The ironman of travel Yoshimasa Ikeuchi

123 kilometers north and south when passing through the east coast.
There is a sandy road with a maximum width of about 22 km, the world-famous "75mile beach".
The paved road on the Island is only a part of the area around the hotel, and the whole world is off-road.
The fine sand is a sand road that is comfortable enough to run a four-wheel drive vehicle.
All of them are World Heritage Sites.

There are 200 large and small lakes,
such as a lake where powder sand can be seen through and a lake where it looks black and muddy.
I'm curious about where this large amount of sand comes from.
More than 5,000 whales migrate to Hervey Bay right in front of you around September.

Regenerate miscellaneous wastewater with bio

I could spend a leisurely time on any Island, but I didn't like to know
that I would ride a four-wheel drive car like the one running in the Paris-Dakar Rally.
Off-road beyond imagination will be taken by the sand unless you are a skilled driver.
In the olden days, roads made for the timber industry seem to have roots and jumps violently.

A natural treasure that incorporates the environment.
In order to leave the world's natural heritage to the next generation, we are focusing on nature conservation, so we will not build paved roads.
The hotel has won the Environmental Tourism Award as an eco-resort.
We are also willing to cooperate in preserving the natural environment as one of the people who convey it.

There is a whale watching (100A $) every day from August to October.
Whales returning to Antarctica recuperate in this bay to raise baby whales at this time.
Parents and children head to Antarctica from the end of November.
This Island will be the 68th Island of "Island Tour of the Earth".
It is strange that we also start our journey to Antarctica at the same time.

Hervey Bay Whale Watching

The only place in the world where forests grow on sand

From ancient times, the indigenous Aborigines called it Gari (paradise).
Usually, when we think of an "Island," we imagine what was formed by the uplift of a submarine volcano or a coral reef, but Fraser Island is a sandy Island that floats in the sea.
There is more subtropical forest on this Island than in the Sahara Desert.

75 miles beach

75 miles beach

Hervey Bay Whale Watching

Subtropical rainforest

Sand blow

King Fisher Bay Resort

The lobby is certified for energy saving. ・ Both sides of the ceiling are open and closed. Air circulation is good. The roof is light.

Off-road

Resort vegetables are grown without pesticides

Lake Mc Kenzie

Whale watching

A whale approaching to the side of the ship

It's very different from other islands that used to chase a few whales in the raging sea, dressed in winter clothes.
The guideline with whales is broken by whales, and they are approaching just to look at them with familiarity.
In November, they will return to the abundant Antarctic waters.
I would love to meet them again.

Two whales rubbing like dolphins just to the right of the boat.
An unbelievable sight continues.
The sky is clear and the waves are quiet.
Innumerable whales live in Harvey Bay.
There is only one other watching boat (with restrictions).

It is finally the sea area of whales.
A guide who continues to speak esoteric English as usual.
A whale that suddenly blows the tide in front of you.
Appear one after another.
They breathe out from the top of their heads.
They go out to the surface and show pectoral fins.
Next is a spy hop (upright in the water and only the eyes on the sea) The continuous shutter sound does not stop.

Whales will stop at this Great Barrier Reef to return to Antarctica from around June.
When a baby whale is born, it is 3 m long and weighs more than 1 ton, but the fat layer is underdeveloped.
To add fat, whales continue to breastfeed 600 liters of high-fat breast milk a day, which surprises me (human breast milk, fat content 2%, whale 35%).
Become 8 meters long at 1 year old Japan, a whaling country, Have fun in a different way (meat).

Over 5,000 humpback whales arrive at Hervey Bay Marine Park.
The Great Sandy Strait is blocked by Fraser Island.
The east coast of Australia, 600 km to Antarctica, is the perfect sea for raising whales.
It travels from Antarctica through the east coast of Australia to the islands of the South Pacific, mating and giving birth from winter to spring.

Early in the morning, the lobby is crowded with passengers returning by ferry and tourists.
Australian English is hard to understand for me, who is not very confident in English.
Or is it hard for me to hear? I managed to become a passenger on the ship and head for the sea area where the whales live.

Island pier

Spy hop

Whale watching ship

Lake Mc Kenzie

clear fresh water

Window Lake

There are many rainy days at night during my stay on the Island.
The more it rains, the easier it is to drive on sandy roads.
The dry sand road winds up dust and runs and the wheels are taken.
The powdery sand soars in the wind and swallows a forest.
It's like being buried in a flood of sand and eventually all withering.
It transforms into a pitiful figure with dead trees standing in the dunes.

Much of the rainwater is stored in a dome-shaped groundwater layer that seeps out of the dunes throughout the Island into streams that flow to the east coast.
The representative Eli Creek.
A popular spot with good transparency.
Just looking at a stream without garbage will wash your heart.

