melaniee

When is the best time to visit ?
Is it ok to do it on your own with some good 4WD knowledge ?
Any good camping spots ?
Any other hints/tips ?

Cheers !

DrWho

We went once and tried to go once...

The second time was over the Christmas break when the tides are particularly high, there's thousands over there because of the school holidays, and the Island was evacuated because of a Cyclone warning...!

First time was September/October time which was really good. Not that many there, low tides and not too hot...

We went on our own in a 'Cruiser and were fine...

This'll help...

Fraser Island

deryans

Hi,

One of my all time favourite places in Oz, been there 4 times, 2 by 4x4 and 2 by Light A/c.

Yes you can do it on your own with basic 4x4 knowledge, you can take a checkout/safety 4x4 course from a variety of operators in Hervey Bay if you intend to rent or just pop by and ask their advice.


Been there in May x2 , Oct, and Jan. Best time to go is often dictated by who else will be there (OR NOT), there are fishing festivals, 4x4 festivals and lots of other stuff which you can check with hervey bay council.

Jan was pretty hot, May the nights are cold, and Oct is a good allrounder.

Absolutely no glass allowed on the Island. So Bring Tinned/plastic wrapped food, it will get dented beyond recognition on the 4x4 trail , but you expect that.

Don't drive your 4x4 in the salt water unless you intend to spend a week cleaning it later, or lose your deposit from a rental.

Try and be mid-way to the back on the ferry (roll on roll-off) going across to the island as your vehicle will get covered in salt water by the bough spash.

Take lots of mossie repellant and check beforehand fif any large groups plan to attend the various camping grounds (i.e. a nissan patrol full of backpackers).

As it is a world heritage listed site, you need to respect it.

more info here:

http://www.australianexplorer.com/fraser_island.htm

http://www.herveybay.qld.gov.au/

Sandra

Went out of season May and loved it because there was relatively few people. Have heard height of school holidays it can be packed.

We did not camp. Went self catering and the best tip is to buy everything you need over in Hervey Bay including plonk, in the big supermarkets. Make sure you have a big esky and loads of plastic bags to store your rubbish otherwise the car looks like a tip. Hubby had never done much four wheel driving before but was brilliant, it helped the sand was relatively solid at the time we went. We had lots of advice from the guy we rented the car from and he planned our two day trip so we could see and do everything around the tides - take advice on this.

We flew up and rented a car but are planning to have a longer trip up the coast from Sydney some day and redo the trip in our own Ute. We have been practising our skills on Stockton beach and plan to camp there over Easter.

Have an excellent time. The lakes on the top of the island are breathtaking and out of season very secluded

melaniee

Thanks everyone. We will be going in our own 4x4 and have experience of sand driving etc.
I hear you have to plan it well with the tides so sounds like there is a lot of research to do before we go !

No glass ?!-what about my wine !?

Nattyocean

Hi ya,

Having grown up in Hervey Bay, and spent a great deal of time on Fraser Is, I would throughly recommend hiking on the Island. Just means you can camp in some of the more secluded parts of the Island, and in most cases be the only ones there! Last time I went, I took my fiance (from UK and 1st time in Oz), and we had the camp site to ourselves by night. We did cheat a bit, by taking a taxi from the barge, only so we could take an esky and a few luxuries. I suppose maybe it is something to consider after you have been a number of times and over the whole 4wd experience!

Have fun, its one of the best spots eva

Cheers Nattyocean

melaniee

How many nights ? 1 or 2 ?

Nattyocean

We actually stayed 3 nights! Only suppose to stay 2 nights at the particular place, however being the only ones there, the rangers kind of overlooked it. Besides couldn't get the taxi out earlier than that. I'd booked the taxi whilst we were still in the UK, and hadn't thought about the stay max. Just make sure if you're going to do it that way, you have to book your camping permit over the phone/internet, and take a recent map- they have the newly revamped hiking trails marked.

Cheers Nattyocean

sara1981

boxes of wine.....that's what we did and also no risk of them breaking in the car on some of the rougher tracks! great fun, great place, loved it!

renth

Agreed, we spent Christmas 2006 there. It was amazing, totally blew me away, despite the fact that is rained every day! I'd love to go back.

melaniee

That's QLD for you !

snappy

At certain times of the day the tour buses go through so if you want peace and quiet at say the stunning blue lake (Lake McKenzie I think??? memory not so good any more) then go either early or later in the day.

muffinoz

For those who don't want to camp, there's a really good resort called Kingfisher Bay ... it's where the ferry from Hervey Bay goes to ... been there twice though admittedly it's about 5 years since I've been but was excellent then ... you don't need a 4WD the resort does trips right round the island ...

David

deryans

it is a very special spot, another bit of advice for 4x4'ers , is winches won't always get you out of trouble, i.e there is often nothing to actually tie the winch onto, and you cannot use trees, so bring two sets of traction plates plates to put under the wheels if you get stuck.


Don't tie a winch to a tree, it's not allowed and it's poor form.

and always allow the Islanders right of way.

I'm still up for a solution to the March Flies (sand Flies) anyone got idea about them ?

PepaPig

Hi

We spent 5/6 days there in November 06. One of the most beautiful places in Australia IMO. We went from Inskip point (Rainbow Beach) to Hook point and drove up to Catherdral Beach camp site. We were towing a Jayco offroad camper trailer and had no problems. Tyre pressures are key! Lake Mckenzie is stunning. I'm sure you'll love the whole place.

PM me if you need any more info.