Fraser Island

On Thursday evening we arrive at Hervey Bay. The departure point for Fraser Island, one of the highlights of our East Coast tour.

Fraser Island stretches over 123 kilometres along the southern coast of Queensland and is the largest sand island in the world. It is a place of exceptional beauty, with its long uninterrupted white beaches flanked by strikingly coloured sand cliffs, and over 100 freshwater lakes all ringed by white sandy beaches. Ancient rainforests grow in sand along the banks of fast-flowing, crystal-clear creeks. The sea surrounding the island is one of the most dangerous, filled with deadly jellyfish and sharks to name but a few, not to mention the unforgiving riptides that will drag you out to sea. These of course were risks pointed out to us at our initiation the next day.

Arriving at the Fraser Island initiation, we sat in the Koala bar and observed the large group of people we would be venturing to the Island with. As we began to settle, in bounced this chirpy Australian guy prepared to barrage us with the 'do's and don'ts' of the island and the possibilties of fatalities if we dont adhere to the rules. After a 30minute speech complete with flip-board and a dvd probably made in the 80's it was time for him to allocate people into groups.

Fraser Island was not something to be tackled by foot but by a 4x4 Toyota Land Cruiser. As each 4x4 vehicle held 11 people we were all to be split into a convoy of 4. We made it known we wanted to put with our 2 canadian room mates, Adam and Mike, but there was still 7 spaces in our jeep for potential idiots...fortunately Team D was flawless and everyone seemed like a good bunch of people. Our next task was to set out grocery and alcohol shopping for the 3 days that we would be on the island for, with some members of the group taking on the food responsibilty we of course set off with Adam and Mike to the liquor store, with no bars on the island..it was to be the most important purchases of our lives. With 21 litres of wine and 30 beers between the five of us for 2 nights, we believed it to be adequate. That night we decided to head out with our Team D crew to get to know each other better, the result was not getting to sleep until about 4.30am...a tactful night as we were set to get up at 5am to prepare for the jeeps for the trip.

Saturday. Day One -

So....30 minutes later with commotion of everyone else in our room getting up I finally raised my head and dragged myself to the Jeep at the back yard of the hostel. I'd like to say I contributed to the preparation of the adventure but I more or less stood around hungover watching the rest of Team D doing a fine job! With the Jeeps primed and ready the drivers were to head to the bar for a briefing on how to drive a 4x4 vehicle, explained by the most sarcastic, flirtacious, middle aged australian woman i've ever met. Lapsing in and out of consciousness the chat was finally over and were to grab some breakfast before jumping into our home for the next 3 days. With Adam bravely taking the helm he did a fine job getting us to the ferry with the majority of us cramped in the back, the hungover among us sleeping. Mike was first up behind the wheel as the ferry spat us out onto the island and sailed off, leaving us on this mountain of sand for the next 3 days.

Our first destination was to be Lake McKenzie...rumoured to be the most impressive of all the freshwater lakes found on the island. As the jeep was parked and we made our way through the thick undergrowth of rainforest trees our feet soon began to tread white powdery sand, as we emerged from the tree line before us stood the first purely tropical sight....a large crystal blue lake nestling against powdery white sand, the finest sand I have experienced..it could almost be described as flour. Even with the tempremental weather we all shed our belongings and ran into this tropical abyss. The water was unusual as it had 2 almost immediate gradients of blue, a light turquoise against the sand and then suddenly a deep navy...it soon became clear that this was because of the steep slope that dropped suddenly on the lake bed. Even with an eye mask you couldnt see the end of the slope, it dropped deep into nothingness...almost eerie thinking what lived in the depths.

With our fun had at the lake our next destination was Lake Wabby. This time I was to take hold of our beast of a 4x4! It didnt take me long to become familiar with the vehicle however gear changes weren't always the smoothest. As the journey progressed the route became more and more precarious with steep declines down narrow dirt tracks, meeting the occasional jeep coming the other way. The fact that our jeep was extremely top heavy with our camping gear and food made the matter of tipping a very high possibilty...however, even being a risky driving experience it was still alot of fun.

