Kingfisher Bay Resort

The eco-friendly resort offers spacious hotel rooms and self-contained villas. Accommodations feature a balcony, offering fantastic views of the natural surroundings.

Nestled into the island’s landscape, these Queenslander-style, Resort Hotel rooms sit lightly on the land – allowing island wildlife to go about their daily business uninterrupted. Wake up to an orchestra of frogs and birdsong and enjoy the best of the bush from the private native-timber deck.
There are one, two and three bedroom loft style villas at Kingfisher. All are are surrounded by native bushland with easy access to resort facilities. They’re great for couples that want that extra space and privacy that comes with being nestled in the treetops or for families with young adventurers who can navigate to the loft twin bedroom (The loft bedroom is recommended for children from 9-14 years that can safely negotiate a steep loft staircase).
Enjoy a home made breakfast on the deck or after a day exploring, enjoy the bush views with a long cold drink.
All the villas have: Fully equipped kitchen, full laundry facilities, Colour TV, Foxtel, Bath/shower.
Accommodation is also available in multi-share Wilderness Lodges. The timber lodges are perfect for groups and are surrounded by gum trees, bush plants and native birds, so you’ll still get your nature fix and a good night’s sleep. Each lodge has quad-share bedrooms (and some twin share) with full insect screens. Bedrooms have ceiling fans to keep you cool during summer and heating for those winter nights. Linen, blankets and bath towels are provided and there are separate male and female bathrooms – each with two showers.
The Wilderness Lodges also have an open lounge area that’s perfect for breakaway group activities, morning briefings or socialising, as well as a small kitchenette with fridge and tea and coffee making facilities.

K’gari Tours: Join the Rangers on a guided one-hour nature walk and discover a bunch of things you never knew about the world’s largest sand island. From native history and storytelling to the crazy creatures that come out after dark – there’s something to learn about at every track and turn.

Butchulla Walk – K’Gari, meaning paradise, is the Aboriginal name for Fraser Island. Learn about Butchulla legends and culture. See midden remains in the sand dunes, discuss the legend of Fraser Island’s formation, taste bush tucker, and learn about the roles of men, women and children in Aboriginal clans.

Bird Watching Walk- K’gari is home to 354 species of bird. Some migratory species come from as far away as Siberia. Join the Rangers as they teach the basics of bird watching. Learn when and where to find some of K’gari’s bird life.

Eco Walk- Kingfisher Bay Resort has set benchmarks in ecotourism. The resort’s architectural design, infrastructure and activities minimise the effects on the environment, conserve energy and minimise waste. Come behind the scenes and see how we operate our sewerage treatment plant and how our worms help us recycle.

Bush Tucker Walk- On K’gari, the bush provided foods and medicine for both the Butchulla and early European settlers. Learn how to identify this rich source of Australian food and find out how it can be used in every day life. There are also opportunities to touch, smell and taste the flavours of the K’gari bush.

Night Spotlighting- Put on your sensible shoes, bring a torch and join the search for our fabulous nocturnal neighbours. See insectivorous bats socialising and feeding around the resort lakes; turn the spotlight on sugar gliders as they move from tree to tree; learn about the stars in the southern sky. You’ll also hear the rare acid frogs of K’gari and learn how they have adapted to survive.

Beach Walk- At every low tide the inter-tidal zone emerges as the water recedes and the sand flats become land. This area is home to many wonderful creatures that survive the tidal change from sea to sand. Walk along the beach towards McKenzie’s Jetty – an old logging site. You’ll be surprised at the variety of animals and plants that inhabit this zone.

Mangrove Walk- Dundonga Creek has a fascinating mangrove colony, which plays a vital role in sustaining the marine ecosystem. There are eight mangrove species in this one area. On this walk (or guided canoe paddle if you prefer), you’ll discover how mangroves differ form other plants; find out how they adapt to a salt environment and learn about the sands of the North White Cliffs and their significance in the island’s formation.

Wallum Walk- Walk through the mirror lakes and wallum heath that front the resort. On this walk you’ll learn about the link between the animals and plants in this area and look at the vital role fire plays in a wallum community.

Berrillbee Trail- The Berrillbee walk takes you through the open forest and different plant communities within a coo-ee of the resort. It’s a great way to learn about the logging history of K’gari and hear the old logging yarns as you crest the natural sand amphitheatre that protects the resort.

From the Owners:

Kingfisher Bay Resort is a fully integrated, large-scale ecotourism resort, opening in 1992 setting benchmarks in ecotourism, which have been used by ecotourism ventures worldwide. The resort has won nine Queensland and six Australian Tourism Awards.
The resort is designed to give people an enjoyable nature based tourism experience on World Heritage listed Fraser Island while creating minimal impact on the environment.

The following initiatives are published by Kingfisher Bay Resort.

ENERGY

The resort’s architectural design allows for minimal power requirements.
In summer, windows and vents are kept open to generate the induction of cool air from the lower level and expel warmer air through loft vents. In winter, windows and vents are closed to create a glasshouse effect, trapping warm air inside the building.
The energy saving created by this design feature has been calculated to save 480,000 kW hours of electricity each year.
LANDSCAPING
Kingfisher Bay Resort and Village was landscaped to mirror the native vegetation and to ensure the protection of the gene pool.
Existing vegetation on the site was protected to the greatest extent possible. Many thousands of plants were removed prior to construction and held in an on-site nursery for replanting later. A further 150,000 plants were raised from seeds and cuttings from the site. Queensland Forest Services raised 60,000 seedlings for the project.
The nursery continues to provide such plants for landscaping. The success of revegetation in the area can be judged by the abundance of wildflowers and native birds and wildlife nesting and feeding in the bush around the resort.
WE’RE RESPONSIBLE!
The resort minimises waste production through reducing resource use, environmentally responsible purchasing, recycling, reusing materials and, for example, placing refillable soap and shampoo dispensers in resort bathrooms thus eliminating packaging. Paper, glass, aluminium, tin and plastics are recycled.
OUR POO FARM
You don’t expect to see the inner workings of a resort when you come to stay but at Kingfisher Bay on Fraser Island the Rangers take pride in our poo farm. You’re invited to inspect the sewage works and find out how their waste, shredded office papers and kitchen preparation scraps are turned into rich compost in the onsite worm farm and then used to grow herbs for the kitchen. This ultimate recycling process has its own interpretive signage.
MONITORING, RESEARCHING & IMPROVING
Resort activities are monitored by sponsoring research of Fraser Island and the natural environment of the resort so any impacts can be minimised. This research examines flora and fauna species, wetlands, impacts of tourism, environmental interpretation and sustainable tourism at the resort.
The results of research are made available to organisations and agencies such as the Environmental Protection Authority. Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service Rangers on the island are also included in the research process and informed of findings.

To benefit from the continued conservation of Fraser Island, Kingfisher Bay Resort’s interpretive ecotourism practices and environmental research in general, the resort formed a collaborative partnership with the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) to establish a Fraser Island Research and Education Centre.
The resort has dedicated buildings to the research centre, including a lecture hall, laboratory, freezer rooms, office and library.
Researchers are also supported with free accommodation and meals whilst working at the centre and Resort Rangers assist with field projects.
This has been recognised as ‘an outstanding example of collaborative research’ by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in a Peer Review Report, published in 2006 – which engaged twelve regions across ten OECD countries in 2005.