My Journey Round The World

Fraser Island was World Heritage listed by UNESCO in 1992 in recognition of its natural values. No wonder why… This is now on my top-ten list of the best I’ve seen with Uyuni Salar in Bolivia! Maybe as it’s also a 4WD trip?! To give you an idea, it is the largest sand island in the world:

• more than 120km in length and 22 km at its widest point
• rainforests, dunes, mangrove and some 40 freshwater lakes
• wide range of animals: from lizards to dingos - Catherine/Baptiste you would love that! – via whales – ok that we didn’t see, not the right season – birds, tortles, rays…

The island is named by the local Aboriginal people ‘K’Gari’, which is kind of fitting pretty well as it roughly translates into paradise…
Coming here is a real adventure! 4WDs are mandatory as all roads are sand tracks. You need to cross over to the island via a ferry. Driving there can be hair-raising - as would say Lonely Planet: one minute you’ll be cruising along when suddenly the earth turns to water and you start to spin out. However, I really enjoyed the self-drive safari and was glad not to drive! , not to be in a organised trip - these put groups together into one vehicle and you better seriously consider your 4WD skills or those in your proposed group! Gerhard managed that very well! – and that he had a car running on gaz – which is supposed to be better for the environment! - even if we had some troubles and get stuck in a middle of a track due to humidity… Not sure its because of gaz though!

Information are well spread betweenn safety guide leaflets such as: Survive your drive on Fraser Island (!) / Some dingoes are dangerous… to the Tide Times or the Visitor guide leaflet with walks available. Notice boards at most of the lookout, on the first morning we even had the visit of guards asking us if we have seen any dingoes – yes – and if we had any trouble with them – no, ouf!

If you want to learn more about the Island visit the website: http://www.fraserisland.net/index.html