Hire companies will probably organise these for the vehicles they hire, but anyone can get them at the outlets listed on our camping page . One of the sights awaiting the 4WD traveller is known as The Pinnacles, part of the high coloured sand cliffs fronting the eastern surf beach. Fraser Island consists of sands compacted and bonded by silt and clay to a hard consistency. Loose sand has blown over most of the core, but where it is exposed it gives the island some of its most magnificent scenery. Most rocks encountered along the beach are known as 'coffee rock', a dark brown sedimentary rock made up of sand grains cemented together with decomposed plant remains.
Coffee rock is often soft enough to crumble easily, but in other places can be surprisingly hard.
Tourist brochures tend to show vehicles travelling easily along the uncluttered eastern beach at low tide, but several outcrops of rock exist at various places along its length. When combined with a high tide, the rocky outcrops form a formidable obstacle even for 4WD vehicles. Detouring inland to avoid obstacles on the beach can mean a steep climb into the dunes through soft sand. Attention to tyre pressures is often necessary to make the climb successfully. Every year several vehicles are damaged and written off in mishaps on the island.