Advertisement
Our group on Fraser
10 people, one car, four tents and too much alcohol. Hello Readers,
We're still travelling up the east coast despite some close encounters with ants and a spider.............
From last time, we had one full day in Noosa so we had a walk to the beach and went to the National Park. Noosa has quite the rainforest feel to it, you do really feel you're getting into the tropics. I was still not coping well with the bed bug bites so we only did a 5km walk. We walked to a place called Hell's Gates where there is a sheer drop. We were lucky to see a turtle swimming around in the sea below but couldn't get a photo. After the walk we wasted some more time using the Internet for free.
We left the next morning for Hervey Bay where we would be initiated for our 4WD self drive to Fraser Island, Fraser Island is a large island made of sand. The only way to get around is in a 4WD. It is quite unique with rainforests growing on sand and some amazing island lakes. It is also home to lots of Dingos (wild dogs) The most common and cheap way to see it is a
Mike at Hells Gate
Another picturesque view near where we saw a turtle but he was a bit camera shy, unlike me. 3 day 2 night 4WD self drive camping trip.
We brought a few supplies but other than that we didn't do much. That evening 20 of us met for our briefing. We were split into 2 groups 10. Our group consisted of Me, Debbie, Jerome & Caroline (a Belgium couple), Erica & Rich (a couple from Worcestershire), Marla (the German girl we met at Hunter Valley Wine tour) & 3 Dutch girls, Evelyn, Lesley & Maria.
We then paid the inevitable extras- (food, fuel, Insurance inc. under body insurance) and brought our booze for the trip ( a 4 litre box of wine to drink over 2 nights between me & Deb) We had partly chosen this self drive as they brought the food for you to save group arguments, so we were expecting a pretty basic menu but were pleasantly surprised by one evening meal of roast beef in gravy with mixed veg and mash!!
As there was very limited kitchen facilities at the hostel we treated to ourselves to a mixed grill from the Hostel cafe.
The next morning we were up bright & early at 6am as we were off to our second
Debbie at Lake Wabby
One of the safe places to swim on Fraser. part of our briefing. We checked all the equipment, camping gear, food and the car for existing damage. The guy who looked after us was a really good guy called Shane. When we & Rich missed half of the dents he happily helped us find them. We then watched a dvd about driving 4WD on the sand. Six of our group were ok to drive with Rich being the main driver. The car for those who are interested was a Toyota Land Cruiser Troop Carrier. It looked like a tank. All the equipment and bags were loaded onto the roof with two people in the front (with seat belts) and eight in the back sat on bench type seats facing each other and only had lap belts which didn't really hold you in place.
We set off after the safety briefing to the ferry with a quick pie stop (as it was 9.30am by now) where I had a Thai chicken pie, my best pie in Oz. The crossing was about half an hour and then off. We drove, no guide but had a map, an itinerary and times of high tides which we would have to beat. Our
Group Photo Two
Same group, more alcohol. first stop was Central station where we walked to Lake Wabby through the rainforest. The lake was surrounded by white sand and looked very tempting for a dip (it was safe unlike the shark infested surrounding ocean we'd been told to avoid) but we didn't have our swimmers. Unfortunately our itinerary was quite tight so we only had 20 minutes before heading back.
It was now my turn to drive. I'll admit I was nervous as I'd not driven for 4 months and never driven a 4WD. I got a little bit of an easy track and then suddenly I was on a road/track that will give Colin McRae the fear. after a couple of heart attacks it became good fun and eventually we got to the beach where it was more straight forward driving (except for the ditches from washouts and soft sand). We made it to our campsite in one piece, got the tents up and made lunch. After that we were going to walk to another lake but we gave up as we thought it was too late and we would be walking back in the dark. Instead we went back to the camp and started
Maheno shipwreck on Fraser
This boat's one of those "fixer uppers". talking (and drinking) both groups had set up around the same site so there was a good group of 20. The only thing missing was camp fire but they're not allowed unless there is a fire ring. We drank, ate again , drank some more and then went to bed.
There were 4 tents between 10 of us and me & Debbie had a tent to ourselves. I should mention this was real camping i.e the toilet was a shovel, a toilet roll and instructions to dig 50cm down and at least 50m from a water course.! Plus you were meant to go in pairs so one can be on dingo watch!!!
We were up early the next day (quite hungover I might add) and we backtracked to the walk were planning to do the day before but decided to leave it again as it would have taken 2 hours. We visited Eli Creek, then on the Pinnacles (strange formations of different coloured sandstone) and then on to the Maheno shipwreck. We the carried on upto Indian Heads. As we got closer the beach was narrower, so the sea was closer to us. It was also Debbie's
turn to drive, so we carried on slower but less recklessly up the beach. From Indian Heads we went to a place called Champagne Pools. There you can sit in a pool while waves hit the surrounding rocks making the pool bubble (hence the name). The waves that come in are quite strong and can knock you over. There were various warnings about it near where you get in but most of Oz has something deadly only meters away we decided to chance it. Unfortunately for our trouble Debbie picked up some nasty grazes. We then had another walk to do before heading back to our car. Though according to our timetable the high tide wasn't till 5.30pm (it was 1.45pm) the water was about 5m from the car and getting closer. This was worrying as we'd been told any saltwater on the engine would cost us at least A$100 each. Fortunately as we drove further south the beach got wider and the sea a more comfortable distance away.
