Fraser Island Great Walk Day 1
Distance walked – 26.9km
Total Distance – 26.9km
We woke early as the sun was rising to the sound of gentle rain on the tent and the distant roll of the waves on the beach. It had rained all night with some very heavy wild spells but we were feeling optimistic about the weather as the forecast was indicating that the rain should clear up this morning.
We had driven up from Brisbane yesterday evening in the rain and cold to arrive at a sad and largely deserted Rainbow Beach. There were a few wet and bedraggled backpackers wandering the main street where most of the shops and food outlets seemed to have closed early. Luckily the tourist information/general shop was open and we were able to purchase a copy of the Great Walk Topographic map.
We drove down to Inskip Point and set up camp in a deserted area well away from several large groups and close to the beach and sea. After an early dinner we had gone to bed hoping for a quiet night and for the weather to clear.
Well it had been a quiet night, and the rain seemed to be settling as we took a quick walk down to the beach. It was grey and overcast but in front of us K’gari rose up like a green gem in the rough seas across the channel. We always love going to K’gari. It is a very special place and we were quite excited about getting over and starting the walk.
We quickly packed up the tent and stowed all our gear in the car. We both did a last minute rejig of our backpacks and we set off to drive the short distance to the parking area at Inskip Point. When we arrived it was deserted. We parked the car and found the pedestrian path and set off through the bush.
The pedestrian path runs through the bush along the southern edge of Inskip Point with occasional glimpses of the water across Tin Can Bay. It was about 1km long and saved walking along the sandy road that the 4WDs use. We eventually came out on the beach and saw the Manta Ray barge already waiting, beckoning us forward at the far end of the point.
All aboard the Manta Ray!
We walked across the beach and onto the deserted barge. The bargeman, who had been sitting in a little cupboard off the deck came out to greet us dressed in full waterproofs.
“Nice day for a walk” he said cheerily.
He told us that the weather had been so bad on the previous day that they had stopped running the barge. He confirmed that it was going to clear up this morning and be relatively calm for the rest of the week. We paid him our $10 each foot passenger fare and found a sheltered area to perch while we waited for departure.
Obviously our $20 contribution was not financially viable to set sail, so we waited for some 4WDs to arrive. We waited and we waited, and we waited some more. Clearly 4WDrivers do not get up early on Sundays. Finally we saw a 4WD heading down onto the beach from the access track. Hooray! Unfortunately the occupant parked up on the beach, got out a camping chair and started fishing off the beach. He wasn’t going to K’gari.
Eventually at about 08:00, after we had waited for over an hour, a convoy of three 4WDs appeared on the beach, and drove down and onto the barge. Once they were loaded, the engines roared into life, the tail-loader was pulled up, and we set off across the channel towards the distant beach of K’gari.
First class passenger lounge
As we were approaching K’gari, the bargeman came over and warned us that due to the tide conditions they weren’t going to be able to land right up on the beach and that we would have to walk through the water to get to the beach. So it was shoes and socks off and packs on as we watched the vehicles drive down the ramp, through a small stretch of knee high water and off along the beach. We followed and were soon standing on the beach watching the Manta Ray depart from Hook Point.
Back on K’gari !!
The walk we did today is not officially part of the Fraser Island Great Walk but is called either the Dilli Village walk (on the Queensland National Parks website) or The Great Walk Jabiru feeder (on some maps). It runs from Hook Point north to Dilli Village hugging the edge of the Jabiru Swamp inland and parallel to the east coast. It made sense to us to do this extra day and make a continuous walk from the barge landing to Happy Valley where we have booked a taxi transfer back to the barge, rather than having to book two taxi transfers.
The track is a disused inland road and is rather a long day at over 25kms in distance, but there is a campsite about half way along, where you could camp overnight if you wanted. We planned to have our lunch break at the campsite.
After shouldering and adjusting our packs, we headed along the beach for just short of a kilometre to the start of the inland road track. On our way we passed the group of 4WDs who were on the barge as they made some adjustments to their vehicles. They asked us where we were heading and seemed incredulous that we were planning to walk 25km and even more so when we said we were doing a six day walk. They kindly offered us a lift to Happy Valley which we politely declined and wishing them well we set off.
The track is well signed off the inland road with a newish information board. Just as we set of from the trackhead, we looked up to see a sea eagle wheeling low overhead. We took this as a good omen for the day ahead. (We in fact saw 2 other sea eagles through the course of the day or maybe it was the same one??)
Track along the Jabiru swamp – very beautiful but a little monotonous after 26km
We set off on the track which despite our concerns about being infrequently used was actually in quite good condition. We made good progress and as the day wore on it warmed up and the skies cleared. We were soon down to tshirts, both of us thinking that we might have bought too much cold weather clothing …
The track is very beautiful and pretty much completely flat. It did get a bit monotonous as the day wore on, but we still enjoying being back walking. As we rounded one bend we startled a goanna which flew up a nearby tree. We also saw two snakes during the morning, moving off the path as we approached. There was abundant birdlife, particularly in the wet areas, but no dingo spotting today.
At 16km, we decided to stop for lunch having missed the campsite that is meant to be at about 13km. We found a shady spot, got out our trusty z-mat seating pads and had our lunch of wraps and tuna/wild rice packets along with home-made flapjack.
After lunch, progress was a bit slower due to tiredness setting in, and the track being underwater for long stretches from the recent rain. There was a lot of walking through ankle deep water with our shoes and feet being continuously heavy and wet
Dilli Village – a beautiful oasis
So it was with great relief that we rounded a corner to see the dingo fence and sign welcoming us to Dilli Village campsite. We checked in and set up camp beside a shelter and picnic table which we had to ourselves (there were very few other people camping).
We made use of the fantastic hot showers, had our meal of dehydrated spag bog, played a few hands of Uno, and as the sun set we retired for some book reading by headlight followed by bed. A really great but tiring first day.
Today’s route
