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Published: January 11th 2008
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A trip to Australia’s East Coast is incomplete without a visit to Fraser Island. This Island is unique as it’s the world's largest sand island, yes it’s completely made up of sand. Think of a sand bar, often more pronounced at low tide, then think of a giant sandbar which the top of, never sinks below the water, that’s Fraser Island in a nutshell. The island acts like a huge sponge, and absorbs rain, thus creating fresh water lakes and rivers, and allowing vegetation to flourish. These facts alone make a visit a must, but add to this the 4x4 adventure, unpredictable sea, and seriously dangerous and diverse wildlife, and you have somewhere really, really exciting.
Leaving Bob alone outside a hostel in Rainbow Beach was sad, but he had the company of other campervans, who’s owners had too gone over to Fraser. There are several ways to ‘do’ Fraser Island, but mainly they either involve being thrown together with other travellers and you are given a map, and everyone shares the driving, or you join a tour with a knowledgeable guide/driver. Having heard mixed views about the first method: group mutinies, constant boozing, crashes, etc. We opted for the
more sensible, second option and joined a small tour with a guide/driver. Our guide, Wes, was a typical Aussie surfer dude, and had enough character and knowledge to make an excellent leader. The rest of the group was made up of American scientists, German students, and a Sydney publisher, all in all a nice bunch. A car ferry took us and our, must have, 4x4 across to the island, and we were immediately grinding around in the sand, Wes assured us that this was a particularly rough part of the island, and it would get easier. Aside from a few inland tracks, there are no roads on Fraser, driving is done of the forever changing terrain of the beach. The best time to drive is in low tide when the sand is still wet and firm, and high speeds can be, and often are, achieved. In high tide, driving is best avoided as it’s slow and jeeps are often stranded in the soft sand. So, at high tide, we slowly made our way to our campsite, where a simple area with tents and somewhere to eat was set aside for our group. The first excursion we made was to Lake
Lake Wabby
A freshwater oasis in the middle of a sand island, surrounded by sea! Wabby, a deep fresh water lake, surrounded by dunes that rival any in the Sahara. The scenery was quite stunning as we clambered across the sand and lay marvelling, and reminding ourselves that this was all sand! As we drove back to camp we spotted dingoes playing on the beach. The Dingo on Fraser Island is of the purest strain on earth, due to the lack of domestic dogs, and have built up a fearless approach to humans. There was a notorious incident in the early 2000s when a small kid was killed by dingoes, and now warning signs populate the island, and fences surround camping grounds. The truth is, yes dingoes are wild animals, and of course small children are vulnerable around them, but isn’t it the same with domestic dogs? As long as caution is exercised, and people don’t continue to feed the dingoes then they will not be a danger. The evening was an enjoyable one, as Wes cooked us a BBQ feast we (I), sank countless glasses of wine and exchanged tales before crawling into our tents.
As morning broke on day two, Tiem and some others got up to see the sun rise, whereas
I slumbered nursing a monster hangover. Soon up too, I grabbed the day by the horns and tried to shake it off (although bouncing around in the back of a 4x4 all day did not aid my cause!). First stop was the shipwreck. Built in Scotland in the 1900s, it now sits proudly, rusting away on these fine sands. Next we covered some serious ground and drove up to the northern tip of the island and to a secluded lighthouse. The lighthouse is staffed my volunteers who stay for around three months before the next people move in, and what a wonderful place to spend any amount of time; cracking views, fresh sea air, and plenty of peace and quiet. We lunched on the beach, before driving back down the island to the lookout point known as Indian Head. As I’m quite a shark fanatic I was speechless to see giant 6 footers (larger ones are often spotted!) clearly from the lookout point, not only sharks but: whales, dolphins, turtles, and rays. Quite breathtaking, I could have stayed all day. Bear in mind we had just seen sharks that will quite happily take your leg off, we were flabbergasted when
Lake Wabby Sand Dunes
The sand here was so soft, and very difficult to actually walk on. Wes went surfing! The day finished with a walk through a fresh water creek and then sunset on the beach. A rather remarkable day that we will never forget. Staying off the wine, a low key campfire kept us amused in the evening.
Having been so amazed by the sights of Fraser Island so far, I couldn’t believe there was more to come. The Aboriginal word for the island is 'K'gari' and it simply means ‘paradise’, and if I was ever to describe paradise, I would describe Lake Mackenzie. Take a look at the pictures, because words simply can’t describe something so beautiful. Here we posed for photos (a catologue shoot was happening next to us!), and I went for a swim. With this immensly wonderful place right by us, we strangely lunched in the car park, then it was time to leave the island.
Fraser Island was an unforgettable experience, of stupendous proportions, and (in retrospect), one of the highlights of the entire trip. Still we were still only halfway up the east coast, such a long way to go…
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miae, kim
non-member comment
Makes me......
Hi! I am happy to hear about your trip. This poto makes me peaceful. It looks so clean. I want to visit and enjoy like you. Maybe, in the future, I can do!!! I hope you have good everyday like when you visited that place(can you understand what I mean, I am not sure).