K’gari Great Walk QLD (78km)
Tropical Walking
Starting location
- Dilli Village (just outside the village)
- Happy Valley (just outside the village)
We recommend starting in the south at the Dilli Village trailhead and finishing in the north at Happy Valley because most of the switchbacks are designed to work that way
Southern trailhead signage located just outside Dilli Village, K’gari (Fraser Island), Queensland
Finishing location
- Happy Vally trailhead located at the village edge, K’gari (Fraser Island), Queensland
Best time to travel the K'gari Great Walk
The K’gari Great Walk is generally open from 1 March to 31 October each year but please check the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) website for any closures before you go.
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- At all other times, the fire danger risk may be too high
- The dates depend on environmental conditions which will vary each year
- Check park alerts for the latest information including any trail/campsite closures
- If you want a bit of solitude, avoid school and Easter holidays
- Dingo Breeding Season is March to May
Autumn daytime averages (April)
- Maximum 27°C
- Minimum 18°C
- Average rainfall 60mm
Springtime daytime averages (September)
- Maximum 25°C
- Minimum 14°C
- Average rainfall 26mm
Map
Map of K’gari (Fraser Island) positioned off the Queensland coast
K’gari Great Walk map of the Australian Hiker trip. This walk can be up to 90km in length if you do all the optional add-ons. While you can do this walk in either direction, we suggest starting at the Dilli Village trailhead and heading north to ensure the switchbacks are in your favour
Nearest Town
- Happy Valley in the north (approximately 150 metres from the petrol station to the trailhead)
- Dilli Village in the south (approximately 200 metres from the village to the trailhead)
Trip Podcasts
If you want some additional information have a listen to the series of podcasts on this trip:
- Australian Hiker Podcast Episode 288 expectations versus hesitations
- Australian Hiker Podcast Episode 289 Part 1 On-trail episode
- Australian Hiker Podcast Episode 290 Part 2 On-trail episode (due for release 15 May 2024)
- Australian Hiker Podcast Episode 291 Expectations versus Reality (due for release 22 May 2024)
Trail markers – unlike other trails, there is no specific trail logo for the K’gari Great Walk. You need to follow the green arrows on the trail and pay attention to the destination directions
Our Trip
The Queensland-based K’gari Great Walk is another one of those trips we had on our ‘to do’ list for a number of years but if I’m honest, the thought of doing a walk in a tropical region generated some hesitation. In April 2024 we finally bit the bullet and decided to head north to complete this hike.
The following write-up will take you through this trip day by day. We offer some suggestions based on our experience on how to get the best from this adventure. In addition, we have released a series of four (4) related podcast episodes (see links above/below) that provide an alternative way of finding out more about this trail.
There is also a slide show of this walk containing many more images and videos than we could possibly include in this write-up that provides a visual overview of this trail.
Our Itinerary
Designated distances for each day
- Day 1 (14.3 km)
- Transport from Kingfisher Resort to Dilli Village trailhead by taxi (approximately 80 minutes)
- Hiking from Dilli Village trailhead to Lake Beneroon Campground
- Day 2 (15.2 km)
- Hiking from Lake Beneroon Campground to Lake Mackenzie (Lake Boorangoora) Campground
- Day 3 (12.3 km)
- Lake Mackenzie (Lake Boorangoora) Campground to Lake Wabby Campground
- Day 4 (16.1 km)
- Lake Wabby Campground to Valley of the Giants Campground
- Day 5 (13.1 km)
- Valley of the Giants Campground to Lake Garawongera Campground
- Day 6 (6.7 km)
- Lake Garawongera Campground to Happy Valley
- Return to Kingfisher Bay by taxi (approximately 50 minutes)
Total distance walked 77.7km (ish)
The Lead Up
This was one of those walks that fell into the ‘logistically difficult’ category. Usually it’s Tim who does most of the planning for these walks but this year it was Gill’s turn to take the reins.
Travelling from interstate required a lot of fiddly coordination of various transport considerations along with a fair amount of online research that identified a number of knowledge gaps. While it ended up working well for us, with a few minor glitches, this trip reinforced why we started Australian Hiker ‘as a one stop shop for information that will help fellow hikers plan their own adventures.’
While we usually opt to do our walks towards the end of winter preferring the cooler conditions, we started this walk in late April, adding a few extra days to get the trip done if needed or just relax at the end.
This walk is one of those ones that while there is nothing stopping you from starting at either end of the trail, by walking northwards you benefit from the trail design given most of the switchbacks favour you when you travel in that direction.
Planes, Ferries and Taxis
Interstate travel to undertake a walk adds a whole new layer of complexity and in all honesty, this was an area of Australia that we have less familiarity with typically tending to stop at Brisbane or jump up to Cairns. We ended up working backwards from when we could get a ferry to K’gari from Hervey Bay as we didn’t want to spend an extra night on the mainland.
We started this trip on Anzac Day and to align all of our connections for the day we woke at 3:30am to start our journey from Canberra with a very early flight to Brisbane. The flight was uneventful but one strange quirk on arriving in Brisbane was that we had to exit the boarding gate area only to turn around and clear security again to catch our flight to Hervey Bay on the same plane. A very strange and inefficient process!
Flight two from Brisbane to Hervey Bay was very quick taking around 30 minutes. Once we had collected our baggage we made our way to the end of the terminal to catch our shuttle bus to the ferry. This was where we created the only real problem of the trip and it was one of our own making.
Being Anzac Day the shop opening hours were delayed and we had originally planned to have a few hours in Hervey Bay to allow for this and to purchase stove gas. The early arrival time of our flight allowed us to catch an earlier ferry to K’gari and in hindsight, we should have stuck to our original plan. A non-public holiday day would have been fine but because of this change, we couldn’t get a gas cylinder on the mainland and took a punt on being able to purchase one on the island. However, the Jetboil style canister was unavailable on K’gari at the time of this write-up in May 2024. This forced us to opt for ‘cold soaking’ our meals which actually worked out well for us given the warm temperatures.
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- We recommend that if you are travelling from interstate talk to one of the local outdoor stores about supplying gas and arrange to have it delivered to the shuttle company in advance or make sure you have a few hours in Hervey Bay to buy gas. Alternatively, opt for an alcohol stove such as one of the Trangias if you really want to cook.
The shuttle bus, which was actually a full-sized bus, transferred us to the ferry point at Rivers Head. We joined walk-on passengers and made our way onboard and up to the seating area. From here all the 4WD vehicles were directed onto the ferry and on our trip, the car deck was almost full. The 45 minute trip across to the island was nice and smooth but with any boat trip there’s a possibility of being a bit rough in big seas.
This time the cars exited the ferry first and the walk-on passengers followed. Another thing worth noting is because we had chosen the earlier ferry there wasn’t a transfer service to the resort so we had to take our bags up to the resort. Even though the walk was only around 400 metres, we were glad ours bags had wheels. All up our travelling time for the day was around seven hours.
We had opted to stay at the Kingfisher Bay Resort for the night prior to starting the walk and also to spend two nights at the end of the walk to relax. Certainly this is not the cheapest option for accomodation but if you don’t have a vehicle it’s the easiest option and well worth the stay. It also means we could leave our travel bags at the resort for when we returned.
The trip back to Canberra was a reverse of our trip there but with a much later start that saw us get home around 8:00pm in the evening.
Landing in Brisbane on travel day
Hervey Bay Airport
Shuttle pickup point at the side of the Hervey Bay Airport
Ferry to K’gari
Foot traffic boarding the K’gari ferry
Cars driving onto the K’gari ferry and the shuttle bus in the background
Leaving K’gari on the ferry
Day 1 Kingfisher Bay to Dilli Village to Lake Beneroon Campground (14.3 km)
- Distance: 14.3 km
- Time Travelled-Walking: 5.5 hours
- Walking Start: 10:57am
- Walking Finish: 4:25pm
As hikers we usually start early and it’s not unusual for us to be the first ones on the trail in the mornings but not so today. Our taxi ride was scheduled for 9:45am and that was because we needed to coincide with the tides so our taxi could drive along the beach. While this trip was only 30km I hadn’t considered that it would be on a 4WD track and every so often we needed to either pull over or reverse and pull over, to allow other vehicles to pass. All up the taxi trip took us just on 80 minutes so by the time we arrived at the trailhead, paid for the taxi, and recorded some videos for social media, we didn’t start our walk until just on 11:00am. We saw the first of two dingoes while driving along the beach to Dilli Village – the only ones we saw on the whole trip.
