Geelong (Vic) to Fraser Island Trip Advice?

[SF778]

I leave from Newcastle in 2 weeks. 5 days on Fraser then up to 1770 then back to Moreton and then home Taking 3 weeks in all. The south coast road from Wollongong down has some great places and awesome scenery so you should enjoy that next year when you go.

If inclined this time though try to fit in Lamington national park which is west of the sunshine coast and has grate bush walking and camping. Birds greet yo for breakfast and wallabies come around afternoon and if you are lucky like we were even may get a visit from a wombat.
Either way there is heaps to see and do so you and the wife should have a great time.
Stuart


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[drover]

Places to see on the inland route, Temora Aviation Musem ( Spitfires, Sabres etc) great on flying days, Parkes and Coonabarabran Observatories, great at Coona in the Warrambungle Mtn's.
Don't fuel up at Coona though it's bloody expensive.
At Goondiwindi follow the signs to Toowoomba not Warwick. You can head to Fraser via Toowoomba, Goomeri and then to Gympie or head to Teewantin, catch the ferry and run up the beach 35kms?, to Rainbow Beach then onto Fraser, depends on tides though.
Check the QLD Parks and Wildlife site for great maps of the area and can get permits on line and Coastwatch for Tide Info.
Head down the coast to Wollongong heaps and heaps of places and things to see, cross over to Canberra from the Gong go via Cooma to Cann River back into Victoria then down the South Gippsland Hwy and catch the boat over to Geelong.

[Clarky]

I recommend Moree NSW for one night stopover to have a soak in the thermal pools. http://www.amarootavern.com.au/gwydir-caravan-park/

It’s probably to far out of the way but consider Carnarvon Gorge. http://www.takaru.com.au/takaru/splashpage.cfm

To give you an idea of time on the road I travelled to Airlie Beach QLD from Lithgow NSW in 4 days (3 nights) towing a 2000kg Van in September this year.
1st night at Moree NSW
2nd night at Injune QLD
3rd night at Clairview QLD

We hit the road about 8 am every morning and arrived at the next stop between 3 & 5 pm, with regular stops including 40 min to an hour lunch breaks.
Travelled at between 90 and 100 kph. Traffic was very light.

Dave

[Roosky73]

Just came back from Fraser a couple of weeks ago. Beach was a bit messed up in places and very strong swells some days (bad for fishing) but otherwise ok. On the good days fishing was awesome, still some Tailor around and lots of dart.

There's plenty to do on Fraser, depending on where you camp will depend on what you do as you do need to be mindful of the tides. They say Eli can only be crossed 2 hours either side of low but it could be crossed further up in the deeper section of the creek when we were there, although the creek moves quite a lot, it was running south.

[Roosky73]

Oh.. and be careful if going to Lake Allom, I did some damage to the drive shaft and out of the only 5 cars we passed coming back, 2 had broken springs on their campers. Track is pretty rough atm.

[wilsonjeep]

Mountain bike at The Gap and Daisy hill forest in Brisbane , check out mtbdirt for maps. There is a new mountain bike park at mt Joyce about 1 hour from brisbane. Havn't been myself but guys at work say it is great, camping is available here. Try kinkuna national park near childers for beach camping and drive through the sand to bundaberg for the rum factory tour.

[task82]

Originally Posted by Hanna

G'day all,

My wife and I are heading off alone on our maiden voyage to Fraser Island departing Geelong on 19th November for a total period of 2.5 weeks (due back at work on the 6th December unfortunately) and I am looking for advice to make it an interesting and activity-filled trip. We will be towing our brand new, 2-trip old Aussie Jay's "Big Red" camper trailer with 9ft quick setup tent behind my 2000 WJ Jeep Grand Cherokee V8 running on dual fuel with sequential LPG.

I have done quite a bit of work on the Jeep over the past 8 months preparing it for touring, including all new front end/steering and suspension components, rebuilt heads (for LPG), timing gear, water pump, major transmission service, engine mounts, heavy duty double cardan front driveshaft, new diff and transfer case seals, CV's etc. just to name a few things. I am also just about to commence wiring the trailer for 12V power over the next few weeks and also install my 3" lift kit and new Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac tyres, which should mean that we have a capable, reliable setup for getting us there and also for a decent bit 4WDing whilst on the island and wherever else we go along the way. I have also purchased a full recovery kit, onboard air compressor and now looking at some MaxTrax for extra piece of mind.

Due to the relatively short period of time we have, we are thinking that we may as well travel there via the inland route (Newell Hwy/National Hwy 39) over a period of 3days/2nights, spend about a week on Fraser and then spend a week meandering back via the coastal route, stopping at places we have never been, such as the Sunshine Coast, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Newcastle and then maybe bypass Sydney, onto Wollongong before hitting the Hume for the trip back to Geelong. In a separate trip we have planned we are heading to the Blue Mountains just after Christmas and then travelling along the NSW south coast back through to Victoria stopping at Touros Heads for a couple of nights, so not really interested in adding any of this to the Fraser return trip.

I have been put in charge of the trip planning as SWMBO has told me it's "my trip", which is great, however there is one caveat: She is concerned that she will get "bored" with just camping and wants me to included some interesting activities wherever possible. We are both quite active people and enjoy doing a lot of mountain bike riding, bushwalks/hiking and running - basically anything which means that I have "earnt' my beers at the end of the day!

I understand that Fraser is obviously not going to be the place for mountain bike riding, but it's more than likely that we'll take the bikes with us for any opportunity that comes up along the way. I am keen to try a spot of fishing whilst there, but the wife has the attention span of a goldfish, so I guarantee that won't be enough to keep her interested for longer than a couple of hours.

I am really keen to make this trip a positive one for both of us (but especially for her!) as it will set the tone for future trips away with the camper. Hopefully a return trip to Fraser will make it onto the agenda so we can explore some more in the future.

Any advice or input that you have for us on the trip would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers,
Hanna

G'day Hanna,

Wow, sounds like an epic adventure coming your way in the next few weeks mate. Have a safe trip and get plenty of pictures, it would be great if you could post a detailed trip report of your adventure on AJOR when you return home.

Regards,

Tommy J