Whitsunday Islands and Fraser Island - Sand, Sand and more Sand!

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Second blog for Australia and it's an exciting one! We decided after doing our research on Oz that we wouldn't leave the country until we had done tours to the must see Whitsunday Islands and the magnificent Fraser Island.

We actually booked it as a double packadge in Cairns just before we caught the bus to Mission Beach. There was a really good deal - 3 days/2 nights on the Habibi boat on the Whitsundays and 3 days/2 nights on a 4x4 self drive tag along tour to Fraser Island with a night in a hostel either side the tour. All for $555 each. We are really pleased we went for this one as we have not seen a better deal since!

The first stop was Airlie Beach which is known as the gateway to the Whitsundays. It's where all the backpackers go before jumping on their chosen boats. We arrived at night and went straight to the hostel Base which we had booked. Even in low season you still have to book in advance, only a day or two though so it's not too bad. Apparently we have heard if you are here in Ozzie summer you have to pre-book dorms at least 2 weeks in advance. Crikey! I'd hate that as we have changed our plans and stopped at places we weren't planning to along the way. Anyway back to Airlie Beach - it's a beautiful town although the first day we had there was raining and the jeans went on and the raincoats, felt really strange. We had a wonder around and checked in at our boat place. They told us that we weren't allowed our rucksacks on the boat or even day packs, we had to put our clothes into eco friendly bags to keep out the bed bugs that apparently can live in the zips of your bag. Gross.

We had chosen Habibi because we were told that it was a quiet boat as opposed to some of the crazy party ones we had heard about. It wasn't that we didn't want to party, we didn't want to be feeling sick on the sailing days, that would be awful. We took some alcohol with us on the boat anyway, the famous goon. When we turned up at the meeting point that day my mouth fell open in shock. There was 27 of us on the boat, 23 were girls which made me laugh but it was the amount of alcohol that people had! There were a group of Irish that were brilliant fun but that had 2 litre coke bottle full of vodka, 48 cans of cider, crates of beer. I think they thought they were going for the week!! There were 4 Bristol girls that I got on really well with on the trip, they were brilliant and they had 3 cases of cider with them too! After talking and getting to know people half of us had been sold as a quiet boat and the other half as a party boat!

Once on the boat Habibi which was a 75ft Ketch we met our 3 members of crew who would look after us and then we were shown where we would sleep. Andy and I just assumed that it would be bunk beds along the corridor but because we were a couple we were given a double bed just off the corridor, with a curtain to pull across once we were in bed. We were really chuffed to have our own little area but then I noticed that everyone else had little rooms with doors. Some were 4 bunk bed rooms, others 2. And we were right by the toilet which was covinient but we did hear everything going on inside. It didn't matter too much but people quickly picked up on the fact we didn't have a proper room but we were just pleased to be together. And you had to pay a lot extra to upgrade to a double room!

The first afternoon of sailing we were told we would be trying to get as close as possible to Whitehaven Beach before it gets dark. It wasn't great weather on that first sail and I was a bit worried as Andy was looking peaky and very quiet. Luckily, he made it through fine. It did rain a bit too, the first we've seen in Australia. We sailed passed Long Island and Hamilton Island. Hamilton Island has an amazing really posh resort on it we could see from the boat. Staying there a night sets you back around $3,000!! A lot of celebs have properties on the exclusive island too. We managed to get really close to Whitehaven Beach for the night and we saw a fantastic sunset! The crew cooked up a fantastic BBQ off the back of the boat. (Reminded me of our sailing holidays). The food was delicious! Cold meats, cous cous, pasta, potatoes, salad! We haven't been eating that great since we've been here in Oz, it's so expensive, it's like back to uni food so we made the most of it on that trip! Had seconds every meal!

We went to bed reasonbly early that first night, everyone did. The crew had given us a big talk about alcohol limitations in the water. Under Queensland law you have to wait at least 8 hours before getting into the water. They told us it was a big busy day too so no one wanted to be hung over. The next day we woke up at 6:30am (it was a shock) had breakfast and then we were taken over to Whitehaven beach. On the way over we were given stinger suits to wear if we went in the water. Even though stinger season had ended they just have to take precautions. It's just basically a thin leotard, not flattering at all. I know thats not the point but it doesn't protect your hands, feet or face so I think it's a bit silly. The crew told us that you couldn't take any sand away from the beach and you had to be really really careful with cameras as the fine sand had been known to destroy quite a few. The crew even said that he'd seen the sand get into waterproof camera cases! He said it can also destroy the electrical equipment on the boat so we had wipe and wash down everything before we got back on board. The sand is made of 98% silica and squeaks under your feet when you walk on it. It's also meant to clean silver and gold jewlerry better than anything you pay for. One girl tried it on her bracelets and they were dazzling!! They also told us that the sand is good for teeth whitening, it was an amazingly funny sight when we all started eating and brushing the sand on our teeth! Not sure if that one worked though. It was an experience! Andy went up to a viewpoint while I donned the stinder suit and went for a swim in the sea. I did like the beach, the sand was beautiful but it didn't match the postcard pictures I'd seen of sandbars and no bush. Maybe we had been taken to a different part of it as it was 7 km long!

