About 15 years ago, my husband (who was not even my boyfriend at the time) and I visited Fraser Island as backpackers with a group of friends. It was an amazing holiday filled with XXXX beer, 8 people crowded into a 4WD, being bogged down from not adhering to beach sand driving and some serious hangovers being cured by sandy sandwiches and more XXXX beer.

Fast forward to October 2016 and we were back on this amazing island. This time the safety briefing video with the warnings to not attempt formula one race car antics were less required, which had a little to do with our age-acquired maturity and a lot to do with the precious kid cargo in the back seats.

Before we left, I was a bit apprehensive how the kids would cope with long drives through forests and along beaches. Would the lack of internet and thereby the loss of their favourite apps or netflix series cause strife and would our family experience on Fraser Island not live up to our existing amazing memories of our previous trip? How many “Are we there yet”? questions could we handle and after the hundredth person telling us to be aware of the dingoes, would this trip end in disaster?

Well, without a doubt this was one of the best family holidays we have ever had (and the competition is high!) None of these fears materialised and my kids have never enjoyed looking out the window at the incredible nature as much as they did on this island. Not a single “are we there yet”, no mention of any iPad and from the moment we hit those beach tracks after driving off the ferry, the smiles did not leave their faces. Camping beneath 100 metre high trees one night and falling asleep next to the ocean the next night was the most magical experience (hint: if you do visit this wonderful island, please camp there and don’t stay in the resorts – you will experience so much more). Our lives slowed down, we ate toasted marshmallows over camp fires, we swam in the freshest streams where the water tasted like liquid gold, we drove through forests that surely must be inhabited by thousands of fairies and elves and we almost never got bogged in the sand once!

And the worst part of the trip – we never even got to see one bloody dingo!

Here is a video of our trip, followed by a few extra days spent with friends on Peregian Beach.