The recommended travel time for this track is between 6-8 days and if you are fit and travelling fast you could potentially do it in five days. We needed to decide whether we were going to stop at the Lake Boomanjin Campground which was a 10.3km walk or continue on another 4km to the next campsite at Lake Beneroon Campground (14.3 km). We opted for Lake Beneroon Campground as we figured we still had plenty of time and we didn’t want a long day the next day.
Lake Boomanjin Campground is one of the dingo fenced sites (the toilets are located outside the fence). We had expected there was a water tank at this campsite but unless it was really well hidden, we couldn’t find one. There was however a water spigot at the picnic area about 150 metres further on if you don’t feel like walking down to the lake to fill up. Ether way, we recommend you carry a water filter. Lake Boomanjin, like all the other campsites, has a toilet along with low platforms/tables and dingo proof storage boxes.
Prior to the trip we couldn’t find any indication of a track logo that other walks in Australia have. I’m not sure if this is a broader Queensland decision or just on this trail. However, there are good trail makers which consist of a directional arrow on a green background but it took us a while to work out that the directions/distances only relate to the next campground on the trail so if you are skipping campsites like we did, you will only get your directions to the campground you plan on skipping.
From Lake Boomanjin we continued on from the forested areas out into the open along the lake itself. It is at this point you need to pay attention to the ‘next sign’ before moving on as we made the mistake of following the footprints of others before realising we needed to head further to the right than we were. We quickly located the signage and pressed on and were then presented with two directional signs within about 50 metres of each other; they were pointing us in the same direction but giving us different distances. We had an expectation of how long this last segment of the day was supposed to be so opted for the longer distance which is what it ended up being.
The trail tread itself while sandy was compacted due to the rains over the past weeks but was also good on the legs. In most cases it was a single file track. The vegetation was open dry forest with the exception of the section around Lake Boomanjin which took us into open sandy heathland. Not long after we started the days walking, we came across a couple of rangers in one of those small farm style vehicles who were clearing the track of any blowdowns so hopefully this was the start of the season’s clearing because later sections of the trail really needed it.
We arrived at our destination of Lake Beneroon Campground at 4:25pm after just on 5.5 hours of walking. This campground was almost a bit of a surprise as there was no real warning that the campsite was approaching; we were just there. There were two other groups travelling at the same time, a group of three and a group of two so we had plenty of campsites to choose from. One thing of note is that a number of sites were sloping so we did a walk around to identify the best option to get flat ground.
Lake Beneroon was an unfenced camping area and had the flat tables and lock boxes, along with a single toilet but didn’t have a tank water source which required hikers to source their water from the lake around 90 metres away.
Once we had set up our tent we cold-soaked our dinner and that’s when the rain hit hard which forced us into our tent to eat. The rain continued for around an hour and it was quite heavy at times and continued on and off during the night. This we were to discover was a pattern with 5:00pm rains being common.
We had someone contact us prior to this trip describing the walk as a ‘green tunnel’ and yes that is the case as a generalisation but one thing we discovered on this day is that this trip is very much about paying attention to the little stuff. On this trip we had loads of fungus which we both love, in addition there was also a load of flowering plants to be seen on this walk. I saw something moving on the trail that seemed to be really odd and it turned out to be parts of a large colourful dead grasshopper being dragged across the trail by ants. At around the same time I looked up and this blur of blue was right in front of my face, literally, and once it backed off I realised it was one of those bright blue butterflies. Unfortunately I didn’t get a photo because by the time I realised what it was, it was too far away.
One comment I would make that applies to the whole trail, is that there are various add-on options on this trail which talks the distance up to around 90km but we chose not to do any of these including one walk up a very steep short hill to a lookout! The other thing to note is that we heard that the add-on distances are sometimes longer than the signs indicate.
