Secret Beaches : AUSTRALIA : Fraser Island: 200 Miles of Perfect Sand

It seems ironic that in Australia, a land outlined by endless golden beaches and filled in almost entirely with uninterrupted barren dirt, the tourist bureau would find it necessary to advertise sand. Yet that is exactly what they’re up to with Fraser Island: a 100-mile sliver off Australia’s as-of-now unspoiled Queensland coastline. With a Barnum-like zeal, Fraser (as the locals simply call it) is billed as the “largest sand island in the world.” A truthful proclamation, yet one that also should be taken with, well, a grain of sand, considering that sand is only one chapter of the tale.

The Aussies, after all, are something of an ironic folk. Most were in convict shackles when they first laid eyes on their new home. Not that this inconvenience restricted the settlers’ curiosity in any way. It’s said that when the unwilling immigrants first encountered the indigenous population, they immediately asked in their best Queen’s English what those large

brown animals were that they’d seen bouncing all over the place. The answer they received was perhaps the last one ever taken at face value in Australia: “Kangaroo,” said the natives, an Aboriginal term meaning, “I don’t know what you’re saying to me.”

It is no surprise, then, that a visitor today first places a footprint in the 200 miles of Fraser’s sandy coastline with a sense of uncertain wonder. Given the jungle-like rain forests of its interior, the giant freshwater lakes, the magnificent sculptured cliffs, the myriad of brightly colored birds, the Willy Wonka-esque wildlife (brumbies, dingoes, echidnas, wallabies, dugongs) and the conflicting variety of plant communities ranging from low heathlands to tall closed forests, the sand can become a simple afterthought shaken out of a shoe at day’s end.

Unless, of course, one were to allow a little time between visits. Then, the true power of the sand would satisfy even the strictest truth-in-advertising commissions. For Fraser, one soon learns, is in a constant state of flux. The same sand that first created the island more than 100 million years ago, is today still burying forests, molding new freshwater lakes, altering the 75 miles of unsullied coastline and thrusting sand mountains, seemingly overnight, 800 feet into the southern sky.

Geographically, Fraser is the perfect middle ground between the urban civility of Brisbane, about 180 miles to the south, and the magnificent grandeur of the Great Barrier Reef, which begins just to its north. Yet of these three diverse points of interest, Fraser clearly would run a distant third in a name-recognition contest--so distant, in fact, that it took the luxury of an extended “see everything” honeymoon to steer my wife and me away from the majestic reef and toward the rather dubious promise of sand.

Yet its relative anonymity is bound to be short lived. Conde Nast Traveler has named it one of the 10 best beaches in Australia. And thanks largely to the world’s ardent naturalists--who won a bitter battle against Fraser’s zealous sand miners in the 1970s--the island has been selected Australia’s next contribution to UNESCO’s World Heritage List. This decree places it on a global par with 300 or so other sites including the Serengeti, the Great Barrier Reef and the Grand Canyon, as an area to be preserved in its natural state for all time--though try telling the sand about preserving natural states.

When Capt. James Cook first spotted the island in 1770, he thought the huge volcanic outcrop, dotted with hundreds of Aboriginal fires, was actually a headland. He called it “Indian Head” without ever coming ashore . . . and then, in true explorer fashion, quickly moved on, looking for other places to name.

It took 50 years for this mistake to be corrected--and the corrector, it turns out, would wish he had never bothered. After carefully circumnavigating the island--with the Pacific on its east, and the Great Sandy Strait on its west--the Scottish sea captain James Fraser and his wife, Eliza, promptly wrecked their ship on the island’s resilient shores. Some of the group perished, but others, including the newly-widowed Eliza, survived with Aboriginal help. In fact, following her rescue from the island, Eliza would go on to make something of a career for herself retelling of the marooning and of her life in the hands of her protective “savages.” The Aborigines, for their part, met with a fate typical of colonized people who suddenly find themselves at the center of newly formed economic equations: Timber cutters ran them off the island.

Just a 10-minute ferry ride off Australia’s east coast, Fraser is today a far more accessible place than it was for Eliza. Thanks to an abundance of ferries, tour buses and four-wheel-drive rental companies, there are now basically three ways to see the island: a one-day, three-day or on-your-own tour. The first requires curiosity; the second, stamina; the third, money.

