K'GARI TRIP 2025

I have just returned from a wonderful 5 day trip to K'Gari, formally known as "Fraser Island" in Queensland Australia. K'Gari is the world's largest sand island, established over hundreds of thousands of years and is a World Heritage listed wonder of diverse landscapes and unique wildlife experiences. I went entirely makeup free for the entire trip due to the heat and humidity at this time of year, and I must say my skin really appreciated the break.

K'Gari Island, is located in Queensland, the closest town is Hervery Bay. From Hervery Bay, you get a SeaLink ferry over to K'Gari, the ride takes approximately 40 Minutes.

DAY ONE
My first day was basically spent travelling. I first took a Jetstar flight from Sydney to Hervey Bay. From Hervey Bay airport, A bus, from the Kingfisher Bay Resort came and picked me up from the airport and took me to the River Heads Terminal. At the Terminal, I checked in my luggage to be taken over to Kingfisher Bay Resort via the SeaLink ferry and then I had about an hours wait. Once the ferry was close by, The same bus that I had arrived on took me down to the wharf where the ferry docked.
The SeaLink ferries are able to accommodate cars and the cars get let off first before the passengers, which was cool to watch. Once the cars and passengers were off, Myself and the other passengers got on and made the trip to K'Gari.

The SeaLink Ferry Arriving

Cars Getting Onto The Ferry

The Ferry Ride

Once the ferry docked on K'Gari, I headed straight to King Fisher Bay Resort where I was staying. K'Gari is home to Dingo's, about 160 Dingo's live on the island and if you are lucky, you may spot one. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to see one the entire time I was there.

DINGO SAFETY
Whilst we are on the topic of Dingos, I feel it is important to mention a few important things about them. Firstly, while Dingo's appear very much like a domestic dog, they are not, these are wild animals and it's important to remember that. While Dingo's are usually quite shy and timid animals, there have been attacks over recent years on K'Gari, particularly on small children. While Dingo's do not usually view humans as food and are unlikely to approach humans at all, small children can be mistaken as prey. If you have children with you, its important that you keep an eye on them at all times, when you are outside of Dingo proof areas, camping with children is not really recommended because of this, stick to the resorts as the resorts are surrounded by Dingo proof fences. If you do see a Dingo, DO NOT!!! approach it!!! admire it from afar but do not try to interact with it in anyway, do not feed them and if you are camping, take care to keep food securely locked away and never leave scraps out. If you are staying in one of the resorts, do not take any food outside of the Dingo proof areas, Dingo's can smell food from miles away and some people have been attacked when carrying food around because of this. If for some reason a Dingo does approach you, don't try to run away, Dingos view this as a challenge and then the chase will be on, stand and look straight at them and slowly back away. It is also advised to carry a stick with you at all times when outside of the Dingo proof areas.

Now that we have covered Dingo Safety, lets get back to the trip.

Arriving On K'Gari

I checked into Kingfisher Bay Resort. I got my room key and headed to my room, after collecting my luggage. I just realised now that I totally forgot to take pictures of my room Opps!!! I did however manage to get some footage of it, which is on my YouTube channel.

After setting up my room, I went straight to the main pool for a swim, Kingfisher Bay Resort has 4 swimming pools!!! I swam for about an hour and before long, it was time for dinner. That night, I went to The Rainforest Bar and had a Jungle Juice Mocktail.

Mocktail At The Rainforest Bar

Once I finished my mocktail, I went to the Sand And Wood restaurant for dinner, I had prebooked this about a week before my trip, I advise doing this as this restaurant usually books out. I had the most delicious bowl of Mac N Cheese for dinner, followed by an equally delicious chocolate mud cake for dessert. In the picture below of my dessert, you will also notice a Lime Cheesecake, I was travelling with Mum and this was her dessert, I have not included her in this blog as she does not wish to be posted on here and I am respecting her privacy.

Mac N Cheese

Dessert

There was a massive thunderstorm after dinner, which I have footage of in my YouTube video. Queensland being so tropical is known to get magnificent storms, particularly in Spring and Summer, rain pelts down and huge cracks of lightening illuminate the sky, You haven't seen a storm until you've seen a Queensland storm.

DAY TWO
I woke up excited to try out the buffet breakfast, which was included in my room. I love a buffet breakfast when I'm on holidays. The breakfast buffet is held in the Sand And Wood, the same place I had dinner the previous night. The buffet is small but has terrific options, I had mini waffles, hash browns and toast but best of all COOKIES!!! Yes, The Kingfisher Bay Resort buffet has cookies.

