Fraser Island - Just the tip, just for a bit, just to see how it feels.

[mickmac_42 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mickmac_42]

I'd been wanting to visit Fraser Island for many years but was reluctant to do the trip solo. Recently i caught up with some friends and we got to talking about camping at Fraser in September. We eventually nutted out a plan to go for 9 days - weekend to weekend. As with many things, work interfered and our trip was reduced to seven days, then to five. I'd done heaps of research in the forums, watched youtube videos, read 4WD and camping books, and was super keen to get going by the time September 16th arrived.

With the car packed we set of at 5:30am. About 30 seconds later we turned around and headed back to the house. My 1yo boy had vomited on himself before we'd even gotten down the driveway to the road. After a quick clean up and change of clothes we were underway again. Traffic was pretty good, only doing the peak hour crawl through the M1 at Slacks Creek. We arrived at the BP truck stop in Caboolture at about 7:00am and spent an hour having breakfast. Back in the car for the drive to Rainbow Beach and got there about 10:00am. Fuelled up at the Shell, bought a fresh cream doughnut and an apple turnover with cream from the bakery, then continued on to Inskip Point where i aired down to 24psi. I had a chat with a couple of people who were airing down and they said the sand on the Point was really soft. Having never been on sand with these tyres, i wasn't sure how it would go, but they looked like they could stand to loose a lot more air. I dropped my tyres to 16psi. There was a queue onto the beach, which was strange because i wasn't expecting too many people. I got my turn to go and as i entered the beach i saw the cause of the delay. Heaps of cars had gotten bogged spearing off in all directions from the entry. I engaged the centre diff lock and turned off traction control and set off to negotiate a path around them (ironically straight up the centre) but nearly became bogged myself when the ESC kicked in. I'd forgotten about turning it off and the silly thing kept braking my wheels. I managed to get through and though i missed the first barge, was first in line for next barge. I took the time to devour that delicious apple turnover.

Inskip Point


I had initially planned on being on the island by about 9:30am but didn't get there until about 11:30am. At least it was low tide and didn't have to worry about getting around Hook Point. I saw the wood skeleton of a boat which was jutting out of the sand near the dead trees. Everybody cautioned me about Hook Point, saying i wouldn't be able to get around the trees on anything more than about an hour either side of low tide. Nobody mentioned anything about a solid timber boat frame. Not that it's an issue, because you drive between the two.

We continued up the beach at a leisurely 60kph and stopped in at Happy Valley shortly before 1pm for another toilet break and lunch. The burger was okay, but the chips were rubbish. One of the beach pilots was in there picking up his lunch. I've never heard anyone talk about themselves as much as he did. "I can't drink alcohol because i'm a pilot," "I owe my parent money for putting me through pilot training," "did i mention i'm a pilot."

Happy Valley


We continued on at about 1:30pm and got to Indian head at about 3pm. I was a bit worried about getting stuck here, having seen all the videos on youtube. I needn't have worried. The Prado waltzed through with ease. If anything i went through too quickly. 2/3 of the way through the bypass i hit a hole which got me airborne. I don't mean i soared through the air. I mean the front went up, then the back went up, then the front crashed down, quickly followed by the rear. It was not graceful and felt horrible as both front and rear suspension smashed the bump stops.

I check the load on the roof was secure and continued on out to the beach and up towards Middle Rocks. The access up from the beach here is fairly steep, so once again i carried a bit of speed on the approach. Now, some clever chappy has put stabilising matting down the access track. Unfortunately it doesn't run all the way out to the beach, so there's a point where it just drops off into the sand. I didn't see this until i was right on it and the front of the car has plunged into the hole that was front of the matting, causing the front of the car to ram the sand which was reinforced by the matting. It's a miracle the airbags didn't go off. The tarp on the roof rack has come forward over the windscreen, only held up by the elastic cargo net. I damaged the bash plate and access plate under the bull bar. Thankfully they didn't get pushed back into the radiator, though it didn't miss by much. I took a minute to shovel sand into the hole so the next poor sod would't hit it. I didn't think to take a photo of the ditch until the following day, after we'd filled some more in, so it doesn't really show what it was like. Imagine an incline with a hole a foot deep, about two feet long, then a foot and a half rise.

