We recently took our annual Fraser Island trip :) We all talked about how the island has been officially renamed K'gari (the indigenous word for paradise) so I thought I would do a bit more digging for this entry. This news article does a good job of explaining everything. In short, it's only the national park on the island that has been renamed; formerly Great Sandy National, although the name still referrs to the southern section of the park. The traditional land holders (the butchulla people) were granted Native Title rights in 2014 and want the whole island to be recognised as K'gari - pronounced 'gurri'. I'm 100% in support and also love the island's creation story, with K'Gari being "a spirit princess who helped create the island and then fell in love with it, lying down there for eternity" - source.
The Butchulla people also have three laws for the island,
"What is good for the country comes first; if you have plenty, you must share, and if it's not yours, you shall not take." - source
I feel a little more informed now :)
I'm going to post the photos (semi in order) and do a little quick recap from the trip. We first took the inland track and headed to Lake Boomanjin (known for it's coloured waters) then traveled to our favourite lake, Birabeen (clear waters, unpopulated and white sands – paradise!) before setting up camp at central station. Then we did the walk from central station to lake Mckenzie where we split apart and for a brief moment thought we had lost everyone, only to be happily reunited :)
On our second day we did a quick circuit walk around the creek, then trekked to lake Wabby, did some intense sand 4wd-ing, (thanks Matty,!) had lunch at happy valley and then floated down Eli creek (packed to the brim with tourist). Before heading back home we also checked out the Pinncacles (coloured sands) and the remains of the SS Maheno a ship that beached in 1935. Another piece of trivia, pertaining to ship wrecks (this time in 1836) with a survivor named Eliza Fraser. You may be able to guess her significance but reading the wiki article made me realise more of the importance of changing the island's name back to K'gari
Bonus points are freely given out to whoever can spot a monitor lizard somewhere in the photos (hint – it's in black and white!)
Bonus tip, if you ever find yourself over on k'gari in your own vehicle, the tourist buses leave lake McKenzie at 4pm and the normally packed lake gets a little more peaceful :)
The gang this year were my two bros (Matty and J), my Dad and Emaya
WOW i am blown away by these photos - I might put this on my bucket list, honestly. So beautiful and i love the light airiness you captured in your photos. Thanks for the little bit of fun trivia/history too, always so cool to hear those stories. <3
ReplyDeleteDefinitely put it on your bucket list!! Thanks for your kind words too :)
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