Nimbin.........Fraser Island and the Flaming Dingos!

---

As part of the package with Peterpans agency we were gifted a free day trip to Nimbin and some surrounding areas, bit of a brucy bonus so we had a good nights kip after a heavy few nights with the Brisbane A-Team massive and rose in time to grab the tour bus right out in front of our hostel. The day consisted of first cruising to Nimbin, have an hr and a half there to look around, then off for a BBQ lunch (free) and then to a water fall. When we arrived in Nimbin it is a pretty big shock to see so many people still trapped in what is to us a prehistoric world, these people are basically new age hippies stuck in the 60's movement and refusing to move on until the legalisation of canabis is granted. The town became famous back in the 60's when thousands of university students all came together for a festival which lasted 3 days and 2 nights and obviously some of the guys where smoking some canabis when the police caught them and stuck them in the local cell. When the rest of the students heard about this they all marched down to the police station and basically just forced the police to release them as the students where in such great numbers the police where powerless to resist. From that day on Nimbin has become the epicentre for the campaign of legalising canabis.
So we had a wander around and chatted to a few of the locals looking for souveniers to buy that didnt have the picture of a joint on it we just found a nice park and relaxed in the sun till the bus came and picked us up. There really isnt a great deal to do or see unless you are into smoking spliffs, but its still an experience to say the least.

After the Nimbin trip we were taken to a local pub where we were lavished with burgers, sausages and salad and cheap beer for lunch, so we all hung out and got to know each other in the sun. We then were moved on to a "waterfall" it was really just a rock that people jump into a pool at the bottom, its only about 10feet high and the water is absolutely freezing so only 3 out of our entire bus bothered to do it. It was a good day out all in all especially for a freebee.

That night we went to cheeky monkeys and had our free dinner (included in the trip) and waited for our bus to rock up at half 9, the bus took us direct to Brisbane where once again good old matador was waiting at midnight to take us back to his so we could have a few hours kip before he was again dragged out of bed and taking us back to the bus station for a 7am bus! He's a good lad you dont meet too many friends that would do that for you, cos i know i wouldnt! So our 7am bus got us into rainbow beach around 12:30, we checked into Dingos hostel and waitied for our 14:30 fraser island safety briefing. We were split up into 3 groups A,B and C, we were put into group B with a really good bunch of people we were all very similar. So we had to sit and watch a dvd on dingo awareness and how to treat the island with respect what to be carefull of so on. Then Merv came to give us a chat on the vehicles we were using and how to get around the island. That evening we all had dinner together which is put on by the hostel for $5 a meal....sweet! Fraser island has no roads and is the largest sand island in the world, the only way around is via 4x4 and the main road is the beach which is used as a kind of motorway.

We were up at 7am the next morning to get ready, check out and get our gear prepared for the trip, we were taken to our 4x4 where we were shown how to load the roof, how to drive properly through the sand, emergency situations. They really prepare you, i did this trip 6 years ago and all i remember iss them giving us the keys and waving us goodbye! so off we went to the ferry where merv took us all the way to the boat again recapping everything he had told us, he was really good at preparing us. Stan one of the guys from our team drove first, we had to make it up to indian head and back to a camp sight close enought to access lake mackenzie. It was tough going at first as our toyota landcruiser is fitted with 9pannel leaf springs, the whole thing rocks around like mad and you can feel every bump! the sand was really soft and deep so we couldnt get out of second gear or we would lose power and get stuck, Stan drove us up to Eurong where we had a toilet break then i took over the driving from there. Due to the time we arrived we were driving at high tide and at some points there are large rock outlets that cover the beach so you have to use side routes called access roads. I drove round one of these bad boys and jesus was it dodgy without leaf springs there is no way you could get over them the pot holes were easy 2-3 feet deep and the truck was right over on its side! anyway as im lush we got throuogh it no problems! We stopped for an hour at Eli creek where you wander up the hill and float down the creek to the ocean again, here we had lunch together. Then we were off to the Maheno shipwreck where we stopped for another photo opportunity. We arrived at indian head and climbed to the top where we saw manta rays, sea turtles and dolphins (but no sharks!) and took in the view which is probably the best we have witnessed so far. Being superman i climbed right out to the edge for a quick camera action! After this all the girls had a drive of the truck back to a campsite as the ground was easy going they all took turns including katie.

We arrived at our campsite and set up quickly, and Dan, me and ruth whipped up a culinary delight of steak with pan fried potatoes and salad. We all then settled in for a night on the goon (boxed wine) and started swapping stories and getting to know each other, some yocals or westies joined our camp along with some other guys who had a homemade cannon with them, it was made from a plumbing pipe with a cooking lighter in the bottom, you shove a tennis ball in, fill the chamber with a flamable spray, seal it up aim it and pull the trigger, it goes miles!!!, however our night was cut short when it started to rain...boo! The next day we were up early and packed up and on the road by 10am, and we headed for lake mackenzie. The lake is inland and can only be accessed via an access road, which is 11km long and very deep sand. Dan took the driving here and got us there with no problems at all. The lake here is like nothing you have ever seen before it is simply stunning. Dale and I carried the esky down full of alcohol and we all just chilled on the beach and frolicked in the lake drinking goon and beer all afternoon, whilst playing french cricket with a shovel, it was an awsome day! however .........katie was the only one not drinking and volunteered to drive us all back, there was no way the guys could do it as we were all wasted. None of the girls had driven in any of the soft sand yet so Katie was the first to do it. I sat in the front with her with my beer in my hand swaying all over the place giving her instructions and helping her out, but she didnt really need it. After ten minutes she had listened to what i had told her and had the hang of it. The only real problem we had was getting up a very steep hill it took 3 attemps and had to be tackled in L4 gear and taken in 2nd, and only a proper 4x4 driver would know this, so she did extremely well and got us all the way out with no worries everyone was very gratefull to her, especially the lads as it meant we could get hammered all day!
That night we camped down with 2 groups close by to us, and one of the guys brought over a shark they had caught earlier in the day. That same shark ended up in our truck later that evening as a practicle joke lol this night there was no rain just a lot of goon drinking a lot of music and merriment and a lot fo falling over! it was an excellent night. The next morning we headed for lake wabby, where you have a 40 minute walk inland through forrest and over sand dunes but it was worth it. Its just a random lake stuck in the middle of nowhere and you have to run down these really steep sanddunes and dive straight in, such good fun. After this we had to head for the ferry which we caught at half 12. Whilst we were waiting a Dingo wandered over and we managed to finally get some pictures, Fraser is famous for its Dingos and we had been on the look out for a "Flaming Dingo" the entire trip so was good to see one before we left. We then headed back to the yard filled her up with fuel and came back to the hostel. We all unloaded the wagon got a shower power napped and had dinner together, then 12 jugs of stella later we fell asleep!

The next day we all said our goodbyes and were deeply sorry too, we have had an excellent time with our "family" on Fraser Island but we are now looking forward to our sailing trip around the whitsundays Islands, so check the next blog out...


Laters

Scott & Katie

---