Fraser Island access

[RobboMC Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RobboMC]

The lady is dreaming of going to Fraser Island. ( from Sydney )

What is the ferry access like - will we need mud tread tyres to get up the beach?
We have a 95 series with H/T treads at the moment.

We would be travelling with a Jayco trailer camper doing probably 50/50 caravan parks and off-grid camping, how difficult will it be to get the camper across on the ferry, I'm thinking this could be beyond my old wagon as the camper weighs over a tonne when full.

[Auscanclan Member Find all posts View Profile Close Auscanclan]

The lady is dreaming of going to Fraser Island. ( from Sydney )

What is the ferry access like - will we need mud tread tyres to get up the beach?
We have a 95 series with H/T treads at the moment.

We would be travelling with a Jayco trailer camper doing probably 50/50 caravan parks and off-grid camping, how difficult will it be to get the camper across on the ferry, I'm thinking this could be beyond my old wagon as the camper weighs over a tonne when full.

Hi,
The tyres will likely do the trick as tyre pressure is the big one here. so as long as you can run them at beach pressures then that will have you covered. Some inland tracks might need AT's though.

As for access the ferry from Inskip Point is the way to go and you can practice beach run along Noosa north shore. just time your run with low tide (2 hours each side).

The camper is no problem for the ferry.

Have fun

[Brett1979 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Brett1979]

Good advice from above. And when it comes to driving in soft boggy sand keep the revs and speed up. Where do you plan to set-up camp while on the island? That could determine how easy your run will be or how many times you may get bogged. If you have an auto that will help you. A manual towing in soft sand makes things more difficult.

Some of the inland tracks can be a bit boggy. The Indian Head bypass to get up further north to set-up camp may need a few attempts when towing if it's been dry for a few days. You'll learn what to do though. Just keep the shovel handy, and max trax if you own some.

[brogers Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close brogers]

Hi Robbo,
I usually time my visits to beaches such as Fraser etc according to the tides (within reason)...usually around say 2 hrs either side of low tide, or thereabouts...so you end up driving along the harder sand, and you can also usually stay high enough to avoid the wet wet sand...ie drive on the somewhat drier hard sand ...but it depends also on how high the high tide is also...just have a squiz at the tide charts and its pretty easy to time your arrival at the barge on the outgoing tide when the tide is already at least half low.

H/T tires typically wont be much of problem, (speaking form experience with stock A/T tires and a box trailer on Fraser island, and a camper trailer on Bribie Island and Moreton Island)) as others have said, it is tire pressures that are very important....on a good day and the right tide you can virtually drive a stock standard Prado and trailer off the ferry and up the beach without any hassle at all....however getting ONTO the Ferry on the mainland side at inskip can cause some folk a challenge, as there can be a bit of a run of soft chopped up sand, so if you pull up near the end of the road at Inskip, get the passengers out to walk to the beach to reduce your load, let your tires down (that's another very long thread...what psi, but it depends on tires, load, tread etc )...I typically start at around 50% of usual highway pressures...(so for me that's around 20-22psi hot, which is about where I have preset my tyre deflators)...others go lower than that...whatever, just don't drive at full highway tyre pressures that's all.

Here is a link to a barge that operates at Inskip Point: http://mantarayfraserislandbarge.com.au/

At one stage there were two barges operating in competition at Inskip, and there were all sorts of loyalties and shenanigans between the barge competitors, but I think that's all settled down now, but anyway, its a great trip, get on some websites and have a read, time your departure from Inskip so that your run up the beach will be on hard sand and you will have a great time. Get a beach permit, and consider booking a camp site that will accommodate your jayco...and for goodness sake look at the dingos but never ever feed the buggers, else they will get really dependent on tourists and develop an unsafe interest in tourists, and they then have to be shot...like some of the idiot tourists who feed them should be.

https://www.npsr.qld.gov.au/parks/fraser/camping.html

Out of interest, I've never caught it, but there is another barge location that departs from further up the mainland and goes across to Kingfisher Resort...but I dont have any experience with it, and I just always catch the barge from Inskip....let us know how your trip goes.

[Hogey66 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hogey66]

The other barge goes from river heads just south from Hervey Bay. Takes a bit longer and you then have to use the inland tracks to get to the eastern side to travel north. Not a bad option if the tides don't match your plans as you can waste a few hours fishing the pier at kingfisher resort or checking out lake Mckenzie and the various other inland attractions. On the east side watch out for washouts on the beach where small creeks run out onto the beach. They have wrecked many cars in the past.