What was left of the hole after i filled it



The damage to my baby

[mickmac_42 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mickmac_42]

I drove up the access track (easy because it was stabilised) and parked at the lower carpark to Champagne Pools so i could fix up the tarp before continuing on our way. There are two tracks to Waddy Point/Orchard Beach - one in each direction - so you don't have to worry about pulling off to the side. It was heavily rutted and we kept bottoming out. Never came close to the 30kph inland speed limit. It was about this point that i'd sold the Mrs on a suspension lift. We reached the campground at Waddy Point top at about 4pm and joined the others at the camp they'd set up. It would have been a bit crowded if we'd tried to fit into their site, so we set up directly opposite them.



I want to mention that while testing all the equipment i discovered that my camp stove wasn't working. I think mud wasps had gotten into it because there was no gas getting through. After searching on the internet i decided on a Coleman 3 burner stove with griddle and drove to Downunder Camping at Slacks Creek only to find that (contrary to their website) they had no stock. "Yeah that always happens, but we've got 5 on order" says the sales guy. I saw they had a display model and asked if i could purchase that. "We've lost the fittings and hose." I saw they had a three burner stove in its box and asked if i could buy that and have them throw in the griddle for the same price as the package. "Nah, we can't do that." One of the guys got on the phone to their capalaba store (who also had no stock) and arranged for their display model to be boxed up and put aside for me, telling me "they'll do you a good price on it." I made the drive over there and paid for it - $10 more than advertised on the website. I'd had enough though, and it was still cheaper than anywhere else.

Got home and made sure it all worked, then packed it into the car, telling my wife to be careful when she opens the door that nothing falls out. We took the rubbish bins out, then on the way back i realised i'd forgotten to pack something. I opened the back door of the car and out falls the stove, breaking the latch for the lid and buckling the lid. I controlled my Hulk rage, consoling myself with the thought that in 12 hours i'd be on my way to Fraser. The stove works great, but that broken latch and buckled lid stare me right in the face whenever i cook, mocking me and my stupidity.

[mickmac_42 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mickmac_42]

Day 2 we decided on a trip to Champagne Pools. The other two cars went to the dump to drop off the rubbish, so we got to the car park first. There were only two other cars there, but the spot quickly filled up. Everyone headed on down while i stayed at the car and inflated a Wahoo surf mat and ring. After about ten minutes i made my way down, only to find that there were heaps of tourists and almost no water.

Champagne Pools


I went back to the car to return the toys and saw that two car loads of bogans had arrived, both towing tinnies. One had parked front end into the car park the same as everyone else, but the boat was sticking out into the track. There were no more parks, so bogan number two just parked on the edge of the track, making others drive out of the ruts towards the parked cars.

I got back down to the pools and we decided to try the southern side of Middle Rocks which should be sheltered from the wind. We were just setting up for a nice lunch which two bus loads of tourists arrived. The kids had a good time running around and playing in the sand. While we were there i saw the supply truck for Orchard Beach shops take a dozen goes at getting over the same bump i came to grief on the previous day. After it got through i wandered over with the shovel and filled in the big hole he churned up.

My wife drove back through and did a good job of it.

http://youtu.be/TfYdtdN2H54

Returned to camp to prepare dinner and decided to get ice from the shop. There's two ways to get to Orchard Beach from Waddy Point top camp ground. You can head back up the track towards Middle Rocks and turn right at the junction, or turn right out of the camp ground and head down to the beach. A couple of km's north is a beach access to the shops.

Going up the beach access to Orchard Beach


Orchard Beach shops


On the way back down the track to the beach

[mickmac_42 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mickmac_42]

Day 3 and we decided to try for the Cape. The tides looked pretty good, and having no troubles with Indian Head, we figured it wouldn't be too hard to get up to the top of the Island... and it wasn't. We were over cautious with the tides, waiting until 2 hours before low tide to get to Ngkala Rocks. We could have gone a lot earlier. We took the bypass (apparently you can't get around on the beach even at low tide) and the entry was very smooth.

South Ngkala Rocks entry from the south


I had to park up on the sand and wait because there were two cars in front. I set off when i saw the car in front appeared to be going through without any trouble. What i couldn't see was a guy in a hilux about 150 metres ahead who was stuck, and as soon as i stopped i got bogged in the soft sand. I reckon that i could have gotten through if i hadn't had to stop. We ended up with five cars jammed up in a row. The hilux guy had no recovery equipment and no idea, and he smelled like a brewery. We set to work with two sets of maxtrax and with a bit of a push I got out of the soft sand and up onto the harder sand at the edge of the track so i could get traction. After that i was fine.

Maxtrax to the rescue


Out we pop


We got the clueless drunk dude going the same way and pushed him all the way through. As usual there were more people on hand to sit in the peanut gallery and give advice than there were to help out.

