Fraser Island, Australia

Scenie view of the ocean at Fraser Island
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fraser_Island_a02_highway.jpg
Author: Sensenmann


Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world. It is located along the southern coast of Queensland, about 300 kilometers north of Brisbane, Australia. Fraser Island was named by Eliza Fraser, who was shipwrecked on the island with her husband Captain James Fraser, who had died when she was rescued from the island. The island was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1992, following the 15th session of the World Heritage Committee which was held at Carthage, Tunisia, from 9 to 13 December, 1991. The uniqueness of Fraser Island makes it an exceptional site and attraction.

What to See in Fraser Island

Fraser Island measures 120 km in length, and has an area of 1840 square kilometers. The depth of the sand deposits on Fraser Island allows scientists to study the changes in climate and sea level over the past 700,000 years. The dunes in Fraser Island reach a height of 260 meters above sea level. As a result, it supports a variety of vegetation ranging from coastal heath to subtropical rainforest. Some of the trees here are as tall as 50 meters. The beaches have colored sand cliffs as well as over 100 freshwater lakes, the second highest number in Australia after Tasmania.

A freshwater lake at Fraser Island
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fraser_Island_freshwaterlake.jpg
Author: Ingvard Pedersen


Fraser Island has some of the last remaining population of pure dingoes in Eastern Australia. To maintain the purity of the dingo stock, dogs are not allowed to be brought onto Fraser Island. The number of dingoes on the island has dwindled considerably over the decades, and is estimated to be around 120-150 today. Sighting is becoming rare, however feeding or luring them are illegal.

Fraser Island support over 230 species of birds, including the endangered ground parrot, which is already extinct in other parts of Australia. The island also has numerous mammals such as the swamp wallabies, echidnas, possums, sugar gliders and flying foxes. It also host different types of reptiles including goannas, snakes, lizards, skinks and frogs.

Wreck of S.S. Maheno on Fraser Island
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fraser_Island_The_S.S.Maheno.jpg
Author: Fabian Chaveriat

Fraser Island World Heritage Site Inscription Details

Location: S 25 13 0 E 153 7 60
Inscription Year: 1992
Type of Site: Natural
Inscription Criteria: VII, VIII, IX

Visiting Fraser Island

Your base for visiting Fraser Island is Brisbane. You should first get your accommodation in Brisbane and then make arrangements for visiting Fraser Island. There will be more tour packages and options to choose from in Brisbane than any other city in Queensland.

Going to Fraser Island

There are regular ferry services to Fraser Island. Fraser Venture (tel: 07 4125 4444) operates a vehicle barge between River Heads and Wanggoolba Creek. Fraser Island Ferry Service provides a link between Inskip Point, near Rainbow Beach, with the southern tip of Fraser Island.

The only form of vehicle on Fraser Island are four-wheel drives. You can bring them with you, or hire one from any of the companies: Fraser Magic 4WD Hire, tel: 07 4125 6612; Aussie Trax, tel: 1800 062275; Bay4wd.com.au, tel: 1800 687178; Safari 4WD, tel: 1800 689819.

List of World Heritage Sites in Australia and World Heritage Sites in the World

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Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

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