Buffet Breakfast

After breakfast, I walked over to the other two swimming pools near The Sand Bar, the pool here doesn't open until 10, so I sat in The Sand Bar and read a book until it opened. As soon as the pool opened, I was straight in, the water was absolutely heavenly as it was so hot and humid, I must have been in the pool for about 3 hours.

The Two Pools Near The Sand Bar

Swimming

Eventually I started to get hungry, when I did I went up to The Sand Bar and had a vegetarian pizza for lunch which was nice, unfortunately I forgot to get a picture of it!!! I had a few moments like this on this trip where I forgot to get pictures, I put it down to the fact that I was so relaxed. I really didn't do much else for the entire day besides swim in the pool.

That night, I went to the Rainforest Bar and had a Jungle Juice mocktail, then I walked back to The Sand Bar for dinner, My Mum and I shared Moroccan Spiced Cauliflower and Napolitana Primavera, both dishes were delicious, however my favourite was the Moroccan Spiced Cauliflower. We finished up with a sundae for dessert.

Dinner At The Sand Bar

Dessert At The Sand Bar

After dinner, I went to the resort foyer where I had my name checked off for the Illumina Light Show.
The Illumina Light Show is a 20 minute light and sound show which presents the magic of K'Gari by sharing visuals of the island's majestic ecosystem which has been recognised on the World Heritage list for more than 30 years. The night I went was particularly magical as during the performance there was a thunderstorm with lightening and the lightening really added a phenomenal effect and vibe to the show, nature mixed with a man made laser show,

Illumima Light Show

After the show, I headed back to the resort and had a night swim, as it was still hot and sticky. Within about 10 minutes, another storm came up, only this one was much bigger than the last one and it began to rain so heavily, naturally I got out of the pool along with everyone else. I returned to my room and watched the storm from my balcony.

DAY THREE

It was raining and miserable today, I got up and had breakfast at the buffet and then I wandered over to the little Village to the Island Day Spa. I thought it might be nice to have a facial, since there wasn't a whole lot else to do, unfortunately they were all booked out for the day. I then wandered into the K'Gari Information Centre which was interesting. Inside the centre is information all about the island, its plant life and wildlife, I spent a good hour and a bit reading everything about K'Gari and learning interesting facts about the island.

K'Gari is home to the Butchulla People, The Butchulla are the traditonal owners of K'Gari who had lived on the island for 5000 years, sadly in 1863, Europeans discovered the island and its towering trees, species such as Kauri Pine, Hoop Pine, Cypress Pine, Blackbutt, Tallowwood and Satinay Trees. The Europeans immediately pushed the Butchulla out of their native homeland and had them segregated to tiny missions where conditions were terrible and diseases such as Syphillis ran rampant, wiping out many of the Butchulla people who had never before been exposed to disease. The Europeans then got to work logging all of the trees mentioned above from the mid 19th century onwards. The timber was used all over the world for construction, furnishing and marine industry projects. Logging on K'Gari continued into the late 20th century and was finally stopped for good in 1991, thanks to the emergence of activists and conservationists across Australia. In 1991, logging was officially outlawed and in 1992, K'Gari was officially listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Area, due to it's fascinating landscape, ancient sand dunes and breathtaking rainforests.

K'Gari Tourist Information Centre

As I returned to the resort, I happened to walk into a free bushranger talk that was starting, the Bush Tucker Talk. This talk, took you around the resort where a guide showed us all different native plants and explained the ways in which the Butchulla people utilised these plants in their everyday lives. Alot of the plants we were shown were edible and we got to taste these plants for ourselves.
DISCLAMER!!! While it is perfectly safe to indulge in tasting the plants during the Bush Tucker Talk DO NOT!!!!!! attempt to do this on your own, only try plants that the guides tell you are safe and even then, only eat these plants whilst on the talk, mistaken identity can lead to serious health problems and fatality.
The plant that I was most fascinated by was the Sun Dew, the Sun Dew is a carnivorous plants, that has little fibres on it. These fibres have a little dew drop on them, this dew is a sweet sticky nectar which attracts insects. Once the insects crawl onto the plant, they become stuck in the dew and can't get out again, allowing the plant to digest them.
There were many other fascinating plants that I learned about, however I won't explain it here and spoil it the talk for you.

