Let's walk over a sand dune to Lake Wabby! (Day 4)

First day hike of the trip! A 4.8km trail to Lake Wabby. The trail commenced on the Eastern Beach and wound it's way up a sand dune covered in vegetation and ended at the deepest Perched Lake on Fraser Island, Lake Wabby.

Location: Featured in the Great Sandy National Park, Lake Wabby is a 45min drive southeast of Kingfisher Bay resort. The closest beach camping is Cornwell's Campground, 5km north of the Lake Wabby's Eastern Beach trail entry point.

I didn't quite comprehend that there was going to be deep sand for most of the walk. My naivety caused me to make my first mistake of wearing my Keen sandals instead of my hiking boots. Only meters on the track, my sandals turned into sand filled flippers and towards the end, it was easier to walk in bare feet. By the end of the trail, my feet were burning!







My second mistake was not buying a daypack with a raincover. When we left the car, there wasn't a rain cloud in sight, yet suddenly it started to rain. I had to think like MacGyver to keep everything dry! I was able to MacGyver my hiking seat over my bag. Acting like a teepee it kept everything dry!

The dunes down to Lake Wabby were the hardest to cross. Many people trudged up the sand dune with their Sandboards and quickly descended into the icy waters of the Lake. The cold temperature of Lake Wabby was a nice touch on my burning feet and recently sun burnt skin. If you're not keen on cold water, if you enjoyed swimming in the nearby Perched Lake McKenzie, Lake Wabby's temperature is very similar.

The 4.8km walk was worth it. Having missed out on doing it the previous time we went to Fraser Island, I was glad we made the effort. The sandblow and lake were very pretty and we spent a good hour splashing around and relaxing on the dunes before it was time to make the return trip.

5 Interesting Facts about Lake Wabby, Fraser Island

1. Lake Wabby will disappear and your family's next generation will miss out on seeing it.

Yes, this is sandly true. The surrounding Hammerstone Sandblow has been slowly engulfing the emerald green waters of Lake Wabby for centuries at a rate of 1 meter per year. In less than a hundred years from now, Lake Wabby will be gone forever.

The surrounding Hammerstone Sandblow is slowly engulfing Lake Wabby at a rate of 1 meter per year.

2. Lake Wabby is Fraser Island's deepest lake.

At 11.4 metres deep according to QueenslandAustralia.com it's easy to see why Sandboard racing and diving into the Lake is so popular. The incline of the dune is easy to get down, yet excruciating to climb up. This allows the Sandboard to pick up some very quick speeds. Where the dune meets Lake Wabby, the shallows end suddenly which allows people to dive in from the banks. Despite this, the Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sports and Racing, advises against diving, jumping or swimming in the lake as serious injuries have occurred.
You are quickly in deep water when the sanddune meets the water.

3. Fraser Island plays host to having half of the world's identified perched lakes. Lake Wabby is one of 40 on the island.

Fraser Island, is one of the prized World Heritage sites in Australia. A perched lake is a freshwater lake which only gains its water content purely from rainfall. No creeks or rivers run in or out of the lake. Lake Wabby is one of 40 perched lakes on Fraser Island, however Lake McKenzie and Lake Wabby are the two most remarkable and most visited sites.

4. You can see huge fish swimming meters from you in Lake Wabby

It's no secret that a number of fish species have made Lake Wabby home. Unlike Lake McKenzie and the other Fraser Island perched lakes, Lake Wabby does not contain a high acidity level. The fairly low acidity level allows it to be a giant fish bowl for several species of friendly fish.  If you have polarised sunglasses on, you can easily see catfish, rainbow fish and potentially even the rare honey blue-eye so don’t be surprised if you feel something swim between your legs!

A friendly goanna on the walking trail to Lake Wabby.

5. Lake Wabby can be seen from two vantage sites.

If you're motivated (like we were) or have a good level of fitness, you can experience the 4.8km walking trail through the dune from Eastern Beach. If you're more inclined to drive to a lookout, you can do this from the inland track with a short downhill walk from the carpark.

We did both, and the views are very different. The views from the lake expose the feeling of being enclosed by the sanddune and the burn on your calf muscles! The view from the lookout is still spectacular as you can see all the way to Eastern Beach and across Hammerstone Sandblow. From the lookout, as you can see below, the people down at the lake look like tiny lemmings jumping off the dune into the water. It's funny to watch!

The view from Hammerstone Sandblow lookout

Book your holiday to Fraser Island now and see Lake Wabby in person while it's still living and vibrant, you won't regret it!

We used Hema Maps to take us all around Fraser Island.

See more of the area by clicking the video below: