Fraser Island Great Walk.

Getting there - Thursday 20 August 2009

Brisbane to Lake Garawongera

...and the days leading up to it.

Paul and I were planning to walk the Overland Track, in Tasmania, later in 2009 and in preparation we decided that a walk on Fraser Island would be on the cards. On Tues 18 August we got together with Mike and Lindy, some friends who own a house on Fraser Island, as they'd offered us transport. We talked for ages, looking a few weeks ahead, trying to find a suitable 'window' when we were all available. We were getting exasperated, when I suggested heading off in 2 days. There was a sudden shocked silence until we realised that, if we could be ready in time, all was good.

Needless to say, the next day was spent in hurried preparations. Both of us, though generally fit, were very much out of pack-carrying condition, as we had planned to 'train' leading up to our walk. NO time for that!

We got picked up early and squashed everything into Mike and Lindy's car before heading off up the highway for Inskip Point and the ferry to Fraser Island. At Mike and Lindy's place at Eurong we sorted out our gear and left behind some regular clothes and toiletries for after our walk. They very kindly dropped us at the northern most point of the walk, Lake Garawongera, arriving about mid-afternoon. Each small site had its own wooden platform, log bench seat and dingo-proof storage box. Along the track to the lake was a water supply, a large toilet block and some picnic tables and shelters.

The mozzies came out when they realised there was fresh blood to be had and we were driven down to the lake where a gentle breeze made conditions a bit more pleasant. Our first night was spent on our own with the serenade of droning mozzies.

Day 1 - Friday 21 August 2009

Lake Garawongera to Valley of the Giants - 13 km

We woke early with the hum of mozzies massing at the fly-screen doors of our tent. Stayed inside for ages until finally braving the hungry hordes to walk down to the lake for a chilly morning wake-up swim. A good first pack-up and away by 8am.

Our walk towards the Valley of the Giants was a good one, with mostly gentle ascents and descents, through open heath and finally into thick forest. Our untrained bodies started to complain quite early, with achy shoulders and backs and weary legs. There was a bit of trudging on one particular steep and long hill just after Petrie's Camp turn-off. We ate lunch perched along the side of the track.

As the vegetation began to change we knew that our campsite was getting closer. The Valley of the Giants is appropriately named, with most of the trees towering off out of sight. We arrived and set up at the beautiful campsite mid-afternoon and retired inside the tent to read, mainly to escape the ever present mozzies. This camp site also had individual sites, with platform, bench and storage box, along with a toilet and water tap. We managed to have a small wash under the tap, ever mindful that water was scarce.

We did a short walk further along the track and then relaxed for the evening. We thought that we'd scored again and would have the site to ourselves until a lone fellow arrived in the pitch dark, about 6.30pm. He had walked across from Lake Wabby, just to have look and planned to return tomorrow. We were amazed to see he was wearing a pair of Croc thongs as his footwear, telling us he'd got awful blisters and had left his boots locked in a storage box at his last campsite

We both had a much better sleep, even with the constant buzzing from outside our tent fly-screens. You certainly didn't want any part of you to inadvertently touch the screen! There was plenty of wind in the tree-tops but none managed to reach the forest floor.

Day 2 - Saturday 22 August 2009

Valley of the Giants - 12.4km

On advice from our friends, and knowing our unpreparedness for this walk, we decided to have a day without pack-carrying in The Valley of the Giants. To escape the biting mozzies, we stayed inside our tent until we were ready to do some exploring. Both of us were suffering badly with allergy problems due to the pollen and flowers that had fallen from the tree tops in the wind during the night.

We did a walk before lunch, visiting the Giant Satinay and the Giant Tallowwood. Both of these sites are a little way off the main walking track. We couldn't help but imagine what this area would have been like before the logging operations began.

After lunch the wind started to make its way down, from the tree tops, to the camp area and this made the mozzie situation a little more bearable. The wind got so strong that at one point we had numerous small branches crashing down from the canopy and spearing into the ground. We felt a little vulnerable in our tiny tent.

We had the camp area to ourselves all afternoon, with no night-time arrivals.

Day 3 - Sunday 23 August 2009

Valley of the Giants to Lake Wabby - 17.5 + 3 km ( 6 hrs +)

Today was our longest day on the track, heading for Lake Wabby. We arrived at the Badjala Sandblow in time for some sightseeing and a morning tea stop. The view from the top was worth the walk up the soft sand.

We could see in all directions but the view to the ocean was stunning, revealing the dead tree trunks of the ancient forest slowly being uncovered as the sandblow moves along.

