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Ferns on Wanggoolba Creek
In the white sands of the creek valley, shaded by the tall canopy of the sub-tropical rainforest, ferns thrive and crystal clear waters flow.
‘My father says there has been a rainforest here
for over a hundred million years.’
So begins the stunningly beautiful children’s book Where The Forest Meets The Sea by Jeannie Baker. This picture book about the Daintree Rainforest in Far North Queensland is illustrated entirely in sumptuous mixed-media collages that live in one’s memory long after the book is closed.
I guess that is why I think of the book every time I’m in a tropical or sub-tropical rainforest.
As I did when I visited Fraser Island in Southeast Queensland.
This island is a short ferry-ride east of Hervey Bay, almost 1600 kilometres (about 1000 miles) south of the Daintree pictured in the storybook, and the sub-tropical forests there are much younger, but there is still a feeling of timelessness as you stand among the tall tree-trunks and the ancient shade-loving ferns.
At 184,000 hectares (710 square miles), Fraser Island is the world’s largest sand island. It was formed over hundreds of thousands of years as winds, waves, and ocean currents carried sands from the Australian south-east coast – as far south as Antarctica – out to the continental shelf, and back again.
Stretching 122 kilometre (75 miles) from top to bottom, the island is big enough to get lost in, with countless kilometres of diverse walking tracks and more than 100 freshwater lakes, but small enough to sample in a couple of days.
UNESCO-World Heritage Listed for its combination of shifting sand-dunes, tropical rainforests, and lakes, Fraser Island is home to half the world’s perched freshwater dune lakes and is is the only place in the world where rainforest is found growing on sand dunes at elevations of more than 200 metres. The diversity of vegetation that has adapted to survive in sand, a soil that is notoriously low in nutrients, makes the island unique.
Fraser Island has a special place in the culture of the Butchulla people, who have lived in the region for more than 5000 years – possibly as many as 50,000 years. They call the island K’gari, and the lakes there are an integral part of their dreaming stories. Native title rights were granted in 2014, giving the Indigenous people the right to hunt, fish, and take water for domestic purposes; and the right to be involved in business development into the future. The Queensland State Government, the National Parks and the Butchulla People are expected to work together to maintain the integrity and beauty of the site.
For it is magically beautiful. Come explore:
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Harbour : Hervey Bay
My morning starts pre-dawn in the southern Queensland coastal city of Hervey Bay, where I park my car and wait for a bus to the ferry. Four-wheel drive vehicles and special permits are needed for anyone wishing to drive on Fraser Island: booking a two-day coach tour is much easier!
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Almost Abstract : Inside the Deckhouse
I love the multi-layered effects you get from reflections in glassed spaces. The ferry cabin has glass on all sides. Our shuttle buses retreat into the distance as we pull backwards into the channel.
Mangroves in the Intertidal Flats
The ferry crosses from River Heads, 20 minutes south of Hervey Bay, through the protected waters of the Great Sandy Marine Park to a boat landing near the world-famous Kingfisher Bay Resort. Mainland Australia floats on the horizon, just a 50-minute crossing away.
Lake Mckenzie
Our first stop was to take a short walk to Lake Mckenzie, one of the most visited natural sites in Australia.
Lake Mckenzie
Lake Mckenzie is a perched lake: that is, a closed pool of water – in this case, 150 hectares (371 acres) in area and just over 5 metres (16 ft) in depth – sitting above the water table, and fed only with rainwater. Organic matter that naturally builds up at the bottom of the lake acts like a plug, keeping the water from draining away. The sand around the lake is nearly pure silica, making it beautifully soft and fine.
Boorangoora
The Butchulla people called this lake Boorangoora, meaning Waters of Wisdom. The lake’s acidity prevents many species from growing, so the waters certainly have an intense beauty and clarity, and they feel like warm silk.
Treads in the Sand
That soft silica sand is everywhere. More than 1500km of sand tracks crisscross the island; our bus is a luxurious MAN all-wheel drive vehicle built in Germany and custom-designed for the island’s conditions. (iPhone6)
Staghorn Fern
Our next stop was at Central Station, which is the gateway to several walks into a towering rainforest of satinay (turpentine), brush box, and Kauri pine.
Natures Artwork
These rainforests are exceptional because they grow on the sand dunes at an elevations of 200 metres.
Patterned Bark
The tall, straight trunks of the trees as they reach for sunlight, made them a target for logging until the 1980s.
Central Station
Central Station was a forestry camp in the 1920s when logging was big on the island.
Trailer in the Forest
Now the station is a day-use area with information boards and picnic tables.
Floral Tree
From the Station, we pick up the Wanggoolba Creek boardwalk, …
Wet Forest Floor
… back into the dark shelter of the rainforest.
Tree Trunks
Wanggoolba Creek Boardwalk
The beautiful boardwalk takes us through piccabeen palms (Archontophoenix cunninghamiana) and giant king ferns (Angiopteris evecta).
Waves of White Sand
The boardwalk follows Wanggoolba Creek, which is so impossibly clear and blue that it is called the ‘invisible creek’.
Fraser Island Satinay – Syncarpia Hillii
In the 1920 the satinay – sometimes called a Fraser Island turpentine – became a major timber export after it was found to be salt-water-, fire-, and termite-resistant. The wood was used in the construction of the Suez Canal and the rebuilding of the London Docks.
Wanggoolba Creek
This was a Sacred Women’s Business place for the Butchulla people.
Track to Lake Wabby
After lunch, we walk through a completely different forest of twisting eucalypts, …
Hammerstone Sandblow
… across the dunes of of the Hammerstone Sandblow, …
Lake Wabby
… and down to the island’s deepest lake. The emerald-coloured Lake Wabby is both a window lake: formed when a depression lower than the water table is surrounded by higher land; and a barrage lake, created when moving sand dunes block a watercourse. Hammerstone Sandblow is slowly encroaching into Lake Wabby, and one day will obliterate it completely.
Path in the Woods
The sandy track to and from Lake Wabby is 2.4 kilometres long.
Wild Orchid on the Track
There are plenty of flowers along the track …
Grasses and a Eucalypt
… and some magnificent gum trees.
“Love Notes” in a Scribbly Gum
Previous walkers have left their marks.
Guinea Flower – Hibbertia Scandens
Sculptured Gums
Twisting eucalyptus trees line the trail …
Yellow Banksia
… and banksia trees love the dry, sandy soil.
I was entranced!
And, after a night in a modest room at the Eurong Resort, I had another day of exploring to go.
Until then,
Happy Travels!
Pictures: 07June2019
[…] Thanks to Air Fraser, like Yendingie and K’gari, I could appreciate those mirrors-lakes and lush forests from above. UNESCO-listed Fraser Island truly is a unique place of uncommon beauty: the world’s largest sand island with a remarkable eco-system (see: Fraser Island Forests and Waters). […]