AN UNMISSABLE FRASER ISLAND 2 DAY TOUR (1 NIGHT) FROM HERVEY BAY: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE!
LOOKING FOR THE BEST FRASER ISLAND 2 DAY TOUR?
FRASER ISLAND 2 DAY TOUR:
THE ITINERARY
DAY 1: LAKE WABBY, CENTRAL STATION & LAKE MACKENZIE
Top Tip: Make sure you bring a bottle of water with you, on a hot day, the walk back up the dunes from Lake Wabby is quite trying!
Fun Fact: Whilst most of Fraser Island’s lakes are inhabitable, Lake Wabbys emerald green water provides a perfect PH for fish to thrive, housing over 12 species – including the rare “honey blue eye”.
Fun Fact: The constant blowing of sand in from the West will eventually swallow and make Lake Wabby completely disappear within the next century – See it while you can!
Top Tip: Look out for the many noisy cockatoos circling above the tree canopies, you will certainly hear them before you see them!
Fun Fact: Fraser Island is one of the only places on Earth where rainforests grow on sand! In fact, it incredibly has 206,970 acres of protected forest!
Fun Fact: The dark blue areas show where the shallows disappear and drops to approximately 6 metres deep!
Fun Fact: Lake Mackenzie is a special “perched sand dunes lake” – only 80 of them worldwide, Fraser Island has 40 of them! They are extremely unique as the water is 100% collected rainwater!
Top Tip: No food is permitted at the lake as it attracts wild dingoes. There is a secure, fenced area specifically for picnicking. There are also toilets on-site.
SPOTTED WILDLIFE!
Lace Monitor “Tree Goanna“
One of Australia’s largest lizards, the Lace Monitor can grow up to 2m in length, found in forest terrain across Eastern Australia. They are typically tree-dwelling and carnivorous, their diet mainly consisting of bird eggs, crocodile eggs, insects, small reptiles and even small mammals!
SPOTTED WILDLIFE!
Short Eared Mountain Possum
Spotted rummaging through our resorts open-bar bins! A well-built possum species with distinctive short round ears, you’ll usually find them dwelling within the moist rainforests. Identified by their dark grey fur and cream underbelly. Their main predators on Fraser include dingoes and pythons.
DAY 2: 75 MILE BEACH, ELI CREEK, MAHENO SHIPWRECK & CHAMPAGNE POOLS
Fun Fact: 75 mile beach doubles as an airstrip. It is just one of TWO places in the whole world where planes can take off & land back on the beach!
SPOTTED WILDLIFE!
The Dingo
Does Fraser Island have dingoes? Absolutey! Spotted on 75 Mile Beach. Introduced to Fraser Island 5000+ years ago by South East Asian travellers, the Dingo remains like any other wild animal. They need to hunt, mate and secure a place in their pack for survival. They are a protected species, it is an offence to provide food source or disturb them.
Fun Fact: Eli Creek has a flow of over 80 million litres per day! During its journey, the water is naturally filtered and resultantly crystal clear when it reaches the sea!
Fun Fact: During its time as a WW1 hospital ship, the S. S. Maheno carried over 27,000 deceased and wounded.
Top Tip: Look closely inside the wreckage, you are likely to see the many crabs who have taken up residence!
Top Tip: A great place to see and snorkel amongst multiple shipwrecks in Australia is on Moreton Island, an island just off Brisbane.
Fact: It is said that Indian Head Lookout was named as such by Captain James Cook when he saw Fraser Island aboriginals standing on the viewpoint.
Top Tip: Be sure to stay well away of the rocks dividing the rock pools from the sea. Not only can the waves be treacherous, the sharp rocks have been aptly nicknamed ‘The Human Cheesegrater’!
Top Tip: There are large public toilets at the Champagne Pools car park!
CONCLUSION: FRASER ISLAND 2 DAY TOUR
To conclude, we would absolutely recommend this K’Gari Explorer Fraser Island 2 day tour (1 night) from Hervey Bay.
From our own personal Fraser Island experience, the itinerary on this tour covers every top sight to see on Fraser Island and fully maximises the time on both days. Don’t just take our word for it, check out the 700+ raving 5* reviews!
FRASER ISLAND 1 DAY TOUR OPTIONS
Alternative Option 1:
“All-Inclusive Fraser Island Day Tour” from Hervey Bay:
This full day All-Inclusive Fraser Island tour from Hervey Bay takes you straight to Fraser Island to see the majority of the key hotspots in one day, including: Lake McKenzie, Eli Creek, Seventy-Five Mile Beach, Central Station, Wanggoolba Creek, the Maheno shipwreck, and the Pinnacles.
Alternative Option 2:
“Remote Fraser Island Experience: Boat Cruise” from Hervey Bay:
This full day Remote Fraser Island tour is slightly different, being a full-day boat cruise! Instead of driving and seeing the hotspots on Fraser Island, enjoy swimming, snorkelling, kayaking, paddle-boarding and sailing the ocean surrounding Fraser island.
Spot epic wildlife like dolphins and get the chance to swim with turtles at Wathumba creek! You do step onto Fraser Island to sunbathe on the bays and a bush walk inland.
