Fraser Island Great Walk Day 3
Distance walked – 15.3km
Total Distance – 56.6km
I have to confess that sometimes I find it a little spooky camping all by yourself in the middle of the bush. Last night was one of those nights. We had the campsite to ourselves and sometime after midnight a massive storm went through with howling wind and lots of lightning and thunder. We were feeling quite cosy in our bomb proof Hilleberg tent until there was a massive cracking noise and a large branch or even tree fell crashing to the ground at what seemed far too close for comfort.
Sunrise didn’t reveal any branches or trees down close to us, so I imagine it was further away than we thought. It was another beautiful morning; the skies having cleared after the wild overnight storm. We had breakfast, packed up camp and set off about 07:30.
We walked past our private beach of the prior evening and then on to nearby Lake Birabeen which we circled for the next few kilometres. We passed up a swim here as it was a bit early and still a little cool.
The vegetation noticeably changed as we headed up and away from Lake Birabeen with tall majestic trees lining the path that climbs steadily uphill to the top of a ridge. We walked along the ridge for the next few kilometres, admiring the ever-taller giants. Occasionally we passed fallen trees, their trunks stretching a seeming impossible distance through the undergrowth. There were also enormous stumps, from trees felled long ago.
As you enter this part of the walk, you start getting a feel for what K’gari must have been like before the arrival of Europeans. It would have been truly awe-inspiring.
Not long after, we descended into Central Station, arriving at about the 8km mark. We stopped in a picnic shelter for a quick breather and some trail mix.
Trail mix breather
Central Station is a fascinating place. It was originally a forestry camp for the logging operations on K’gari with many of the original buildings still standing. There are many really interesting information boards covering history and the vegetation of the area. There is a walker’s camp and a large car based campsite here.
Tree love
The track passes some majestic Kauri pines (planted in 1900 as part of a plantation) before entering the wonderful Wanggoolba rainforest boardwalk, beside the crystal clear waters of the Wanggoolba creek. We eventually reached a junction where the Great Walk exited heading towards Basin Lake.
You don’t want that in your tent!
Central Station is quite busy, and there were a few day walkers on this section heading towards Basin Lake. We enjoyed a few minutes with a young Irish couple who had come upon a large Goanna on the side of the path. They are amazing prehistoric like creatures, large enough to exude a degree of menace. We memorably had an inquisitive one get into one of our tents when we were camping at Central Station in the 1990s. It beat a hasty retreat after surprising one of our friends who was inside!!
Basin Lake contemplation
After a further 3 kilometres we arrived at Basin Lake. This is one of my favourite places. It is small but perfectly formed and seems so isolated despite its proximity to Central Station. Once again there are rarely many people as you have to walk the 3kms from the carpark. We had it to ourselves as the other day walkers took a few photos and departed. We took the opportunity to get changed and went for a quick swim.
Swimming heaven
After our swim we headed off refreshed. The sun was out, the sky was a deep blue and the temperature was perfect for the last 4 kilometres over to Lake McKenzie. We arrived at the walker’s campsite about 13:00 feeling pretty good after the 15.3km. We both agreed that we seem to be getting back to walking fitness after yesterday’s slog.
The campsite at Lake McKenzie is a large fenced campsite with walkers’ tables and metal food lockers. There was already a couple of people set up down one end, so we picked a sheltered site away from them and set up our camp. We had our lunch at the campsite (as no food is allowed at Lake Mckenzie shoreline – to deter dingoes), and then headed down to the lake with our books for an afternoon of swimming and reading.
Not a stock photo – it really is that beautiful
Lake McKenzie is undoubtedly the most beautiful of the Fraser Island lakes. The combination of the incredible blue colour of the water with the bright white sand make it irresistible, the Shangri-la, the Arcadia of all the lakes.
Unfortunately that makes it popular, and there were a lot of people there today. We were still able to find a nice quiet area to set up and we had a lovely relaxed afternoon swimming and reading our books.
We had early dinner and went to bed as the sun went down to do some reading by headlamp. Tomorrow we were off for another of our favourite places – Lake Wabby.
Todays Route
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