It's been a surprise to us to realise that Summer in Australia means tropical weather on the East Coast. Our friend in Brisbane left our ears ringing with warnings of what it's like to drive in such weather, so we were prepared for the worst. Luckily, our next destination Fraser Island is still south of the worst parts, a unique place 4 hours north of Brisbane, and we arrived safely with no storms along the way.The island is completely made up of sand and is 100km long and 15km wide, with tropical forest and amazing wildlife all over it. We had heard that it's not possible to take your car over the water unless you have a 4x4 (our little Mitsubishi doesn't qualify...) and were unsure where to stay. A last-minute check on Internet took us by complete luck to a fantastic eco-resort called Kingfisher Bay.
Although it is a holiday location, there are many things Kingfisher have done to blend in with the environment. The whole place is built into the forest and we are surrounded by green and wildlife constantly. They raised all the rooms and blocks up on stilts to enable animals to be able to live underneath (apparently there are loads of spiders, snakes and lizards all over the place) and have used timber and natural materials wherever possible. There are messages everywhere encouraging you to take an interest in the environment around you, with a huge picture in the main lobby with the caption “We only preserve what we love, we only love what we understand, we only understand what we study.” They even made the swimming pool in the shape of Lake MacKenzie, a beautiful freshwater lake that somehow sits 85m above sea level in a sand dune.It all goes to make up possibly the best accommodation we've had so far on the whole trip. Being surrounded by tropical green and the noises of it birds and wildlife is such a treat.
An Ecosystem like that on Fraser Island is a f
ragile thing and they explained that when wood chips were used to mark out some of the pathways here, they decided not to buy it from the mainland because even a small pest inside the wood could be something damaging to the wildlife on the secluded island. Much of the wildlife is indigenous to Fraser and small adjustments or additions could have disastrous consequences.One example was given to us after a tour around the site with a Ranger. We saw a tiny, one-centimetre long frog jumping around. We excitedly pointed it out as the smallest frog we'd ever seen, but were corrected with the info that it was a Cane Toad. In 1935, 101 cane toads were brought onto the island to combat a pest that had developed in sugar cane. Even though they are poisonous, it was thought they would be a small price to pay to beat the pestilence, but 65 years on, there are 50 million of the little buggers! They reproduce at incredible rates, with females able to let loose thousands of toad spawn. Playing with nature can be a dangerous thing.
All over the island there are warnings about Dingoes.
Sadly, a young child was mauled by a Dingo in 2001 and since then they have been culled and removed from inhabited areas. They are beautiful dog-like beasts and the ones here on Fraser Island are completely pure, having never bred with any dingoes from the mainland. Luckily, claims that there have been crocodiles have proven unfounded. We saw a few signs warning about them, but apparently this was sparked by a tourist saying they had spotted them. Due liability kicks in and there is an obligation for the resort to check such claims – luckily not a scrap of evidence was found. However, we hear that the downside of them being a protected species is that they are breeding fast and in 20-30 years could be a real threat to places like Fraser Island. Thank goodness I won't be there to see it...On the softer side of life, we walked along the beach and were convinced parts of it were moving. Sure enough, there are armies of tiny crabs running around at low tide, and they bury themselves as soon as they're approached. It seems the earth and sand are constantly moving with something alive.
