K'gari Great Walk
Hervey Bay, Queensland (formerly Fraser Island)
food for 6 days
our thoughts
camp ground names, distances & condition
travelling from interstate & getting to the start
butane gas canisters & flying
gallery
1. Food for 6 days
Here is the food we packed for our 6 day K'gari Great Walk.
At the moment we are loving Strive Food (more on them later in another post). We cook a meal for both lunch & dinner. Even though it is a 6 day hike, the last day is only 7.5k's & it finishes at a pub in Happy Valley, so we are planning on a little sleep in & arrive there in time for lunch, meaning we don't need to carry a meal for the last day.
We aren't much for breakfast nor are we big eaters, but not long into each day's hike we snack on a muesli bar & start munching away on a packet of nuts. Nuts of choice currently is 'grab n go' from Aldi. I generally bring 2 muesli bars, where Tanya prefers a packet of Cob's popcorn & Parkers pretzels instead. I do like the pop corn as well, & while they are ultra light they are really just packets of air taking up valuable space in my back pack. The pretzel packet in the picture is for show as we pack them into smaller zip lock bags for each day. There's also (top right hand corner) a packet of dehydrated vegetables from Strive Food to add to some of the meals, & then on the other end of the healthy scale a packet of The Natural Confectionery Company snakes, for that sugar hit later in the day.
As recommended we bring at least one meal as an emergency, which is pictured below the pretzels. There is a home made dehydrated meal, (above the snakes) which we are trying for the first time, & again we'll post some info on that later. Sometimes we may throw in a '2 minute noodle' packet.
In my allotment of food, (picture 2) I carry Back Country dessert for 2 nights. You can't go past their Apple Pie! And yes we share it. We start each day's hike with a good drink of water, more water during the day, a Berocca generally with lunch & a cup of tea if we can be bothered with dinner. Finally a small piece of chocolate, also from Aldi, to relax with before retiring for the night.
Believe it or not, it all fits into this 15 litre Sea to Summit nylon stuff sack.
2. Our thoughts of the K'gari Great Walk
The K'gari walk was a delightful and generally straight forward walk of 75 kilometers, made even more enjoyable by the fantastic weather.
We really enjoyed the walk, although we wished there was more beach to walk on. However, the presence of tall trees made up for it. The serene atmosphere created by the trees added a sense of tranquility to the experience. At one section we could really smell clean fresh air, interesting how that was such a delight. The rustling of leaves and the fresh scent of the forest provided a soothing backdrop to the walk. The towering trunks created a picturesque setting that was truly mesmerizing. The walk-in camp sites were clean and mostly deserted. As always, a great place and time to get away from the city life to a simple week. Go do it!
The only taxi service run by a friendly couple, but book as soon as you can, not only to get a lift but to make sure you can go when the tide is out.
3. Camp ground names, distances & condition
The K'gari walk-in camp sites were clean & very well maintained. We had one day where we had to carry double our water as a friendly hiker going in the opposite direction informed us there was no water at a particular site. The morning we were at the campsite with the lack of water, the rangers were there attending to the matter. Apparently some blockage in the pipes, which they were puzzled about as this was not a usual situation. I wouldn't worry about this, this is more highlighting how attentive the rangers were!
days:
Dilli Village to Lake Benaroo - 14k, under 4.5 hours
Lake Benaroo to Lake McKenzie - 15k, about 4.5 hours
Lake McKenzie to Lake Wabby - 13k, under 4 hours
Lake Wabby to Valley of the Giants - 16.5k, 5.5 hours
Valley of the Giants to Garywongera - 13.5k, a bit over 4 hours
Garywongera to Happy Valley, touch over 6k's, under 2 hours
The walk-in campsites we clean & well maintained, including the toilets. The path conditions were ideal for our hike. We were fortunate to have beautiful sunny days with temperatures reaching a comfortable 24° Celsius (75°F), which meant the track was dry and easy to navigate. The signage along the way was generally clear & we never got lost. Most of the toilets had a supply of toilet paper, but bring your own to be on the safe side. Each campsite had access to water, but treat it before using. It is very much recommended to store your food in the metal containers provided at each tent site to prevent animals, mainly the dingoes from accessing it during the night.
On the subject of dingoes, we only saw 2 dingoes the entire time. We were told they mainly stick closer to the beach front, & as the walk is through the middle of the island we supposedly weren't going to encounter them as much. Further on the subject of animals, the were heaps of spiders, & to be precise, I mean the 'funnel web' spider. For you international visitors reading this blog, they are on par with the notorious 'black widow' spider in the USA. According to another website, on K'gari island, for every square meter there is one venomous spider!!! I've included a picture at the bottom of this page, so don't scroll down if you prefer not to view it. However, these spiders, while venemous, stayed in their homes in the ground the whole time. I'm not fond of spiders but they were well behaved. There are also very huge spiders, the 'golden orb' spider. These grow to about 20cm in length. We came across just one,.. & the only reason I noticed it is because I happened to walk through the side of its web & felt the strength of the web, I prompt turned around, then saw the huge spider hanging in air in front of a few branches. Phew!
Don't let this info put your off, we got good a picking where to pitch our tent each night away from the funnel web spiders. Again, I'm not fond of spiders but out on these great walks I enjoy admiring them,...from a distance. Anyhow, I didn't mean to spend this much time of these creatures.
We felt Happy Valley was a great place to finish, as there is pub there serving food from at least noon on. The music was in harmony with the area, out dated, & little country & western style, but hey, the end of hike, a cold beer, some good grab, give it to me at the conclusion of every hike!
Overall, good tracks, good amenities,... go for it! We
As there are many bus tours around the island they have good toilets to accomodate the tourists & we hikers get to benefit. They are a nice distance from the walk-in camp site.
Not all the toilets are as those pictured above these, but still acceptable.
