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Published: December 24th 2009
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Track marks
...from the 4WD across the beach/ main highway My day in Hervey Bay was pretty uneventful, as there is nothing to do there at all.
The next morning was time to go off to Fraser Island (the largest sand island in the world) on a self-drive tour. However, in the morning it was all rush rush so whilst the briefing for the drivers took place, four people out of a group of nine had to go and do food and alcohol shopping. Missing the briefing meant that you weren't allowed to be a driver- it seems the tour company has decided that instead of starting half an hour earlier, it is better to deny almost half the group the opportunity to get behind the wheel, a decision that has to be made almost immediately. Since I haven't driven much for the past couple of years, and am not in general a massive fan of driving, I volunteered to go shopping. Of course once I got there the driving looked kind of fun, so I regret that. What really got me was that I had to sign a form saying that I couldn't drive as I didn't meet the requirements (21 years old and held a driving license for
Lake Wabby
The lake with the pea green water two years) when I really did. And I don't think that it was necessary to deny anyone driving who meets the requirements at all (only one in my group didn't meet them, so three of us had to back out of the driving voluntarily).
Anyway, grouch over. We got our vehicles and drove to the ferry, and on to Fraser Island. From the ferry terminal we hit an impressively bumpy sand track through the forest almost straight away- it was both fun and scary to be thrown about the place. No-one forgot to put on their seat belts on this trip!
The first real stop was Eli Creek- a freshwater stream running from the centre of the island to the sea. We got there after leaving the forest track and onto the beach, which on Fraser Island is the main highway. The beach is basically the motorway (which doesn't stop occasional idiots from playing frisbee on it in the face on oncoming traffic). Eli Creek itself was nice enough, although not what I was expecting. I thought it was a proper swimming stop, but actually everyone just waded up it up to around knee level until we reached
Indian Head
A vertiginous view a 'go no further' sign, next to a boardwalk you could walk back to the beach along. The other things on our suggested itinerary were the wreck of the Maheno, a passenger liner blown ashore in the 30's which now sits rusting and stranded on the beach like the skeleton of of some giant marine creature. We also took a peek at the 'spectacular' coloured sands of the Pinnacles- some cliffs with different shade of white and yellow on them. They were fine, but I hate to say it- Hunstanton cliffs are better!
After that it was time to go the campsite (really early, half past three, because otherwise it would be cut off by the tide) to put up the tent and have dinner and drink. I had a bit of an odd encounter with a person someone in my group already knew.
'So, where are you from?'
'Norfolk'
'Oh yeah? I'm from there too, which bit?'
'King's Lynn. Well, a small village nearby anyway.'
'Me too! Which village?'
'Uh Walpole St Andrew'
'I'm from Walpole Cross Keys, and my Nan lived in Walpole St Andrew! Which road?'
'Market Lane'
'My Nan lived on Market Lane! Which
Champagne Pool
When the sea comes crashing over the rocks, it does indeed look like champagne house number..?'
Yes Mum and Dad, I really did meet one of Mrs Day's grandchildren on an island off the East coast of Australia!
Weird, weird and more weird.
Also on a more sombre note, the day I arrived someone on the island managed to flip their vehicle- most of the people are probably still in hospital as I write this, and there was one fatality. Not what you want to hear as you arrive.
The next day dawned and with not a whole lot on the itinerary our group decided to add a bit to it (since we are supposed to be self-guided) and took an unscheduled trip down to Lake Wabby. This turned out to be one of the better parts of the Fraser Island experience. After a fairly grueling walk through eucalyptus woodland we reached a large, almost Saharan sand dune (called a sandblow on Fraser Island) and soon after that Lake Wabby itself. This is a depression in the sand filled with clear but but very dark stained water and reached by a run down a fairly steep sand bank and a jump into the water. All good fun.
Once we
Dingo!
At all the campsites they were very keen on people clearing their food scraps away, because of these fellas departed Lake Wabby we had a long drive up the beach to a spot that actually was on the itinerary- Indian Head. This was also very good- a small rocky promontory (the only rock I ever saw on the island) with views into the sea below where I could see about three turtles, a manta ray and a shark. This latter was a reminder of one the reasons why you are not supposed to go swimming in the sea- it's really deadly! If the currents don't get you, the sharks will, and if the sharks don't, the jellyfish will. The final stop of the day was a brief dip in the Champagne Pools- a small pool blocked from the sea proper by some rocks, but kept filled by the waves crashing over them. This was fine, but not a patch on the other places of the day. At the end of the day we just sneaked in a visit to an inland site (and not blocked off by the tide); after a hair-raising ride through the rainforest we got to Lake Allom, again not on the itinerary but worth a visit to see the dozens of small turtles just paddling
Our extra creek
The one near to 'Central Point' with the ridiculously clear water around, bold as brass in front of you.
For the final day we had to hurry down to Central Point (ferry to catch!) for a brief visit. This seemed to be some historical logging complex, but the real draw was a small creek nearby with the most amazingly clear water- as if there was no water at all. However we were in a hurry so continued on to Lake McKenzie. We were quite worried we wouldn't make it as there were lots of traffic jams on the road because of people getting stuck in the sand. This was the only point at which our vehicle got stuck (because we lost momentum stopping behind another stuck vehicle). Luckily the people in my group who did do the driving proved to be very good at it so we generally had less problems than a lot of people, which I guess is why we were able to fit in extra things. Anyway Lake McKenzie was another one of these lovely lakes in the sand with crystal clear water and nice swimming. However, nice though it was, it was slightly marred by it's popularity- so crowded!
We spent about an hour there
Lake McKenzie
Clear water, fine white sand, pity about the crowds before it was time to go back to the ferry. Despite leaving earlier than suggested, it seemed touch and go as to whether we would make it in time (happily we did). So then it was just back to Hervey Bay for another dull night.
The next morning I went off to catch my Greyhound Coach. Given my tour company's increasingly poor track record on this trip, I wasn't all that surprised to find that they had neglected to book my coach ticket on to Brisbane and then Byron Bay. I managed to sort it out at the station so no harm done, but it really isn't impressive. But now I am in Byron Bay for a day with no plans- maybe a walk, maybe lying on the beach? This morning I sorted out what I am doing for the next couple of days, as again, the tour company made a total hash of all the planning, leaving a confused mess which I had to sort out with the surf company here in Byron. Really, they haven't done anything right since I arrived at Fraser Island.
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