Australia's Fraser Island 
Tropical Island Vacation Escape
by: Glenn Murray

For all its conveniences, modern living leaves a lot to be desired. We spend our days enduring the ever-increasing pressures of work, the city’s oppressive unfriendliness, the daily commuter grind and the aggressive reality of impatient road-ragers.

Is something missing?

Unfortunately, work is a reality for most of us. So too is city and suburban living, dreary weather, pollution, traffic… But it doesn’t have to be all there is to life. Try something that puts you in touch with who you really are. Try something elemental. Try something that soothes your soul.

Try Fraser Island.

Fraser Island isn’t just a tropical island vacation paradise. It’s a unique and luxurious combination of Australia’s rich natural heritage, its earthy roots, its wholesome majesty, and its refreshingly simple essentials. It’s a chance to touch the fine sands, to drift in the temperate water, to bask in the sun that seems all yours… It’s your chance to partake of a life that most Australians have forgotten.

Spend a week on and in turquoise waters, a week without shoes with the sand between your toes, a week fishing and perhaps living off your catch. Your perspective can’t help but change.

It’s not a mere fleeting appreciation. It’s something you take with you.

Fraser can help remind you that you’re not your job. How important are the forms and the filing, the meetings and memorandums? You can learn a lot about yourself when you take away all the things that don’t matter.

And really… is there any better way to experience this epiphany than in paradise?

Fraser Island certainly is a tropical island vacation paradise, no matter which way you look at it. At the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, and a short boat ride from Hervey Bay in South-East Queensland, Fraser is 124 km from tip to toe and 16 km across the middle. At 163,000 hectares, it’s the world’s biggest sand island.

Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s all just sand. Not by a long shot! The whole island is laced with crystal clear fresh water streams, and deep midnight blue fresh water lakes. In fact, with over 40 fresh water lakes – it’s home to half of the world’s known ‘perched’ lakes. It also boasts a dazzling diversity of plants and animals (including Australia’s purest strain of dingo), and an amazing variety of spectacular landscapes, from 120 km of non-stop tropical beach to dense and towering rainforest, weathered headland to ochre gorge, inspiring cliffs to wandering dunes, eerie mangroves to wind-blown salt pans.

What’s more, you have your choice of accommodation, so you can choose your own level of ‘communion with nature’. From 4½ star luxury resorts to rental retreats to motels and units, right through to the good ‘ole campsite. Whether you’re a sucker for a bit of pampering, or you’re perfectly at home with a tent and a campfire on the beach, Fraser is a great provider.

And great accommodation is just the start… The island boasts average temperatures of 29°c in summer and 22°c in winter, so it’s no surprise that outdoor activities feature prominently on the agenda. Adrenalin addicts and dedicated sunbathers alike will appreciate the vast range available. From sunrise to sunset (and beyond), there’s always something for everyone. The only problem is choosing! Fishing, 4-wheel-driving, eating, sailing, bird-watching, bush-walking, swimming, eating, whale & dolphin-watching, shipwreck exploration, eating, beauty therapy, massage, lazing in the sun, eating, beach volleyball, tennis, cricket, eating, canoeing, sailboarding, snorkelling, eating… And needless to say, a few quiet drinks might make their way onto the agenda as well…

With so much to offer, it’s no surprise that the Fraser Island was originally known as K’gari – or ‘Paradise’ – by local Aboriginal peoples.

Fraser Island certainly is “tropical island vacation paradise for everyone”

Continued next page....

<< Previous    [1]  2    Next >>