Australia's Nature Coast Hotels & Resorts

This is a full-day exploration of K’gari (formerly Fraser Island), designed to give you a broad, well-paced introduction to one of Australia’s most unusual landscapes. You’ll travel by ferry and four-wheel-drive coach, visit freshwater lakes, rainforest and ocean beaches, and cover a lot of ground. It’s a long day, but if you want to see the island’s key highlights in one go, this does exactly that.

The day begins inland at Central Station, once a busy logging settlement with shops and a school, now reclaimed by rainforest. From here, you’ll follow the boardwalk along Wanggoolba Creek, a slow-moving, glass-clear stream shaded by ancient king ferns, ghost gums and towering pines. It’s calm and cool, and a gentle way to ease into the day before the beach driving begins.

From the forest, you’ll head to Lake McKenzie. The water is an unreal shade of blue, the sand almost white, and the atmosphere often speaks for itself. After time here, the tour moves onto Seventy-Five Mile Beach, which doubles as the island’s main highway. If you want a different perspective, there’s also the option to book a scenic flight during the day, offering a clear sense of just how vast and unconventional the island really is.

Next comes Eli Creek, where you can wade or float downstream in clear, fast-flowing freshwater as it spills out into the ocean. A photo stop at the Maheno Shipwreck follows.  The final highlight is the Pinnacles Coloured Sands. Layers of red, yellow and orange reveal both a long geological history and an important Butchulla Dreamtime story connected to the island. 

• Start time: 8.30am
• Duration: full day
• Daily departures
• Operates year-round

This is a full, early-starting day trip from Noosa that covers a lot of K’gari (formerly Fraser Island) in one go. You’ll travel by coach, ferry and four-wheel-drive bus, drive along ocean beaches, visit freshwater lakes and rainforest, and spend much of the day outdoors. It’s a long day, but if you want to see the island’s highlights without staying overnight, this is a well-rounded way to do it.

Once on the island, you head north along Seventy-Five Mile Beach, which doubles as K’gari’s main highway. Driving along firm sand with the ocean right beside you quickly becomes part of the experience. One of the first stops is Eli Creek, a fast-flowing freshwater stream where you can wade or float downstream, letting the current carry you gently toward the sea. Back on the coast, you continue to the SS Maheno Shipwreck. 

From here, the tour turns inland, following sandy tracks through forest to reach Boorangoora, also known as Lake McKenzie. You’ll have time to swim or relax beside the clear blue water and white silica sand, one of K’gari’s most iconic and peaceful locations.

Later in the day, you visit Central Station, once the centre of the island’s logging industry and now reclaimed by rainforest. From Pile Valley, you make your way back through the forest and out onto the eastern beach, travelling along Seventy-Five Mile Beach once more before catching the ferry back to the mainland. 

• Start time: 5.45am
• Duration: full day
• Departure days differ depending on time of year
• Operates year round