Detour #48: Fraser Island, Australia

Road Trips

May 1

The world’s largest sand island offers up an unbeatable 4x4-only adventure.

Fraser Island sits just off the coast of southern Queensland - a thin spit of land with incredible biodiversity and terrain, packed into a narrow 75 by 15-miles. With 750,000 years of accumulation, the pure white sand is a fine powder which makes all-wheel-drive a necessity. You can rent off-roaders on the mainland or take a ride on one of the many all-terrain tour buses.

The centre of Fraser Island is dominated by lush rainforest where prehistoric-looking cassowaries roam the ground and flying foxes inhabit the trees. Freshwater creeks trickle leisurely, while pure rainwater lakes are a swimmers delight - and mostly free of saltwater crocodiles. Inland trails can be rutted, churned up and slow going, but there is a highway of sorts to get you around quicker.

75-Mile Beach stretches the whole of the eastern side of Fraser Island and is the main thoroughfare. Technically it’s a public road where all rules apply, but since you’ll also find light aircraft landing on it there are some other rights of way to consider.

Here the sand is smooth at the water’s edge, regularly graded by the tides, so you can make progress. Watch out for wild dingoes and don’t get too close the dunes which rise in places to 200m or more. It’s easy to get stuck in the sand even with a 4x4.

You can cover the length of the island in a couple of hours if you really want to, but it’s better to take things slow, stop and explore the shipwrecks on one of the world’s most unique public roads.

Words Nik Berg Twitter | Instagram
Photography Frankie Dixon / Gawn Australia / Matt Lamers / Andreas Dress / Unsplash