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Published: September 10th 2010
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Hervey Bay
Two curious whales up close & personal Still making our way south, and after two nights in Bundaberg with friends from home, we made our way to Hervey Bay, the gateway to Fraser Island. We were staying in a YHA which also had a campground and it was through them that we booked out Fraser island trip and a day trip out on a Catamaran to go whale watching.
We were hoping this time our whale watching expedition would be more fruitful that our trip back in October of the coast of Western Australia. And wow! what a day we had. The whales we saw here were just amazing. They are such curious creatures coming right up to our boat, all around it and underneath it; and they do like to put on a good show. We had a lot of tail waving, fin slapping and not to mention jumping right out of the water, sometimes within metres of the boat. It has to be up there in the top 5 things we’ve done since arriving in Australia.
The following morning, an early start saw us making a quick food stop at the supermarket before hoping on the barge over to Fraser in
Fraser Island
The Maheno Shipwreck our awesome pink 4WD. We were only a small group, just us two, four Germans and our guide Adrian. Although this was a self-drive tour of Fraser, the local laws had changed and we had to have a guide with us. This was mainly due to the amount of accidents there had been in the previous year by backpackers who didn’t know to drive 4WD. Not that it bothered us, Adrian was a great guide and very knowledgeable. We had great weather on our first day where we visited Lake Wabby, the Maheno shipwreck and central station (the former forestry hub of the island.) We couldn't have asked for a better beginning to Fraser Island. That night we had a great BBQ and a few drinks around the campfire while getting to know our group.
Overnight we had a shower or two of rain, and day two brought cloud which wasn't good. It was chilly and with an early start of 5.45am to beat the incoming tide and much needed tea and coffee we were off. We bet the incoming tide thankfully and after a quick breakfast a brisk hike up to Indian Head soon warmed us up.
Fraser Island
Our PINK 4 wheel drive on the beach The walk was well worth as it from the headland we could see below us sharks, manta-ray and sting-rays; and Whales out to sea on there long migration down to the Antarctic.
The weather didn't improve unfortunately and it was a little on the chilly side so only Stephen braved a dip in the Champagne Pools. This was followed by a long drive back down seventy-five mile beach to Cathedral Cove for lunch and then onto Elie Creek before heading back to central station, our campsite for our second night on Fraser. Stephen tried his hand at 4wd on the soft sands on seventy-five mile beach which he thought was great, but only four minutes later, we were all digging the sand away from the tires and pushing the jeep out of the sand. We just had to laugh, nothing like digging out the sand in the pouring rain. That evening we set up our campsite, and carried on with the drinking games under a tarpaulin while the heavens opened for the night.
Our final day saw a quick stop to Lake Macquarie before a return to Central Station for lunch. Unfortunately the weather was very
Fraser Island
Our group & guide poor so the lake was not as majestic as we had seen in pictures. But, we enjoyed our final BBQ lunch, caught the ferry back to Hervey Bay and returned to dry land, for a much needed shower.
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