Fraser Island

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I just realized that up until our last little adventure this trip has been smooth sailing, rain and all. That all changed 4 days ago. We arrived in Hervey Bay for our Fraser Island orientation on Wednesday. Everything went well, and the island just seemed like a pretty and interesting place to go. The trip is three days long and you drive on the sand the whole time. They mentioned all the pretty lakes and pools to visit and the fact that there are wild dingoes all over the island and we were just hoping we would be lucky enough to see one of them.
This is a self guided 4WD tour so the hostel matches you up with groups of 8-11, in the beginning we got put with a group of boys from the UK, none of whom could drive because they were not 21, so that would have left all the 4WD’ing up to Caroline and me, thank god our group changed due to logistics and we got 4 others who were all willing to drive. I figured I would be great at 4WD, but then realized that they were really old Toyota land cruisers and just getting into 4WD required a lot more than turning a nob like at home, needless to say I never attempted driving on the island.
On Thursday we woke up at 6 AM to get ready for our departure, of course it was pouring rain so we had to to keep all our stuff for the trip dry while we prepared. After loading our car with all our supplied camping gear we were ready to get some breakfast and go. During breakfast we saw the local paper and a group of backpackers on the same trip the day before had gotten in a pretty bad wreck on their way home (back on paved ground) because there tire pressure was so low from the sand driving, this was the first sign that we were in for a pretty serious and possibly dangerous trip. By 10 AM we were on the barge (a ferry) to Fraser Island. I thought that once we got there we would be on the sand, boy was I wrong. We first had to drive about 15 kilometers through a totally muddy road (it has rained so much on Fraser in the past week that there was a severe weather warning). Our car was so bouncy and all our gear loaded in top sounded like it was going to come crashing down, I was terrified. Finally we got to the beach and started driving, but after about 20 minutes we hit a massive bump in the sand and I was sure that our car had rolled. Thank god it hadn’t but on our first stop we realized our front tire was bent in, we called back to the rental company and they told us to just change the tire….good idea, except for the fact that our tire jack did not work at all with the tires on the car. The group (not me) came to the decision to just go ahead at a slow pace for the next two days, so the rest of the time driving I was in fear that the tire was going to come flying off. Finally we made it to our campsite and had dinner. This is where we saw our first dingo, we were all excited and tried to get pictures, little did we know that they were there to stay and bothered us all night. You literally are not allowed to walk outside the camp area alone, and you need to bring sticks with you everywhere to scare them away, it was not only scary but really annoying. The only thing that helped us get through our first night was goon and the fact that there was about 18 of us staying there.
The next morning started out ok, I actually slept alright so I was pretty happy. But as we were about to leave at 9 AM for another day of adventure the other group with us could not start there car. We ended up needing about 12 guys (thank god we had them) to push the land cruiser through the sand like 100 yards, not an easy task. Finally we were on our way. After about 10 minutes of beach driving we came upon a very touristy spot and everyone started freaking out, I look up from my spot in the car and there is literally a plane aiming right for us starting to land. I knew I was going to die. It just barely missed us for its beach landing, and then turned around and drove straight at us again, I have never been so scared. It finally stopped right next to our car and the pilot hopped out with his passengers totally calmly. Apparently planes landing on the beach is just a normal part of life on Fraser and you are supposed to be on the lookout for them at all times. Afterwards we went to a very beautiful place called the champagne pools, but we were a little behind schedule (the schedule is tight due to high tides and beach driving) so we only got a few minutes here, but we loved all of it. We stopped at another lake afterwards that is surrounded but sand dunes and you can run straight down them into the water. All in all it was a scary but good day especially since we had some sun.
Finally we were back at camp, all three of our groups camped together which was fun. Lots of good people and goon, but also lots and lots of dingoes. One couple told us that the dingoes slept next to the tents all night long. In the middle of the night we all woke up to a huge rainstorm (the weather cant be too good for too long here) and some of the tents collapsed in the rain and wind. I think I was finally ready for home.
On our last day we were all so excited, we only had one last muddy trek to a lake and then the barge home. I was almost positive that our tire came off on one bit of road that we nearly got stuck in but everyone assured me we were still safe. Finally we reached the barge a few hours early (due to the horrible weather no one wanted to spend time at the lake we had gone too) but we were all ecstatic to be on our way home. We were smelly, tired, and scared and so over it. All in all it was a good adventure but not something I would ever do again. The best part about the Fraser trip was it got us all totally excited for our next trip, the Whitsunday Islands. We leave tonight on a 12 hour bus trip up the coast (9 PM til 9 AM) and then depart with a group of 20 for 2 nights/2days of sailing, snorkeling, and drinking on the Great Barrier Reef! Im so happy to be alive after our trip and I can’t wait for some relaxing, I just hope the weather is good 

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Comments

[Patty Hymas]

Fraser Island
I'm glad you have all your angels along with you!! Does this mean that you won't mind your dad's driving? xoxo

[Johaan]

Wow. For Real.
Wikipedia site for Fraser Island............... "On 18 April 2009, two backpackers were killed and four others seriously injured when their rented four-wheel drive vehicle flipped while driving along the island. None of the occupants were found to be wearing seat belts. From 2003 to 2009 there have been 120 serious accidents in similar circumstances." "Up until 1995, there were no official records of dingoes attacking humans on Fraser Island. In April 2001, a boy wandered away from his family and was discovered dead, with indications of a dingo attack."

[Colleen]

Whoa! Sounds like you will have some "memories" ... YIKES! Love, Mom

[carol]

Helo, I am looking for some information, it was news years eve 1984/85 and I was on the island with a tour called centralian for under thirties, we stayed a a campsite that was ajacent to a motel/hotel, which i beleive was one of the very few on the island at that time. is there any one out there who can tell me where it may have been ont he island ( big night can not remember much) and if it still exists ( the motel/hotel that is) thanks carol