From here the walking was tough, with many ups and downs, mostly on sand which was soft underfoot. We stopped for lunch about noon and then pushed on towards our night's campsite at Lake Wabby. We were quite excited to reach the edge of the lake track but realised that the campsite was at the top of an enormous hill, which we trudged up very slowly. We stopped for a break at the look out and the view was sensational. We knew that the lake was a popular stop for the tourist buses but couldn't see any evidence of the crowds, not yet anyway.

The campsite at Lake Wabby was beautiful and quite large, with 2 separate areas. We ran into the fellow we'd met at the Valley of the Giants two nights before and he and his mate were packing up for the walk to Central Station. They had rather heavy packs that included a couple of bottles of red wine. We found a site and then checked out the facilities, which were at the top of a long flight of steps.

We decided that we still had the energy for the 3km return trip, down and then up the big hill, to the lake for a swim and took off wearing our crocs and carrying only towels. It was sheer bliss to get into the cool water and we lolled about for ages, entertained by the antics of the young male foreign backpackers as they frolicked in the lake, trying to impress the girls.

When we returned we found that 2 young women had set up their tent in the next site to ours. There was some drama after dark when I discovered, up near the facilities, a small group of young foreigners who seemed to be lost and very worried. Evidently they had arrived at the lake with a group and were told they could walk up to the lookout for the view. They believed that they would be picked up on the road at the top but it was getting late, dark and cold, and no-one had arrived for them. Paul did his best to calm them all down and we showed them the map of where they were. Hours later, when the bus finally arrived for them, we found there'd been some sort of mechanical problems.

Had a great sleep here.

Day 4 - Monday 24 August 2009

Lake Wabby to Lake Mackenzie - 12 km (3.5 hrs)

Today saw a slow start, with us only getting away just before 9am. The track heading towards Lake McKenzie was undulating along this section and we enjoyed the various vegetation changes. One very long slow hill took us to the M7 crossing with the 4WD Northern Road. We stopped here for morning tea and congratulated ourselves on making good time; 8km I just over 2 hours.

Numerous vehicles passed us as we sat by the side of the road, a busy spot.

By the time we reached the final kilometre into Lake McKenzie we were plodding. This section of the track is the entrance/exit road for the many tourist coaches that visit the lake each day. It was VERY soft sand and we were walking in the wheel ruts left by the vehicles.

We did have one close call, when a bus came hurtling along at great speed and there was just no-where to get off the track, as the heath was very thick right to the edges. We just managed to hurl ourselves off into the shrubbery before nearly getting skittled by the bus.

The camp area at Lake McKenzie was really lovely though, surrounded by a very high dingo fence, it looked a bit like a prison. There are facilities a short walk away, though not the showers that the NP information had listed. There were heaps of these 'Danger' signs but we didn't see any dingos on this trip.

We set up and headed straight to the lake for a swim. There were heaps of tourists everywhere but the lake was as stunning as I remembered. Much time was spent lolling about there during the afternoon.

We rested at camp for a while and then headed back to the lake after the buses had departed. It was blissfully devoid of humanity and we had a lovely ramble along the shoreline. We couldn't stay away and returned for a night walk along the lake's edge as well. We had the campsite completely to ourselves!

Day 5 - Tuesday 25 August 2009

Lake Mackenzie to Eurong - 3.5km

We woke at 4.30am with Paul wanting to have tick removed from his shoulder. I'd discovered one on me the evening before, but this one looked like it had been there a while. I performed a successful operation by headlight.

After waking we walked to the lake for a morning dip. There was not another person to be seen...heaven!

I love this photo of Paul as we returned to the campsite to do our final pack-up. This is the entrance to the camping area.

Breakfast was a leisurely affair and after packing up we waited for Mike and Lindy to arrive to take us back to Eurong.

We headed towards Central Station, stopping for a look at Basin Lake.

Lindy continued on with the car while Paul, Mike and I walked the 3.5km into Central Station. This was the site of the main logging operations on the island and has much historical information as well as being a place of great beauty.

Arriving there was a bit of a shock, with cars and people everywhere. We headed back to Eurong for a blessed hot shower and a birthday dinner for Lindy at the local resort.

We later found out the reason for our plague of mozzies. Evidently there had been a sudden and unexpected hot spell, with a wind change coming from the west, which brought them all in from the mangroves along the island's western shoreline.

This ended our walking adventure on the Fraser Island Great Walk.