Well, we reckon, for ease and convenience, it’s with Beachcamp Eco Retreat at K’Gari.
There’s a bunch of places in Australia where you can fly from anywhere, pick up a fourby, loaded, and ready to go. But there’s only a couple of places where it’s actually a good idea.
Often the cost is inhibitive, the rig you pick up will be of average quality, and you’ll be beset with a laundry list of rules that will make you too scared to start the car in case you breathe on it the wrong way.
Enter Beachcamp’s 4WD Hire where the mechanics make it a point of pride that no vehicle ever leaves their compound unless being supremely capable of tackling the gnarliest rutile bunkers of the world’s biggest sand island.
It’s a basic premise, to provide a foolproof service and product, but if you do it right, do it well, then no one can compete with you.
And these guys have been doing it right for years, they started with their award-winning tour company, Drop Bear Adventures, considered the best on the island, and it’s not surprising, given that they’re run by passionate locals Mark and Hana. And now their giving you another alternative with their 4WD hire and glamping facility on 75Mile Beach.
Just getting to the Great Sandy Region can be a helluva drive for Sydney and Melbourne-siders, and for those in Perth or Adelaide sometimes the closest they’ll ever get to one of the genuine 4WDing Stations of the Cross might be a mailed postcard or souvenir vial of coloured sand from Rainbow Beach.
It doesn’t matter how good a vehicle you have parked in your garage right now, sometimes the timeframes you have to work with will instantly cancel out endless days of highway driving. But there is another way.
With these guys you can fly direct into Sunshine Coast airport and you’ll be within striking distance of their Noosa office, where you can pick up the keys to a beyond capable and comfortable rig and take on Fraser with you and your kin. It’s that bloody easy.
There are a couple of options when it comes to hiring a car to visit Fraser Island. You could do what most do and book a fully worked camp rig complete with cooking utensils, recovery gear, tents, water and maps.
But even better, do as we did back in August when – when pressed for time between issues – we forewent the whole tent thing and crashed in the canvas glamping comfort of Beachcamp Eco Retreat behind the dunes at Eurong.
This place has everything, a fully equipped kitchen complete with BBQ’s, fridge/freezers and all the cooking essentials including the staple items you have at home in your pantry. It even has a campfire, very rare on Fraser Island.
There are those who say nothing good comes easy, which should have you immediately suspicious of this set up, but these folks really have made it this easy, complete with esky hire, fishing rods, and beach chairs.
Yep that’s right, other people will even clean your car while you jump back on a plane with a memory stick full of images and a split-watermelon smile on your dial.
Check their website to see just how do-able a three/four day FIFO trip to K’gari can be; price and convenience wise.
And don’t be fooled into thinking this is ‘Fraser lite’, with a fleet of LandCruisers, this is the real deal. They’ll also fill you in on exactly what else you’ll need to sort, things like insurance and national park fees.
If you want it even easier again, you can always book one of their tours where you don’t even drive at all. Y’know, get ferried around with a crew of like-minded adventurers, and have your camp and foodstuffs taken care of already.
Whether for rig hire, tour bookings, or glamping accommodation you can check their specs at
Beachcampfraserisland.com.au
