Fraser Island - sand, camping and goon!

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We arrived in tiny Rainbow beach (the gateway to Fraser Island) from Noosa, checked into our hostel (which was really nice) and got ready to go through our briefing for our 3 day 2 night self drive trip to Fraser Island.
Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world and you get around in huge 4x4 trucks in groups of 8 people (which everyone takes turns in driving), following a guide in the lead truck, checking out different spots on the island, then camping and cooking at night. We had our briefing which went through all the health and safety aspects of driving on sand, what to do and what not to do then we were put into our groups. With us was a really nicve couple from Essex (Laura & Gavin), 2 really nice (and crazy) German guys (Lenny and Alex), an Austrian girl and a German girl. We then discussed the food shopping, as usually the groups do a food shop together for the trip and share the costs, but we decided to do our own shop (as Vic is a bit fussy and the talk of economy pasta and cheap ham every day put us off!) so set off to the supermarket to get our supplies. We had to get enough for 3 lunches (chicken wraps, pasta salads and nice ham sandwiches), 2 dinners (bbq steak and salad and pasta) and 2 breakfasts (cheesy beans on toast) plus snacks which we would prepare whilst on the island. We then met up with the group and went to get some alcohol for the trip which consisted of beers for the guys and goon for the girls. Now goon is basically box wine; its not very nice but its strong and cheap and everyone in Aus drinks it! We did this and went back to the hostel to mingle with our group and get to know eachother which was nice, aswell as preparing or various pasta salads, before heading to bed as we had an early start the next day.

We were all up early and once the trucks were loaded with our food, drinks and bags we set off towards the ferry which would take us to FI, following the lead truck. Vic bravely volunteered to drive first and she did a really good job considering she hadn't driven a 4x4 before. The 15 minute drive to the ferry was on road but once we crossed the ferry it was sand which was very different. The flat hard sand along the sea was pretty easy to dive on, but the soft bumpy sand was tricky and a bit like trying to drive in thick snow at home! She did it though before swapping with someone else. We drove first to an area where we did a rainforest walk and swung on the vines before having some lunch (everyone was so jealous of our chicken pasta salad haha!) and driving on to one of the places we had heard most about on FI - Lake Mackenzie. This lake was beautiful and more like a beach with white soft sand and crystal clear warm blue water. We spent a good few hours there sunbathing and frolicking around in the water, using the silica sand to exfoliate ourselves (Scott seeming to enjoy this even more than Vic's) and relax before it was time to leave and move on towards our camp for the night. We were so lucky with the weather as for the last 2 weeks it had rained there and today had been bright sunshine and 30 degrees!

The campsite was already set up with all the tents and this is where we would stay for both nights of our trip. It had toilets and showers as well as an open kitchen for cooking, and a big outdoors area with a camp fire. We all went to our tents to put away our stuff then showered before starting dinner. The showers were ok but of course being in the wild there were a few crawlies in them, so Vic and Laura showered together as they were scared, safety in numbers and all that! We then began to cook dinner. We had bbq steak, salad and jacket potatoes which was yummy then everyone gathered round the camp fire and toasted marshmellows on it which was brilliant! After a few drinks we all headed down to the beach (where we saw several dingos - a cross between a wolf and a wild dog, native to Aus and they can be dangerous) to carry on and play card games for a while before heading back to the camp for bed.

The next morning we were all up early with several people having sore heads from the goon they had drunk the night before, but we cooked breakfast and got ready for the day ahead. Our first stop was a place called Indian Head, which required a 1.5k uphil walk to get to it to look over the cliff and see the amazing views below. Ther walk was so hard as it was hot and everyone was tired, but it was worth it once we reached the top as from above we saw a shark, turtle and sting ray in the ocean below! We then walked back down and went back to camp for lunch and a quick rest before going to our second stop of the day - Eli Creek. This shallow creek was full of natural fresh water and the small current carried you along it so you didn't have to swim which was really relaxing and just what everyone needed to wake up a bit. After some time there we drove to a small shop for some more supplies (namely beer as the boys had run out) before Scott drove back to camp where we would prepare dinner. We had pasta with chicken and a spicy tomatoe sauce which was good, then again we all sat round the camp fire toasting marshmellows, drinking and and singing songs! The boys from oue group and the two other groups, started playing several drinking games and were slowly getting worse for wear and louder and louder. Up until this point, except for the moment in the shower, Vic hadn't thought too much about spiders, until someone in the group pointed out a massive one in the kitchen...eeek! Vic couldn't relax for the rest of the night then, and as the boys were drinking goon she went with the girls to her tent to get ready for bed and inspect it for bugs and spiders. Big mistake! Up above the torch shone on another huge spider, in the tent that we were sleeping in! Before telling the boys the girls tried to work out if they would get rid of it, but it was too big and scary so they told the boys, second mistake! They came over (slightly worse for wear) and started making jokes about it and shaking the tent so that it moved which made Vic panic even more, but Scott wasn't too fussed as he was ready to sleep so it was left to Vic to spend the night worrying about where it had gone and if it was still in the tent! Up until this point she had really enjoyed the camping but this was too much and she has now been put off camping for the forseeable future!

After a restless sleep for Vic (Scott was fine as he had been on the goon so slept right through!) we were up for our last day on FI before heading back to the mainland. Once we had packed up and had breakfast we all set of in the jeeps and headed towards the bottom of the highest dune on the island. Unfortunately, there was no way over he dunes for the jeeps but on the otherside, some 2.8km away, was a huge bright green lake which we would have to hike too. This was very tough and every two steps made felt like one step back but we finally arrived after about 50 minutes and immediately jumped in - it was so nice. We then spent the morning here, relaxing and swimming before hiking back to the jeeps for a final drive of the tour. Scott was in the driving seat and we were all making good progress until the outside temperature hit 34 degrees and the tide started coming in. We were both slightly worried as we were on a very tight deadline to get back and make our bus for a onward journey to the Whitsundays. The sand was so soft and constantly made the wheels spin so we half deflated the tyres so we could continue with more grip.
All of a sudden, an alarm started ringing in the jeep and smoke started rising from under the bonnet - we quickly stopped thinking we were on fire - fortunately it was just an overheating of the engine due to the heat and lack of water, so after a quick refill and a 30 minute wait for things to cool down we set off again, trying to dodge the waves and make it to the ferry before the tide was fully in. We made the last ferry with minutes to spare and after managing to swap details and say a quick goodbye we run to the bus station for our journey up the coast - both with fantastic memories of this trip and having met some great people. Easily our highlight of Australia so far!!

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