[Mozz Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mozz]

Your tyres will be fine. Highway tyres are great for sand if the pressures are lowered to say 20 psi on the tow vehicle as well as the trailer. Bear in mind that you do have to be sensible with sharp turns at speed with lowered pressures. If you are not confident with sand be sure you pick a time with the tide running down to low to provide plenty of hard sand. Or alternatively go from River heads to Kingfisher so you can ease into the sand driving and depending where you plan to set up you may end up with less driving to get there. Remember to plan your soft sections, keep momentum up and don't stop moving in soft sections.

[Borec Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Borec]

As said above, pressure in the tyres is what you need to control, mud tires are actually counterproductive on sand, as you will often dig in with them. I have been on Fraser 2x with a camper trailer. First time we had a bit of a challenge, as the sand was very dry and we landed at high tide, so I was driving through deep dry sand. You just have to keep your momentum going. What ever you do, do not stop in deep dry sand (when with trailer, or even without it), always try to stop on a solid patch, or at least pointing downhill if possible. I was running with 15 PSI, car and trailer. Only had issues at Indian head crossing, but that was because it was the first time I did it, and I thought that I have to go slow and steady. It does not work like that in sand. You need bit of momentum, especially if going uphill. Also as soon as you get bogged (if you do), stop, do not dig yourself in. Spinning wheels will not get you out, it will just make it harder to get out. So as soon as the car stops, stop accelerating, and start thinking about getting out some other way (traction aid or snatch or winch). However you should not get bogged, as long as you lower the pressure in the tires, keep your momentum and do not stop in the wrong places.
One more thing, if you do get bogged on an uphill slope, it is always easier to go back rather then trying to get unbogged going uphill. I have seen quite a few people trying to keep going uphill, rather then get back and try again with bit more momentum, most of the times, it was just a waste of time and energy.

[RobboMC Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RobboMC]

I have driven along a beach near Grafton about 15 years ago and found no problems, that was in my previous Prado; a 90 Series RV with 80 profile narrow tyres, and covered both hard and soft sand no problem. The access track from the hard beach to the small town there called Sandon was really deep and soft. So that is my one hour of experience. I saw first hand it's the soft bit from the high tide mark to the road that causes the grief.

I know what you mean about little creeks crossing the beach. On this little jaunt our friend tried to have a drive, came across a little washout and he gunned the car to get out of the creek crossing and instantly dug into the wet sand. Fortunately we knew instinctively not to keep spinning and digging and easily dug it out by hand along with some tyre deflation. For those in NSW look for the Yuraygir National Park, I have no idea of the beach access still exists there.
Assuming we stop dreaming and start driving I expect we will camp here on the way as it was a great place to camp and get in some sand practise before getting to Qld.

Thanks for the tips.

[Hogey66 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hogey66]

The creeks running out across the beach on Fraser quite often leave a channel up to a metre deep with steep sides. They are often difficult to see and you don't want to come across one at 80kph. Also beware of the speed limits as the cops are quite happy to do a day trip over there with the radar gun!

[RobboMC Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RobboMC]

We are thinking of backing away from taking the camper to the island, instead just tenting it for a few nights or maybe go luxury into a cabin.

So will my stock standard 95 series GXL with 265/70 H/T tyres make it across the beaches assuming we take a compressor to raise tyre pressures again after I let them down, and perhaps a set of ramps and a snatch strap and to get a tow out of a hole?

It would be nice to travel up and back with the camper, is there any storage facilities around Hervey Bay or Gympie?

[RobboMC Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RobboMC]

The creeks running out across the beach on Fraser quite often leave a channel up to a metre deep with steep sides. They are often difficult to see and you don't want to come across one at 80kph. Also beware of the speed limits as the cops are quite happy to do a day trip over there with the radar gun!

You mean like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMKR8vn9ZTg

[Hogey66 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hogey66]

This one gives you a good idea of what not to do with the creeks across the beach. When the tide is out the washouts are sometimes difficult to see.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1iLUEQaOPIM

[rags Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close rags]

We are thinking of backing away from taking the camper to the island, instead just tenting it for a few nights or maybe go luxury into a cabin.

So will my stock standard 95 series GXL with 265/70 H/T tyres make it across the beaches assuming we take a compressor to raise tyre pressures again after I let them down, and perhaps a set of ramps and a snatch strap and to get a tow out of a hole?

It would be nice to travel up and back with the camper, is there any storage facilities around Hervey Bay or Gympie?