Water Lillies

Tadpoles

Banksia

Sun Dew

Unfortunately, while I DID!!! see some wildlife on this talk, it was a Cane Toad. Cane Toad's are an invasive species that do major damage to our native plants and wildlife. Cane Toad's were introduced to Queensland in 1935 from South America, in order to control native grey backed beetle pests in sugar cane crops. The problem with this is that the beetles are Diurnal while the Cane Toad is Nocturnal meaning that the 2 never came into contact. The problem with the beetles continued and on top of that Cane Toad's, who have no natural predators in Australia rapidly began to multiply, becoming a pest themselves. Cane Toads are toxic and this toxin kills Australian animals that eat them, as a result, certain Australian natives such as Goanna's, Freshwater Crocodiles, Northern Quolls, Red Bellied Black Snakes and Death Adders have started to become vulnerable. While Cane Toad's are regularly culled, it is near impossible to get rid of them completely as they breed so easily and have no natural predators. 

Be aware if you do see a Cane Toad, do not attempt to touch it or pick it up as the toxin in these Toad's can cause serious health problems and kill Humans. Cane Toad's only secrete their toxins when threatened, you will see a milk white fluid from large glands on their shoulders when they do this. All this to say, if you happen to step on one while wearing hiking boots, no one will get upset with you haha.

A Big Ugly Cane Toad

After the Bush Tucker Talk, I walked down to the pier and walked along the wharf, I managed to spot 2 stingrays while I was there.

The Pier

Stingrays

I then went to The Sand Bar for lunch, I had the Napolitana Primavera, which I had the previous night for dinner. After lunch, I went into the spa in the main swimming pool, I also had a very brief dip in the pool but it was honestly too cold to swim for very long. I started off my night with a Jungle Juice mocktail in The Rainforest Bar and then I went back to the Sand & Wood and had Mac N Cheese for dinner again.

DAY FOUR

Today was all about getting out of the resort and exploring the island, I went on a tour with K'Gari Explorer Tours to see the island. The tour is done on a 4WD bus which can be a very bumpy ride. The day that I did the tour, I was lucky that the sand was all smooth and compact from all the rain the night before, however during dry seasons, I have been told that the bus ride is extremely bumpy and rough so keep that in mind if you get motion sickness. Our tour guide, Peter was fantastic and explained interesting facts about the island, it's wildlife and the Butchulla people along the way. I didn't realise just how huge K'Gari is until I did this tour, to drive to Eurong Beach Resort from Kingfisher Bay Resort takes an hour.
Our itinerary for the day included
- 75 Mile Beach
- Maheno Shipwreck
- The Pinnacles
- Eli Creek
- Lunch At Eurong Beach Resort
- Central Station
- Lake McKenzie

Peter explained to us the meaning behind the name K'Gari. In the Butchulla language K'Gari translates to "paradise" however the reasoning behind the name goes a bit deeper than this. The name comes from an Aboriginal Dreamtime story about a goddess named K'Gari who fell in love with the Earth and never wanted to leave. According to the story, the gods were on a mission to find a place for the newly created human race to live. K'Gari, alongside Yendingie, the messenger of the great god Beeral were sent down to earth to find such a place, however K'Gari fell so in love with Earth that she never wanted to leave. She begged her Father to allow her to live on Earth and he agreed, but on one condition, K'Gari would not be able live in her spirit form on Earth. She was then transformed into the great sand island so that she could stay on her beloved Earth forever. Beeral places lakes, forests, flowers, animals, birds and people there to keep her company.


We started with a drive on 75 mile beach, this beach is actually a highway that is patrolled by police and is subject to speed limits and road rules. 4 wheel driving is very popular on this beach/highway and I saw many along the way, this beach is also renowned for being a hot spot to see Dingos, as they come down to the beach to fish and look for food. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to see any when I was here.

75 Mile Beach

We came upon the Maheno Shipwreck and got off the bus to have a look at it, I was quite excited about this as I'm quite fascinated by shipwrecks.

The SS Maheno was an ocean liner that belonged to the Union Company of New Zealand, crossing between New Zealand and Australia, from 1905 until 1935. She was also used as a ship by the New Zealand Naval Forces during World War I. After WWI, The SS Maheno was transformed into a passenger liner. Due to both the Great Depression and better more modern ships, she was retired in 1935. The ship was sold to a Japanese company for scrap metal. In July 1935, while it was being towed to Japan, a winter cyclone caused the tow line to break and the SS Maheno was pushed onto the eastern beach of K'Gari where it remains today.