Clueless drunk dude and the peanut gallery


It was slow going but everyone else got through. They all had more clearance underneath than i did. I suspect that an extra couple of inches of clearance to get my belly off the sand would have made it a lot easier to get through.

[mickmac_42 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mickmac_42]

We continued up to through North Ngkala Rocks (easy) and in about twenty minutes we reached the Cape. Another 5-10 minutes and we were at the lighthouse. We decided to do the 1.2km walk up (and i mean UP) to the lighthouse. It's a very steep walk and i had to carry our young kids most of the way (more for the sake of expediency and to cut the whinging). When we got there the view was not very inspiring.

It's glorious?


The wind was whipping up some chop on the water, so we drove back to the tip where the water was smooth. I wandered on in and promptly sank knee deep into the sand. It would not be a good idea to drive in the water up there, let alone come to a stop. The water appears to be calm on the surface, but it can be deceiving. The Cape is the meeting point of two currents and there can be a strong eddies of water flowing across the banks and through the gutters.

Smoother waters


If you're camping near Waddy Point, i strongly recommend making the trip to the Cape. It would be stunning on a calm sunny day and it's not difficult to get to.

On the way back we stopped at Ocean Lake Creek. It's just a freshwater lake that sits close to the beach. The water is stained with tannin and smells a bit funky, but the water is warm and it was sheltered from the wind. The kids got nude and ran around like maniacs until we headed home. Another stop into the Orchard Beach shops to get ice. This time we entered via the beach access to the north. That same track also leads to Wathumba Creek on the western side of the island.

[mickmac_42 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mickmac_42]

Thanks Steve. More to come.

[JPH Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close JPH]

It's definitely a great part of the world Mick, our kids had a ball when we went with some of the Vic Crew in April. I ended up carrying our 2.5 yr old up to the lighthouse as well! It's a long haul!

Cheers JPH

[mickmac_42 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mickmac_42]

Day 4 we decided on a trip to Lake Mckenzie. About and hour and a half drive from camp down to Eurong where we stopped at the bakery for a snack. The pies were really tasty. I was surprised by the prices and thought they were quite reasonable, about $4.50 for the steak, bacon and cheese. The bread rolls were delicious. The track out to the Lake was one way most of the way but very bumpy with a few big holes. Again, we struggled to get anywhere near the speed limit of 30kph.

The 80 series had not trouble with its big lift and 33's


It's a scenic drive through the big trees


It's not a long distance to get there, but it takes a long time because of the condition of the track. Just keep that in mind when you're planning you're trip. Most of the accommodation spots have a matrix which shows distance and time between major destinations. Eurong to Lake Mckenzie was meant to be 1 hour. It tooks us about 1 hr and 15 minutes.

I saw these little flowers on the way down to the beach


The water level in the lake was pretty high, so there wasn't much white sandy beach to be seen. The water temperature was nice, but on the cool side. I'd told the kids about the little turtles that nip at your feet, then had a ball scooting around underwater and sneaking up on the kids and pinching their feet.

The others didn't want to stay very long (I think the water was too cold for them) so we packed up and left after about an hour. It was good timing because 4 cars our backpackers came tearing into the car park, almost rear ending some bloke who was trying to reverse park. We made the long drive back to Eurong. The others continued on to Eli Creek, but i had to wait for my wife to clear her work calls, messages and emails while we had some phone reception (That reminds me, Woody Point top camp ground has Telstra 3g coverage. Nothing for Optus).

[mickmac_42 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mickmac_42]

We joined the others at Eli Creek and we did a freshwater washdown of the cars. Took some pictures while we were there too. Then we cracked out the inflatables and the kids had a play.

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On the way back to camp we came across a couple of cars stopped in Indian Head. Being ladies day, the boys got out and video'd/photo'd the ladies showing us how it's done (and a fine job they did). On closer inspection we saw that it was the Maxtrax car and the Creek to Coast car with Martin Bowerman. They're filming and episode and had come across a 4wd towing a trailer that had come to grief on the bypass track. The girls drove past and stopped further up. While waiting to pick us up, the guys parked up next to us and had a chat. They liked the Maxtrax strapped to the back of the 80 series and were going to film us in a drive by sequence. Unfortunately there was a communication breakdown and it didn't happen, but we still scored some Maxtrax keyrings and iron-on patches.

