Australia: Fraser Island
World Heritage-listed Fraser Island, between Bundaberg and Brisbane off Australia's east coast, is the largest sand island in the world and one of Australia's top outdoor adventures - especially for four-wheel drive enthusiasts. Along windswept Seventy Five Mile Beach, you can see the rusted hulls of shipwrecks, the colored sandstone cliffs of The Cathedrals, and the bubbling fish-filled rock pools called Champagne Pools.
Venturing inland, highlights include crystal-clear freshwater creeks and lakes, some fed by springs, others perched amid towering sand dunes, and ancient rainforests filled with an amazing diversity of plants and animals. Sharks, dolphins, and whales prowl the waters, and the island's fauna includes wild horses, dingoes, bats, sugar gliders, and more than 300 species of birds. Access to Fraser Island is by ferry from Rainbow Beach and Hervey Bay. Four-wheel drive vehicles are essential as the island has no sealed roads.
Because Fraser Island is located only 500 kilometers away from the Tropic of Capricorn, the climate consists of warm temperatures throughout the entire year. The winter months are from May to August when temperatures tend to range from 14-25°C and it tends to be drier. September through until about April the temperatures increase to around 23-30°C. The most rainfall occurs between the months of January and March.
