Established as a forestry camp back in the logging days of the K'gari World Heritage Area on Fraser Island, it is now a nice stop on the drive on across the Island. Along with some historic buildings, there is a boardwalk down by the creek, and tent, trailer and walkers campsites as well.
Central station on Fraser Island/K'gari
The Butchulla people lived on the Island before Europeans turned up and named the island paradise or in their language K'gari, which is pronounced gurri. Currently, this name refers to the World Heritage Area that covers nearly all of the island. Eliza Fraser was stuck on the island for a total of 6 weeks and so the island was given the name Fraser Island. At the time of writing, this is still the official name for the island, government locality and region, but feel free to use the names interchangeably for now.
About Central StationIn the past Fraser Island was heavily logged, with Central Station being established as a logging camp roughly in the middle of the island. Hence the name, Central Station. Today you will see the old forestry buildings and shed. There is also a sign with information about the history of the area.
The buildings at Central Station on Fraser Island/K'gari
The main place to visit is the creek and boardwalk. It is surprisingly not well signed, but basically behind the buildings you will find some signs for the K'gari Great Walk hiking track with one leading down to the creek and boardwalk.
The boardwalk by the creek at Central Station
This area is fairly lush rainforest. The creek is crystal clear as water is drained and filtered through the sand of the island. When you first look at the creek, the water is so clear, you don't realise you are looking right through it to the sand. If you are lucky you might spot some birds, such as kingfishers hanging out by the creek.
Kingfisher hanging out by the creek at Fraser Island
The trail leads past the boardwalk and continues for 11 kms down to Lake McKenzie. It is worth walking a little way down this track to really experience the beauty of the K'gari natural environment. If you are looking for a 22 km walk, you could head all the way to the lake and back.
It is worth walking along the track by the creek at Central Station to get deep into the forest
Central Station is a popular campground for people who want to avoid the crowds close to the beach and for walkers on the K'gari Great Walk. There are both tent and trailer sites at Central Station. Facilities include flush toilets, paid hot showers and a dingo-resistant fence. It is also well situated to head off to lots of different locations around the island.
Getting there
There are 3 ways to Central Station. Most people will drive themselves in a 4 wheel drive. There are several roads going across the island in the area they all either pass by Central Station or pass nearby. So it makes sense to stop in at least once on the way to somewhere else.
4 wheel driving to Central Station
You can always get on a tour and most tours will stop at Central Station. This can be more interesting as they will use this opportunity to talk more about the history of logging and development on the island, and its move away from logging to tourism.
Then it is also a camping stop on the K'gari Great Walk. With the walk, people either do the whole walk or choose either the northern or southern half of the walk, with Central Station and most of the more popular attractions being on the southern part of the walk. There are also more fences and food cages in this part of the walk for people who are concerned about dingoes.
Walkers, this way out of Central Station on Fraser Island/K'gari
You don't see a lot of people hanging out at Central Station beyond the campgrounds. It is a nice enough stop on your trip across Fraser Island, and it is worthwhile visiting the creek and maybe stopping to have lunch. But other than that, it is more of a stop-and-go.
The creek at Central Station on Fraser Island/K'gari
