Agnes Water and Fraser Island

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It was the first night bus we had taken since South America but it wasn't quite up to South American standards as two hours into the journey the bus broke down. I decided to just get on with it and as I can sleep anywhere curled up in a ball along the two seats and fell to sleep. We arrived at our destination Agnes Water two hours later than planned with Q in tow. We hadn't booked a hostel previously but got approached by three when stepping off the bus so Jon tried to do some haggling to get us the cheapest price. Maybe they had made an agreement together before but they were having none of it so decided to go with Cool Bananas hostel due to it being closer to the 'city' and the beach.

Once we had checked into our eight bed dorm we went to the small supermarket just five minute walk away. As we were about to go through the doors we bumped into the German couple Andy and Laura who we had met on the Whitsunday's and arranged to meet them later on at the beach where the sun was shining for us again. After leaving the beach around 4pm we got back to the hostel. I started to walk up the steps when I was greeted by two black pugs! As you can imagine I got pretty excited. We went to make dinner and began drinking our boxed wine with Andy and Laura. Later into the evening the lady who owned the pugs gave me one of them to hold and Jon had the other. He fell asleep nice and peacefully on my lap until I somehow managed to spill a whole glass of goon all over him. I felt soo bad! That was probably a sign that is was time for bed, so we finished our drinks and off we went.

The next morning I woke up smelling of wet dog. After making a packed lunch we headed for the beach again with Andy and Laura. We started talking about our next destination Fraser Island and decided on doing the trip together. Me and Jon stayed on the beach until around 4 then made our way back to the hostel where we had hotdogs for dinner and one of the chefs home made crepes that Jon was obsessed with. It consisted of banana, ice cream, chocolate sauce and caramel sauce - basically a sugar fest.

The following day we made our way to Hervey Bay where we would be taking our trip to Fraser Island. When we arrived at our hostel, Fraser Roving, Laura and Andy were all ready there. We started to ring different tour agencies but they were all way over our budget and wouldn't move on price. In the end we found a company called Dingo 4x4 online that just let you hire a jeep and you do the tour and prepare your food yourself. We arranged to meet the owner Ashley later that day to check out the vehicles and prices and we all agreed we were happy to go ahead. A short safety briefing later the toyota landcruiser was ours to pick up the next morning for our two day, one night adventure. We then headed to Aldi to pick up some groceries for the trip.

Our alarm went off at 6am so we quickly showered and ate breakfast. We left the hostel at about 7am to go and pick up our orange 4x4 named Felix, and then made our way to the ferry terminal. We arrived at Fraser Island at about 9am, the wheels were put into four wheel drive mode and then the adventure began - first stop was the Champagne Pools. The drive there took around three hours as we decided to start at the furthest point away and work our way back over the two days - an hour of that was driving in-land which was incredibly bumpy. The views along the way were beautiful not including the humongous spiders though we kept seeing and Jon kept insisting on stopping to take pictures of them. The guys both had a challenging time with the driving and me and Laura were constantly holding on tight to the handles. Andy had to try and get around the rocks on the beach without driving over them which proved to be really difficult and Jon had the job of trying to get us up a steep sand hill to the pools. Eventually though after three attempts he made it! Just a short 5 minute walk and we had arrived and we went for a dip in the pools straight away. It was such a hot day so it was really refreshing swimming round in the pools with all the fish. You could see why they were called Champagne Pools as the sea comes crashing over the rocks and creates a fizzy foam.

After leaving Champagne Pools our next stop was Indian Heads, which is the most easterly point of Australia. It is essentially a big cliff face that looks out onto the ocean. After a steep walk up with me on Dingo watch, the four of us reached the top and sat on the cliff edge looking down to the sea below. We saw turtles as well as sharks and lots of eagle rays who would appear right at the surface from time to time. We also spotted humpback whales in the distance as they kept coming out of the water for air. We must of been there for over an hour watching in awe. It really was incredible to see all of these sea creatures but even more amazing seeing them all at the same time. Eventually we left and went and made lunch before we drove to our next destination the Maheno Shipwreck.

The ship was on its way to be shipped from Australia to Japan for scrap metal in 1935 when on the way a cyclone hit and the ship got washed ashore to Fraser Island. They tried several times to re float the ship but with no success so it was left abandoned on 75 mile beach. The ship is quite large but its significantly rusty and has eroded over time. There are also lots of sea barnacles covering it. After taking several photos of the ship we decided to find somewhere to set up camp for the night. Just a short walk from the shipwreck were some sand dunes so we put up our tents and started drinking our ciders and beers.

At around 5pm we decided to make dinner before it got too dark - a vegetable stir fry. After we had just finished cleaning up I spotted a dingo which started to get closer. I remembered what we had been told in the safety briefing and told Jon and Laura who hadn't noticed it at this point that there was a dingo approaching and not to let it back us into the sea. This probably wasn't the best thing to say as Laura began to have a panic shouting "what do you mean don't let it back us into the sea!" We stood up straight with our dingo sticks as it started to come slightly closer. Laura was getting very panicked and started shouting at Andy in German who was by the 4x4. We didn't know what she was saying at first but the next minute Andy jumped in the back of the 4x4 and pulled down the boot...it was hilarious. We carried on trying to scare off the dingo and I started to shine my torch in its eyes. I'm not sure if it was that which scared him off or Andy who came running out of the 4x4 as he said he felt like an idiot hiding inside.

After the dingo fiasco me and Laura were a bit freaked out so decided to drink more ciders to take our mind off it. It started to get colder (plus we were scared) so we all went to sit in the 4x4 and chatted whilst admiring the millions of stars in the sky. Jon fell asleep at 8pm so we all decided it was time for bed.

After not the greatest nights sleep due to dingos outside the tent and getting dripped on we woke up early at 7am. After having breakfast and packing everything away we continued on to Lake Wabby - a freshwater emerald green lake. It took around 45 minutes to walk to the lake where we walked through a small forest and then down a steep sand slope. When we got to the lake Andy and Jon were straight in for a dip - it took me an extra 10 minutes to gear myself up for the plunge as I knew it was going to be freezing. Once I got in though it was quite refreshing and we had catfish swimming around our feet.

Around an hour later we were all ready to move on so went back to the jeep and made some lunch before heading off to Lake McKenzie. This lake was lush with its crystal clear water and sugary white sand which apparently is great to exfoliate with although we never did. The water starts off almost completely clear but as the lake gets deeper the darker the lake gets. By the time we got there though the sun was starting to disappear so we stayed for an hour and then began to make tracks to the ferry terminal. We arrived back in Hervey Bay at around 5.30pm and had to get the 4x4 cleaned inside and out and filled up with petrol before dropping it back off. We made our way back to the hostel and then all had an early night as we were shattered.

We had such a great time on Fraser Island, the weather was perfect, we got to experience some unimaginable things and had lots of laughs and jokes with Andy and Laura who were really fun. An unforgettable trip!!!!

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Photos

View from Indian Heads
Humpback Whales in the distance