[mickmac_42 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mickmac_42]

Day 5 was meant to be a quiet one. We headed back up to Ocean Lake Creek (after passing through Orchard Beach for more ice) for the kids to splash around. One of the guys tried fishing but didn't have any luck. I mean luck because the line wasn't wet long enough for him to catch anything other than by luck.

There were a couple of tracks around the creek that we'd been looking at last time we were there. One was a pretty steep incline with a turn that look like it would end up putting the car against the embankment. As a laugh we thought we'd give it a go. The 80 series went first and dug himself into a hole before he got to far. I went next and surprised myself by actually having to stop before i got to the turn and got myself into trouble. The Hilux had a crack but didn't have the power to keep going. I reckon i could have made it if i'd been prepared to part with some paint. That's what i tell myself.

Prado representing


I wore myself out by splashing around in the surf like a maniac, then downed an icey cold beer and fell asleep in my chair.



The Hilux driver was not to be outdone by the Prado and decided to show how his car doubles as a submarine.

Dive Dive Dive


There was almost no water that came through the air vents despite having water over the windscreen. We popped the bonnet straight after and i felt water draining from the air filter box, so i'm not sure how close he came to drowning the car.

[mickmac_42 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mickmac_42]

Day 6 and it's time to go home. Most other campers had left on the Friday in preparation for the hordes that would invade on Saturday. A leisurely pack-up had us out the gates at 10:30am (after getting a visit from the Ranger). We didn't get far when we got stuck in traffic on the access road to Middle Rocks. Some yahoo in a hired yellow 60(?) series cruiser had trouble getting moving again and evidently subscribed to the theory "when in doubt, power out." This didn't work for him and he buried the car to the chassis rails. The diff, exhaust and front leaf springs were partially buried. He didn't have any recovery gear, and when we ran up to help him, neither he nor his passengers got out to help. That is until another bloke came up and had a go at them. We got into it and tried using the Maxtrax to get him out but he was too far gone and it was difficult moving the sand from under the car. We ended up winching him out and then used the Maxtrax to get him going again. No thanks and we never saw him again.



We knew it was going home time when the weather really turned it on for us.


Stopped of at the Maheno on the way down for some family photo's. Unfortunately this panoramic photo didn't stitch together very well.


We stopped at Eli Creek again for lunch. It was packed with all the holiday makers. We continued on, reaching Hook Point at about 3:00pm, aired up at Inskip, then the long drive home, pulling into the driveway at about 7pm. It was a ripper of a holiday. I can't believe it's taken me so long to get to Fraser, now i can't wait to get back there... but i still haven't done Moreton either.

Some things i forgot to mention. The showers at Waddy Point are coin operated. $1 for about 3 minutes, $2 for 8 minutes which was plenty of time to shower and brush my teeth in the shower. $3 was far longer than i needed to shower myself and my 1yo and brush my teeth.

A few people mentioned that the mozzies at Waddy Point top were horrible and we'd be better trying to get into the beach camp ground. I had no problem with mozzies. Others got bitten a couple of times, but when they applied spray they were fine. I talked with others from the beach camp ground and they told a similar story.

On day 3 i put air in my tyres to bring them up to 22psi. I found that a good pressure for the AT3 275/65R18's. It gave a good footprint, but had enough air in the tyre to protect the rim and the car didn't bounce around as much.

We brought 2 eskies with us. Despite freezing everything we could, plus using block ice, plus pre-chilling the eskies, we still bought ice on almost every day. Furthermore, the bung style drains on one of the eskies failed and leaked water into the back seats. As a result it looks like i've got approval to buy a new icebox.

The constant bottoming out, getting stuck, and bounciness of the suspension has prompted the wife to approve the lift. Looking at the Caloffroad solution. I've also got to get new bash plates.

If conversations with wifey on the way home are anything to go by, i may be in the market for a camper trailer. Probably along the lines of a Jayco/Coromal/Goldstream style.

I took about 8 hours of video, but am having trouble uploading to youtube. I'll add the links later if i can get it working. Thanks for reading, and i hope this info has helped others who are looking at visiting Fraser.

Mike

[Anth120playdo Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Anth120playdo]

Nice trip & pics.
Post 4# that's where one of ours got stuck, must be the lucky or unlucky spot. Maybe we call it max trac :-)

Good 2 c some sand back in those pools, last time we were there is was pretty average with a few in our group getting cuts.

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

Great report and photographs. Thanks.

[JPH Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close JPH]

Nice trip & pics.
Post 4# that's where one of ours got stuck, must be the lucky or unlucky spot. Maybe we call it max trac :-)

Hmmm that would've been me!