All the way down to Fraser Island...

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There is a 1030 kms between Alva Beach and Hervey Bay. Could have done more than one blog, but I'm late enough on writing my blogs...let's put it simply, it's a busy world out there, and I'm already more than a month behind this epic trip.



The drive from Cairns to Hervey Bay is all about....great quality road without a single pot hole! Sadly many kangaroos lying dead on the side of the road, at some point more than one per kilometers...and a mix of rainforest, sugar cane field and other farm lands. We are also crossing field which are suffering the current solid drought with cattle in sadly pretty bad shape. But let's put it honestly, it's a lot of driving and from time to time can be a little boring.



We cut the road with two stops. The first one is in Mackay for the night. Before this, we made a little detour to Airlie Beach, the door of the WhiteSundays islands. I've been to Lizard Island and the Osprey reef years ago. Some of those places are gorgeous, but reaching them for a day trip has simply put reach outrageous price tag for our six weeks trip. So we won't experience the island life for now! Makes me smile...just wait 2 more blogs about the island life! But we did do the detour and enjoy a nice little picnic in Airlie Beach...plus some obvious ice cream!



Mackay, we drove through it...is an urban area in the middle of nowhere. We are staying at the Ibis next to the airport. An new Ibis airport doesn't normally offer much. Well, this one is in great state considering being four years old already, and the breakfast is one of the best I have ever had in Australia...that was seriously unexpected.



Next day, we spend the night in Gladstone. I had no idea Gladstone is an industrial city. The hotel was clean and the suite upgrade welcome. Not a lot to see around, so we managed to go to an afternoon cinema session. Well....many compare South Africa with Australia...when it comes to cinema....South Africa is a third of the price...for better cinemas!



We made it next day to our gorgeous flat at the Grand Mercure Hervey Bay. It is basically an Accor franchise...not really an hotel....but that flat was superbe...and best, it is on Shelly Beach. For those who don't know, our flat in South Africa is in Shelly Beach too. But I would move to this flat that we stay in for only 2 nights any time soon...and for as long as it can take! Obviously we made full use of the open kitchen and the nice terrace!



One of the highlight of this trip will remain Fraser Island. This is the biggest sand island in the world..and it's pretty huge. They have day trip, 2 days trips and even multi-days trips. There is a clear monopoly on the tourism industry here...so don't be shocked by the prices, they are outrageous. So the point was to spend the day into a bus of 48 people with a hot lunch...or 17 people with a picnic....guess you already know we went for the "smaller" size group. We were also the only internationals!



Lately, no much rain here, this made the tracks even more sandy...meaning our 4 by 4 buss got stuck few times. The guide/driver was pretty fun and entertaining...so we tag along and had a gorgeous day. Look at the pics....from Lake McKenzie to 75 Miles Beach, this place is simply superb. We bumped into one single dingo, and I didn't move fast enough to take a picture, but we all see pretty well our single dingo!



Will I come back to Fraser Island, maybe not...but that day was something special that we both enjoy!



Next blog...driving South again, and the last blog of this special trip!

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