It makes the cameraman cry on a strong wind day.
Protect with a camera cover to prevent fine sand from entering.
You can see the difference in color between the old sand and the new sand brought from the east.
It's like a living thing.
Run through the woods and search for three lakes.
About an hour from King Fischer Bay in the west, the sandy road blocks the way.

Window Lake　Window Lake

Window Lake, water is black but not muddy (including tannins flowing out of trees).
A pond-like place in the resort is this type of lake.
　
There are places where abundant groundwater is above the ground through a large amount of sand filters.
The water surface rises and falls depending on the amount of underground water.

Window Lake

Perched Lake（Perched Lake）

Lake Mc Kenzie called Perched Lake.
Twigs such as rotten leaves are deposited on the sand to form a water-impermeable layer.
It is said that rainwater accumulated on it and it became a lake as a result of many years.
It's definitely fresh water when you put it in your mouth.
It's so transparent that its depth is immeasurable.

Lake Mc Kenzie

Lake Mc Kenzie

Lake Mc Kenzie

Watching the "moving sand" and staring at the fallen trees in the wonder of nature.
A miserable figure that becomes a graveyard in the forest and becomes a dead tree due to the rushing sand.
A tree whose roots are about to collapse.
"Sand river" where sand flows like a stream.

No garbage is floating in the lake.
At the water's edge like a pure white wedding dress.
The power of nature produces beauty with great power.
Blue and clouds in the sky.
Standing in front of Lake Mc Kenzie raises admiration.
The scenery that is mistaken for the sea is NO1 without complaint among the 40 lakes.
A lake with an elegant and quiet smile.
Of all the lakes, I like it the most.

"Barrage Lake", a lake where a stream is dammed by sand.
The movement of sand will fill the lake and eventually bury it.
Helped by the rain that fell a few hours ago, the moist sand does not fly up in the wind.
It's a rain of grace.

East Coast of Fraser Island

East Coast of Fraser Island

East Coast of Fraser Island

砂の道

Window lake

Four-wheel drive vehicles run fast so as to enjoy rough roads.
"Atsuko Kobayashi" who holds the steering wheel is good at driving.
She finally walks another 1km of sandy road when she thinks she has arrived.
The steep uphill sand is very difficult to walk because your feet are caught in the sand.
Lake Wabby can be seen at the bottom right of the top of the sand blow.

Eli Creek

Eli Creek

Rainbow Koji

Road divided into old sand and new sand

Lake Mc Kenzie

Eli Creek

Lake Mc Kenzie

Lake Wabby

The forest is buried in the sand

Pheasant Coucal (フェザントクークル）

Sulphur-crested white parrot

Australian kids enjoying a 75mile beach drive

75 miles beach

A beach soaked in seawater at high tide

A sandy road leading from the west coast to the east coast.
After rain, the sand is relatively solid and easy to run.
Dry and smooth roads are difficult for both four-wheel drive and driving.
Depending on how you think about the road beyond the rodeo, a body massage.
Experienced people say that the race is more, harder than "Paridakar" rather than a bad road.

Lake Mc Kenzie

Maheno Wreck

Japanese-registered abandoned ship

Taken from Cessna

Taken from Cessna

Walk the sand blow to explore the forest.
Huge desert, subtropical rainforest.
Numerous lakes, beautiful seas and sandy beaches.
A sand island created by the oldest continent in the world.
It's a series of surprises and excitement at the awesomeness of World Heritage Sites.

It is impossible to see all the viewpoints scattered on the east coast in one day.
Bird watching and walking around the resort in the early morning.
Look at Lake Mc Kenzie, which looks white, and take an aerial walk in Cessna.

A strong ally who has been involved since the establishment of the hotel on Fraser Island.
It will guide you to a photogenic place that you cannot visit on the tour.
Take a break on the hill of the beach during high tide.
Enjoy a nice lunch pack (with a garbage bag to take away all leftover food) and blend into nature.

Rainbow Gorge　Rainbow Gorge

A car that runs comfortably in the sea breeze.
A young backpacker gets stuck due to heavy camping luggage.
Driving on a sandy road is difficult.
My driver is Hiroko Kobaya (living in Brisbane), who runs an eco-related company, and is a skilled driver.

When the forest opens in about an hour, a sand road of about 123 km continues from north to south.
Sand, sand, sand Fine sand turns into a highway that can be blown along the beach.
It is impossible to pass due to seawater at high tide.
Today's high tide is from 11:00 to 15:00, during which you have to wait somewhere.

