World Heritage Fraser Island/Australia

World Heritage-listed Fraser Island is the world’s largest sand island and is a mecca for four-wheel-driving enthusiasts from across the globe. Seventy-Five Mile Beach is a gazetted highway that runs up the surf side of the island and provides access to the townships of Eurong, Dilli Village, Happy Valley, Orchid Beach and Cathedral Beach.

More than 1500km of sand tracks crisscross the island taking you to some of the best natural attractions Australia has to offer including Lake McKenzie – a fresh water lake perched high in the sand dunes.  We urge visitors to spend a few days exploring the beautiful freshwater lakes and creeks, ancient rainforests, massive sand blows and coloured sands.

Seventy-Five Mile Beach also provides some of the best beach fishing.  But don’t take our word for it…

• TNT Australia Magazine has compiled their top Aussie islands – including Fraser Island at the top of the list – in the May 6-19 issue of their popular travel magazine. (May 2013).
• Fraser Island, jutting off the east coast of Queensland, has been voted number 1 in UK newspaper The Telegraph’s travel section poll on Favourite Australian Island Escapes (April 2013).
• Fraser Island’s 75 Mile Beach is one of the ten best in Australia according to a new book – 101 Best Australian Beaches (November 2012). The author’s picked Fraser’s popular eastern beach as one of their ‘favourites’ writing: “This long beach on Queensland’s Fraser Island boasts ancient coloured dunes, bubbling freshwater springs, pristine lakes, and rainforest filled with wildlife. An astonishing 354 species of birds have been seen on the island, while the surrounding waters are home to dolphins, whales, dugongs, turtles and huge rays.”
• TNT Magazine has just named Fraser Island in their ‘sexy’ Top Ten Australian Islands (October 2012).
• American travel website CNNGo has named Hervey Bay as the World’s ‘Best Humpback Whale Watching’ destination. (September 2012).
• National Geographic has recently named Fraser Island as one of the World’s Best Beaches saying “World Heritage-listed Fraser was an “ecologist’s dream”. The Queensland sand island was the only Australian location to make the 2012 list. (June 2012).
• Australian Geographic listed Hervey Bay in the top ten places to Whale Watch in Australia and The Courier Mail named Fraser Island as one of the top ten best getaway drives in South East Queensland (June 2012).
• The Daily Times (UK) named Fraser Island’s eastern beach in their list of the world’s STRANGEST beaches… rainforest growing in sand; swimming in fresh water on an ocean beach; it’s a gazetted highway; it’s a landing strip for planes… we call that pretty awesome! (June 2012).
• Lonely Planet named Fraser Island in their Top Five Treasured Australian Islands (May 2012).
• Discovery’s Travel Channel has previously listed Fraser Island as the World’s Best Beach chosen through consultation with Travel Channel and experts from the US’ leading travel publications including Islands and Travel & Leisure magazines.
• Australian Traveller Magazine rated Fraser Island at number 9 in the list of 100 things to do before you die.
• American business magazine Forbes listed Fraser one of the World’s Sexiest Islands, and the only Australian island to make the list. The list says Fraser Island’s “enormous sand dunes provide plenty of space and privacy for frolicking on the beach” and it names Kingfisher Bay Resort as the place to stay.
• PLUS in 2006 Conde Nast Traveller readers voted Fraser Island into the Top 10 Pacific Islands and previously have voted it to be one of the World’s Top 10 Tropical Islands for three years running.

Top 10 most dangerous Islands on earth

Most islands are safe as a vacation destination or even a home. However, there are some islands that are not even safe to even go near whether it be because of the residents or a natural occurrence. To help you steer clear of danger, here are the top 10 most dangerous islands on the planet.

1. NORTH SENTINEL ISLAND, ANDAMAN ISLANDS

North Sentinel Island is the home of the Sentinelese tribe. This tribe’s only weapons are spears and bows and arrows. The government of India, which controls the island, has deemed them the fiercest group of people on the planet.

Sea travel within five nautical miles is prohibited. The Indian government has also banned anyone from ever going within 3 miles (4.83 kilometers) of its shores. Following a 2000 tsunami, the authorities attempted an emergency food drop, but the mission was aborted after the helicopter was attacked.