Taxi to the Dilli trailhead
On the beach on K’gari
Turning off to Dilli Village trailhead
Taxi service dropping us off at the Dilli Village trailhead
Trailhead at Dill Village, K’gari
Trail signage at the Dilli Village trailhead
Away we go on the K’gari Great Walk
Trail Example 1 on day 1 K’gari Great Walk
Spotted Hyacinth Orchid – Dipodium variegatum
Gill having a lunch break on day 1 K’gari
Trail Example 2 on day 1 K’gari Great Walk
Trail signage on K’gari Great Walk
Lake Boomanjin Campground showing the dingo fence
These markers identify pick up points along the trail
Lovely red fungi
Lake Boomanjin
Sundew near the shore of Lake Boomanjin
Our campsite at Lake Benaroon on night 1
Toilet at Lake Benaroon Campground
Day 2 Lake Beneroon Campground to Lake McKenzie (Lake Boorangoora) Campground (15.2 km)
- Distance: 15.2 km
- Time Walking: 7 hours
- Walking Start: 7:37am
- Walking Finish: 2:41pm
Day two; after packing up and eating breakfast we were back on-trail just after 7:30am. When you get into your tent after 5:00pm, it tends to be for the night so we tend to wake up fairly early and start early. While we started without our rain jackets, we very quickly put them on within about 15 minutes of starting to walk only to take them off about 30 minutes later. In part the rain jackets were about keeping us dry from wet vegetation and water falling off the taller tees rather than the rain itself.
Today continued the same as yesterday but we noticed the vegetation types changing throughout the day. Green tunnel this walk may be but it differs as you go up and down hills and move across the various valleys. Again while there isn’t much in the way of large life, there is certainly lots of smaller stuff to see if you pay attention.
One thing we learned today is that each of the lakes seems to be in its own valley so you need to expect an ascent of some sort during each day. Today we thought we were getting close to our allocated distance and started to go up a steepish hill (its all relative) and thought our campsite was either on the top of the hill or down at the bottom of another valley. As it turned out, the fenced campsite was just over the top of the hill and while the lake was further down a couple of hundred metres away it was nowhere near as low as the previous valley. Like the Lake Boomanjin Campground, the toilets were outside the camping area and when we arrived we could hear lots of day visitors and 4WDs making a lot of noise as they were enjoying the lake or heading off for the day.
Rather than just a single toilet there were a bank of toilets with a reasonably large car park which gave the indication that this was a popular site. While we didn’t visit every lake in the area Lake McKenzie for us was the pick. It has a great beach, good clear-ish water and we can see why there were large numbers of day visitors there. From our perspective if we were to take an extra day somewhere for a break then this would be the site to do it.
Lake McKenzie also has some very specific rules with no food allowed at the Lake to minimise any issues with dingoes. We did see one dingo up near the toilet block and it was eyeing Gill off but then saw me coming from another direction and decided retreat was the better option. There are warning signs all over the tracks as well as on the website about dingo interaction and what to do/not to do. They warn people to stay within very close proximity to children (and even small adolescents) and to carry a stick or trekking pole just in case. So even if you aren’t usually a pole user, this is the trail where it’s worth carrying at least one just in case. As it turned, out we didn’t see any more dingoes from then on even though we did see warning signs particularly at sites where vehicles access the areas.
At this campground we filled up our water from the small hand basin at the toilet block but you can also get water from the Lake itself – again you will need to filter.
Filtering water on the trail
Trail example 1 day 2 on K’gari
Fungus 2 on K’gari
Fungus 3 on K’gari
Fungus 4 on K’gari
Heading off on day 2 through old tree fall on K’gari
Trail example 2 day 2 on K’gari
Moving through Central Station on K’gari
Picnic area Central Station, K’gari
Trail example 3 day 2 on K’gari
Signage at Central Station
Lake McKenzie Campground
Campsite at Lake McKenzie
Toilets at Lake McKenzie
No food in the red zone at Lake McKenzie
Close up of a lock box on K’gari Great Walk
Day 3 Lake McKenzie (Lake Boorangoora) Campground to Lake Wabby Campground (12.3 km)
- Distance: 12.3 km
- Time Travelled-Walking: 5.1 hours
- Walking Start: 7:24am
- Walking Finish: 12:30pm
For us this was the shortest day on the trail with the exception of the last day so we had expected a relatively easy day and we were wrong! If I had to pick the physically hardest day then this is it! Lots of uphill sections with minimal switchbacks with long runs of uphill climbs. While this was the shortest full day on-trail we were both physically drained by the time we hit camp.
