoot and stays cool. The coach parks a short walk from the shore, and you have time to swim, float and take photos.

Early in the day the lake is at its quietest, so the tour reaches it before the crowds build. Bring swimwear under your clothes and a towel, because this is the best swimming stop of the day. Sunscreen should be applied after you swim rather than before, to protect the lake; the guide explains why and keeps the group to the marked paths through the dune vegetation.

Central Station and the Wanggoolba Creek rainforest

Central Station was the hub of the island's timber industry from the early twentieth century until logging ended in 1991, and the old forestry settlement is now the gateway to the island's most accessible rainforest. A boardwalk follows Wanggoolba Creek, a stream so clear and silent that it seems to flow without moving, beneath towering satinay and brush box trees, kauri pines and king ferns with fronds several metres long. It is remarkable to see a rainforest of this size growing on nothing but sand.

The guide explains how the forest holds moisture in the dunes, points out the giant trees that were once cut for timber used in wharves around the world, and tells the story of the families who lived here. The walk is flat and takes around 40 minutes at an easy pace, with interpretive signs along the way. It pairs well with the lake: one stop for water, one for shade and forest.

Seventy Five Mile Beach: the sand highway

On the eastern side of the island the coach drops onto Seventy Five Mile Beach, a stretch of hard-packed sand that is a gazetted highway with its own speed limits and even a landing strip for the light aircraft that offer scenic flights. The ride along the beach, with surf on one side and coloured sand cliffs on the other, is the most memorable part of any K'gari day trip from Hervey Bay. Watch for dingoes trotting along the tide line and sea eagles overhead.

The beach is wild ocean and not for swimming, because of currents and the sharks that patrol the surf, but it is the island's main road and the way to reach Eli Creek and the shipwreck. The guide times the drive around the tides, since the beach is only passable at low and mid tide. An optional scenic flight from the beach can be arranged on the day at extra cost if you want to see the lakes from above.

Eli Creek: floating down fresh water to the sea

Eli Creek is the largest freshwater creek on the eastern beach, pouring millions of litres of filtered rainwater into the Pacific every hour. A boardwalk leads upstream through pandanus and paperbark trees, and the fun is to step into the knee-deep current at the top and let it carry you gently back down to the beach. The water is cool, clear and perfectly fresh, and the sandy bottom makes it safe for children with an adult beside them.

Allow around 30 to 45 minutes here for the walk and a float or two. This is also a good place for the morning tea or afternoon break, depending on the tide schedule of the day. Bring water shoes if you have them, because the creek bed can be firm underfoot, and keep your camera in a dry bag.

The Maheno Shipwreck

A few kilometres north of Eli Creek lies the rusting hull of the Maheno, a former passenger liner built in 1905 that served as a hospital ship in the First World War. In 1935 it was being towed to Japan for scrap when a cyclone snapped the tow line and drove it onto the beach, where it has been slowly dissolving into the sand ever since. Today the frames, decks and bow stand half-buried at the tide line and make the most photographed wreck in Queensland.

The coach stops beside the wreck for photos, and the guide tells the story of its glamorous years and its last voyage. You cannot climb on the structure, but you can walk right around it at low tide. Just north are the Pinnacles, cliffs of coloured sand in bands of red, orange and yellow, which the tour passes on the beach before turning back for the ferry.