4WD Cruising and Surfing

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We had a blast on Fraser Island. We signed up for a self-drive tour through our hostel and they set you up with others doing the same thing and basically they give you a car, map, and camping equipment, and send you off. We had heard that the enjoyment of the trip was highly dependent on whether you got along with your group or not (makes sense!), so we were a bit worried about who we would get set up with. Fortunately, we had nothing to fear as our group was great. There were 2 groups going out of the Beaches hostel that day and one was a group of early 20-something Irish partiers and our group was a little older and mixed. We were all around the same age and on the same wavelength of what we wanted to do. In our group were 2 friends from France (one had been living in Australia for awhile), 2 brothers from Ireland that had been living here for awhile as well, and another guy from France that had also been working in Sydney. We can't believe how many French people we've met here! Greg has been getting good practice at his French.

After we met up with our group, we needed to decide on a food menu and go grocery shopping. We used the hostel's suggested menu and budget, which was $20/person. I went grocery shopping with the French friends, and we had about 30 minutes to get everything, so it was like a mad shopping spree! By the time the bill came, we realized that we had doubled the expense and had to ask everyone for another $20. We did end up eating most of it though, so I guess we didn't do too bad.

Then we got our vehicles, headed to the ferry, and went across to the island. For those that don't know, Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world, but its not just beaches and dunes, it also has a variety of forests, lakes, and different sandstone formations. When we got there, we headed to McKenzie Lake, which is the most popular lake on the island due to the beautiful white sand beach and blue water. A few of our group went for a swim even though the water was freezing (the lake is very deep). I just enjoyed the scenery and relaxed. While we were there, we also spotted our first dingo (wild dog). There are a large number on the island and warnings all over about not feeding them / what to do if threatened / etc. A 9 year old boy was killed a few years ago and since then they have gotten pretty serious about letting people know how dangerous the dingos can be.

In the afternoon, we drove out to the East side of the island and drove up the beach. Apparently, the maximum speed on the beach is 80 km/h, but I can't see people going that fast in most cases. We found that even small washouts in the sand (10 cm drop) could cause quite a bump and it was difficult to see them as you approached because there was little shadowing on the sand. There were also a lot of larger washouts - up to 2 feet - that if you came across, you had to steer around (although we heard the other group from our hostel accidently drove off one at 60 km/h! I wouldn't have wanted to be in the back of the Landcruiser at that time!!!).

Our camp was about mid-way up the island, so it was nice and central. It was a nice site, but they turned all the lights out at 8:30pm, so that was not very supportive of the game of Asshole that we were playing. After that, it was a pretty quiet night.

In the morning, we had to be up early to drive up the beach at low tide. We drove up to Middle Rock, which is as far North as were allowed to drive, and went to the Champagne Pools. These are natural pools in the rocks beside the ocean. It is the only place on the island where you can "swim" in the salt water because of the number of sharks in the area. It was quite picturesque with the waves crashing over the rocks and then trickling into the pools.

Next, we headed to Indian Head, which was my favourite spot on the island. It is a large rocky hill that rises out of the beach and extends into the ocean before dropping off at a cliff. From the top, you can look down and see fish and sharks swimming in the water. We also saw some huge black stingrays!!! For the longest time, we were trying to figure out what they were, because they came in from the deep water towards the cliff. All we could see were these black things close to the waters surface and we didn't know if they were dolphins or whales or something else. Then we saw one a bit closer that was coming parallel to the beach from the North. It was then quite obvious what they were. They must have been at least 2 metres wide in order for us to see them from that distance. It was fantastic to watch them glide below the surface. Every once in awhile, we could also see one of their wings come out of the water.

After Indian Head, we drove down to Eli Creek, which is a creek that empties into the ocean (and also causes the biggest washout in the beach on the island). There was a raised boardwalk that went alongside the creek for a hundred metres or so and then it had steps down into the creek so that you could walk through the water, along the sandy bottom, back. The water ended up being deeper than we thought, and I ended up getting soaked almost up to my waist, but it was fun. A unique idea, that's for sure.