Maheno Shipwreck

Up on a hill not far from the wreck is a sign with information about The SS Maheno, along with pictures of how the ship looked back in the day.

The Information Board

We then got back onto the bus and drove up to the Pinnacles. The Pinnacles are a collection of sand dunes that stick up in strange towers and spires.

The Pinnacles

The next stop was Eli Creek. Eli Creek is the island's largest fresh water creek that feeds directly into the ocean. Eli Creek has a boardwalk which you cross over to get to the creek, as the water flows down out into the ocean, getting in a tube and floating down the creek is a really fun way to experience the creek which is exactly what I did. I went down 3 times and almost missed my bus Opps!!!

Eli Creek

Next on the tour was lunch, as part of the tour, lunch at the Eurong Beach Resort lunch buffet was included. The buffet was small but had a good selection of food that would please everyone, I forgot to take a photo of my food, however I did get a picture of the buffet.

Eurong Beach Resort Buffet Lunch

After lunch, we were taken to Central Station. Central Station is where alot of the logging took place and is currently a camping ground. I found it very upsetting to learn the way in which the Butchulla were pushed out of their own land by the Europeans. Even worse, they were then forced to work for those very Europeans with the logging!!! a complete violation of their land and people. I am so glad that the island is now protected as it always should have been. I was taken on a small walk through the bush and shown all of the different species of trees and plants. I was most impressed by the Staghorn Ferns, I have a Staghorn Fern myself and the here I saw the biggest Staghorn Ferns that I had ever seen in my life. I was also shown Wanggolba Creek, this beautiful creek is the place where Butchulla women came to give birth and I can see why they did. The creek itself is so clean and beautiful and surrounded by gorgeous lush rainforest.

Central Station Rainforest

Wonggolba Creek

The last stop on the itinerary was Lake McKenzie. Lake Mckenzie is a beautiful fresh water lake, it is a perched lake, meaning it contains only rainwater, is not fed by streams and does not flow into the ocean. The sand is pure white silica and acts as a filter, giving the water its clarity and helping to make the water so pure it can support very little life. The water itself is always warm, remaining at 38 degrees year round. We were given an hour here and by the end, I really struggled to drag myself out of the water to get back on the bus, it was the most beautiful water I have ever felt in my life and I'd love to return to K'Gari just to spend an entire day swimming in this beautiful lake.

Lake Mckenzie

Swimming In Lake Mckenzie

A fun fact about Lake Mckenzie is that the water and sand can actually clean jewellery!!! This is something I was told before I went and being so I took a bangle of mine that was really black just to test it out and I can confirm it is 100% true. I put my bangle in the water and rubbed some sand over it and my bangle came out sparkling like it was brand new. So if you have any jewellery that is blackened and you happen to be going to Lake Mckenzie, skip the jeweller and bring it here and wash it in the lake.

Cleaning My Bangle In Lake Mckenzie

Peter then drove the bus back to Kingfisher Bay Resort where we all departed. Not quite done with swimming yet, I went into the pool and swam for about an hour, still wishing I was in Lake Mckenzie.

That night, I went to The Rainforest Bar and had a Jungle Juice Mocktail, then I decided to try Dune for dinner as it was the only restaurant in the resort that I hadn't eaten at yet. The food was to die for!!! I had a Char Kway Teow, a noodle dish and it was delicious!!! For dessert, I had the trio of gelato option, the flavours were Matcha, Black Seasame and Vanilla.

Dinner At Dune

Dessert At Dune

DAY FIVE

I woke up pretty sad today because it was my last day on K'Gari :(. I went down to the buffet breakfast and had my usual pancakes, hash browns and toast. I had no plans at all today, I just wanted to spend the day by the pool and maybe do a little beach walk which I did.

I went for a walk on K'Gari beach as I hadn't done that yet. I saw lots of little hermit crabs while I was there.

K'Gari Beach

Pretty soon it got way too hot so I went back to the resort pool where I stayed the entire day. I seriously just swam all day. For lunch, I ordered Mac N Cheese by the pool which was nice.

Kingfisher Bay Resort Pool

Mac N Cheese By The Pool

That night, I had dinner at Dune again and had the same meal that I had the previous night, Char Kway Teow followed by the trio of ice cream for dessert.

And that concludes this blog post.

Thankyou for taking the time to read my blog post, if you are interested, I also made a video on Youtube about my trip to K'Gari. I have had this blog for sometime now, however I have only just recently started up a Youtube channel so if you could take the time to subscribe I'd really appreciate it.

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