K'gari, the aboriginal name for Fraser Island means Gods of Paradise. Located off the Queensland coast at Maryborough in Australia it is 125km long and over 160,000 hectares in area. Dominated by a series of overlapping parabolic sand dunes. it is the largest sand island in the world. The island was formed by erosion of sandstone mountains located in northern New South Wales and Southern Queensland. The sand was transported to its present position by successive rises and falls in sea level. Replenished by direct rainfall the island's sandmass contains a hugh quantity of water which flows slowly towards the sea in an easterly direction. The availability of water, enables the island to support a wide variety of animal and plant life even though it is almost entirely composed of sand. The following is the account of a 3 day tour of the island that I recently joined.
After arriving at the Kingfisher and checking in we immediately hit the trail to Lake Mackenzie for the first of many swims.
Lake Mackenzie is a window lake. Window lakes are formed where the sand level drops below the water table, exposing the seaward flowing water. Popular with tourists because of the water clarity, window lakes do not support much life because of their lack of nutrient. Both water clarity and the lack of nutrients are due to the sand filtering sediments out of the water. The second type of lake on the island are the perched lakes. These exist in saucer like depressions above the water table and are filled entirely by rainfall. Organic material under the sand prevents water from escaping and gives it its tannin colour. These lakes are high in nutrient and therefore support life. After finishing lunch which consisted of sandwiches, a fruit and softdrink we all hit the water. The water was fresh and the lake gets deep fairly quickly. The dark patch towards the centre in the lake the photo is caused by rapidly increasing depth and not bottom vegetation. Dingos frequent the area, and while attacks on humans are rare they are quite happy to help themselves to your clothing. Towards late afternoon we leave Mackenzie and prepare for the next stage a catamaran, champagne cruise. You know the type of thing, drink champagne and eat crackers and slide under the table as the sun slides under the horizon. Cruise over and NOT totally ebriated we staggered down the jetty towards a smorgasbord dinner.
Today we went along the 75 mile long eastern beach starting from the Eurong resort. Along the way to Eli Creek we stopped and went cockling, Cockles are small mussels which are common in Australia. Though commonly used as fish bait they can be eaten either cooked or raw. The main danger in cockling on Fraser Island is getting run over by the numerous four wheel drive vehicles which race along the beach. As the water moving through the dunes approaches the sea it breaks the surface forming several coastal streams. Largest of these is Eli Creek on the eastern side of the island. It is bounded by a wooded walkway which allows tourists to sample its delights. Here you can get hire plane and see the island from the air and gain an appreciation of the its size. Flying over the sea you can see sharks, string rays, manta rays and sometimes a dolphin or two. Another visitor from the sea was the Maheno. Built as a luxury liner it was used as hospital ship during World War I because of its speed. In 1935, its useful life over, it was washed ashore during a cyclone while being towed to Japan for scrap. Passing the Pinnancles and the Cathedrals, which are sculptured sand outcrops, we make our way to Indian Head where we enjoyed vista views of the ocean while partaking in our sandwich cusine lunch. A few sharks we sighted. Lunch over, we made a short drive to the champagne pools for a little bit of snorkling to observe fish. Containing a variety of small fish, the largest of which appeared to be about 3 inches long, the salt water pools reach a maximum depth of about 6-7 ft. Because of there exposure to the sea swimming is not recommended in squally conditions. As much as we enjoyed the pools we could not resist the opportunity to return to Lake Mackenzie and have another swim, followed by a 30 minutes stroll through the rain forest to Central Station, an old loggers camp. Logging is now been banned on the island as is sand mining. Here we enjoyed some drinks and the guide's home made chocolate biscuits. Then it was back to the Kingfisher for dinner. After dinner, which included our cockles (cooked), we all headed out to discover the Fraser Island NightLife, flying foxes and bats. Successful in these endeavors we headed down towards the pier to have a look a marine nightline. A few mackerel, string rays and sea snakes were sighted.
Today, Lake Wabby was the highlight. Lake Wabby is a barrage lake. These occur when a sanddune dams water being released by a spring. To reach Lake Wabby it was necessary to trek for about 20 minutes along a rainforest trail. At the end of the trail the visitor is met by a hugh sand dune which must be tranversed before the waters of the lake can be enjoyed. We had the international down the sand dune race to be the first to reach the waters. The sand dune pictured is slowly moving across the lake and will eventually cover it completely. Forest on the opposite shore consists of ecaulpts. Upon returning from Lake Wabby and finishing lunch, some of the group spent the final afternoon indulging themselves in the athletic pastime of fishing. Being much too stenuous for me, I just enjoyed drinking in the Kingfisher Resort pool and spa.