Where there's no cover of vegetation on Fraser Island, the sand dunes mass into dangerous shifting mountains.
Sand dunes -- and the presence of dingoes -- constitute some Fraser Island dangers but they should be easy to avoid.
Don't be a dingbat and take unnecessary risks on Fraser Island.
Watch out for sand traps
If doing your own driving, avoid the shifting sand dunes and watch out for soft spots in the sand where your vehicle can be bogged down.
Be careful, too, in uphill, downhill or any type of extremely uneven terrain where vehicles can easily take a tumble.
Usually no dingo danger
Don't feed the wildlife.
Fraser Island is known for the number of dingoes in the area and these native wild dogs may seem to pose no danger.
Generally they don't but there have been instances when dingoes attacked people, particularly children.
- In 2001 a nine-year-old boy was killed by a dingo at Waddy Point on the northeastern part of the island. The attack triggered the culling of 65 dingoes around the island which reportedly posed a risk because they were used to being fed and were no longer afraid of humans. In 2004 the Sydney Morning Herald reported that a dingo had strayed into the bedroom of a unit at the island's Kingfisher Bay resort where a couple and their two children were holidaying.
Fraser Island lakes
Fraser Island has at least 40 lakes including half of the world’s perched dune lakes. Lake Boomanjin, the largest perched lake in the world, is one of the island’s most picturesque.
Lake Wabby, just north of Eurong on the east coast, is a scenic lake which is gradually being filled in with moving sand although only at a rate of less than a metre a year.
Lake McKenzie, in the midsection of the southern part of the island, lies somewhere between Lake Wabby and Wanggoolba Creek south of the Kingfisher Bay Resort.
Driving on Fraser Island
To really move around Fraser Island you'd need a four-wheel-drive vehicle with enough clearance from the ground to manage soft spots in the sand and to clear through the scrub.
You can hire a 4WD vehicle from the Gold or Sunshine Coasts or at Hervey Bay, from which a ferry transports you and vehicle across water to the island.
Another ferry crossing
Another ferry crossing to Fraser Island is from Rainbow Beach just north of the Cooloola national park to Hook Point at the southern end of Fraser Island.
You'll need a permit to take a vehicle into Fraser Island.
Beach speed limit
The island's sand beaches are a designated highway with a speed limit of 80 kilometres an hour. Near tourist resorts, the beach doubles as a landing field so keep an eye out for planes that may be touching down.
Inland the speed limit is 35 kilometres an hour. In the heavy going, it's near impossible to exceed that speed.
If you prefer to leave the driving to someone else, go with a tour group.
Next page: Additional Information
