K’Gari (also known as Fraser Island) is a World-Heritage-listed island along the south-eastern coast in the Wide Bay–Burnett region, Queensland, Australia. The island is about 123 kilometres long and 22 kilometres wide. The island is considered to be the largest sand island in the world at 1,840 square kilometres. It is also Queensland's largest island, Australia's sixth-largest island and the largest island on the east coast of Australia.
The Fraser island Weekends required a three and a half-day time commitment from the participant runners. Runners met and stayed in accommodation at Rainbow Beach on Thursday night, the runners then had an early departure on Friday morning to cross the ferry to Fraser Island and commence the trail run.
On completion of the trail run, runners were transported to their AirBnB accommodation at Orchid Beach, Fraser Island. A completion dinner was held at the Orchid Beach Hotel on Friday night evening. On the following day, runners were taken on a sightseeing tour of the Northern Fraser Island before returning to the accommodation. Sunday saw the cleanup of the campsite and the return to the mainland for the runners.
The run is suitable for every ability, from experienced trail runners to first-timers and is one of the most rewarding experiences running along one of the most popular islands in the world.
The trail begins where Taleerba Creek feeds into the pacific ocean on Seventy Five Mile Beach and continues north before moving inland at the Dilli village. Winding past the Dilli education centre, runners will move briefly over some vehicle tracks before commencing on the K’gari great walking track which leads to Checkpoint 1 at Lake Boomanjin. From checkpoint 1, the trail circles Lake Boomanjin and into the moderate vegetated areas before passing Lake Benaroon to reach Checkpoint 2 located south of Lake Birrabeen. The Trail continues along Lake Birrabeen and past Lake Jennings into Checkpoint 3 before entering the Rainforest area that surrounds central station and Checkpoint 4. From there, the trail continues through the rainforest area onto the finish point at Lake McKenzie where runners can take a rewarding swim in the pristine waters of the lake. All checkpoints and the finish point will be operated by a support crew that will have water, food and medical supplies. Participants will need enough fluids and nourishment to sustain travel between the checkpoints.