The one- and the three-day excursions generally begin at the many campgrounds, hostels and backpacker hotels of Hervey Bay, the Queensland town from which ferries depart regularly for Fraser Island. Though launches do leave from the more distant Rainbow Beach and Maryborough, Hervey Bay is the nearest and most accessible avenue to Fraser. This curious mainland town, with an anachronistic row of World War II cannons still lining its streets, seems to almost physically lean toward the fruitful island. It’s as if the overly solicitous people who make up its population feel they need to be as near to their fiscal lifeblood as possible. Perhaps this explains the cannons.

The most important thing to know about the one-day tour is that while you’ll see a lot, you will experience little. As with most physically challenging and diverse landscapes, it is difficult to get a true sense of place when one is constantly being herded in and out of labor-saving, time-efficient, air-conditioned buses. Finances and time constraints, however, often make this the only realistic option. Thus, in order to get the most out of such a hit-and-run approach to the island, it is critical to secure the correct island guide.

On Fraser, that means an infamous Australian bushman who goes by the name of Bronco. Bronco, who knows just about everything there is to know about Fraser, takes special pride in the fact that he and his customized tour bus are made of roughly the same hulking steel alloy. With luck, or by booking a tour with Fraser Venture, you can find yourself in his harbor-like hands.

The three-day tour is another animal altogether. Assembled by companies catering specifically to modern explorers, this tour loosens you to a guide-less, four-wheel-drive romp across the island. Unlike those on the schedule-keeping tour buses, you are steered only by your curiosity--and the curiosity of the five others with whom you’ll be driving . . . and sleeping.

Yes, despite its economic manageability (or because of it), this is the love-your-neighbor approach to touring (and a litmus test for new marriages). With three strangers in a tent at night and six crammed into the vehicle during the day--to say nothing of the Hervey Bay baloney you’ll be living off of for the next three days--this can either be a magically unforgettable experience . . . or the longest 72 hours of your life. (I quickly discovered that much of the enjoyment of four-wheeling depends on whether you sit on the front of the vehicle, or whether you hold on for dear life in the back.)

Despite the obvious demands that come with the camping package, it is still by far the most popular among Fraser Island visitors. Certainly, sleeping under the stars--as we did during a sweltering Down Under summer in December--is the most natural way to fit into this rustic environment; especially when one can stake out one’s bedroom either on a wide-open inviting beach or in a forest roofed by such odd looking trees as the satinay, kauri pine and blackbutt.

The third, usually more expensive, pathway to Fraser involves a small assortment of on-island lodgments. Inventively named outposts such as Dilli Village, Eurong Beach, Happy Valley, Orchid Beach and Kingfisher Bay are scattered about the island and provide accommodations to fit just about every need. This includes everything from the modest cabin to the “environmentally sensitive” resort that takes credit cards and can do your laundry while you busy yourself at the pool, in the shops or even in the conference center. Booking in advance is often a must.

No matter how long one winds up staying on Fraser, nature-based recreation will always be the key to experiencing the island. Surf, rock and estuary fishermen have been known to miss their return ferries following long encounters with bream, trevally and wahoo--to name just a few of the popular catches.

Herein lies a mystery. As many of the lakes are created (or perched) high in the dunes above sea level by trapped rainwater, scientists were for the longest time baffled by the presence of freshwater fish in these suspended reservoirs. The answer, after much head scratching and extended fish talk, was finally found, not in the lakes, but in the sky. The fish, like all shrewd travelers in this modern age, simply flew to the island. A stop at Fraser’s geologically edifying Visitor’s Center in Eurong resolves this mystery with an animated tale of mainland waterspouts and their rather surprised passengers.

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Hikers who come to Fraser soon find themselves confronted with that most enviable of dilemmas: which part of the island to explore first. In truth, energy levels often give out before most agendas. Nevertheless, big-eyed visitors who don’t get lost in the 3,000 acres of rain forest usually attempt to take in the following: Lake Bowaraddy, where if you clap your hands, tortoises pop their heads up to see if you are going to feed them; Lake Wabby, which is slowly being engulfed by the Hammerstone sandblow (guides encouraged us to slide down the giant sand dune and straight into the refreshing cool waters, though they said nothing about the energy-sapping walk back out); the Cathedrals, 15 miles of exposed, colored sand cliffs sculptured by the wind; the Maheno and the Marloo, twisted wrecks testifying to the island’s shallow offshore sandbars; primitive Aboriginal sites, some restored to pre-settler conditions; a manual lighthouse, one of the last in the world, and Eli Creek, a welcome picnic spot as it discharges over 1 million gallons of cool fresh water onto the beach every hour.

