Blogs from Fraser Island, Queensland, Australia, Oceania - page 11

So what did I learn about myself on my trip to Fraser Island? a) I hate camping but b) I still had an awesome time with a great group of people and some great scenery. I had booked the self-drive tag along safari to Fraser Island - apparently they were reluctant to let young backpackers off on their own on Fraser as there had been a lot of accidents in the past. Before we were allowed to go we were made to watch a video that basically said you would die if you went to Fraser - my favourite piece of advice was the bit where they told you not to sleep in the road - really?! I know things are hazy when you have had some goon but sleeping in the road is not something ... read more

Rather eventful trip on the bus to Hervey Island.  Just outside of Rainbow Beach, about 2 hours from Hervey Bay someone walking along outside thought it was a good idea to throw an egg at the front of the greyhound bus. Combined with the fact our driver was a little bit out there anyway, this caused quite a deal of commotion and the bus driver was slightly startled.  T be honest, imagine the scene, you are driving a 6 ton bus full to the brim of people when out of nowhere a egg shaped projectile gets hurtled at the front of the bus while you're traveling along at about 60 mph. Yes, I too, would have checked my pants. Anyway, to everyone else, it sounded like a balloon popping.  Unfortunately, it left a crack across the ... read more

Rain appears to be following us on this trip and is determined to rain on us everyday. But we wont let it get us down!!!A courtesy bus came to pick us up nice and early in the morning. After picking up all the passengers we headed for the ferry terminal. It's kind of like a barge. We sat upstairs in the seating area where a big fluffy orange cat seemed to call home. He would let you pet him but he did not seem at all interested in any of the people on board. Once on Fraser island we hopped onto our 4x4 bus and headed out. The whole island is sand and rainforest. It's unique because it's a rainforest living in sand. One of the purest breed of Dingo's call this island home. Dingo's look ... read more

Fraser Island On route to Fraser Island we stayed for a couple of days in Hervey bay, a homely laid back seaside town. The vibe is very relaxed here; large families dining alfresco- bbq’s and picnic hampers in abundance, a reggae band cranks out summery tunes and long limbed girls on Snakeboards (the must have toy of last Christmas) wiggle along the promenade. The stretch of beach has tepid water tannin tainted like tea (from the recent floods), young lads fishing on white pontoons. We hopped on a car barge to Fraser Island in our (slightly decrepit having been relentlessly battered by backpackers)4x4, a small 2 seated jobby loaded up to the nines with supplies. Fraser Island is the largest sand Island in the world, stretching 123km, it is home to extraordinary natural occurrences which have ... read more

Sunday 12th December It's off the bus 9am and a 20 metres walk into the Fraser backpackers hostel. Thank god that the hostel is close by as we are stiff with sleeping on the bus. Once checked in we are instructed to be at the bar for 2pm for our induction and registration for the Fraser Island tour which departs tomorrow. Our dorm has 6 bunk beds and there's only top ones left so without any hesitation we're up and zonked out for a few hours. At 2pm we meet at the bar to go over our insurance details, license documents and are split into 4 groups for the tour. We watched a half hour video on safety issues and legal matters involving Fraser islands protocols as there have been accidents in the past and now ... read more