Fraser Island - Camping???

G'day John,

My first suggestion would be to check out the articles and trek notes on the site. They should provide you with plenty of great camping info.

Image Could Not Be FoundIt's been 3 years since I towed my camper trailer onto Fraser. I camped at the Meheno site just south of the wreck. If it's not school holidays, your options for camping will be a lot greater. My only disappointment was the amount of rubbish and dunny paper blowing about. Image Could Not Be Found I ended up putting the gloves on and picking up three bags of crap (Paper people, no the real stuff) which the rangers were only too pleased to pick up. It was a great place with a pair of Sea Eagles nesting behind us. We'd spend the afternoons watching them ply their trade off shore.

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Just watch all the troopies loaded to the hilt. Contrary to my original thoughts, they're not organised tour groups, rather 12 backpackers crammed into an overloaded Toyota. The drivers name is usually Seamus, Serge or Pemberton and they have no clue about sand driving so can be quite a menace on the narrow, sandy tracks (one took out the back of my trailer as he passed).

Enjoy, it was an amazing place.

Mick

Beware of sandflies

...and check out this site for up to date conditions.

Hey John - you wont be disappointed. We just did the same trip as you are about to and frankly cant wait to get back.

We stayed at Fraser's at Cathedral beach which was nice. Well worth a look if you prefer the creature comforts of 240V, toilets and showers etc. Our next stay will probably be when the kidlets are a bit bigger so we can get amongst the real camp sites.

What we did see along the east coast were lots of camper trailers between Eurong and the Maheno in the authorised camping areas. I don't think there is a right answer to your question - there will be some camp sites that are more convenient and central so you can take in the sites you want to see. We didn't go north of Indian Head more than once - don't get me wrong, it was lovely and Waddy Point for example was well worth the effort and we got to see a couple of rays and sea turtles off the rocks (kids loved it) and champaign pools were a nice break, but for our first trip most of what we ended up doing was further south.

My choice would be between Happy Valley and Eli-creek (or a bit further north to the Maheno) - it is an easy drive south to Eurong for access to the tracks to the blue lakes or it is a good drive to go north towards Indian Head/ Orchid Beach/ Waddy Point/ Champaign pools - nice and central - plenty of nice spots, the one that is best for you will take some eyes on.

Being the end of the tourist season and with very little rain throughout Christmas, the tracks were a bit worse for wear and started to get really soft and deep - tyres went down to 16PSI and low range in a couple of areas. The road to MacKenzie was well cut up and at the last moment (after following one of those Toyota back-packer stink-wagons a little too slowly for way-too-long) we turned off and went to Birrabeen which is very similar and just as picturesque. Still have some great pics of beautiful clear/blue water!

Fishing tip: get the kids to dig for pipi's next to your fishing spot - the fish love em and it keeps the kids occupied and away from the highway. We made the mistake of offering $1 per pipi... we had to change the rules after 15 mins when they had amassed enough cash to start a small revolution. My only complaint about the fishing is my cast is not big enough to get out to the big fish...

don't forget to start saving your fuel and beer tokens... both quite expensive.

hope this helps
Jas G

Gidday John, I am going to Fraser in a couple of weeks for a week, and had the same questions, a bloke at work lent me a "Dirty Weekends" book which is about 5 or 6 years old but is handy. My plan at the moment is to go straight from work (Richlands) on Friday after work and camp at Inskip (don't like getting up before sunrise unless it is to catch a plane), then cross on the first or second barge run. At the moment I plan to camp around Eurong area for about 3 days and look at the southern half and then move to the north to look at section. I always have a plan but am always open to change as required.
Cheers Rob Mac

John,

We returned from Fraser 2 weeks ago and did a week up at Waddy Point. We towed up a camper and had no dramas at all. We roughly did 800km's on the island in the week and my fuel consumption was nudging the 30l/100 :( Fuel at Waddy point was 1.87 for Petrol and Diesel. I took 80L in Jerry can's and saved around $50 by doing that.

It was very hard to pack up and leave but the bills has to get paid some how :)

Enjoy your trip

G'day Snaggles,

Lots of places along the beach and just to wet the appetite.

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Have a great trip.

Kind regards

Hi snaggles,
just a cpl of add-ons to the other reply's, the green barge is called "manta-ray" go to www.Frazer Island barges
remember to get ALL your permits
watch your speed{cops in abundance now}
Do Not leave ANY food stuff outside your van/tent when away from your camp site, it must be packed away in your vehicle or van/tent, even your esky which must be strapped around{bloody dingos are REAL clever nowadays} The FUN POLICE akka "rangers" carry cameras & take photo's of your site as "evidence". NO food stuff can be taken to Lake McKenzie shores thats a privilege left for the tour bus's.
The tour bus drivers WILL report you if they feel you are doing the wrong thing{im sure you wont}as they feel that they are the only ones allowed to travel the Island in a Uni-mog, carrying fuel is a good idea,& most of all don't feed the dingos, state government has taken away ALL their natural food so now the poor buggers are so hungry they look towards human food, never happened 15-20 yrs ago ???
anyway have a great save trip, to which you will love the island & it's people
regards
dave

Hi There
We went there last August and stayed at Dunduburra http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/parks/fraser/camping.html#dundubara_campground
You can book a site there (not a specific site - you go and pick one when you get there). The campground is very shady, short walk to the beach, fully fenced (ie for dingoes), has toilets and showers (showers $$) and a camp kitchen. It was really nice there, cheap (especially in comparison to Cathedrals Campground which is run by Big 4). Fraser is awesome. Am definately heading back one day (a fair distance to someone from SA!!)
Cheers
Tars