For naturalists and animal lovers, Fraser also proves to be both a wonder and a challenge. There are more birds here than in all of the British Isles, according to the Australia Tourist Commission. Yet in a fine touch of winged Australian irony, these same graceful creatures are all but forgotten in early August through October, when numerous giant humpback whales arrive at the temperate shores after having fled the icy waters of Antarctica. Though these salt water giants cannot generally be seen from shore, local operators arrange ocean tours for viewing.

Not forgotten, but often missed by all but the earliest risers, is the spectacular mating ritual of the island’s countless turtles, usually beginning in late November and lasting until the hatching in mid- to late January. Perhaps it was me, but I couldn’t help feeling that these haughty little fellows actually seemed to perform better when they sensed they had an audience.

On second thought, however, this type of behavior hardly seems unusual on an island that is home to the strangest of Australia’s many strange animals. Here, after all, one can find the brumby, a Swiftian-looking horse descended from the mounts of the original British Army; the dingo, that barkless, child-snatching dog of lore; and the dugong, a sea cow, of all things (attention Gary Larson). There’s also advertised pipi, wong and eugarie hunting--though none in our tour could ever figure out what those actually were or if we happened to catch any by mistake.

Not that we left empty-handed. By the time our little “stopover” on the way north to the Great Barrier Reef had ended, we had managed to come away with another, more unexpected prize: Fraser Island, despite everything the brochure was trying to tell us, was thankfully much more than just a whole lot of sand.

GUIDEBOOK

Australia’s Land of Sand

Getting there: From LAX fly to Brisbane, with a connection in Sydney, on Qantas, United, Northwest and Air New Zealand; round-trip fares start at about $1,000.

Several air services make the one-hour trip from Brisbane north to either of Fraser Island’s two airstrips, or will land directly on the beach. Harry’s Air Charter (from the U.S., telephone 011-61-7128-9056) also offers short flights to Fraser from Hervey Bay and Maryborough at prices in the $25-$45 range with the added option of a scenic tour. From Brisbane to Hervey Bay it is roughly 3 1/2 hours by car, four hours by rail.

Where to Stay: Accommodation information, as well as general information about the island and tour operators, is available from the Hervey Bay City Council, 77 Tavistock St., Torquay, Queensland 4655; tel. 011-61-7124-2448.

Kingfisher Bay Resort, P.M.B. 1, Urangan, Hervey Bay, Queensland 4655; lavish yet environmentally friendly resort has doubles starting at about $135 per night; tel. 011-61-7125-5155.

Happy Valley Resort, P.O. Box 224, Torquay, Hervey Bay, Queensland 4655; newly upgraded surf-side resort offers access to miles of unspoiled beach at about $75; tel. 011-61-7127-9144.

Eurong Beach Resort, P.O. Box 100, Maryborough, Queensland 4650; an economically viable option for those wanting to stay in a place with full-service amenities at about $50 to $110; tel. 011-61-7127-9122.

Dilli Village, P.M.B. 10, Maryborough, Queensland 4650; government-sponsored lodging catering to educational institutions, recreation clubs and community groups; about $30 per person; tel. 011-61-7127-9130. (Reservations should be made several months in advance.)

Tours: One-day tours, lunch and transfers to and from Hervey Bay included, start at about $45. Three-day tours range from about $55 for tent-and-baloney trips to tours starting at about $225 that include a four-wheel-drive vehicle, food, guide and cabin lodging.

Fraser Venture, P.O. Box 100, Maryborough, Queensland 4650; tel. 011-61-7124-1900.

Fraser Island Fishing and Tours, P.O. Box 64, Rainbow Beach, Queensland 4225; tel. 011-61-7127-9126.

Fraser Island Top Tours, P.O. Box 224, Torquay; Hervey Bay, Queensland 4655; tel. 011-61-7125-3933.

All-Terrain Rentals, P.O. Box 12, Rainbow Beach, Queensland 4581; tel. tel. 011-61-7486-3227.

Kingfisher Bay Tours, P.M.B. 1, Urangan, Hervey Bay, Queensland 4655; tel. 011-61-7125-5155.

Sun Safari Tours, P.O. Box 1, Rainbow Beach, Queensland 4581; tel. 011-61-7486-3154.

Specialty Tours: For equestrians, Clip Clop Treks offers a six-day horseback ride across Fraser Island; about $585 for horse, food, tent and guide. Write Lake Weyba, Noosa, Queensland 4581; tel. 011-61-7449-1254.

For more information: Write the Australian Tourist Commission, 2121 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 1200, Los Angeles 90067, or call (708) 296-4900.