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Published: September 2nd 2012
*This is our SECOND destination in Australia. Our first was Cairns, and we are still writing up that blog!*
We left Cairns and boarded a 26 hour bus to Hervey Bay (pronounced "Harvey Bay" as Daves skydive instructor, John informed us). It was a long journey, but by now we were seasoned travellers so we didn't mind it too much. We arrived in Hervey Bay at around 2:30pm the following day, where a courtesy bus was waiting to bring us to our hostel. We arrived at the hostel "The Woolshed" and checked into our cabin. It was a great little hostel, in a residential area with a nice courtyard. We dropped our bags and headed for the beach to catch the sunset. Although Cairns is by the sea, there were few sandy beaches near us, just mudflats, so it was great to get onto a beach! On the way to the beach we stopped by the supermarket and bought rice crackers and dips (a la Peetah). We sat on the beach, caught the last of the sunshine and took a few photos of the sun setting. Once the sun went down, we made our way back to the
Woolshed and unpacked before hitting a local pizza place for dinner. We had a walk around the town afterwards but couldn't find anywhere open to have a pint, so we went back to the hostel. Probably just as well, we had an early start the next morning as we were being picked up for our 3 day tour of Fraser Island at 7:20 am.
We headed out to get our bus the next morning, bleary-eyed and not quite awake. The bus picked people up from a number of other hostels before taking us to the ferry terminal. We put our backpacks onto the back of a truck that was to take them on the ferry, grabbed our boarding passes and got ourselves a seat on the ferry for the 45 minute journey. The crossing was smooth and enjoyable, as well as being very quiet- people were still half asleep!
We arrived on the island jetty when the warmth was starting to get into the day, and our tour guide, Damien, met us on the jetty with about 20 other people doing the same tour. Damien asked us to call him Damo instead, and was great craic. We booked
our tour with a company called "Cool Dingo" tours and it meant we had cabin accomodation, food, drinks and our guide for the 3 days. We were sick of driving after New Zealand so we took this option because its on a bus. Some tours offer jeeps you can drive around the island. Damo did a quick roll call and then we hopped on hte Cool Dingo bus where he drove us to a rest stop. Where the boat dropped us is called Kingfisher Bay Resort, and it had tarmac roads. But once we got out of the resort,we hit sand tracks Fraser Island is almost completely made of sand so the tracks were pretty bumpy! The first track we hit Damo called "The Rollercoaster" which, true to its name, we would have been thrown out of our seats were it not for our seatbelts. All our bags had to be belted in too, we couldn't leave anything in the overhead racks incase they fell down on top of someone! Once we were off the rollercoaster track, it got a bit easier but it was still bumpy!
On the journey, Damo gave us some safety tips about Dingos. The
Laced Monitor
This lizard was in our fenced-in picnic areaFraser Island population of Dingos is probably the purest population there is, as mainland Dingos are breeding with domestic dogs. Because a little four year old boy was killed by a Dingo on Fraser a couple of years ago, there are signs all over the island about how to be "Dingo Safe". The boy was running from the Dingo (apparently the worst thing you can do) and was bitten on the back of the leg and bled to death. Damo gave us a few pointers on how to deal with them if we come across one.
We arrived at our first stop of the tour- Lake Mackenzie. We weren't allowed bring any food down to the lake. Anything can attract a Dingo, even a leather bag! So we left any snacks behind us on the bus and made our way down to the lake. We had about an hour and a half to relax and have a swim before lunch. Me and Dave played frizbee which we took out of Damos "bag of tricks". In the meantime, Damo was setting up a lovely buffet lunch for us in one of the designated, fenced-in eating areas. You can't eat out
in the open as it attracts Dingos. We reported back for lunch after our stint at the lake, and there was a great spread of salad and meat. There was also a big bag of freshly-made cookies,, which were a big hit. At lunch, we sat with a bunch of Irish. We met two girls from Kildare, Eimear and Sinead, and two lads from Armagh, Colin and Cathal. During lunch, Damo pointed out a laced monitor lizard that was sitting just beside one of the tables. He was pretty big and got a bit spooked so scurried under the table. We packed up after lunch and headed to the next stop to a secluded lake where we could only take photos. We couldn't swim because sunscreen and insect repellent polluted the lake and the flora and fauna began to suffer. So now they don't allow swimming there anymore. They've seen an improvement in the wildlife in recent years.
After that, we set off on a bush walk through the rainforest, where we saw huge gum trees and a kookaboora. We met up with Damo at a place called Central Station, which used to be a town where the loggers
lived. THere used to be a huge loggin industry on Fraser before it became a national park. There weren't any buildings left, just picnic areas and toilets. We went on a second bush walk which brought us to a group of turpentine trees. The biggest one, Big Jim, is gigantic. It's supposed to be good luck to hug him, so, like true tourists, we did. We were all pretty tired at this stage so we were glad to get back on the bus, where our next destination was the shop to stock up on booze.
