K’gari (Fraser Island) Great Walk – Day 2

Lake Benaroon to Lake McKenzie – 15km

“It’s hard to get more perfect than this…”

I woke early, feeling refreshed.  Following the storm, the air was crisp and clear.  The morning cuppa was perfect.

The first leg of the walk contoured around Lake Benaroon.  At times the track was quite overgrown, and in the dripping conditions, my shoes and socks were soaked in no time.  It didn’t matter.  The sun was shining and it was going to be a gorgeous day.

I stopped in briefly at Lake Birabeen where the atmosphere was still and sage like.  I spied a male red backed fairy wren flitting through the trees, and it let me admire it for a while.

It was really easy walking through to Central Station.  Usually a busy hub of traffic, it was eerily quiet.  I stopped to have a break and was immediately picked upon by a young butcher bird, eager for a take of the food.  It left empty handed.

Wangoolba creek is a place of pristine beauty.  A creek, that looks like it has the clearest water in the world, trickles sedately through lush rainforest dominated by the mighty king fern.  The boardwalks were empty when I walked through, and I could hear the water tinkling as birds called mournfully.  It was lovely to experience in such peaceful conditions.

After another 4km of nice, easy walking I came to Basin Lake.  I had really been looking forward to this, having visited once before.  It’s one of those sites that are accessible by walking only, so it has a feeling of mystique and isolation about it that is different from heavily visited areas.

Nobody there.  And it was so beautiful.  I stripped off immediately and plunged in, screaming in delight at the icy waters, and the feeling of shedding sweat and grime.

I sat on the bank in the sunshine and dried off.  It was just a perfect moment.  Clear, blue water with sun sparkling.  Peahens fishing and chirping in the water in their distinctive way.  Dragonflies droned and there was a general drowsy feeling.  A majestic white bellied sea eagle swooped in and patrolled the waters looking for a catch. It was magnificent and mine.

After an hour or two I donned the pack and kept going.  It was a gentle 4km to Lake McKenzie and before long I arrived at the big, dingo proofed campsite.

I set up camp and walked the short distance to the lake.  Picture what you would describe as the most beautiful lake in the world.  Blindingly white sand.  Azure blue water.  Vast.  And encircled in a hug by trees.  That’s Lake McKenzie.  It is beautiful.  And it was also bustlingly busy. 

I dived in and then sat on the shore in my underwear for a while, feeling incongruous and out of place.  Eventually, I headed back to camp and spent a pleasant afternoon reading in the shade.

I went back to the lake a few hours later. There was still plenty of people around. I heard a grown man, swimming, exclaim with a giggle, “There’s a warmer patch right here if you know what I mean!” Read the sign dick. It’s a basin lake. Nothing goes in. Nothing goes out, Except rainwater. And now your piss. Nice.

As the sun sank lower and lower, so too did the crowd. Eventually there was but a handful of people watching the reflections of the dunes, and the pinks and blues.

And then it was just me. It was a magic moment. Pristine and perfect. I walked the lake edge and revelled in the solitude. Shadows darkened, and reflections brightened. Both the water and the clouds brilliant in shades of grey, purple and orange. The last calls of the birds sang out and echoed in the stillness.

I stayed until the clouds lost their colour and the lake became dark. It felt like this was her time now, to rest and be peaceful, before the hoardes arrive again in the morning. I bid her goodnight and thanked K’gari – “paradise” in the Butchulla language – for providing me with such a wondrous day. You really don’t get much better.