I was up at Rainbow beach camping last week and noticed a storage yard advertising storage for $9.00 a day. Just in town opposite the council pool.
You could tow the trailer up the beach from Noosa and see how you go before committing to the tent.

[Brett1979 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Brett1979]

We are thinking of backing away from taking the camper to the island, instead just tenting it for a few nights or maybe go luxury into a cabin.

So will my stock standard 95 series GXL with 265/70 H/T tyres make it across the beaches assuming we take a compressor to raise tyre pressures again after I let them down, and perhaps a set of ramps and a snatch strap and to get a tow out of a hole?

It would be nice to travel up and back with the camper, is there any storage facilities around Hervey Bay or Gympie?

Your stock standard Prado will do well on Fraser. It's a very capable car, so long as you develop the right instinct for sand driving... Which comes with a little experience of course. 2 trips for me to develop the correct techniques for driving the island and to know what to expect in the different notorious areas. Over a dozen trips later and you see many inexperienced drivers make simple mistakes that we all made once.

if it's a lowish tide, drive close to the water's edge. The sand is firmer, your car won't have to work as had to maintain its speed, and you'll avoid the deeper washouts. When heading north on the beach and oncoming cars are approaching you, just indicate where applicable to let the other cars know what you're doing and gradually move to the left to allow them room to pass on your right side. Drive on the beach with your headlights on due to the ocean mist sometimes reducing long distant visibility. It's good to know what's coming in the distance to reduce unpredictability and cars with their headlights on are visible from much further away.

Don't worry about pulling the air compressor out and using it while you're actually on Fraser Island. You'd only be wasting your time airing up and down when entering the beach or inland tracks. Air down before driving out to the barge at Inskip Point, and air back up at the same place or at one of the servos when you're back at Rainbow. But the wait times when wanting to use a servo air compressor can be a little long at times.

If your car is fairly loaded up then airing down to 18-20psi with the tyres you've got will be a good pressure to do all of the island on.
Since you live so far away, and if time allows and you're up for a bit of extra adventure, drive up to the far north of the island and walk up to the light house. N'Gala Rocks bypass is great entertainment to watch people who're bogged. People always get stuck there and frequently in large numbers in peak periods and you won't have to wait long for a bog to occur. Usually the manual diesels turn it in to a car park. My tip to you is take a long run up from all the way back from the edge of the trench as every extra meter of runway strip matters here, put it in 2nd gear low range and go hard. Don't back off until you get up into the winding sections of track further up. Keep the wheels pointing straight when your on a straight section of track. Don't worry about the innitial tight entrance on the other side when returning south as it looks a lot worse than what it is, but nonetheless don't come back into it with the gun half cocked. Go hard until the first couple of sharpe bends then ease up a tad and it's all smooth sailing from there. You'll no doubt drive all or most of the inland tracks while you're there. Theyre great fun and there's lots to see and do. I'd recommend driving to the Kingfisher Bay restaurant at some stage for lunch once or twice too.

You can leave your camper in a fenced safe yard at Rainbow Beach for a fee. Years ago one of our friends drove his Commodore up to Rainbow Beach, put it in the safe yard, and even got a lift from the operator down to the barge and had a free ride with his back pack over and we were waiting on the other side to pick him up.

Buy a Hema map of the island and study it well in advance. Become familiar with it so without referring to it all the time you'll have a fair idea of where you are on the island and which tracks go where.

Fuel on the island is a dead set rip-off and I'd avoid getting any fuel over there if possible. Fill both tanks to the max at Rainbow before entering the island. If you're planning a long stay and lots of driving, Take/borrow 50L of jerry cans and fill them up in Rainbow too.

[RobboMC Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RobboMC]

In the end my father got quite sick so the missus took the kids by herself. She parked it all at Hervey Bay and took a tour to Fraser Island,
where it rained torrentially for 3 whole days. It is called rain forest after all!

My beloved Prado has returned them safe and sound after almost 3,000 km of towing without a single addition of any fluid into the car.
Plenty of fluid added from the sky unfortunately, for those that watched the V8 Supercars last weekend they were there in person in the rain.

Thunderstorms, hail, mud covered roads after that mini-cyclone near Hervey Bay 2 weeks ago, unlevel campsites, 4 wheel lock ups in the city while towing;
the Prado took it all in it's stride with ease.

What a great car. Yes a shame she wasn't confident enough to tackle Fraser Island, maybe next season when I can go too and have a crack at the sand driving.