Fraser Island

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Fraser Island is the biggest sand island in the world and is a must-do on the backpacker trail where you can either do a self-drive or a guided tour. After speaking to the travel agent we decided to do a guided tour as at this time of year the sand is really soft and it would be a miracle if you didn’t get stuck at some point and have to dig your way out in a self-drive vehicle. The guided tour on the other hand is done in much bigger vans which very rarely get stuck and you get the added bonus of information about the island. I think it worked out a bit cheaper to do self-drive but we decided to splash out using our birthday money (thanks) so that we didn’t have any hassles. We really wanted to do a 3 day, 2 night trip but as it was so close to xmas all that was left was the 2 day, 1 night trip. We were all really excited when our van arrived to pick us up and straight away we started chatting to a couple of Canadians who seemed really nice. There were 14 of us altogether and all but 2 Korean girls were really talkative and friendly. We had to get a little ferry from the mainland over to Hook Point at the southern point of Fraser Island. It was really windy on the ferry but quite nice weather and we even saw a dolphin. It was only about 15mins before we were back in the van ready to drive off onto Fraser, and sure enough as soon as we drove off we got a little stuck. Our tour lady said it was the softest she’s had and was really hard for her to control the van; but eventually we made it out. We had to drive up the beach right next to the sea on the harder wet sand before turning to go inland on an extremely bumpy track. We were all jumping up and down in our seats because of the bumps which was really fun but hurt your bum after a while. Our first stop was Central Station which was in the middle of the rainforest and had a few boardwalks going through it. Some of the trees in the rainforest were called Satinays and have been found to be able to stay in water or years without being damaged by the bacteria, apparently 16,000 were exported and a big proportion were used to line the Suez canal. After a bit of lunch the group walked 1.8km through the rainforest next to a little creek which was crystal clear and had little eels in and kookaburras along the edge. We’d been told that there shouldn’t be any mosquitoes but there were horseflies and sand flies; so there’s me walking through the jungle saying how I hope I don’t get bitten and next thing you know I’m jumping up and down in pain with a massive fly clinging on to my toe! It hurt so bad and didn’t stop stinging for about 30mins…typical! Toward the end of our walk we saw some big lizards and Kauri trees, like the ones in New Zealand, which were massive. Our second stop was Lake McKenzie which was a massive fresh water lake with no rivers going in or out of it, so it was pretty much a massive puddle. It had the most amazing crystal clear water and white sandy beach; with the sun out it looked like something straight off a postcard. We stayed there for two hours playing in the water and lying on the beach before heading to our campsite for the night. We all had twin rooms (which were small but better than a tent), shower, toilet, kitchen and outside seating area which was nice. The tour guide started cooking a BBQ while we all showered off and got changed into some clean clothes. The beach was close but Fraser Island has the biggest population of tiger sharks on the eastern coast of Australia, so it’s strictly no swimming unless you fancy being attacked by a shark. After our delicious BBQ we started having a few drinks with our group before moving over to a bonfire they’d lit up near the tents. It was really nice with one of the guys playing the guitar and the bonfire keeping the bugs away. The next day we were up at 6am in order to get up the beach before the tides changed! We were not impressed with this as we’d stayed out quite late around the bonfire. We were quite glad that today we were only driving along the beach and not along the bumpy inland tracks again. Our first stop on the second day was to ‘The Pinnacles’ which are basically sand dunes coloured by minerals, like we’d seen in New Zealand. The local aboriginals believe that there was a Rainbow God that came down to earth and fell in love with a married woman and when her husband found out about their affair he smashed the Rainbow God into thousands of pieces. So his wife collected all the pieces and buried them in the sand and that’s why the dunes have changed colour. After that we went to Indian Heads which is one of three stone points on the island made from lava coming up from the earths crust. It’s named Indian Heads because when Captain Cook sailed past the island the aboriginals ran up there to look at the ship passing and back then all people with dark skin were known as Indians. It’s a really high point and gives an excellent view of the east coast of Fraser Island. There’s also crystal clear water surrounding it where you can see massive rays, turtles and sometimes tiger sharks. We stayed up there for quite a while just taking in the views and trying to spot sharks before heading back down the beach to the shipwreck of the S.S. Maheno. The ship used to be used as a 5 deck luxury cruise liner back in the early 1900’s before being sold to a Japanese company who got caught in a storm which is when it got washed up on the shores of Fraser Island. It was later used for target practice by the Australian air force, which has left some nice big holes in it. By the time we got to the ship the sun had gone in which just added to the atmosphere of the wreck. Our last stop was Eli Creek which you usually walk up and then float back down to the start as the current is quite strong. But when we got there the weather was getting windier and colder so no-one wanted to get wet, so we didn’t stay long. Due to the high tide we had to go back to the ferry a different way to which we’d come the day before which meant going down an old inland mining road. It wasn’t bumpy but made the whole van shake so that little bits were coming off and all of our bags were slowly vibrating away from us, it wasn’t pleasant but I found it better than the bumps. We all really enjoyed our Fraser trip but were so tired by the time we got back to the hostel we just went straight to bed.

We’re now in Hervey Bay to collect our xmas cards and packages before moving on to 1770 for xmas. We’re still not feeling very xmassy but hopefully when we get to 1770 we can decorate our room and get a bit more into the festive spirit.

Anyway that’s all for now, hope you all have a very merry xmas and a happy new year!!!

Love us both xx

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