Fraser Island

Two years ago we went camping on Fraser Island which is off the coast of mid-north Queensland.

One of the beautiful features of Fraser Island is the place called "The Cathedrals".

The entire island is made up of sand. There are no stones or rocks or soil on the island.

Just beautiful beaches, lush green rainforest, the most amazing inlands lakes and escarpments of coloured sands. The colours of the sand range from white to black, with every tan, brown, orange and rust in between.

One famous tourist stop is the Maheno Ship Wreck.

I loved taking these photos through the rusted old ship and out towards the open ocean.

When the tide comes in the waves come crashing over the wreck.

The rusty texture and colour fitted in with the rest of the island....the wreck....the sand......and.....the Dingoes!

The most infamous wildlife is Australia's one and only predator - the dingo.

He looks thin and malnourished but don't be fooled by his lean greyhound like physique. The dingoes roam the island in search of small birds and rodents and are very adept at scavenging from the campers. So much so that there are signs eveywhere warning people not to leave any food out and keep their tents closed at all times. There are also huge wire cages available to lock your food stores in if you need to leave your camp site for any length of time.

This mother dingo watched over her young pup as we walked along the beach early one morning.

This wonky eared dingo looked so cute but as much as we are a family of dog lovers we had to keep reminding ourselves that they are wild dogs and not domestic.

Signs are posted all over the island warning people under a certain height and children under twelve years of age to be accompanied by an adult wherever they walk. In years past campers often fed the dingoes who lost their reserve of humans and then some supposedly turned viscous. There have been reported attacks although I am not certain as to the validity of the claims as there have also been refutes to the attacks made by island staff.

The best time to see the dingoes was very early at sunrise around 5.30am before all the vehicles came along the beach. Then they would laze on the sand or run up and down the seashore. We kept a safe distance at all times. The dingoes would keep their distance too. They were more afraid of us than we should be. Actually, we felt very safe. The only time we saw them come close to another person was when a lone fisherman came down to the beach with a bucket in hand. They must know that sight because quite a few of them followed him closely behind waiting for a chance to steal his bait.

No other pets are allowed on the island and I'm kind of glad that's the case....Jasper and Marley might have made a tasty dingo meal...what do you think?

My favourite photo to take was this one which I called

"Paws, Claws and Digits"

The paws of a dingo, the claws of a seagull and the foot prints of our daughter. 

While the beach here looks very inviting for swimming it is the open ocean and unpatrolled, so anyone swimming here does so at their own risk and peril. Shark Bait! is the word that comes to my mind.

There are plenty of inland lakes to swim in...fresh water lakes. The most famous being Lake McKenzie and definitely worth the 4WD trip inland to get there.

Only the friendly turtles came cautiously and curiously to watch us swim.

There were a host of other interesting creatures to discover on the island....

...and lush greenery inland.

The trees towered above us forming a canopy for the forest floor to thrive.

Some trees we couldn't even see the tops of...

....others were choked by strangler figs. 

All the man made inland roads are sand.

Some rougher than others.

Lichen and moss abound covering the forest floor and grow on the trees.

Only 4WDs are allowed on the island and special permits need to be purchased to drive and camp on Fraser Island.

The only way over to the island is on one of these barges. The trip takes about 20 minutes from the mainland to Fraser Island.

Such an amazing island to visit. Day trips on buses leave very early every morning for those who can't drive over there.

We will definitely be going back there for a second look!