Beachcamp Eco Retreat and Dropbear Adventures - K'Gari Fraser Island

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Posted 2020-07-13 by Meg Forbes ⇒ follow

Beachcamp Eco Retreat and Dropbear Adventures - K'Gari / Fraser Island

Beachcamp Eco Retreat on World Heritage-listed K'Gari / Fraser Island is run by Drop Bear Adventures and offers beachfront glamping with a variety of adventure tours. Drop Bear Adventures and the Beachcamp Eco Retreat, work closely with the Butchulla, who are the Traditional Custodians of K'gari / Fraser Island.

Beachcamp Eco Retreat

The Beachcamp Eco Retreat on stunning 75 Mile Beach offers fenced, beachfront glamping that is convenient to many of the natural attractions the island paradise is famed for.

The glamping tents are beautifully designed and comfortable with electric lights, power points for charging camera batteries and the like, as well as an ensuite bathroom with toilet and shower.

The glamping tents cater for a variety of visitors with king, twin, or bunk bed setups. Hammocks outside complete the relaxed feel of Beachcamp Eco Retreat.

There are also two adjoining, fully equipped, kitchen areas with food storage cupboards and fridges. The spacing of these two kitchen areas allows guests to maintain social distancing during their stay at Beachcamp Eco Retreat. There is also an outdoor fire pit for campfire chats and marshmallow toasting and a wood-fired pizza oven.

Wildlife

Fenced camping, glamping and resort stays are considered essential to many of K'Gari's visitors. The main reason for this is the many beautiful wongari, or dingoes, that roam the island. The wongari have called K'Gari home for between 3000 - 8000 years and are now recognised as the purest of their species in Australia.

While many visitors to K'Gari hope specifically to see the beautiful wongari and these are frequently present on Eurong Beach outside of the fenced camp area, it is important to keep some distance from them at all times. Sadly, many wongari have been fed by tourists and as a result some have become quite bold around people.

Other wildlife often seen around the Beachcamp Eco Retreat includes Burad, or white-bellied sea eagles, that hunt along the beach and surf, other birds of prey such as eastern ospreys, and dolphins out in the breakers. Occasionally humpback whales can also be seen during their annual migration from June to October as they head to their breeding grounds in Hervey Bay on the western shore of K'Gari.

Nearby attractions

Situated at Eurong, Beachcamp Eco Retreat is ideally placed for guests wanting to experience many of K'Gari's highlights. Spectacular Boorangoora ("waters of wisdom"), also known as Lake McKenzie, is only a 13Km drive from Eurong. This perched lake, famous for its intense blue water and the pure white silica sand of its beach, contains only rainwater and is cool and clear to swim in.

Eli Creek is another nearby attraction, just 25Km along the beach from Eurong. This fast-flowing creek has a boardwalk that allows guests to hop in (bringing a floatation device such as a small tube adds to the fun!) and float back down to the beach again.

The Maheno Shipwreck, which washed ashore during a cyclone in 1935, is less than 10Km along 75 Mile Beach from Eli Creek, and provides visitors with a fascinating view into the more recent past.

Adventure tours and equipment hire

Drop Bear Adventures offers a range of adventure tours and activities. These include free activities for guests staying at Beachcamp Eco Retreat such as boomerang lessons, star gazing and wildlife walks, as well as guided day and night beach walks where guests learn about K'Gari's rich history and fragile ecosystem. Other tours include 3 day adventure tag along tours that include quality camping gear, automatic 4x4 vehicles, great food, and passionate tour guides. Alternatively, guests can tailor their own private tours in consultation with Drop Bear Adventures. A range of equipment is also available for guests to hire, including stand-up paddleboards, rubber rings, bodyboards, sandcastle building kits and fishing rods.

Getting to K'Gari

A four-wheel drive vehicle is necessary for driving on K'Gari, and Drop Bear Adventures offers suitable, easy to drive automatic vehicles for hire from their head office in Noosa. At low tide, these vehicles can often be driven from Noosa along the beach almost the entire way to the Manta Ray barge at Inskip Point. All of their vehicles include a recovery kit and an audio guide. Packages that include vehicle hire, return barge between Inskip Point and K'Gari and glamping are available on request. Although the barge crossing is quick (and doesn't need to be booked in advance, with the Manta Ray running across the channel all day), it isn't unusual to see dolphins on the way across, or wongari on the K'Gari shoreline.

It is best to time the start of beach journeys within two hours of low tide, so that there is enough time to reach your destination while there is plenty of firm sand for driving on. Tide times and weather for Inskip Point can be checked here .

Beachcamp Eco Retreat and Dropbear Adventures offer a range of accommodation, guided tours, vehicle and equipment hire packages to suit many of K'Gari's annual visitors. With Australians being encouraged to holiday at home and our international borders closed to tourists, there's never been a better time to stay with them on beautiful K'Gari.