Great Sandy National Park, Nature reserve in Queensland, Australia

Great Sandy National Park spans a large coastal area in Queensland with several distinct zones and varied landscapes throughout. The park includes sandy beaches, forest regions, and marine areas that together form a complex natural environment.

Calls for a national park on Fraser Island date to 1893. On 3 December 1976 the island became the first entry in the new Australian Register of the National Estate, and the Queensland environment minister announced he would seek World Heritage listing. Listing came in 1992, after the state government banned sand mining across the whole island in 1991.

The name K'gari comes from the Butchulla word for paradise, and the island is central to Butchulla tradition, including the story of Princess K'gari, who was transformed into the island. The Butchulla people are the traditional owners of K'gari, and their connection to the land is recognised in its World Heritage listing. Visitors can learn about this heritage through ranger talks and interpretive signs.

The Cooloola section lies between Noosa Heads and Rainbow Beach; the K'Gari section covers almost all of Fraser Island, north of Rainbow Beach. A high-clearance 4WD is needed for Fraser Island and parts of Cooloola, and a vehicle permit is required for both sections. Camping needs a permit; Cooloola has about 15 campsites, some reachable only by canoe. Past Campsite 3 on the Noosa River only electric motors and non-motorised vessels are allowed.

K'Gari holds more than 100 freshwater lakes, including Lake Boomanjin, the largest perched lake in the world, and Lake Wabby, used for swimming and fishing. The island's eastern beach exposes coloured sand cliffs of red, brown and yellow, tinted by iron-rich minerals and cut open by wind and water.