2. ILHA DE QUEIMADA GRANDE ISLAND, BRAZIL

Indiana Jones would not like this place. The island of Ilha de Queimada Grande is also known as Snake Island for a reason. Located off the coast of Brazil, this small isle is only 43 hectares (106+ acres).

Experts estimate that there are approximately five golden lancehead viper snakes per square foot of the island. Lancehead snakes are reported to be responsible for more deaths than any other snake in both North and South America. To date, there’s no known antivenom so avoiding this place is a good idea.

3.PAPUA, NEW GUINEA

New Guinea is really a nice place to visit, but you sure wouldn’t want to be in Papua. Until 1974 the natives didn’t even know that people from other places weren’t members of rival tribes. These people live their lives in treehouses constructed roughly 140 feet high to avoid being attacked. Those who stumble into their territory are generally met with a rather long barbed arrow pointed at them until they turn themselves around and walk in the other direction. This tribe has a history of cannibalism and may still eat invaders.

4. GRUINARD ISLAND, UNITED KINGDOM

People are no longer banned from Gruinard Island, but they still stay away from the place. Brit scientists were researching anthrax there in 1942. In the process, they transported 50 sheep to this remote isle off the Scottish mainland.

The sheep were bombed with anthrax. They all died within two weeks. It was not until afterwards that the scientists soon realized they could not remove the anthrax from the soil there. Thus, they put a 50-year ban on the isle. Three Russian aristocrats recently expressed an interest in purchasing it.

5. SABA ISLAND, NETHERLANDS

Saba Island is situated only 20 miles away from St. Martin. Despite that proximity, Saba Island has been trashed by more storms in the past 150 years than any other location on the planet. The statisticians confirm that this place has been hit by no less than seven category five hurricanes and an additional 10 category three hurricanes.

Despite that, the residents of Saba Island continue to welcome travelers to their island. Just be sure to avoid visiting during hurricane season. (Oh! Did we mention place also has one of the world’s most dangerous airports?)

6. IZU ISLANDS, JAPAN

On the Izu Islands, the ever-present poisonous gases in the air are so strong that residents must carry gas masks with them. The moment the deadly gases rise to a dangerous level a special siren sounds to let everyone know they must immediately put on their gas masks. Scientists are not 100 percent certain but they believe these poisonous gases seep up through the earth and originate from a volcano beneath the island. The residents were evacuated in 2000 and all flights to this destination were canceled for over eight years.

7. BJORNOYA, SVALBARD, NORWAY

This would be a hard place to grow enough food to sustain oneself because the land is too rocky. This is a difficult place to even moor a boat due to all the huge cliffs along the coastline. But what makes it dangerous is that a Soviet nuclear submarine sank roughly 100 nautical miles southwest of this spot in 1989 and leaked radioactive material into the water. This may have damaged the island’s soil too. Additionally, experts think that the development of the Snøhvit gas field has also forever altered the climate.

8. FARALLON ISLANDS, USA

Some sources claim the USA buried approximately 47,500 55-gallon drums full of nuclear waste on the Farallon Islands not far from San Francisco, California. Government sources state the specific location of all the barrels is unknown but reports that a number of them were buried underwater around the islands. Scientists believe that finding and removing all of these barrels would actually do more damage than leaving them in the ground. What’s worse is that a US Naval ship that could have been radioactive was also buried close to these islands.

9. BOUVET ISLAND, NORWAY

Bouvet Island is located 1,1000 miles north of Antarctica. It’s the world’s most remote island. More than 93 percent of this 119-square-mile isle is always covered by a glacier.

Only six people live here and they work for the Norwegian Weather Service. They work there for two to four months at a time. In an emergency, help would be slow in arriving as there’s only one reliable place to moor a boat.

10. MERGUI ARCHIPELAGO, MYANMAR

The Mergui Archipelago is made up of 800 small islands.
It’s situated between Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand. The islands are largely uninhabited.

The native Moken Tribe survives solely by fishing. They actually live on large wooden boats they consider their homes. Strangers who approach them will be greeted with a hail of fire arrows. Thus, the nearby governments recommend that tourists avoid the area. Sadly, the tribe is now struggling to survive but neither of the local governments is willing to aid them in acclimatizing to our modern society.