Taken from Cessna

driver　hiroko.kobayashi

"Maheno Wreck

75 miles beach

Photographed 75 miles beach in Cessna

Annual rings

A powerful ally who knows everything about Pile bury.
Only three people occupy an empty forest.
The forest where the light shines is also deep enough that the light can no longer reach at 4 pm.
The third visit in the morning of the next day.
I am overwhelmed by the big tree looking up.
A tiny human like an ant in nature.

Take a quick walk around the forest trails you visited on your bus tour.
Be admired by the shining rainforest and immediately lag behind the tour.
Somehow unsatisfactory.
The next day, we will go backwards from the exit under the guidance of Hiroko Kobayashi, who rushed from Brisbane.

Stroll through the forests of the sand island.
A timber collection site where forestry was once thriving.
Forestry is closed to preserve nature as a World Heritage Site.
The Satin trees used for the renovation of the Suez Canal are overgrown.
A large tree grows in the forest where the light shines.

The Island has more than 40 perch drakes in the groundwater lake.
The huge desert swallow’s plants and shrubs stand in the dunes.
Even if I pull it to see if it is dead, it doesn't hurt.
Sand carried by strong winds piles up to the top.

Big tree looking up

Big tree looking up

Sand waterfall (flowing down smoothly)

Overgrown with big trees

Forest tour walk

Satin tree

Signpost in the forest

This forest is a heritage that will be passed down to the next generation　

After logging the forest, it becomes a bald mountain

There are many countries that have awakened to planting trees in a hurry.

Why do forests grow in the dunes?

A large amount of sand becomes a groundwater layer

Becomes a huge sponge water storage tank　

Fraser Island, which is still unfamiliar to Japanese people, is an eco-resort that values the environment.
The last night that ended the memories of the Island with a powerful image.
Strong winds are blowing tonight as well.
I'm a little worried if tomorrow's ferry is okay.
Strong winds blow in the sea, but (catamaran) is stable.
Arrived safely at Hervey Bay while receiving a splash of beating.

Peter Meyer, 39, an Island cameraman who continues to photograph this nature, is self-taught in photography and spreads beautiful nature to the world.
He showed me a lot of photos in a special slide show.
Thank you for your consideration for the traveler.
His perspective, which freely cuts out the scenery of the Island, is a professional work that leads to the world.
Fresh sensation, sharpened talent, I believe he will definitely be the world's leading photographer.

All encounters on Fraser Island are thanks to the coordination of Miss Hiroko Kobayashi.
I want to send a drink to her who is contributing to the environmental conservation for her future by detecting eco-friendliness earlier than anyone else.
Indigenous Aborigines did not call this Island Fraser Island.
In their words, it was called "K`Gari".
It means "paradise".

Fraser Island sunset

Wild birds fly in the forest of natural heritage, and a refreshing morning begins with a cry in the tranquility.
Birds having breakfast at the glass tree in search of nectar.
The base of the Island is all sand.
The extraordinary natural beauty plays an important role worldwide in geology and ecology.

Approaching from a whale

From the window in the next room

Cottage living room

Suddenly a black cloud・・・

The endless 75-mile beach sandy road stretches endlessly.
I was impressed with the first experience of driving along the coast with a four-wheel drive vehicle.
I can't believe I was able to see nearly 100 whales in front of me.
As expected, I was impressed with the world heritage site "Fraser Island" on the sand Island.

　　　　　　　　Yoshimasa Ikeuchi

October 7-13, 2009

Left, Hiroko, Kobayashi Kotetsu (Midori)

Photographer Peter Meyer

Whale Watching I wanted to see again

Rainbow gorge

Morning awakening to the voice of a bird

The forest just behind the room

It's very easy to spend the morning and evening when it's chilly.
The sound of the wind, the noise of the trees, the voice of the birds that I hear while writing at the cottage in the forest.
Eco-resorts that are eco-friendly have a satisfaction level of 120%.

Rainbow gorge that I couldn't find the approach road and finally found it.
Walking on the sand is tiring, but the sense of accomplishment at the top of the dunes is incredible.
The natural world that is affected by the weather every day.
The second whale watching will also be canceled due to strong winds.
I'm very sorry that I wanted to experience that dynamic power again.

The highlight is 75 miles beach.
The pleasure of flying on a sandy highway of 100 km or more at 80 km / h feels good no matter how many times you run.
The clear blue sky, the natural road with no obstacles is the highest way in the world.
A short walk from the beach leads to your favorite subtropical rainforest pile Valley.

Dingo (wild dog of chastity)

The progress of desertification continues even now, and the sand is moving from the sand blow to the leeward.
Driving on a sandy road requires advanced techniques even with 4WD.
We also escaped the rollover on a rough road on a steep slope.

On the other side of the glass

Seeking honey early in the morning

My footprints

Resort tourists

pipe organ

Photographer Peter Meyer

Parents and children taking a walk on the beach behind the hotel