Scott (or Scotto as he is known in fishing forums) has been a Hervey Bay local since 2006, but has been fishing (some say obsessed) since he was eight years old. Originally from the Illawarra, just south of Sydney NSW Australia, Scott grew up fishing for anything with fins and spent his teenage years land-based game fishing from just about every ledge along the NSW coast from Coffs Harbour in the North to Green Cape in the South. He picked up my first fly rod in 1989 - a #9wht outfit - which he used to catch Tailor, Salmon, Frigates, Luderick and Bream whilst waiting for a run on the big gear. Here, Scott tells of his family adventure to World Heritage-listed Fraser Island...
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| Rainforest grows completely in sand on Fraser Island |
Then there is Fraser Island, World Heritage-listed; it ranks up there with Uluru, Kakadu and the Great Barrier Reef. Stretching over 123 kilometres in length and 22 kilometres at its widest point.With an area of 184,000 hectares it is the largest sand island in the world. It truly is a fishing, camping and four wheel driving Mecca that everyone should spend some time on at least once in your life time!
Prior to moving to Hervey Bay we spent a number of our annual family holidays at Kingfisher Bay Resort on the Western side of the Island in January each year. Kingfisher is a fantastic place to stay in, with plenty of activities for the whole family to enjoy and the fishing from the main barge jetty can be great. Kingfisher Bay provides a central base to explore the island from and all the creature comforts of an award winning resort.
Now that we are Hervey Bay “locals” we have had some great holidays camping on the island and will cover how you can to this in this article!
The first decision to address is where to camp or base yourself. My family has never been keen on sharing their space with dingos, so that ruled out the front beach camping zones. Queensland Parks and Wildlife manages a number of formal campgrounds, where camping permits are required and you need to book and pay camping fees. These formalised camp sites feature water taps or tap stations, and toilets. Most have gas barbecues, deep sinks for washing dishes and information displays. All campgrounds have a 9pm noise curfew and generators are not permitted.
We elected to base ourselves at the Waddy Point - top camp ground, which is fully fenced, has plenty of shady camp sites and a good toilet block with coin operated showers. Waddy Point is also sheltered from the prevailing south east trade winds and conveniently located near to a few of our favourite areas, The Champagne Pools and Indian Head. You can book direct online or by phone on 13 74 68 (24 hours). It is wise to secure a camp site as far in advance as possible with limited sites booking out a year in advance during peak holiday periods. All vehicles must have a current Fraser Island vehicle access permit, purchased before entering the island and fixed to the lower left side of the windscreen, which can be booked online as well.
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| The Kingfisher Bay Resort barge takes 50 minutes |
We generally get the earliest barge to Kingfisher Bay Resort from River Heads which gives you an excuse to have brekkie at the resort! The trip across generally takes around fifty minutes which allows you time to slip in a little extra shut eye after an early start if needed.
Once on the island, we like to stop off at the resort cafe for a bite to eat and& coffee before deflating our tyres for the drive ahead. I have found that deflating your tyres straight down to 18-20psi works best for us. It is amazing how many 4X4 vehicles you will see struggling along or bogged with fully inflated tyres. Just ensure you avoid sharp turns and sudden braking, as tyres can roll off their rims at low pressure. We always carry an accurate type pressure gauge and compressor. Tide times play an important role when travelling on the eastern beach with the best time for travel being a few hours either side of low tide - avoid driving two hours either side of high tide. There are also bypass tracks at Poyungan and Yidney Rocks.
When driving on the eastern beach keep an eye out for the numerous gutters that have been created by the numerous freshwater creeks flowing into the sea. Some will have quite deep banks which could lead to you over turning your vehicle if hit one at speed. Eli creek is often one of the deeper ones.
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| Remember to keep your momentum up in soft sand |
Cornwells Break Road leads across from Kingfisher Bay to the eastern beach and we generally detour across for a quick swim at Lake McKenzie. Lake McKenzie really is the blue jewel in Fraser’s assets and is a must to visit on every trip. It is a 'perched' lake, which means it contains only rainwater - no groundwater - and is not fed by streams and does not flow to the ocean. The sand and organic matter at the base of the lake forms an impervious layer preventing rainwater from draining away. The sand here is pure white silica and feels great under your feet.
From here, you can head across to Central Station. Central Station was once the centre of the forestry industry when logging was allowed prior to 1991. Many walks leave from Central Station. We had a quick stroll through the rainforest along Wanggoolba Creek down to the boardwalk where Eleasha and Jess had their picture taken alongside a huge Strangler Fig. We have previously made the big hike up to Basin Lake and admired the impressive Satinay trees in Pile Valley.
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| 75-Miles of great fishing gutters! |
By the time I reach the camping ground at Waddy Point, I’m generally itching for a fish - driving past endless fishy looking gutters for two hours will do that too you ! We always look for a shady spot with in strolling distance from the main toilets and shower block. Nothing beats sitting around a BBQ and enjoying a few drinks after a big day.
Once settled you need to set off on a bait collecting mission. Starting with Pipis, we generally head south of Indian Head an hour before low tide. In the past, our best results have come from looking for clusters that had shown themselves in the sand like little domes in the main traffic area. Apparently the vibrations of the tyres cause the Pipis to work up through the hard sand so at low tide, on beaches with car traffic, this is the easiest. Note that sometimes they can appear as little depressions or holes rather than bumps – then it is just a matter of digging them out.
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| These a definite art to beach worming! |
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| Scotty with a Pipi-caugt Sweetlip |
If you experience a big south-easterly blow while on the island you can head across to Wathumba Creek on the western side from Orchid Beach. I have had some great fishing in Wathumba Creek from both the bank and kayak. You can also launch small tinnies in the creek and chase pelagics just off shore.
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| Lake McKenzie is perched high in Fraser's famous dunes |
Blog content and images were reproduced with the author's permission and minor edits may have been made. This story was originally posted on Shimanofish.com.au in December 2013.
