K’Gari (Fraser) Island is every backpacker’s highlight when they travel up the East Coast of Australia. This ultimate guide explains the different options for visiting, what to expect and what to bring with you.
What’s special about Fraser Island?
Fraser Island (more commonly called K’Gari Island now referring to the Aboriginal name for the island) is the biggest sand island in the world. It offers lots of beautiful fresh water swim spots, and is the home to the only purebred Dingos in the world. With no cell reception, stunning landscapes and long stretches of beach to drive across it offers a real escape.
How to visit K’Gari/Fraser Island
You can do a 1 day trip and if that’s al your time or budget allows I’d still recommend it. However, if you can, the 3 day tours are brilliant. I booked with Pippies which is known to be the best tour you can do. If you’re over 21 with a full manual licence you can take turns with others to drive a 4×4 around the island which was one of the highlights! All your camping gear is provided, plus you have access to hot showers at camp and all the food was great! This tour was from Rainbow Beach. You can visit from Hervey Bay too but I think more tours starts from Rainbow Beach. I chose the option with staying at Pippie’s hostel the night before and night after the tour which gave me time to buy my drinks and snacks before the tour and to shower/wash my clothes when I got back.
What to expect
Across the 3 days you’ll float down Eli Creek, swim in the tea tree brown lake and the unbelievably blue Lake Mackenzie. You’ll also visit the Maheno Shipwreck, go sand boarding and swim in the Champagne Pools. All of these activities are fantastic and can go ahead no matter the weather. We had quite a lot of rain but it didn’t stop us having the best time. In terms of dingos, these are wild animals and you should not approach them. At camp there is an electrified fence but if you are leaving the campsite you should always have a dingo stick in your group to keep any cheeky ones away.
Also if you have a real fear of spiders then camping is not going to be for you. There are a number of spiders along the paths and toilets. We also had a huge number of toads who jumped over our feet at night when walking back from Pippies “Rave Cave” (a shed with twinkle lights and sound system which can be a fun way to spend a few hours after curfew at 9pm but if you want to get some sleep you won’t be missing out too much).
What to bring
- Alcohol (I brought cans of whiskey and coke and a box of goon which is very cheap very sweet wine)
- Big bottle of water (you can refill it at the camp)
- Snacks (cereal bars for the first morning)
- Debit card (there is a shop at the campsite where you can buy ice creams etc)
- Swimsuits
- Towel
- Toiletries
- Change of clothes
- Flip flops/tevas (I brought trainers and never wore them)
- Rain jacket
- Uno/playing cards- great to play before or after dinner
- Power Bank
- Camera/GoPro