The next day, we went to Allom Lake, which was recommended by another group. The lake had a large number of turtles in it. There was a platform by the water that when we walked down it, 4 turtles came swimming over to investigate. They were quite fun to watch. Next, we travelled as far south along the beach as we could and then inland to a few more lakes. Unfortunately, we didn't have much time because we had to catch the ferry at 2PM. It was amazing how long it took to travel when we were inland. You can only take 4WDs on the island because the roads are pretty rough. For large portions of the inland driving, we only drove at about 20 km/h. We were also slowed down because alot of the roads are only one lane and when you meet oncoming traffic, one vehicle has to back-up until there is a place to pull over. It was lots of fun though. And although we almost got stuck in the sand a couple of times on the beach, we didn't have too much trouble with the driving.

When we arrived back on the mainland, we headed back to town to return the truck. Then to our horror, a kangaroo jumped in front of the truck! It was so scary seeing that kangaroo through the front window, hopping just a couple of feet away from the truck. I thought for sure that we were going to hit it, but it jumped out of the way just in time. Since it was so close, we all turned around to ensure that it was off the road and then saw it jump out in front of the next 4WD driving down the road. It was hopping straight forward, it seemed like mere inches in front of the vehicle. And then it slipped, but got up right away and managed to hop out of the way. I don't know how many lives kangaroos have, but that little guy used up a few of them that day!!! It was easy to see how there are so many roadkills - the kangaroo can move really fast and change direction just like that and sometimes it takes them into traffic.

The day following our Fraser Island tour, we spent some time in Hervey Bay before driving to the Australia Zoo, a couple of hours South. This is the zoo that Steve Irwin (the Crocodile Hunter) started. There were a lot of exhibits on Australian wildlife, as well as a few other animals like tigers and elephants. At the kangaroo exhibit, you could walk into the fenced area and feed them as well as touch them. They had very soft fine fur. We also saw a couple that had joeys in their pouches. That was pretty bizarre to see a foot coming out of the stomach pouch. We also saw a wallaby with a joey that was sticking its head out. The mother would lean over to nibble on the grass and the joey would have a nibble, too. So cute. At the koala exhibit, you could also touch some of them. In contrast to the kangaroo fur, koala fur is surprisingly thick.

That night we stayed in Mooloolaba, where the next morning Greg went diving to the HMAS Brisbane. This is an old warship that they decommissioned, sunk and dragged over to the harbour for diving purposes. During the dive, they actually got to go inside the ship. Greg said it was strange to be swimming along in a hallway and then all of a sudden come across a row of toilets. They also saw the control room. In terms of fish, they saw bunches of small ones as well as a large sting ray.

In the afternoon, we drove down to Surfers Paradise. We spent some time in the evening wandering around the area. There was a crafts market on the boardwalk with some interesting stuff. While talking to one of the vendors, he suggested that we drive up to Tamborine Mountain and see the views of the city lights from the hill. We took his advise and drove up there. It was quite a steep drive in parts, and the views from the roads near the top were nice, although it was a bit too far from the city to get a really good picture.

This morning, when we got up, we went to sign up for surf school. We had an interesting walk to the school. First, I found a $50 bill! My lucky day! Then we ran into a couple from our Whitsundays cruise. We had expected to see them on Fraser Island as they were going around the same time, but then we didn't end up crossing paths, so it was funny to randomly run into them on a street in Surfers Paradise at 8AM.

Our 2 hour surf lesson was pretty good. There was another girl there and then 2 kids. Our instructor showed us some basics on shore and then we went out into the water to body surf just to get a feel of the surf board in the waves. Then he showed us how to get up and we went out and tried that. I can definitely say that I am not a natural at surfing - unlike Greg who didn't have much of a problem. The instructor was helping me and I ended up falling off the board into the compact sand on the shore really hard. I had to take a break because my leg went numb for a bit. I tried again later and, with the instructors help, managed to get standing up. What success! By the end, we were pretty exhausted. Other than standing up on the board, the hardest thing was trying to get out to a decent spot to catch the waves. The waves were pretty strong and kept on pushing me back to shore. It didn't help that the sand was all uneven due to the wave action and so it had dips here and there that I was constanly falling into. After the lesson, we watched a slide show of pictures of us in the lesson. There were all of these ones of Greg up on the board and then there were ones of me fighting the waves and falling off the board. I guess I'll stick with boogie boarding!

Now we are in Byron Bay. We hope to go hang-gliding tomorrow if the weather cooperates! I'll let you know!!

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Comments

[Barbara]

WOW!!!!
Every entry tops the previous - what an awesome adventure!!! It gives me a lift every time I see that there is a new instalment. Will be waiting for the next ont to see whether or not you try the hang-gliding. Take care and keep the updates coming.