There was no shop up near our cabins, but there was the "Dingo Bar". Drinking in pubs in Australia is very expensive, so we decided to buy some beer in the shop. We were just about to buy a six pack when a gang from Germany asked us if we wanted to buy a big case of beer with them,. We agreed, and Dave grabbed a box. They were a great gang- there was Jo, Julian, Sebastian and his girlfriend Simone. Jo, Sebastian and Simone were staying in the same cabin as us. We got back on the bus and it took us to
our cabin. Our backpacks were locked in a shed, so we got those and headed in before cracking open the beer. We realised after a while that Julian wasn't there, so Jo stuck her head out the window and called him. Eventually he found us, and he didn't hear Jo! There was also a mother-daughter pair staying in our cabin. Their names were Claire and Pippa and they were from Sussex. They joined in the pre-dinner drinking too. At about 7, we headed to the Dingo Bar where we would get dinner. That night was Mexican night. It was really really tasty food and we stuffed ourselves. After dinner, we played beach volleyball (or wolley ball, if you're German!). Dave and Julian vs Orlagh, Jo and Pippa. Needless to say the lads won, and took it so seriously that Dave dived and ripped his lovely shirt. Tut tut. It was happy hour so we got a few cocktail and beer pitchers. Once happy hour was over and the prices went back up, we made our way back to our cabin to drink some of our own beer. The night turned out to be a strange one- with Julian reading from
Sebastians German-English dictionary. Apparently "Chicy Mickey" in German means "trendy". We also learned another new word. In spanish, its "mariposa". In french, its "papillo". In english its "butterfly". In german, its "SCHMETTERLING". We had a good laugh (who'd've thought a dictionary could be so entertaining?!) and headed to bed when things just got plain silly.
We were down at the Dingo Bar at 7:15 for breakfast the next morning before being picked up by Damo by 8. First stop was a sand-blow- a body of sand that has been blown by the strong wind and collected over the years. Next, Damo drove us along 75 Mile Beach. 75 Mile Beach is actually only 65 miles long, it got its name because Captain Cook thought the island was a penninsula and its 10 miles to Hervey Bay. It was a dodgy drive- the tide was coming in at an alarming rate and almost covering the whole beach. This meant we had to stopp to let a wave come in, and as soon as it started going out, Damo would floor it and hope we got to the next dry spot before the wave came back in. There was a grid
in the floor and every now and then water and wet sand would fly up through it, soaking us. Damo came over the intercom and said the bus might get stuck, and if it did, we were to get out and push it. And he'll get sacked. Luckily we didn't get stuck! Julian was up front with Damo and we found out from him later that Damo was really scared and cursing like mad! On the drive down the beach, we spotted a Dingo who had found a red teeshirt to play with. They look just like a pet dog, but apparently can turn aggressive very quickly.
We drove on to the end of the beach where we went for a swim in Eli Creek. We had a tube, and it was like a lazy river. We could only swim in lakes or rivers on the island, because of it's shark-infested coastline. After our swim on the creek, we stopped off at the Moheno Shipwreck to take some photos. It was a ship bought by the Japenese who were taking it home when a storm struck and the ship ran aground. We next stopped at the Coloured Sands which
is a place of Aboriginal "Women's Business". The Aboriginals of Fraser Island are the called Butchulla. "Womens' Business" and "Mens' Business" referred to activities that members of each sex would do but not tell members of the opposite sex, or people outside their tribe. Since Damo is not an aboriginal, he didn't know what went on at the Coloured Sands but it is thought that "womens' business" involved things like childbirth, weaving and other crafts.
The Coloured Sands is layers of sand containing different elements, and when they are oxidised they turn different colours. The Butchella people have a dreamtime story about a young Aboriginal girl who was in love with the rainbow. She was kidnapped by an evil man from another village who made her his slave and treated her very badly. She escaped her captor, and being chased by him, she asked the rainbow to help her. The rainbow blocked his path while she ran away. The evil man broke the rainbow and it shattered into thousands of pieces scattering all over the sandbanks to make the Coloured Sands.
