Trip advice - Melbourne to Fraser Island mid Nov 2017

Some idea of what you are driving and it's and your capabilities, would be a distinct advantage for anyone answering your request.
You can receive a lot of info but some far in excess of what is possible for you.

I think camerons corner is nowhere near Fraser Island. In 5 weeks you probably cannot go everywhere at once!

If going to Fraser, I would first buy a spray unit and some bulk Lanolin ie like Lanotec, and spray inside the chassis and everywhere under the vehicle.

A lot of people go to Fraser and washing the sand and salt out of the underside is very difficult if you are concerned about tin worm. Many just hose off but the EGGS are still there.

Yep Broken Hill onto Cameron's corner would give a great contrast with Fraser Island and lots of things in between.
Do your research, establish what you would LIKE to see, but above all take your time, plan to be pulled up at least three hours before sunset and keep your schedule as flexible as possible with a 5 month old on your first trip.
You will enjoy it a whole lot more instead of having a "ticked the box" but exhausted feeling.
Do a search on Cameron's Corner and Fraser, they come up very regularly here, then ask more specific questions.
As far as remoteness, you are no more than a few hours away from a good hospital in Broken Hill.
Mark

Don't stress to much about the 10 month old...Travelling with young kids is more about the adults copping then the child, the kids tend to adapt to any situation if the adults have prepared properly. Both our kids beach camped in a tent on Fraser when they were around 6 months old, one child had done Cape York at 3 years age and the other crossed The Simpson at that age also. On The Cape trip our child was running a 40 degree temperature one night and hallucinating (which the medication we brought with us sorted eventually), on The Simpson trip our other daughter ended up in Coober Pedy hospital at 1 a.m running high temperatures and vomiting. All you can do is deal with the situation as / if it arises, just like you would do at home anyhow.
The downside to travelling with such a young child can be the distances to travel each day tend to be shorter then when they get abit older, purely due to how many stops you tend to make looking after them.....but you have plenty of time to plan a route around that issue anyhow. Only you will know what travel schedule suits you guys, you're going to get various people saying that's to far to travel in X amount of time no matter what you choose, because everyone is different. We punched out 900 klms in a big day with a 3 year old in the car on our Cape York trip, I know people that can't / won't do that as just adult couples in the vehicle only...everyone is different.

Ange, there is so much to tell you about Fraser Island - not enough room here though. You will have a 10 month old with you (maybe just starting to walk) so you will need to watch him/her very carefully for the following :- sunburn, midges, snakes and dingos. Without reigniting the Azaria Chamberlain issue again, my son and his cousin were stalked in the dunes by 2 dingoes one time when we were there. Fortunately they were both familiar with dogs and ran at them, scaring them off. This happened another time we were there and on another occasion a brownish coloured snake wriggled through our camp. Having said all this we've visiting Fraser since 1975 so in the scheme of things these events don't really rate but it would be remiss of me not to mention them though. I believe Central Station camp ground has been fenced off for this reason but other locations may not be. Make sure you deflate your tyres and once done, do not turn corners at speed. You really should have a long handle shovel, recovery gear and a good air compressor. Consult the tide times and time your arrival at the barge to coincide with low or near low tide. You will have to buy an access and camping permit at Rainbow Beach ranger station but won't need to book the barge. Make sure you put the park brake 'on' when you park on the barge. It is the biggest sand island in the world so allow time and you'll thoroughly enjoy yourself.

Be aware that on Fraser you have to book ahead for the campsites. You can only do it on the island over the counter at the Kingfisher Resort, (to my knowledge), because of patchy phone and internet reception. That's over on the west side of the island and the majority of everything else is on the east side. I find that arrangement very ordinary because you are booking blind.

Ange - Treat the trip as an adventure!
The rest of the itinerary you can follow your fancies but if you are heading to Fraser - that is worthwhile focus of your trip. Spend some quantity time there.
As for any anxieties or feelings of being overwhelmed - don't plan too much.
People have been doing trips like yours since cars were invented.
Most people manage to survive and actually enjoy the trip.
From my experience travellers problems are caused by fear of the unknown, lack of self knowledge and lack of experience/preparation.
The baby will be fine.
The vehicle will be fine.
The parents? That depends of your state of mind and your sense of adventure!!!
If you treat it like the adventure it is - instead of preplanning "everything" and anticipating "everything" - you will find it much more enjoyable, have fewer dissapointments and be able to make better decisions when you see what a place or situation is actually like.
If you are slightly freaking out now - thats good you are obviously a good parent and that means the baby will be fine - So stop worrying now and enjoy the anticipation:-)
Live in the here and now - you will think clearer and make better decisions and will learn a lot.
Having said that a week on Fraser is a short time. Fraser is magic but you cant rush it you have to experience it and live it. Book a night or two at Central station and walk lots - spend a day or 2 at the lakes (McKenzie and Basin - Fraser has over half of the worlds perched lakes and they are unique - dawn and dusk are good times to visit if you hate crowds ) and walk Pile valley.
Set up for breccy at Eli Creek and wade through - look for Jungle perch. Camp for a week or so on the beach campground at Waddy Pt and explore from there. Spend a day up at Sandy cape sitting on the dune/visiting the lighthouse /fishing/walking/drinking wine/beer etc. Finish off with a couple of nights at Kingfisher bay hang the expense you only live once you will not regret it and remember it for a lifetime.
Im sure you will make good calls about what to do once you are on Fraser - everybody sees new experiences differently you cannot (try to) anticipate what you will feel or do beforehand - that detracts from the adventure.
As for dingos - make the call if and when you meet them. Its been 15 or more years since I encountered an aggressive dingo there - I believe the aggressive ones had been culled.

My two bobs worth.
(My parents took me travelling full time as a kid in a 2wd car in the 60s and Ive taken my kids travelling since they were just months old - the oldest is now 29 and they are all avid adventurers - just saying...Im hopefully qualified to comment).

I would suggest Melbourne to Fraser and back by a different route is a reasonable trip for five weeks with a young child. There is so much to see and you could just relax about the itinerary and have a great trip. A week is not long enough on Fraser but look out for the midgies! It might be a good idea to leave Cameron Corner for another time. This would give you a lot of extra distance to cover when the weather could be getting very hot. Heat can be a worry for young children, leading to remarkably quick dehydration. If you are held up on the roadby mechanical or other problems the heat will be an issue. There is a lot to see and do around Broken Hill, Tibooburra and Cameron Corner and en route - plenty for a separate trip when the weather is milder. If this is your first long camping trip with a small child be easy on yourselves. Don't rush and overplan or cause yourselves unnecessary stress! Relax and enjoy so everyone, including your child, has a great time and, most importantly, wants to go again! Lynne