Alternative Option 3:
“Remote Fraser Island Experience: Swim with Whales” from Hervey Bay:
Another seasonal option (July – October) of the “Remote Fraser Island Experience” tour provides the epic opportunity to snorkel, kayak and swim with the visiting Humpback whales!
FRASER ISLAND PACKING LIST
- Loose comfortable clothing, such as tank tops and cotton shorts.
- Your swimsuit.
- Protective beach shoes!
- A microfibre beach towel (fast drying & lightweight).
- A spare waterproof bag to store your wet towel / swimsuit after your tour.
- A GoPro / waterproof camera to capture amazing footage!
- Or! A waterproof dry bag (with a lanyard!) to take photos and videos on your smartphone instead.
- High factor sun cream
- After sun moisturising cream.
- Sun protective clothing, including a hat and sunglasses.
- Comfortable lightweight walking shoes with good grip.
- Flip-flops / sliders for walking on the sand.
- A medical pouch / first aid kit.
- Refillable water bottle to bring on the tour.
- Powered battery pack (and cable) for your smart phone.
WHERE TO STAY IN HERVEY BAY
⭐ Mantra Hervey Bay (premium option)
⭐ Hervey Bay YHA Colonial Village (budget option)
VISITING FRASER ISLAND:
“KNOW BEFORE YOU GO” FAQ’S
HOW LONG SHOULD YOU SPEND ON FRASER ISLAND?
We would suggest 2 days (1 night) is the perfect amount of time to spend on Fraser Island. With many Fraser Island 3 day tours (with 2 nights), the title is misleading as spend most of the first and last day travelling with little exploring happening.
The key is to review the exact tour itinerary to make sure they are utilising time well and seeing all the best sights. This is exactly what our afformentioned Fraser Island 2 day tour does!
CAN YOU VISIT FRASER ISLAND WITHOUT A TOUR?
Yes, it is possible to visit Fraser Island without an organised tour. However, it is crucial to keep in mind that this means you would have to self-drive a 4WD and navigate yourself across the sandy trails in search for all the destination hotspots.
DOES FRASER ISLAND HAVE ROADS?
The only sealed roads that you can find on Fraser Island are in and around the two main resorts: Kingfisher Bay and K’Gari Beach resort. Outside of this, paved roads disappear and are replaced with bumpy sand trails.
IS IT HARD TO DRIVE AROUND FRASER ISLAND?
Considering about 95% of Fraser Island access routes are on sand, yes, it is quite a challenging experience to drive around Fraser Island on your own.
You need the confidence to drive this rough terrain, the know-how of what to do if you get stuck in the sand and a requirement of being over 21 years old with 3 years driving experience.
We would say for most people, the best option would be to take a guided Fraser Island tour!
WHAT ARE THE BEST MONTHS TO GO TO FRASER ISLAND?
The best months to go to Fraser Island are between end of July – October. These months mark the end of Australia’s Winter heading into the Spring.
This period will be slightly quieter from tourists (outside of peak season), and the weather on Fraser Island during these months should overall be pleasant and sunny.
On a separate note, July – October is also the key season for to see whales around Fraser Island. Hervey Bay is one of the best places in the world to see humpback whales, so you do not want to miss the opportunity to head out on a whale watching tour from Hervey Bay on your return from Fraser Island!
CAN YOU SWIM IN THE OCEAN AROUND FRASER ISLAND? 🏊❔
Unfortunately no, it is not advised to swim in the ocean around Fraser Island. Idyllic as it looks, all beaches are unsupervised and the currents can be extremely strong and treacherous.
CAN YOU DRINK THE TAP WATER ON FRASER ISLAND?
Yes, you can absolutely drink the tap water on Fraser Island. In fact, due to its natural filtering systems in its creeks, the water on Fraser Island is some of the purest water you can drink!
FRASER ISLAND FUN FACTS
- Fraser Island is the world’s largest sand island, made up completely of sand! It is 123km long, 22km wide at its widest point.
- Fraser Island, which soaks up rainwater like a sponge, has over 100 lakes! The most common type are ‘window lakes’, effectively a hole storing all the collected rainwater.
- Fraser Island is home to the deadliest spider in the world – the Funnel Web Spider! 40 different species of Funnel Web can be found in Australia. They tend to reside in moist, dark areas such as under fallen leaves and logs.
- The island was named after a famous shipwreck survivor, Eliza Fraser, the wife of the ship’s captain. The ship, Stirling Castle, was wrecked in 1836. Fraser survived on the island for 6 weeks before finally escaping back to the mainland.
- Controlled fires are lit on Fraser Island during the Winter months to help remove excess leaf debris. This is done to try and contain wildfires caused by extreme heat of the intense Summer months.
- Saltwater crocodiles have previously been found on the beaches of Fraser Island! They are not permanent residents, but do make a surprise visit on occasion!
This blog post was written by Jordie Flain!
Founder of TheFlainsTravel.com
A travel-obsessed Sagittarius creating honest, easy-to-follow guides. Powered by tea, chocolate and a slightly concerning amount of tomato ketchup.
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