Again like the day before the vegetation provided good variation with lots of fungi and lots of small things to see if you looked closely. It was at this stage we started to notice leeches as the trail was definitely wetter and more covered by vegetation that was bordering on rainforest. While I was taking a rest on the table at our chosen campsite I noticed there was a large patch of blood on my right knee (see images below) that looked like I has sliced my leg open. When I took my pants off there was blood pouring down my leg but no leech to be found. It’s been many years (not since I was around nine years old) that I have been bitten by a leech.
If you stand still long enough on a wet shady area of the trail you will notice leeches making their way towards you so either don’t stop for long or else tuck your socks over your pants. This was the first of two for the trip.
Lake Wabby was the only area on the trail that confused us navigation-wise and while we thought we needed to head to Lake Wabby the next day which was 1.6km away, we weren’t 100% sure. There were two options to get there with the first being to head across the trail towards the lookout or head to the toilets and then towards the lookout. Both tracks connected but the upper route near the toilet block was the best option and when you saw the connection point from the lower trail, it was obvious that it didn’t get much use. If you plan on using the toilet facilities before you head off, it makes sense to start from there.
By this stage we had the trail to ourselves as the other hikers had headed back to Kingfisher doing just a few days of the trip.
Camp site booking tag should be displayed each night although we never saw any rangers
Close up of lock box on K’gari Great Walk
Heading off on Day 3 K’gari
Trail example 1 day 3
Fungus 5 on K’gari
Giant tree day 3
Trail example 2 day 3
Fungus 6 on K’gari
Lake Wabby Campground
Image of leech bite through pants on day 3
Leech bite day 3 K’gari
Lake Wabby toilets
Day 4 Lake Wabby Campground to Valley of the Giants Campground (16.1 km)
- Distance: 16.1km
- Time Travelled-Walking: 5.3 hours
- Walking Start: 7:05am
- Walking Finish: 1:55pm
Another good day but a wet one and probably the biggest change of vegetation with tropical/subtropical rainforest being a key section of this area. Again the leeches were an issue. This time I actually managed to identify a leech just above my sock line happily sucking away but it hadn’t been there too long. I picked up on this one on the trail but we had to be careful standing still even in camp as the leeches quickly made their way towards us.
The Valley of the Giants is another site that has an optional add-on but again we chose not to add the extra kilometres because of the heavy rain and instead set up camp in what ended up being the wettest of the campgrounds for this trip. This wetness was due to the non-stop rain which included another 5:00pm shower and water falling from the dense tree coverage at this site. Even when the sun as out in the late afternoon, it was dark because of the heavy tree coverage.
The last section of today’s walk was on management trail.
Facility-wise this was an unfenced site that again had tables, lock boxes and a single toilet but in this case there was a water spigot located close to the toilets.
Trailhead siganage at Lake Wabby, adjacent to the toilet facilities
Warning sign Lake Wabby
Trail example 1 Day 4 K’gari
Lookout at Lake Wabby
Lake Wabby from the lookout. if you look very closely you can just see the water towards the bottom righthand corner of the image through the trees
Direction signage on day 4 K’gari
Trail example 2 Day 4 K’gari
Trail example 3 Day 4 K’gari
Elk Horns
Morning tea day 4
Trail example 4 Day 4 K’gari
Entering the Valley of the Giants Campground
A very wet campsite on day 4 K’gari
Leech on Tim’s leg, K’gari trip on day 4
Toilet and water source at the Valley of The Giants Campground
Day 5 Valley of the Giants Campground to Lake Garawongera Campground (13.1 km)
- Distance: 13.1km
- Time Travelled: 5.3 hours
- Walking Start: 7:09am
- Walking Finish: 12:30pm
The rain continued an and off for much of the night and after we got up we shifted all our gear to the covered front of the toilet to pack everything out of the rain – not ideal but better than the alternative!
