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Fraser Island is a huge sand dune of an island just off the East coast. We chose to see the island in a self-driving group, which meant that we were squashed into the van with 9 others, given an itinerary of things to see, and also a list of prohibited actions that if done would result in the loss of our bond, and told to go have fun.
Despite having a briefing the night before, on Monday we woke up at 5am and even then we were rushing to pack the car full of food, camping equipment etc before our 9am ferry across. There were only 3 drivers, so I volunteered Eric to be the first to drive the top heavy van across to the island. The van was a bit of a struggle to drive - we were told it was top heavy and liable to fall over if we weren't careful, the inland sandy roads were full of boulders which made the ride bumpy, and on the beach we had to watch out for soft sand or deceptively deep wash outs. You'll be pleased to know that despite all our worries, and some near misses, we did not
tip over or have any accidents!
The first day, like the next 2 were really rushed because we could only drive on the beach until about 1ish, when the tide would come in. This meant that although we were given a long itinerary, we were only able in fact to see 5 of the 12 suggested items. We didn't do much on the first day, except make our way up the beach to our campsite, where we met the other Koala vans. After an average pasta bolognese (tomato sauce for me) we joined the other Koalas for a few drinks until late in the evening.
The second day we were up early and headed to Indian Head where you can spot sharks, whales, dolphins. I say can, because we only saw a manta ray. Next was Lake Allom - other travellers: Don't go there! It was only 10km inland, but it took over an hour to get there due to the bumpy track, and all the boulders made the ride not very safe. We were hoping the Lake would make up for it - but it didn't. We did see some turtles there however, which didn't really make
Eric having some fun
I'm getting good at taking these action photos...up for it!
Eli Creek is a clean freshwater creek that they want to bottle the water from - you can float down it, but it was pretty shallow so we walked down. Then we spent a frantic hour or so looking for a campsite while the tide was coming further and further in, but we made it!
At the campsite, everyone enjoyed sausages and steak, while I had a chicken & veg stir fry. Same sort of stuff after that - drinking with the other Koalas, and trying to find a bush to pee in while looking out for dingoes. Dingoes are like wolves, pretty wild and you have to watch out for them - we only saw one, and luckily everyone was in their tents. The campsites were all next to the beach, which was great - had beautiful, almost clear skies and through the night all we could hear were the waves. Except I went to bed a little early and got a girl and a guy peeing right next to my tent. Loveerly.
On the last day, the group were all in agreement that we would head to Lake Makenzie - the favourite
spot on the island. It was absolutely gorgeous, and we got to have our first bath for 3 days. Everyone loved it, the water was freezing but crystal clear. It was a good end to the trip. We had a good time, but unfortunately we did have some frustrating people in our group who didn't know they'd booked a camping trip, but overall we had a great time.
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mum and dad
non-member comment
camping
Now this is what I call backpacking and roughing it!!! Real back to basics stuff. But.... what fantastic photos! You really are getting good at this and I am VERY impressed with the driving skills, although I'm pleased that I didn't get to speak to you during this trip. Not sure how I would have reacted to the top heavy van nearly tipping over. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx