Already went on the second week of our travel in Australia. Surveying the western part of Australia and then, having acquainted with Sydney and its main attractions, we flew to the north - in the town of Hervey Bay, located almost in the center of the east coast. From there we crossed the ferry on famous Island Fraser and for the first acquaintance flew it on a helicopter.

The island is famous for being the biggest sandy island in the world. On it we will spend three days and see how Australians meet New Year. Tourists arriving on the island are arranged there with overnight. Some of them, as a rule, rented on the mainland of jeeps, prefer to move on these machines and live in camping. For those who like comfort, there are several different hotels on the island. We stayed in one of the biggest and comfortable - Kingfisher Bay Resort.. It had two pools and it was wonderful, since swimming in the ocean is unpleasant due to a bad orstand coast.

The hotel administration did everything so that tourists do not miss and offhold tourists a few excursions. The most nice - to see the "night" and "morning" animals. The cost of their 5 AUD, the duration of the hour and a half. Bought on the "night". The guide was like us after dinner in the wilderness of the hotel, even without going beyond its limits (the hotel is applied by a metal fence from wild dogs Dingo). Showed some bugs and spiders and everyone went to sleep.

I did not go to the morning excursion (we did not return money), since it was necessary to get up at 4 in the morning. And what to watch? Would you surprise us with some spiders? The singing of birds and so it was heard in a thick foliage from the room window. And in general - there are no special animals on the island. So, one little thing is different mice.

True, there is still on the island of the famous Dingo wild dogs, but we never managed to see them. True, I remember during my youth there was the same film Yulia Karasik about clean, but bitter first teenage love.

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Dingo looks like domestic dogs. Actually - they are secondary wild dogs. But they are not manual at all, and therefore, when you meet with them you need to be careful. We were recommended to comply with the basic rules of behavior - alone outside the hotel did not walk and do not feed anyone (for this a fine of 1500 AUD!), Do not run away and not turn back to them, but wait until you leave. In general, they advised outside the hotel alone not to go out in the afternoon or night.

After a helicopter flight, another most informative excursion was offered a trip on the all-wheel drive 4WD bus in the most interesting places Islands (70 AUD / person).

Outdoor excursion on the island Fraser

Early in the morning we are going from all-wheel drive buses and we are distributed through the machines. Two people drive each car - the driver and guide that change in turns. The guide continuously speaks, the fillets and facts from the history of the development of the island. It turns out that the European colonization of Australia, several thousand Aborigines of the Butchulla tribe lived on the island and he was named K`gari in their tongue. That translated to our meant "paradise place".

And his modern name This is due to the name of Captain Fraser, whose ship "Stirling Castle" failed here in 1836. Captain, along with the crew, the aborigines were killed and eaten, and his wife Eliz captured. After his liberation by the bright convicts, from which she also suffered, Eliza from everything experienced ended her life in a psychiatric hospital ...

This case gave rise to hostility and aggressiveness in the relationship between Europeans and Aboriginal. Such here sad story It was at this island.

On the issue of the formation of numerous lakes available on the sandy island, the guide noted that all lakes are replenished due to rainfall, which drops to 1,500 millimeters per year. Water, emerging from the lake or leaking through the sand, forms streams (here they call Creek), which, stained, disappear in the ocean.

The bus is presented on a broken sandy road, made many years ago by forest marks. Now this road went into the sand more than a meter. Once on the island, cut the forest and delivered wood to the continent. On both sides of the road of the dense cover of the forest. And if there are two cars on such a road, then drivers are watching who is more convenient to slip on specially made stakes or back even meters 100. Everyone is trapped politely and thank you who have lost their way. "Crudy" does not go to the wheelbarrow here.

After half an hour, such a ride, driving about 10 km, stop at the McKenzie lake. This is the most famous Islands Lake. A large turquoise stain on the background of green jungle. Crystal clear water! I saw the same transparent water only on the famous Szez lakes in Ukraine.

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And although it is big, the people hang out only on one beach. All lie in the coastal zone of water on the white sand and bald. Almost no one swims. It feels like a bath. The lake is deep - it can be seen on the dark blue water of meters of 20 from the coast, but there was no one there was visible.

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All women in bikini, and men are magnificently in long, knees and lower, pants pants. In melting, familiar in our countries, no one bathes. We had to pull the same pants, and they say, they can incorrectly perceive us by orientation. Honestly, it is an uncomfortable form of clothing for swimming (I completely forgot - they do not swim!). I'm not talking about the exit in such a form of water in cold or windy weather. Different inflammations are provided by 100%. Fortunately, it is hot here, and the water was +30.

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After a clock relax on a lake and tea-coffee with traditional Australians buns and cookies cooked by our accompanying, we go further deep into the island. A few kilometers went to the Central Station - the former database of lumberjacks. Now here is a scientific station for the study of flora and fauna of the island.

Short excursion with a story about these places. Usually the forest is not growing very well in the sand. But here, thanks to the abundance of moisture, a lot of greens. Fraser island is one of the few places on the ground, where lush forests rumbled among the sand.

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Indeed, once the forest was so thick that the loggers were commissioned here for 100 years. Some trees, such as Sinkarpia, were bought even for the construction of a Suez Channel.

We pass through a dense forest with its prehistoric ferns and huge silk trees along the clean river Wuangulba Creek.

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Here we were convinced how tourists love in Australia. And not only healthy, and with the so-called. " limited features" In Australia, there are no disabled people - just there are people, whose physical possibilities are limited to something - someone does not see someone, someone does not hear or does not go. Think! All just glad to see such a person and help him!

Here, in the forest, there were pointers and descriptions of trees everywhere!, Performed on the braille alphabet for the blind! This is the concern for people from Australians!

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After a few kilometers a stop again. We crossed the island and arrived at his Pacific side - in EURong Beach Resort.. There is a hotel, shop, workshop for repairing machines and a small runway for communication with the mainland small aircraft. By the way, they can be sitting on the surf bar.

After Lunch, we again sit down in our cars and go to the lane of the ocean surf. There is a barrier on the road, and the lattice is laid on the ground with a wire stretched over it under el. Current is from wild Dingo dogs. The entire territory of this hotel, as well as ours, is acquired by a high mesh fence.

The ocean shore is impressive! Stunning spectacle! Strong wind raises the vortices of sand, and they are mixed with foam, drunk from the incoming waves. Water dust of the ocean surf hangs in the air. And then - thousands of kilometers of the Pacific Ocean! Along the rank of the surf is visible from the outgoing machines. This polygon for fans of sharp sensations! On both sides - to the left and right is the sand strip width of 70-80 meters and is hidden far beyond the horizon.

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However, lovers of high speeds to rejoice early - on the coast regularly, especially during the low tide, there are cops with radar pistols and catch everyone for the exceeding limit of 80 km / h. Yes, even measured with a ppm on alcohol. Fines as on the mainland - for the exceeding limit even 1 km - fine 133 dollars + 1 penalty! For exceeding 20 km - fine 333 dollars + 4 penalty points, for exceeding 40 km - 933 dollars + 8 penalty points. Each fine is entered into the computer and the policeman is perfectly seen how many times this driver violated the rules.

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Exceeding 40 km / h is considered to be "proceedible" and for it is given the rights (including foreign) directly in the middle of Bush. Moreover, it is unpleasant that if there is no satellite or he does not have rights - the car is arrested and delivered to the rolled office on the truck, which you are paid. Maybe therefore, driving hundreds of kilometers along the roads of Australia, we have not seen any, even the smallest, accident!

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We were lucky - there was great weather. Our route was towards the northern tip of the island. On the right, the ocean mercoly rolled long turquoise waves, but almost all the way, and we drove about 50 km, there was not a soul on his shore.

Only occasionally, in small streams arising from the forest, there were parking with tents and jeeps in the shade of trees. Single coughs wishing to plunge into the ocean, went into it not deeper than knee. Everywhere when driving on the shore, left-sided movement was observed.

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To meet us, right through the bar of the surf, leaving the incoming waves and, as if playing with them, the jeeps rushed. On the way back and our driver did the same. An hour later, driving about 50-60 km, we stopped at about the middle of the island of Coloured Sands - colored sands and turned back.

On the way in two places, the beach line crossed the stone ridges. These were rock formations-weathered Pinnacles such as we saw in Western Australia. Of course, they were not so interesting and similar to Pinakkle desert phallus. But - in its own way. We traveled them from above, and on the way back - when the ocean retreated - already calmly drove along the strip of the sandy surf.

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While they stood up above us, barely did not bore the roof of the bus, flew by a small airplane and deftly landed on a strip of a sandy surf.

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There was still a couple of the same aircraft And their handsome pilots in snow-white shorts and shirts with the vessels were offered to everyone to fly over the island. Well, we flew yesterday and saw everything.

On the way back, they stopped for inspecting the remains of the Maheno ship in 1936. The elas of the ship is rusting to the limit. Sand sticks out of the sand, similar to the ribs thrown to the coast of China. Everyone want to be photographed on this background.

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Fraser. (Eng. Fraser Island or Great Sandy Island) - Sand Island eastern coast Australia.

History opening

In 1770, the English traveler James Cook opened the eastern coast of Australia. About 150 kilometers north of the modern city of Brisbane he passed big Island With a sandy coast, which today is visited by 300,000 tourists a year. But then Cook did not pay any attention to him. He and his companions counted that it was not an island, but the peninsula. Finally, a few years later, a researcher stepped on this sandy bank Matthew Flinders. He recorded: "Nothing [can not be] more fruitless than this peninsula".

If Cook and Flinders were drunk to overcome several kilometers of golden beaches and dunes, their opinion about the island would be completely changed. They would discovery the world of virgin wedgeotropic forests and transparent lakes, sandy cliffs of a wide variety of shades and hundreds of animal species. In 1992, this world's largest sandy island, known as Fraser, was listed world Heritage.

Island geography

Fraser island extended 120 kilometers long, its width is 25 kilometers, and the area is 160,000 hectares. Sandy hills rise by almost 240 methows above sea level, which makes it the highest in the world is an island of sand. As suggests, huge masses of sand, of which the island was formed, were washed out of a large waterproof ridge - a mountain system that stretched along the entire east coast of Australia. For a long time, strong shoes washed the particles of the rocks from these mountains and carried them in the river, and then to the sea. Ocean flows turned stones in the sand and gradually attributed it to the north. The sands accumulated on the stony areas of the seabed, and over time, the island of Fraser appeared in the sea. Since Pacific Ocean continues to wash the new sand ashore. Winds carry it deep into the island, forming dunes. Dunes, in turn, "crawl" further, on the meter per year, falling asleep everything in its path.

Freshwater lakes island

It is surprising that 40 freshwater lakes are located on the island in the depressions of the sand dunes. Some of these water clusters are called "suspended lakes", because they are in large deepening at the top of high dunes.

Why does water seep through the sand? It is detained organic sediments, or peat - the remnants of overloading leaves, bark and branches. On the island there is also a "lake window", which are formed when the wpadina in the sand turns out to be lower than the level of groundwater. Seeking through the loose rocks, water, from the filtered sand, accumulates in the transparent lakes. Lakes on the island are replenished due to rain rainfall, which drops to 1,500 millimeters per year. Water, emerging from the lake or leaking through the sand, forms streams that rushed into the sea. One of these rivers bears in the Pacific Ocean more than 5 million liters of water per hour.

The woods

Thanks to the abundance of moisture on the island Fraser a lot of greenery. Wet tropical forests usually do not grow on fruitless sand. But the island of Fraser is one of the few places on the ground, where magnificent forests rummaged among the sand. Indeed, once the forest was so thick that for 100 years there could be loggeries. Eucalyptus, Agathius and Salah tree were a special pride of the forester.

In 1929, one of them said: "There is a live wall of huge trees up to 45 meters in height. The trunks of these forest giants reach 2-3 MET in thickness ". Some trees, such as Sinkarpius, were cut down on the construction of a Suez Canal. But in our days of logging on the island Fraser stopped.

Tragic History of the Paradise Island Fraser

The island received its name in connection with the tragedy there. In 1836, captain James Fraser. And his wife Eliza failed shipwreck at Brig "Sterling Castle" And landed on the island. Obviously, James was killed by the aborigines, but Eliz was allocated to escape. In memory of this event, the island has renamed from Big Sandy To Fraser Island.

Heavy fate also suffered also indigenous inhabitants of the island. Previously, more than 2,000 Aborigines lived here. These were strong, strong people. They called their island Kiekers, or Paradise. As the legend is about the building of this island, he was the most red place on Earth. Unfortunately, many islanders died from diseases delivered by Europeans. In addition, at the beginning of the 20th century, most of the remaining aborigines were sent to the mainland reservation.

Fauna Islands

Today the island is a wildlife reserve. His most famous inhabitant is Dingo, a wild Australian dog. Dingo from the island Fraser is considered the most purebred in the east of Australia, as they do not cross with homemade dogs living on the mainland. Dingo looks like domestic dogs, but they are not manual at all, and therefore they need to be careful with them.

On the island you can see more than 300 species of birds. Braminy crucifies and whites of Orlans are filled over the beaches, and rainbow-blue forest rimsflowers are swirling over lakes. Frequent guests have such migratory birds as Mongolian Asians, who remove chicks in Siberia, and they fly to the south to winter. They stop on the island of Fraser, before you continue your journey. Over 30,000 serogol volatile foxes are so called the volatile mice from the crow - fly to the island during the flowering of eucalyptus to enjoy the flower nectar.

Water around the island is also replete with life. Here you can meet humpback whales, sailing from the Antarctician student to the big Barrier Rifa. For mating and the birth of a young. Before you go on the way back, whales arrange an amazing spectacle: they jump out of the water and falling with noise, raising splashes pillars, which are visible for a few kilos meters, as if they give the farewell salute to the beautiful island.

When transferring from the language of local residents, Fraser is translated as Kgari-Paradise. And indeed, in the world there are not so many places with sandy beaches, transparent water with floral meadows and a blue sky above the head. What is not paradise?

Most recently, the island of Fraser recognized the largest sandy place in the world. The coastline extends to a distance of 110 kilometers. His sand dunes became the most important highlight of the island. Some of them reach a height of up to 250 meters. In combination with emerald forests, they are very similar to the snow.

The name of the island gave the family of Europeans, victims of a wreck at his shores. It is impossible not to say that at that time the relationship between the population of the island and civilized Europeans were hostile. And by itself, few people were pleased with such an increase. For a long time, Fraisers even were captured by local residents.

In 1992, the island brought to the World Heritage List and created the reserve on its territory. But regardless of such important events in the life of the Fraser, the island at all times has been popular with tourists.

Surprise causes the fact that, despite the ocean surrounding from all sides, the island is replete with fresh reservoirs. Scientists called them with "hanging", due to the fact that they seem to be hanging between salted ocean water. In general, there were 100 such reservoirs on the island. Mackenzie lake became the most famous. Wine His unusual Beauty And fresh water. It feeds on the lake only moisture from precipitation, and the water in it is practically distilled, which affects its animal composition. It is completely devoid of organisms, even microbes and bacteria. But the most important thing is surrounded by his snow-white sandy beach.