The first section of today’s walk was again through dense rainforest and if you stood still long enough the leeches chased you down so we moved pretty quickly. We did stop for tea after we found an open sunny spot but didn’t stay long after I removed an immature leech of my pants.
We came to a large tree over the path so Gill who usually led determined the route with me following a few metres behind. I very quickly noticed that she had stepped over what looked like a long stick but it ended up being a long Python (over 2 metres in length) that was sunning itself in one of the rare spots on the trail. Now I know that we aren’t supposed to attribute human emotions to animals but this one had its head under the world’s smallest bush and was almost saying ‘you cant see me’. I didn’t get too close and took what photos and videos I could – it wasn’t going anywhere so I was forced to choose the more difficult path over the fallen tree.
The vegetation changed very quickly after this as we turned up the adjacent hill and made our way towards the Lake Garawongera Campground. One problem we did have with this section was once we shifted out of the rainforest into the drier bush was that at some point in the past a fire had gone through and the management road we were walking down had extensive regrowth so we spent about 2km bushbashing and getting saturated pants.
Later in the afternoon when the sun had come out, Gill spotted another snake which shot off the trail before we could get close enough to see what it was.
Lake Garawongera was again another public lake and apparently the deepest of the lakes with the depth dropping off quickly from the shore of a very small beach.
We had an early lunch at our unfenced campsite and for that matter an early dinner. Again after all the day trippers left we had the whole site to ourselves. There are large sections of this campsite that are overgrown and its hard to tell if this is just a seasonal thing or its its a long term change.
Again there is a large bank of toilets to cater for the day traffic including a disability toilet up a set of stairs but no ramp! Water was available from the lake or you could also get it from the sink at the toilet block. Our campsite had a standard platform along with a picnic table and bench. After a very early dinner we again went to sleep but this time without the 5:00pm shower which did turn up later in the evening.
Fungus 1 day 5 K’gari
Trail example 1 day 5 K’gari
Trail example 2 day 5 K’gari
Love blue fungi
Crossing a management road day 5 K’gari
Trail example 3 day 5 K’gari
Python on the trail. Gill stepped over this one without seeing it and I almost stepped on it before I saw it. This snake was over 2 metres in length
Toilets at Lake Garawongera Campground
Day 6 Lake Garawongera Campground to Happy Valley (6.7km)
- Distance: 16.1km
- Time Travelled 2.3 hours
- Walking Start: 6:39am
- Walking Finish: 9:59pm
- Return to Kingfisher Bay by taxi (approximately 50 minutes)
Our last day on-trail and we had arranged for an 11:00am pick up and out of sheer paranoia, we left very early to make sure we got there on time and ended up getting in with more than an hour to spare. The cafe and petrol station at Happy Valley is about 200 metres down the road from the trailhead and also the refuse site. If you have any rubbish drop it off at the refuse site before you head into the cafe because there are no rubbish bins there.
The walk in from Lake Garawongera was a fairly easy one and we ended up stopping for a tea break only about 500 metres short of the trailhead without realising it. We arrived before the dining area was opened but purchased some snacks and coffees. While we were waiting, a cold front rolled in providing the coldest weather of the whole trip which justified bringing the cold weather clothing. I guess ‘the cold’ is relative but we were surprised how quickly we had acclimatised!
The taxi arrived about 30 minutes early and after a 50 minute trip we ended our adventure back at the Kingfisher Resort.
Lake Garawongera
Trail example 1 day 6 K’gari
Trail example 2 day 6 K’gari
Traihead at Happy Valley
Gill and Tim at the end of the hike
Cafe at Happy Valley which is also the petrol station. The toilets are located just across the road
Flora, fauna and the broader environment
- Not a huge wildlife trip which was a surprise. What we did see
- Lots of birds
- 1 dingo on-trail
- 2 snakes
- Glimpses of wallabies
- Fungus! Lots of fungus
- Orchids of different kinds
For us this trip was all about the little stuff. In addition we loved the changing landscape.
Final thoughts
So what do we think now this trail is done?
