Fraser Island ( K'gari)

The only place in the world where tall rainforests grow on sand dunes!

If you are after a short getaway and are craving a 4wd adventure or even a romantic retreat consider Fraser Island. Just 3.5 hours north of Brisbane City you find River heads where the ferry departs and the boat ride takes about 30 mins. I have been to Fraser Island a few times now, the first was for a romantic getaway pre kids, the second time was to get married and then we took the kids recently with their grandparents. The first two trips we stayed at Kingfisher Resort. And the 3rd time we didn't stay overnight but did it as a daytrip. My first note is if you choose to do it as a day trip, dont expect to spend much time at the beautiful spots around the island. We ended up rushing back to make our ferry (which we missed). Thankfully we were able to get the later ferry and so we had a late lunch at Kingfisher resort in "The Sand Bar" . This is a kid friendly blog but I will include some info about our other stays so you can hear about the Resort too. Remember that Fraser Island is home to dingoes and there have been many incidents involving dingoes and kids. If you choose to camp, make sure you do so in dingo fenced areas and make sure you never leave food out. Keep your kids very close to you at all times, always walk in groups, don't jog or run outside of fenced areas (they will want to chase), don't store food in tents, and never try to feed a dingo. The Kingfisher Resort is lovely, its big, it has multiple pools and stunning spots. You can hire paddle boards and kayaks ($20 for an hour), play tennis or beach cricket, archery, or even laser skirmish (kids over 7) so there is plenty to do. The resort rooms are clean and spacious and the food is delicious. Dining: The sunset bar - On the western beach you can watch the most spectacular sunset with a cocktail in hand. The Seabelle restaurant- This is the more formal dining option which has won multiple awards. The Sand bar - The more casual option with burgers, pizzas and salads...think pub food. It is situated in a lush bush backdrop with swimming pools.

If you are after more of an adventure, head out for a drive. You can take any car to the resort but only 4 wheelers can get around the Island. Eurong beach resort is on the other side of the Island and we did stop by on our journey to get some morning tea. We visited the Maheno Shipwreck which is a rusting wreck that was washed ashore during a cyclone in 1935. Even the kids thought this was pretty cool to look at. In the middle of the Island is Lake McKenzie. This highly instagramed site is nothing short of spectacular. The water is crystal blue and the sand is as white as it gets. I wont lie even in September the water was freezing! So if you plan to laze about I would suggest visiting later in summer. The kids loved to splash around and build sandcastles like any beach but for adults the beauty is just breathtaking! It is flat and calm so very safe for supervised kids. You trek down some bush to get to the water but its a pretty easy walk. Seventy-Five Mile Beach is a long sandy highway essentially. You can enjoy the smell of the ocean and see whales some times of the year (Winter/Spring) as well as lots of birds. The kids found it amusing for about 10 mins then they fell asleep. But it was a nice drive all the same. Eli Creek is pretty cool, though not really suitable to very young kids. We didn't stop as it looked quite busy and I knew our kids were a bit young, but older kids and adults would love this float down a fast freshwater creek. We tried to find the colored sand but had no luck unfortunately. I assume the kids would have thought that was pretty cool. KID FRIENDLY SCORE: 5/10 for toddlers 8/10 for bigger kids All in all the kids loved getting dirty and wet and the long stretches and bumpy drive gave them plenty of nap opportunities but as a kid friendly vacation.... for us it felt more appropriate for older kids. We will take them back when they are all over the age of 6 next time.