After visiting the Coloured Sands, we drove to the end of 75 Mile Beach to Indian Head,
one of the few rocky places on the island. The climb was a short one, and the views over 75 Mile Beach and Taylor's Bay were beautiful. We kept an eye out for whales and sharks below, but the sea was so rough we couldn't see anything. We clambered back down Indian Head where Damo was waiting for us at the bus (he needed to be there in case the bus got washed away!) and he drove us to Taylor's Bay where we could have lunch sheltered from the wind. Lunch was chicken wraps and the usual cookies. The lads had a kick around with the football while us girls relaxed on the beach. It was a bit cold for sunbathing but we made the most of it! After lunch, Damo drove us to the champagne Pools to have a dip. The pools are the only salt water you can swim in because sharks can't get in. They are giant rockpools with sandy bottoms. The waves from the sea crash over the rocks, filling the pools with bubbly water that looks like champagne. Some people (including me) were reluctant to get in, Dave got straight in, but eventually most people
Maheno Shipwreck
This is on 70 mile beach. Its over 3 quarters covered in sand did. It was great fun, like being in a jacuzzi.On the rocks we saw loads of corals, anenomes, chitons, barnacles and crabs. Afterwards, when we had dried ourselves and got changed, we got back on the bus for a 2 hour journey back to the shop where we stocked up on more beer. It was a smooth enough journey on the beach, but once we got on to the sand tracks it got really bumby. Before we set off, Damo nominated Jo to hand out some cookies. When we got to the rollercoaster, Damoo drove extra fast, and Dave Julian, and some of the others sat in the back seats, known as "The Washing Machine". We were all thrown around the place! After we bought our beers we headed down to the jetty and watched the sunset on the beach. We were sipping beers and having the banter. When i took a photo of the group, Julian demonstrated his "German Smile", which is, incidently, not smiling.
We then headed up to the Dingo Bar for dinner, this time it was Pizza and Pasta night. We had a few pitchers and once happy hour was over we headed back to
the cabin. Dave, Julian and I stayed up chatting till about midnight. Our cabin was the only group who were staying an extra night so the resort was pretty quiet.
The next morning we got breakfast at the Dingo Bar, and Damo came to pick us up at 8 to start day 3. First stop was Lake Wabby, which is an old creek system slowly filling with sand blown from other parts of the island. It has dammed the system, creating a lake. The lake basin is already half full, and it is thought the whole thing will fill with sand and the lake will disappear in 30 years. We walked up the side of the sandblow (its really steep) and got our photo taken before Damo left us to walk down the otherside of the sandblow towards the lake. Damo drove the bus around to the other side to meet us. We walked slowly down the other side of the sandblow towards the lake shore. It's illegal to run down it because the hospital on the mainland complained their helicoptor was getting wrecked from landing on the sand to pick up injured tourists. It's quite a steep sandblow,
75 Mile Beach
Which is actually only 65 miles so we took it easy! We hung out at the lake for about an hour or so. Dave got in for a swim. By this stage, he had earned the nickname "The Water Monitor" because he was always first to get in and tell us how cold it was. There were huge catfish in the lake swimming really close to shore. A Kite sat in a tree above the lake watching them closely. We got a quick nap as it had been an early start. When it was time to go, we walked out the opposite side of the lake for a 40 minute walk through the forest to meet Damo at the beach.
Damo drove us 5 minutes up the beach to a resort called Eurong to get a buffet lunch in the restaurant. It was really tasty and we ate loads. After lunch we headed to another lake where at this stage it was too cold to swim. Even the Water Monitor wouldn't go in! So we sat on the lake shore and Dave and I made a sand castle which Julian and Sebastian threatened to bomb with their football. Pippa and Claire went for a walk
so we met them back at the bus where Dano was serving coffee and cookies. Damo dropped us back to the Kingfisher Resort where we said our goodbyes to him, Claire and Pippa (they were staying a 3rd night). We took the last of our beers and sat on the beach beside the jetty while we waited on the ferry. At 5pm, we caught the ferry and all fell asleep on the way back to Hervey Bay.
We picked up our bags and got the bus back to our hostels. Jo was getting the bus up the coast at 9pm so we said our goodbyes to her. Julian was staying in our hotel so the three of us arranged to meet Simone and Sebastian for some food later that evening. We got back to the hostel and got showered, changed etc. Dave's German was improving, as when he was looking for his charger, he said "Wo ist mein chargenheinem?" Me, Dave and Julian walked down the road to Simone and Sebastians hoste. We walked down the town but nowhere was open, except for a really expensive Indian restaurant (Sebastian did a good Apu impression). We were starting to despair
when Julian reminded us he had a car, so we jumped in and he drove us around Hervey Bay in search of something to eat. After a quick drive, we came across McDonalds, so we headed in there for a bite to eat. Once we were full, we made our way back to the hostel, dropping off Simone and Sebastian on the way. We said our goodbyes to Julian, and headed to bed. We had such a great time at Fraser Island, and we were looking forward to our next destination- Brisbane.
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