K'gari – Australia's most spectacular sand island

It's early morning in Hervey Bay. The sky is grey and heavy with rain, an unusual interruption to our otherwise sunny road trip in Queensland. Typically today, when we're about to leave the rental car at the hotel and head off to K'gari – or Fraser Island, as many still call it.

K'gari is both a national park and a world heritage site, and at the same time the world's largest sand island. Although the island is mostly made up of sand, there is rainforest, crystal-clear freshwater lakes and a rich wildlife. To drive on the island, you need a special permit and a large four-wheel drive SUV - something our rental car was not capable of. Instead, we have booked an arranged full-day excursion and are looking forward to experiencing the island's contrasts without having to drive ourselves.

We were picked up at half past seven by a large bus from K'gari Explorer Tours, which took us to the car ferry across to the island. On the other side, a smaller all-terrain vehicle was waiting. There are no real roads here – just sand. Actually, there is only one official road, 75 Mile Beach, where you are allowed to drive up to 80 km/h.

We boarded the ferry and waited while all the big SUVs drove onto the boat. It took a while, but once all the cars were on board, the journey to the island could begin. The water was calm, but the wind was chilly, reminding us that this was no ordinary beach excursion.

The ferry drove straight onto the beach, as there was no jetty or pier. A few sheets of plywood were laid out and the SUVs slid gently through the soft, slightly gritty sand. Once ashore, we boarded our combined truck and bus to begin our tour of the island. The roads are made of loose, slippery sand, and how quickly you can get there depends entirely on the weather and wind. Thankfully, our bus had large tractor tires that gripped the surface and got us there without a problem.

Our first stop was Lake McKenzie, one of the island’s hundred natural freshwater lakes. But this is no ordinary lake – it has no inlet or outlet, and is filled only by rainwater. The lake was stunning, with powdery white beaches and calm, crystal-clear water. Some of the travellers plucked up the courage to swim, but the water was chilly, so we settled for a walk along the shore, letting the tranquility and clean, white sand speak for themselves.

There aren't many places to eat on the island, so for lunch we stopped at one of the few hotel resorts here. The buffet was simple, but filling. The resort was built in the 1960s, before all new construction on the island was completely stopped, and it didn't look like it had been renovated since then. Perhaps not so surprising – how could they even transport building materials across the sands of K'gari?

After the mediocre buffet, we headed out to 75 Mile Beach. Here we were off to a great start! Low tide and a light rain had made the sand hard packed – perfect for driving. Out at sea, we suddenly caught sight of humpback whale after humpback whale, jumping and splashing along the horizon. It was a magical moment, where the sound of the waves and the sight of the mighty whales made time almost stand still.

Suddenly the bus stops. A dingo runs past us on the beach. There are only about 250 dingos on the entire island, so we were thrilled to see one up close. The dingos that live on K'gari are an isolated, purebred tribe and are more like wolves than regular dogs. Like wolves, they hunt in packs and can be aggressive, which is why you should never walk alone on the island or leave food or children out of sight. Still, it was hard to take it seriously – the dingos we saw mostly looked like thin, curious dogs that quickly disappeared into the sand.

Next stop was the Maheno shipwreck. The cruise ship ran aground on K'gari in 1935 and has remained in the same place ever since, slowly decaying. Today, all that remains is a rusty shell, but it's fascinating to compare it with photos from just a few years ago - every year nature seems to take back a piece. The ship stands as a silent reminder of the power of the sea and the passage of time.

We continued north along the beach – and suddenly we saw another dingo! The guide told us that we had been incredibly lucky. Usually you don’t see a single dingo during the day and he thought the weather brought them there. Maybe we were lucky with the weather after all, despite the light drizzle.

We stopped at the Pinnacles, the colored cliffs that are often described as spectacular. In the rain they were neither particularly colorful nor impressive, but the place still gave a sense of the dramatic landscape of K'gari and the contrasts that characterize the island.

We drove back south towards Eli Creek – and there was another dingo! This time it followed us almost the whole way and settled down in the sand next to the buses, as if it had decided to keep us company. It definitely seemed to be waiting for someone to drop something tasty. Tourists must mean extra treats, we thought.

Eli Creek is one of the many freshwater streams on the island. We walked along the small trail and dipped our toes in the cool water, the sand feeling soft underfoot. When we later returned to the bus, the dingo was still lying there, still relaxed and unfazed by all the activity around.

We left the beach and drove back along the bumpy, slippery sand roads towards Central Station, in the middle of the island's rainforest. About 150 years ago, hundreds of lumberjacks and their families lived here. Building large ships required enormous trees, and at that time K'gari was full of thousand-year-old hardwood trees – stately, perfect for shipbuilding. Many of the largest trees were felled and shipped away from the island, and today there are few trees left that are older than 500 years. But those that have survived are already impressively gigantic in their own right and are carefully protected from any logging.

We took a walk in the rainforest, along one of the trails at Central Station. The rain made the atmosphere almost magical. Large drops fell slowly from the mighty leaves and a light mist of water vapor floated between the trees, giving the forest a mysterious, almost dreamy glow. The air was heavy with moisture and earth and every step on the soft ground reinforced the feeling of being in the middle of a completely different world.

On the way back to the bus, we suddenly heard a loud noise. It almost sounded like children laughing and playing with each other. Strange, we thought, here in the middle of the forest at K'gari? As we approached, we saw that there were no children. There were two dingoes playing and howling in front of us. They threw a few curious glances in our direction, but then remained unmoved as we passed, completely absorbed in their own play in the quiet light of the rainforest.

The sun was starting to sink towards the horizon and it was time to return to the car ferry before darkness fell. We just made it back to the mainland with the 17-boat. What a day it had been – dingoes, humpback whales and magical views etched into our memories. Everything felt absolutely perfect. Not even the weather could have been better.

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