Fraser Island is the world’s biggest sand island: it is over 120km long and 5-25km wide, covering 166 000ha (400 000 acres in old money). It’s mostly forested dunes rising up to a surprising 244m and it’s been here for about 800 000 years making it the oldest known continuous dune system. Geologically, biologically and scenically it is a very special place. It has all the usual deadly animals, but with added zest. Here there are dingoes, about 200 of them. Tragically they killed a young boy about ten years ago and have severely mauled several other people including a guy beach walking just a couple of months ago. But the Queensland Government has decided to manage the problem rather than kill the dingoes.

The crew of the VS set off to walk across the island at its narrowest point to a campsite on the other side. Here is your correspondent in full hiking regalia, en route:

 

 

 

This was a 14km walk each way, in an interesting but very hot forest and arriving at the eastern beach:

 

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The Pacific to the left, and on this side the beach is a highway as you can see from the tracks. At the end of the track was the campsite where the aged but hardened hikers squeezed themselves into a small tent:

 

 

This is a campsite with a difference though; it is entirely enclosed by a dingo-proof fence. Dingoes are like bears, and unless they’re fenced out they will scavenge for food and attack anyone in the way. You are advised never to walk alone, to carry a big stick, never to eat sitting down (dingoes will take this as submission) and if attacked, defend yourself aggressively – as the posters say “you are fighting for your life”! We knew little of this before walking, and never saw a dingo. We did see evidence of them though – this paw print was not there the previous day:

 

 

Of course, everyone else sees them. But not us – can’t win ‘em all.