Leaving the jeep and trekking through the rainforest and up a large sand dune we finally arrived at Lake Wabby. Not as breathtaking as McKenzie in size or colour but the small bonus of running down an enormous almost vertical sand dune into the water made it a worthwhile experience. Next up was the Maheno Ship Wreck, found on the beach near to our camping spot for the night. Simon took the wheel and sped us there at 80kph along the five mile beach. After the standard photo opportunities we decided to set off to find our recommended camping spot for the night, we already were a good couple of hours late...not sticking to the itenary and it soon became clear why we should of stuck to it. Finding the rest of the convoy already set up and cooking dinner it began to get dark. As Chris and Simon set up the tent I took the status of meat man getting the barby started as the rest prepared the rest of our meal...however with the sun dropping out of the sky it was becoming difficult to see what any of us was doing. With a meal of burgers, potatoes and steak finally devoured in the pitch black and a cold wind blowing off the sea it was time for some boxes of goon to be cracked open. Unfortunately for me the arctic breeze was getting the better of my already existent cold so I called it an early night.

Sunday. Day Two -

Waking with a broken neck, a face full of sand and my feet poking out the tent (lucky not to be chewed off by Dingo's...wild Ozzie dogs) I managed to drag pull myself upright. Sleeping in tents was not to be my favourite experience of Fraser Island thats for sure! Team D packed up base and headed off to the nearest Campsite to have a wash and cook some breakfast on the free barbeques available. After a much needed feast of sausage sandwiches we headed to Indian Head, a cliff edge where dolphins, turtles and sharks can be spotted...none were spotted unfortunately. Next up on our recommended itenary was Eli Creek, it wasnt that empressive to be honest, most interesting thing there was a huge eel that was extremely tame, taking bread from people in the water...come to think of it..I should of speared it and had it for dinner..never mind. Learning our lesson from the previous night we decided to get to the campsite early, it was once again my turn to take the wheel and attack the beach. Such a surreal experience driving on the beach, if not unnerving at times when you hit soft sand and the vehicle sways. Its also imperative you dont hit the sea as we would lose our $660 bond if any saltwater was found on the vehicle. After easily speeding past one of the other vehicles in our convoy we arrived at our proposed camping area for the night. As the sun began to drop out of the sky the camp was already prepared and a feast of Mince and pasta was well on its way. It wasnt long before we witnessed the most amazing sunset skies ive ever seen. There was a mélange of pinks, reds, blues all reflecting off the powdery sand with a backdrop of a sky that looked as though it were on fire. A truly perfect accompaniment to our barbeque and campsite. After a feed in us and the beers happily flowing it was time to crack open the boxes of wine. We fired up our barbeques as make shift camp fires and got the rest of the jeep convoy to join in our multitude of drinking games. A great night was had by all.

Sunday. Day Three -

Awaking with a feeling of Deja Vu..the broken neck and a face full of sand, the tent was being dismantled around me. It was time for us to move on. Arriving at a campsite once again we had a feast of cereal and extreme meat sandwiches before heading to Lake Garawonga. None of us were impressed with it and jointly decided if we are to spend any time at a lake on our last day it would be Lake McKenzie! Arriving back at this hidden paradise we made the experience all the more memorable by throwing each other into huge backflips into the water, the height we achieved was insane...and at times extremely painful! So....all good things must come to an end at some point and it was time for us to jump in the jeep and make our way to the port for the ferry home.

Over the space of 3 days, as a group of people in a short space of time I feel we bonded extremely well. Team D shared a flawless friendship and its a shame that the experience had to end there. Arriving back at Hervey Bay we all went out for a farewell meal which showed how much we got along, good times were had...good friends were made...and hopefully up the coast our paths will cross again.

Next destination...Bundaberg...the home of our liver's greatest enemy..the almighty Bundaberg Rum.

---

---