Fraser Island

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Bundaberg - Childers - Burrum Heads - Toogoom - Hervey Bay - River Heads - Fraser Island (Cornwell Camp)

Day 248
Sunday, 28 October 2007

Headed south towards Hervey Bay taking the scenic route along various coastal stops. Very reminiscent of the Rockingham to Mandurah area - you could see where they had been small coastal towns and have just exploded with activity in the last 5-10 years…with the associated increase in real estate prices.

Arrived in busy Hervey Bay and we were not expecting it to be as big and developed as it was. Arranged for our trip across to Fraser Island (despite there being predictions of thunderstorms for the next 2 days) and in a short spac eof time we were on a ferry and heading towards another Australian Icon - Fraser Island. To get on the ferry though you have to reverse down a ramp and onto the boat. As I’ve always been good at reversing a trailer and have honed those skills over the last 10 months I did this in one go without any corrections and went straight to where they asked me to reverse. The captain came on over the loudspeaker and said it was good to see someone who could finally reverse a trailer for a change! Wasn’t really much of a challenge - only had to reverse it in pretty well a straight line. Once underway on the barge it wasa little unnerving as you could see and feel the boat actually flex…waiting for it to fold in half.

Coming in to the landing there were people everywhere - all the daytrippers and weekenders. We crossed the island and onto the east coast - the main thoroughfare for the island. As it was a little late in the day we quickly found what looked to be a reasonable spot (one in which you can get into with a trailer at any rate) and set up…..and then the march flies descended. Luckily they disappeared after nightfall.

Fraser Island (Cornwell Camp)

Days 249 - 251
Monday, 29 October, 2007 - Wednesday, 31 October, 2007

Woke up to a cloudy day, which was expected according to the weather forecasters, and after a lazy start to the morning, a reasonable ride along the beach , a swim (supposedly not recommended due to sharks and rips) headed off to the ranger station to get some up to date info. We eventually drove ‘up the beach highway’ heading northwards towards the Maheno wreck and Eli Creek. This place would just be an absolute madhouse in school holidays and the beach drive would get some serious road rage happening I reckon. Its certainly a great place and still pretty popular now and its supposedly the quiet time.

The upper sections of Eli Creek were closed off due to some construction works going on to the boardwalk. Eli is one of the main freshwater creek systems that continually drains onto the eastern beach and thence into the ocean. Supposedly a good place to swim…..but I think that relates to if your 4 y.o or under as beyond that t seems to be somewhat problematic - although sitting in the cool waters on a hot day wouldn’t be a bad thing. As we were leaving some young fellas pulled up, esky out, chairs set up in the creek and looked like settling in for a bit of a session! Worst ways to spend an afternoon I guess!

Carried on up to the Maheno Wreck. This steam ship was built around 1900 and was considered to be one of the finest afloat for a good while. She was a luxury liner that eventually ended up as a hospital ship during the first world war. Eventually with diesel engines replacing steam she became obsolete and was sold off to a scrap merchant in Japan. Whilst under tow from Sydney to Japan in 1935 unseasonal cyclonic winds hit her whilst under tow and the tow line snapped. She eventually washed up on the shore, where she is today. An interesting little story that is on the info board says that a customs official was assigned to look after the boat immediately after she washed ashore. He was required to stay on board to ensure no fittings and fixtures ‘went missing’. His problem was though, that he was getting married the following week. He solved his dilemma by transferring the wedding and reception to the still well appointed stateroom of the ship. The old ship must have gone out the way she would have liked I guess!

We did one of the inland forest circuits before heading back to camp.... and our friendly march flies.

The next day we covered the inland circuit by heading out to Lake Wabby - Frasers deepest lake. We were one of the first ones there but it quickly becomes populated with all the daytrippers. It’s a greenish colour (all the lakes have their own distinctive colour based on the mode of formation and the underlying substrate) and a nice place to swim. Its on the edge of a large migratory sanddune - although I’d hazard a guess to say that the principal method of migration now is from people walking up and down the sandhill and pushing the sand into the lake! From there to the ubiquitous Lake Mackenzie. If you have only ever seen one photo of Fraser Island it will most likely have been of Lake Mackenzie! It is the most clearest stunning turquoise blue water you are ever likely to see and is simply amazing - and all fresh water. The water is consistently clear / turquoise blue but just gets exceedingly deep very quick and so it turns a deep blue not far from the shore. Nice temperature for a swim also. With the pure white sand on the beach the glare from the sun is pretty intense. Not surprisingly this place gets pretty crowded and in peak season you’d be fighting for a spot. Backpacker and tour bus central! 20 odd years ago this place would have been absolute nirvana!

After dragging the sprogs away from the water we lunched at Central Station (previously called Forest Station). This was the old headquarters of the logging camp which existed on the island from the early 1900’s right through, surprisingly, to 1991/2. This is pretty surprising given its world heritage listing. I would have thought all the logging would have been stopped fairly early on in the piece. Unfortunately many of the giants and the timber went overseas - some even as far as lining part of the Suez Canal apparently! One of the trees (Satinay) is one of the few species around that is resistant to marine borers so it was pretty much in demand. The photos of the camp back then were typical of the time - everything above waist height was cut down! The place is now much more scenic with many of the trees, replanted by early conservation attempts by foresters, now looking majestic in their own right. They have some naturally occurring staghorn ferns which seem to be going crazy on some trees. One tree had about 10 with one each main branch as far up as they would allow!

Our last full day on the island was spent completing the remaining lake circuit - Lakes Birrabeen and Lake Boonjamin. Laek Birrabeen was a surprise as it was as equally as good as Lake Mackenzie but without the amount of people. Clear / turquoise water and a nice temperature for swimming. If I was to recommend a spot on Frasers I’d probably have to say this lake would be the pick of the crop to visit. Interestingly, although the waters look similar this lake is formed by an entirely different process with its base being waterproofed by a thick layer of organic matter and hence its existence above the normal water table (hence a perched lake). Either way - a top spot.

Lake Boonjamin is a brown coloured lake (seems that the marketing gurus and advertising types have decided that honey coloured and champagne sounds much better to the masses) stained a deep brown by the tannins from the leached organic matter that the water filters through prior to reaching the lake. The substrate, which is leached white sands, has no aluminium or iron so no further chemical reaction can occur so none of the tannins is removed. The brown colour does make for warm water though and the kids had a long swim here in the “warm as bath water” lake.

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