The one big concern was the dingoes but for us it turned out to be a bit anticlimactic. Only seeing two in total and only one on-trail was far less than expected.
One big preconception we had about K’gari, which was based on the weather forecast, was that it was going to be hot and humid. In the end the temperature was in the low to mid 20’s°C and the humidity didn’t impact at all. What it did do was make for warm nights so we used a single sleeping quilt between the two of us.
We both enjoyed this hike – it was cruisey in its pace with our six day schedule being very easy to manage. However, there were no real expansive vistas and mountain peaks that many other trails offer. Yes the best way to describe this trail is as a green tunnel but the vegetation does change on a regular enough basis to keep it interesting and provided you look for the small stuff of which there’s lots of. On our trip in late April I took more images of fungus than I have on just about any other trail I have walked which was a bit of a surprise.
We didn’t do any of the side trips on offer but that was just us. One thing we learned is that Lake Wabby which is used so much in tourist photos and TV shows, is a long way and there are warning signs about heat exposure and the need to carry plenty of water. Previously we had assumed Lake Wabby was right on the trail and while we could have done this trip as an-add on, it would have been better to do it the afternoon when we arrived at the Lake Wabby Campground after dropping off our packs and walking down with a small day pack with plenty of water and sun protection.
The Kgari Great Walk is a wilderness adventure – there are no fancy shelters, tent platforms, water on tap at every campground or regular phone connection. We didn’t see any hikers for over three days and had the campgrounds to ourselves. Despite the heavy rain, we really enjoyed this hike.
So is this trail worth doing? It depends on what you are after in a trail but we definitely think so!
Trail video
This short video contains photos and videos to show you the walk from start to finish
Getting There
- Getting to K’gari requires a transfer over on the ferry. Having said that you can also catch a light plane from Hervey Bay as well although that seems to be a bit rarer. The ferry transfer leaves Hervey Bay several times a day – details and booking can be managed through the Sealink K’gari website
- Regardless of where you start, Happy Valley or at Dilli Village, the best option is going to be to get the local taxi service to the trailhead. Contact the Fraser Island Taxi Service for more information and costings. Their website provides details of how they manage the tides
Things to know
- Phone: The phone signal on this trail is variable and only really available close to the high points (Telstra) and even then the signal is very limited so it would be even less reliable with other carriers
- Internet signal is limited on the island
- Water: Water is available at each of the campsites though:
- The lakes
- Water tanks (rarely)
- Sinks at the toilets at the larger sites
- You should always filter the water
- Toilets: Toilets are at the campsites. At sites where day trippers frequent there are multiple toilets. At walk-in only sites there is a single toilet
- Bring your own toilet paper as its not guaranteed
- There is no ‘wild’ toileting allowed
- Trail: This trail consists of formed track and management road
- Dogs: Dogs are NOT allowed
- Camping: Only allowed at designated campgrounds so book early to get your desired dates
- Other:
- This walk is best done starting at Dilli Village
- Its worth buying a K’gari (Fraser) Island Map prior to leaving but not essential
- Bring wet weather gear, you definitely need it during the wetter months
- The leeches and mosquitos can be merciless at different times of the year so bring some DEET and smear on your shoes/boots
- Lightweight gaiters are worthwhile to keep the leeches off your legs so long as they go over you pants
- Fuel
- Pick up your fuel at one of the outdoor stores in Hervey Bay
- Keep your fuel purchase in mind and pick it up or arrange to have it delivered to the shuttle bus in advance
- Pick up your fuel at one of the outdoor stores in Hervey Bay
Suggested Resources
In addition to the Australian Hiker Podcasts and write-up, the following resources will help with your planning:
- Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service
- Hema K’gari-Fraser Island Map
Equipment suggestions
Everyone has preferences in relation to gear they carry on a hike. The following are some suggestions on things worth taking based on our trip:
- Insect repellent – for the leeches
- Trekking poles
- Dingo deterrent
- Toilet paper
- The more remote toilets are often out
Have a look at Tim and Gill’s Multi Day Gear lists to use as a guide if you aren’t quite sure what to take:
Disclaimer
This walk was undertaken by the team from Australian Hiker