We set up a new cap site, with no sign of the other group. They turned up 30 mins later having found a permanent campsite with showers. Smelly and jealous
The Pinnacles
Coloured sand at it's best. we risked high tide and drove here as well. On return we started to cook and drink. One dingo came to check out our camp, but as we had no food out it soon walked off. That night it suddenly started to rain. One tent pretty much collapsed so they slept in the car. Our tent was water proof to a point. But some of our stuff got wet. In the morning Debbie was waking me up telling me to put the rest of my stuff away so it wouldn't get wet.
The rain stopped briefly, so we started to pack everything away. We got away quite slowly and drove to the permanent campsite to cook breakfast. After brekky we drove all the way to Lake MacKenzie. Here we decided to swim across the lake as it had cleared up. Only me and Debbie went though, about half way across we noticed some other swimmers. We had been assured that there was nothing deadly in it but nerves kick in when your in the middle of any water. When we were about 3/4 way across Debbie decided to turn back as it was getting late if we wanted to
swim there and back. I really wanted to finish it so I checked Debbie was Ok (honestly Chris) and carried on It took maybe 45 minutes as the wind was against me. It also started to rain but that isn't an issue if you're wet (i'd forgot that this meant our towels would be soaked) Having made it across I panicked a bit about the time so I ran back around most of the lake swimming over parts to cut corners. It only took 15 minutes to get back. Nobody from our group was there as they'd gone back to the car when it started to rain. Debbie was waiting for me, I wasn't late so we walked back to the car and set off for the ferry and had lunch. The track between the lake and the ferry was pretty crazy so any a tie people in the back were airborne!
We made the ferry which was choc full of cars and boats on trailers. We got back to the 4WD hire centre, washed dishes, checked gear and found out that we'd not damaged the car. That night we'd forgotten the shop shuts early. So we had dominoes
Debbie with 4WD
Debbie with car (still in one piece after her driving!) pizza while sharing stories with the other group. The next day we headed North again but this time inland slightly to Rockhampton, the beef capital of Oz.
It took 7 hours to get to Rockhampton so we were there late Sunday evening. The hostel was really quiet so we cooked, watched tv and then went to bed. The next day we went on an adventure with Capricorn Dave (website
here). He's a man without shoes or fear. He took us to a cattle station to meet some friendly bulls and then on the bush. It was here he would find some spiders. He got a golden orb spider walking across his hand before convincing us to do the same. We then put the said spider on our face to have our photo taken. We were told they were only mildly venomous. Then Dave found an ant with a green bottom and told us that licking it would give us a sharp citrus taste. Amazingly we tried it and it did taste like citrus.
Next was the famous Ant dance which Steve O from Jackass lasted 6 seconds. What you do is find a big biting ant hill stomp
Debbie on Lake Mackenzie
The other lake. Nothing dangerous in it. I don't think so anyway as we were swimming in it for an hour. around to make them angry and then see how long you can last on the ant hill bare footed. Dave made it look easy and just stood there. When it cam e to my turn I didn't last long at all (maybe more than Steve O though) I also ran into some prickles which didn't help! Debbie had a similar reaction though avoided the prickles.
Back in the van Dave spotted some Kangaroos so we gave chase off road. It was pretty good group of 50! We then when to an Ozzie Country pub for lunch, a burger with steak. egg, bacon,. etc. After lunch we drove to a billabong to go in a small dingy boat in search for tree snakes (as these are safeish) We found grasshoppers, birds and a cane toad by turning over logs. Unfortunately (or fortunately) we didn't find any snakes. We finished the day by setting up a campfire to boil a billy and have cup of tea. While we sat down a huntsman spider crawled up Dave's leg and he casually but it back slightly disappointed that it was only a few cm long. While sat down I felt something on my
Mike on 4WD
Everybodies going surfin\', surfin\' 4WDs... back and jumped. Ironically I had a tree frog on me. Dave caught it and put it in my hand where it happily sat fro 5 mins. After that it was time to go home which worked out well as it started to rain.
Our other day in Rocky we visited the botanical gardens and small zoo to see more animals as it was free. We also had a walk around the river and the city. It was nice to see somewhere a bit less touristy. We left the next day to get 7am bus to Airlie Beach.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.279s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 10; qc: 45; dbt: 0.2011s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Chris
non-member comment
Real Camping!
Enjoyed reading about your camping trip but still think I will stay in my 4* plus hotel when I go on holiday! Seen any tree frogs lately Mike? Glad you checked Debbie was safe in the lake before you abandoned her! Seriously, you are doing a great job keeping us informed about your trip through the blogs, we all enjoy reading about your adventures, including the food and drink details! P.S. Has Mike recovered from the bed bug bites? Love to both, Chris x