The largest freshwater lake is called Boemingn, and it stretches for 200 hectares. Despite the tropical hot climate, the water here is always pleasant-cool. This lake and became famous among tourists. A special highlight is given numerous eucalyptus growing on the coast. Also nearby is a small rain forest.

In the history of the island, the number of the population has ever changed. Currently, a little more than 400 people live on Fraser, of which only 11 are descendants of the Aborigines who are captured by the Frazer family. After that crawl, there were a while and the island was poured to the island to establish settlements here. Naturally local residents They opposed to this, and war began. Europeans were much larger, therefore the aborigines were almost completely exterminated. Nowadays the island is tourist Moz with numerous parks, hotels, entertainment programs etc. You can get here on the plane, but the best option will be crushed on the barge with your car.

Fraser island is very different from the continent of Australia primarily by its comfortable warm climate. That is why it is such a rich Flora and Fauna. Due to the widest variety of vegetation, the island is rich in animals. In fresh reservoirs, you can meet the turtles, in the forest - bats, as well as endemics - kangaroo, opossums, etc. To get closer to animals, tourists are invited to make a tour of the canoe. Well, how can you do without birds. On the island is just a paradise for ornithologists. More than 350 species live here, including rare instances.

Since the island Fraser is considered completely tourist centerIn addition to excursions and leisure on the beach, there is a wide selection of sports and extreme entertainment: surfing, boding and many others. Some arrive here even just ride around the territory of the island on the yacht and look at the marine inhabitants.

Well, by itself, if there is no desire to think over the route yourself, it is possible to take advantage of different excursion tours. At each of them, a visit to the happy valley, where the remains of the liner thrown ashore during the First World War are located.

Since tourists are a lot, the population is very worried about the ecological situation on the island. Therefore, in our time there is an active propaganda of tourism under open sky In tents or camping. It is assumed that in this way it will be possible to maintain the well-being of the environment.

Island Fraser is located along southern coast Queensland, Australia, approximately 200 kilometers north of Brisbane. Stretching 120 kilometers in length and approximately 24 kilometers in its widest place, it is believed to be the largest sandy island in the world.

The island has exceptional natural beauty with tropical forests, wooded terrain, eucalyptus, mangrove woods and peat swamps, dunes and coastal empty. The area has more than 250 kilometers of clear sandy beaches With long, continuous stripes of the ocean, including more than 40 kilometers of amazing colored rocks. Inside the country there are majestic remains of a high rainforest growing on high dunes - a phenomenon, unique in the world. Half of world freshwater lakes in the dunes is located on the island of Fraser. The world's largest unlimited aquifer on the sand island was also found here.


Sand on the island Fraser accumulated for about 750,000 years on a volcanic basis, which provides natural drainage for precipitation. These dunes move through the island, often covering forests and other plants. The pace of traffic dunes every year depends on factors such as wind power, the amount of humidity, and actually, the plants themselves in the sand. These dunes gradually stop moving when they reaches areas protected from winds.

Young dunes along the eastern beaches are covered with grass and other coastal plants adapted to the sharp salt and wind conditions. In the protected central regions of the island, where the dunes are stable and there are more nutrients for growth, a variety of plant communities and tropical forests are flourishing.


Unlike many dunes, the life of plants here is abundant due to the natural fungi existing in the sand. They produce nutrients in the form that can be absorbed in vegetation. Fraser island is a birthplace of a small amount of mammalian species, as well as a wide range of birds, reptiles and amphibians, including sea crocodile. The island is part of the area of \u200b\u200bthe coast of the Fraser, which is part of the Big Sandy National Park.


Fraser island inhabited by people for a total of 5,000 years. Explorer James Cook sailed here in May 1770. Matthew Flinders landed near the northernmost point of the island in 1802. For a short period, the island was known as a big sandy island. He became famous as Fraser, because of the history of the Eliza Fraser, which remained alive after the shipwreck. Today island - a popular destination for tourism, one of the most prominent natural