Neither of us had been to Fraser Island, now called K'Gari, for some years, so we were keen to see how it had changed.

WE were surprised and delighted that the accommodations, facilities and tracks had been improved and ALL were excellent. Only saw1 small DINGO on the beach, looked lonely.

We stayed at the Eurong Beach resort, for 3 nites, at $193/nite, which included :- Ferry from Inskip Pt. to Fraser & return, breakfasts and accommodation... VERY reasonable, Eh ! Our room was VERY spacious, good views and close to Dining, Parking and all else.

The evening meals were well done and good. It looked like the Block we stayed in had just been renovated , fresh paint and furniture ++.

It was our intention to go North up the beach to as far as Orchid Beach, where Pam had stayed about 40+ years ago, and Landed her own private plane at the excellent grassed "landing Strip" at Orchid Beach. Good memories and a bit of "one upmanship" Eh ?

The first day we had spent mostly travelling so we just unloaded and got comfortable. The 2nd day we drove 70 odd km North up the beach to Orchid Beach, passing Eli Creek, the Maheno wreck and several bypass tracks around the headlands.

The PRADO handled all these with EASE, at 20 psi, which was OK for all the Sand Tracks and bitumen/gravel sections. After our last beach run, on SALTY surfaces, we had the underbody washed to remove all traces of salt form the car. This only cost $20 and was VERY worthwhile.

We had to get a National Parks and Beach permit, online, for about $58. This covered both Cooloola Beach and Fraser Island.

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Tracks on Fraser/K'Gari Island

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Now let the photos tell the tale :

Approach roads, from Gold Coast

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From The Gold Coast, we stopped at Minyama, Sunny Coast for some brief Business, then headed Nth to Tewantin, and crossed the Noosa River on the barge. Then Headed East to Cooloola Beach where we Headed North to Rainbow Beach and the Inskip point ferry to Fraser Island. The Prado was so good on the sand that we only used 20 psi, in our tyres, which was also OK for the harder stuff.

Finally off the bitumen, near Noosa Ferry.

Ferry from Inskip Pt. to Fraser, Manta Ray.

Our room on bottom lhs,easy access to carpark. Nice balcony with table, chairs & great views.

North from Eurong, EASY going with 20 psi.

The Maheno wreck, rusting away slowly.

Heading South, past Maheno to Eurong Bch. A light plane had just landed here.

Next day we crossed the Island to Kingfisher Bay. Track had improved immensely. Many one way sections in difficult areas, had passing bays

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SandBar restaurant, Pam's old favourite

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Track back across Island, NOT hard anymore.

Back at Eurong, celebrating on balcony arrow_forward We MUST learn how to use our Tripod to take photos of BOTH of us. Will do for NEXT trip.

Parj on Beach, waiting for return Ferry to Inskip Pt.

Back at Pam's daughters farm, picking up Pam's dog, "Marley". Dog had good company .

Small queue at Noosa River Ferry, $10.

Heading North on Fraser Bch to Eurong.

View from our room, close to everything.

Yidney Rocks bypass, no problem, slowly.

Pam at Orchid Beach airfield. She used to land her OWN plane here, awhile ago…Eh ! Fond memories of "younger days"

Back at BASE, Eurong Bch, now for some gourmet Food and well deserved drinks.

Ferry back to Inskip Pt., from Fraser Island. Has room for 15 to 20 vehicles, runs often.

We were BOTH very happy to re-visit Fraser, now K'Gari Island. Bought back pleasant memories. The Accommodation and Tracks had been VASTLY improved over the years. Eurong Beach and Kingfisher Bay resorts are now VERY satisfactory. We preferred Eurong as it was on the Eastern or Ocean side, with easy access to most other areas. The Cross Island tracks used to be difficult during Easter and Xmas holidays, with HEAVY traffic, on one-way tracks. Tracks have been improved and many "passing bays" have been added. The DEALS at Eurong Beach, at $193/day, included breakfast and return Ferry trips from Mainland…very reasonable. Highly recommended.

Our NEXT trips, we have "thoroughly pre-planned" on our tried and tested "Trip Planner" include :-

Oct - 23

Trip to VIC and Great Ocean road, via Thredbo and rels, returning via Katoomba for a few days, at the "Hydro Majestic" to see the Blue Mountain features,

Apr - 24

Trip to Europe, including :- Switzerland, Italy, Croatia (Dubrovnik), Greece, Italy, France and back to Switzerland. See all the famous ski resorts "Grindelwald and Zermatt" and off course the glories of the past in Italy, Greece and France, by hire-car. We were pleased to get "Travel Insurance" at our age, which also covers the LARGE excess costs for any car damage.

Sep - 24

A trip to CHINA, including :- Shanghai, a 4 day Yangtze River Cruise from Yichang to Chongqing, then by FAST rail to Xiang (Pandas), Beijing (Great Wall) then fly home. WE wanted to do this with Wendy Wu, in and organized "Group Tour" but this involved too much walking every day. Instead, we will organise this trip, including :- Flight, Cruises, Trains, Accommodations, with the friendly and knowledgeable help of our local Flight Centre.

These trip reports will be done on completion. It’s a HARD life if you can take it, Eh ?