Whale watching

From May to November the annual whale migration sees thousands of Humpback whales passing the island's east coast. Many are close enough to see from the eastern beach, however Indian Head provides the perfect lookout. For a closer encounter, whale watching boats depart from Kingfisher Bay Resort daily throughout the season.

Stargazing

Count the passing satellites amongst thousands of stars in a black velvet night sky.

Bushwalking

Accept the challenge of all or part of the island's 'Great Walk' or the numerous short walks. Bushwalks can be combined with daily taxi transfers (phone Fraser Island Taxi Service on (07) 41 279 188) to and from your island accommodation to sidestep the camping aspect of the experience.

Birdwatching/wildlife

More than 350 species recorded - the most abundant form of animal life on the island. An important site for migratory birds resting during their long migration from Siberia.

Few large native animals are found on Fraser Island. Dingoes, possums, echidnas and wallabies are among the 25 species of mammals living on the island. The local dingoes are the purest form of dingo in eastern Australia, because their island habitat has isolated them from domestic dogs.

Aboriginal heritage

Immerse yourself in an area containing evidence of aboriginal occupation going back at least 5,000 years. Fraser Island contains many sites of archaeological, social and spiritual significance. Aboriginal middens, artefact scatters, fish traps, scarred trees and campsites bear witness to the lives of the island's original inhabitants. Named K'gari (Paradise) by its Aboriginal inhabitants, it's believed there was a small permanent population of 400-600 that swelled seasonally to an estimated 2,000-3,000 in the winter months when seafood resources were particularly abundant. Along the beach, shell remains have accumulated to form distinct middens. As heritage areas for Aboriginal people, the midden sites should be left alone, touched only by the shifting sands.

Interior lakes

More than 40 scenic window and perched lakes, each with unique character, are scattered across the island. Lake Boomanjin, the site for the film Eliza Fraser, is the world's largest perched lake, covering 200 hectares. Lake Bowarrady is one of the highest, at 120 metres above sea level. At Lake Wabby, the deepest lake on the island, a massive sandblow is advancing steadily westward (up to three metres a year), gradually filling the lake in its path. This is a dramatic example of the way many of the island's high ridges were formed. The most popular lakes are McKenzie and Birrabeen with their brilliant white sandy beaches and crystal clear water, which makes swimming a popular activity.

Forests

Tall Blackbutt forests circle Lake McKenzie and Central Station - the hub of forestry activity on the island in the last century. Satinay and Brushbox form tall transition forests, with the most impressive stand found at Pile Valley. Early loggers described the Satinay as forest giants towering to more than 60 metres. Unique to Fraser Island and parts of the Cooloola Coast, Satinay's rare quality of being marine borer-resistant made it ideal for use in the Suez Canal and London Docks. Also at Central Station, the ancient King Fern lines the crystal clear Wanggoolba Creek. Forests of Paperbark grow around Ocean Lake, and the western side of the island is dominated by cypress pine in open forests behind the mangrove fringe. Scribbly Gum woodlands are dotted throughout the island.

Eli Creek

The largest creek on the island's eastern side, it pours more than four million litres of water per hour into the ocean. A short boardwalk follows this crystal-clear meandering creek upstream, past Banksias and Pandanus, with many visitors opting to wade back in the swiftly flowing current.

Shipwrecks

There are two notable wrecks in the area. The Maheno, a luxurious passenger ship, was driven ashore by an unseasonal winter cyclone while being towed to Japan for scrapping in 1935. During WWll she was used as a practice bombing target. Today, the vessel's rusty skeleton stands as an imposing landmark on the island's eastern shore. Off Waddy Point, the Marloo, a luxury Italian yacht attracts diving enthusiasts.

Coloured sands

Colourful sand cliffs and gorges stretch along the eastern side of the island, displaying cliff and spire-like formations. There are a few coloured sand gorges inland, one of the most accessible being Rainbow Gorge, just north of Poyungan Rocks. Tall cliffs of coloured sand edge the beach for about 20 kilometres, with the most famous being the Cathedrals, between Happy Valley and Indian Head. Here, the wind has blown the hard sand into turrets and spires. There are said to be 72 hues of sand, from pure white to vibrant ochre, apricot, red, brown and black, caused mainly by iron oxides.

Rocky headlands

The only true rock on Fraser Island is the outcrops at Indian Head, Middle Rocks and Waddy Point, where spectacular views of the beaches and sand dunes can be seen from the three large rock promontories that dominate an eight kilometre stretch. Indian Head is believed to be the island's origin. Sand, driven north by water currents, accumulated at this barrier, slowly forming a mass that eventually developed into what's now one of Queensland's most famous geographic features. While sailing past the island, Captain Cook sighted Aborigines armed with spears on the headland, describing them as "Indians" and so giving the headland its name. All three headlands provide spectacular lookouts for marine creatures such as sea turtles, sharks, dolphins, whales, rays and fish.

Champagne Pools

Below the headland at Middle Rocks, crystal clear, deep rock pools are a popular natural swimming area containing an incredible variety of small colourful tropical fish and other marine animals washed in and trapped between tides. Champagne Pools aptly named due to the myriad of bubbles formed by the surging surf.

Sandy Cape lighthouse

Fraser Island is noted for its shipwrecks, with a large number of vessels reported lost in or around these waters. The building of Sandy Cape lighthouse in 1870 did much to relieve the danger of sailing in Fraser's waters. The lighthouse is considered one of the most strategic on Australia's eastern seaboard.

Sand blows

One of the island's most remarkable features is its great sand blows which extend from the ocean beach as much as two kilometres inland. The vast sand blows behind Indian Head provide a spectacle on windy days, with sand curving up the crests of the dunes and blowing over them like waterspouts. Many of the blows, as they move inland, reveal the forests they once covered. Eerie tree skeletons, sandblasted to their raw shape, re-emerge. Two blows displaying these skeletal relics are Kirrar, north of Rainbow Gorge, and Knifeblade, just behind the Cathedrals.

Fishing

Fraser Island is famous for its surf fishing, particularly from May to October when huge schools of tailor swim along the shoreline. Whiting, bream and dart can be caught pretty well all year round. Bait, in the form of eugaries and surf worms, are in abundance along the surf beach. An good variety of fish are also caught from the western side of the Island.