How to drive and survive on sand

K’gari (Fraser Island), off the Queensland coastline about 250km north Brisbane, is a unique sand-formed island – the largest of its kind in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Area home to stunning rainforests, crystal clear freshwater lakes and unique wildlife, including endangered loggerhead turtles and a healthy population of dingoes.

With hundreds of kilometres of uninterrupted white beaches flanked by colourful sand cliffs, it’s a mecca for four-wheel drive enthusiasts wanting to escape city life and enjoy a range of activities including coastal camping, beach fishing and nature walks.

However, it’s also a big ‘sand trap’ for the over-confident or unprepared, with fluffy sand, drop-offs and fast-changing tides proving the downfall of more than a few of the many off-road enthusiasts it attracts each year.

To make sure you don’t become a sand driving statistic on your next beach driving adventure, ideally you need a well-equipped high-clearance 4WD vehicle, like the Mazda BT-50 Thunder dual-cab ute we drove recently on a five-hour, 174km touring route around the 184,000ha sand island.

With tyre pressures dropped to 24psi and the occasional use of its ‘BT-50’ engraved underslung bash plate, the top-spec Mazda ute rarely skipped a beat thanks to its torquey 3.0-litre turbo-diesel engine and responsive six-speed auto.

Some earlier rain helped progress by creating a firmer base along the narrow bush tracks and soft dunes, and there was no need at any time to engage low-range 4WD or the locking rear diff available on Mazda Australia’s hero ute.

However, we did follow other ‘rules’ of sand driving, including pre-trip preparation and training before heading off; travelling in a convoy; carrying recovery gear including Maxtrax and a snatch trap to help get out of a bog, as well as a first aid kit and extra water if we did get stuck for a longer period.

We also stuck to the posted speed limits along the beach – 80km/h dropping to 40km/h in busier sections – and parked up out of the inter-tidal ‘traffic’ zones when stopping to take photos of K’gari landmarks like Eli Creek and the Maheno Shipwreck, or a pack of dingoes cruising the beach…

Splashing through the freshwater run-offs along 75 Mile Beach was a lot of fun, as was the late-afternoon dash back to the Kingfisher Bay Resort dodging the shoreline waves on the incoming tide.

After a thorough rinse-off back at the resort to prevent salt water corrosion, the hopefully still shiny BT-50s rolled onto the ferry and back to firmer ground at Hervey Bay, ready for their next off-road adventure…

Sand driving pre-trip checklist

• Do a 4WD driver training course
• Take the right recovery gear – recovery tracks as a minimum
• Obtain beach driving permits as required
• Take plenty of drinking water and snacks
• Drop tyre pressures
• Keep momentum in soft sand
• Keep to existing tracks, stay off vegetation
• Don’t drive in the surf
• Don’t drive along the side of a steep dune
• Don’t make sharp, fast turns on lowered tyre pressures
• Be aware of other 4WDs; some intertidal zones are officially roads
• Return tyres to normal road pressures when you’re back off the sand

Related: All you need to know about driving your 4WD on sand

Related: What 4WD recovery gear do you need?