Ruislip & Eastcote & Northwood Gazette

NEED TO KNOW

coral reef lagoon in Queensland, Australia

spas and barbecues and houses.

I joined the full-day Beauty Spots Tour, with an early departure in a custom-designed 4WD coach. Traversing the island’s rugged terrain is not for the faint-hearted.

First stop was Lake McKenzie (Boorangoor­a) – a crystal-clear lake fringed by white sand and rainforest. Not fed from the ground or sea, it contains only rainwater so pure there’s little to no animal life in the lake, but it makes for a perfect swimming or kayaking spot.

A refreshing dip and a stroll on the soft silica sand followed before we reconvened at the gated picnic area for snacks and drinks. No food is allowed by the lake so that the resident dingoes aren’t attracted.

Next stop was the Pile Valley’s satinay and brush box forests where trees thousands of years old reach up to 165ft to create an awe-inspiring canopy. At Central Station, once a place for aboriginal women to give birth along the banks of the Wanggoolba Creek, we learnt of the profitable logging industry that took over when Europeans arrived in the 1860s.

You can still see some of the original buildings and machinery.

After wandering the boardwalk, we stopped for a buffet lunch at K’gari Beach Resort on the island’s east coast.

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Later, I was grateful to hit 75 Mile Beach Road – as the name suggests, it’s a 75-mile long beach – where holidaymak­ers stop to fish, picnic or enjoy sights along the way, such as the SS Maheno shipwreck and the coloured sands of The Pinnacles.

At the popular Eli Creek, families set up tents along the shoreline then go tyre-tubing in the natural, slow-moving beach-bound creek.

Here we spotted several dingoes – the dogs are usually solo – almost camouflage­d against the sand. The resorts and campground­s are all surrounded by dingo-proof fences for safety.

But our day of serenity and beauty quickly came to a halt on the way back to the resort.

Driving through the rainforest on a one-way track, we encountere­d a fallen tree blocking our exit. There was no turning back, our driver told us. The men jumped off the coach and tried to move it. But it wouldn’t budge.

What happened next was both exhilarati­ng and terrifying.

The rest of us remaining on the bus had to move over to the left – the opposite side to the fallen tree – and our slightly nervous but determined driver took the bus up a sandbank and carefully edged us past the fallen tree.

We were holding on for dear life as the bus looked as though it was going to tip over, but this just added to the excitement of our day.

“The bush can be unpredicta­ble at times,” our driver said jokily as he wiped away sweat from his reddened face.

A glass of wine back at the hotel’s sunset bar rounded off both the day and my visit to gorgeous South Queensland.

From the depths of the Great Barrier Reef to the pristine shores of K’gari, each moment was a reminder of the boundless wonders awaiting those who dare to explore. ■ Trailfinde­rs offers a 16-night bush-tobeach Queensland Coast & Hinterland trip from £4,149pp, including internatio­nal flights, 15 days’ car hire, 14 nights’ accommodat­ion with two nights at Lady Elliott Island Eco Resort with half-board and scenic flight transfers, Hervey Bay whale watching, K’gari Explorer Tour, walks in rainforest­s and swimming with turtles. trailfinde­rs.com

■ More info at queensland.com