By the time we all got back on the boat the beach was starting to fill up with day trippers so it was definetely worth gettin up early and having it to ourselves. We stopped at two places for snorkelling later on. We had had our amazing day on the reef so there wasn't really anything new for us. Pretty fish but no turtles. We did swim with some fish about a metre and a half long called Golden Trevallys, they look a bit like mini sharks so that was quite cool. The crew kept feeding them while we were in the water so they'd literally brush right passed you to get to the food. We had another amazing meal for tea that night and everyone was able to relax and have some drinks as there was only a long sail back the next day. We moored at Hook Island for the night and were greeted to another spectacular sunset. Really loving my sunsets!

It ended up being a brilliant night, some people went to bed but Andy and I stayed up with the Irish until 2am, drinking and playing games. I'm ashamed to say I did get very drunk (blame the irish giving me the vodka!) and don't remember how I got to bed. With Andy's help of course! The next day was an early get up and a sail back to the mainland. I was feeling surprisingly fine. We went to bed really early that night, sooo tired.

The next night we made our way to Hervey Bay on an overnight Greyhound trip. The journey took nearly 13 hours, we watched a film (Hook!) and then went to sleep. It wasn't comfortable but doing these journeys does save a night on accommadation so it was worth it. I thought it would be a lot worse but all the trips we took in SE Asia have prepared us for the massive distances between places in Oz. Hervey Bay is a small town that is the stop off point for backpackers and tourists to go to Fraser Island. Fraser Island is the largest sand dune island in the world, about 120km in length. The island has rainforests, eucalyptus woodland, mangrove forests, wallum and peat swamps, sand dunes and coastal heaths. It is made up of sand that has been accumulating for approximately 750,000 years on volcanic bedrock that provides a natural catchment for the sediment which is carried on a strong offshore current northwards along the coast.. We were really excited about the chance to drive a 4x4 round the island.

We met our group at the introductory meeting the evening before the trip. There were 21 one of us, so we were split into 3 groups. All the non drivers would be going in the first car with our guide as he would be doing all the driving for the trip. Our group was myself and Andy, Basstian from Holland, Daniella from Canada, Mickey, Paul and Chris also from England. We all had to put down $60 deposit each for the car and Andy was named as main driver. He had to give his credit card details to the guide and his job was to drive the car on the mainland. They took his details so that if he was caught speeding they could charge it to his card. Anything that happened to the car on the island no matter who was driving was split 7 ways.

That night we collected some alcohol for the trip and went out for a few drinks with Paul and Mickey. Didn't make it a late one as we had to be up at 6am, and that was a struggle. After everyone had turned up we met our guide Murray and he showed us this scary 30 min video about safe driving on Fraser Island. It seemed to be really easy to roll the 4x4 and the video told us about 4 times that this would incur a $5000 fine. Scary stuff! The roads looked really bumpy, tree roots sticking out everywhere!

We arrived on the island about an hour and a half later thanks to Andy's spectacular reverse driving onto the ferry (Jane you would have been proud!) We went to an area called Central Station about 20 mins in land on the bumpy track. Murray showed us all the different types of trees and we had a bit of a walk around before having a picnic. We had bought food as a group, meats in the esky, loaves of bread under the seats. I planned this little meal plan for everyone what we would cook and eat each night. After lunch we took the track down to the beach. It was amazing to drive down the path and come out on the amazing 75 mile beach. The waves looked fantastic! We were told you can't swim in the ocean off Fraser Island because of the sharks in the water. They weren't joking either, we saw the sharks!!

We were a convoy of 3 cars along the beach and even though the sun was shining we all had our headlights on so Murray could see us and other cars travelling the beach would know we are all together. We drove to a point on the beach and then Murray told us to follow a trail for 40 mins and then we would come out at amazing Lake Wabby. Wabby is surrounded on 3 sides by eucalypt forest while the 4th side is a massive sandblow which is enroaching the lake at a rate of 3m a year. In 10 years time the lake will not exist. It was amazing place to swim, although the water was freeeezing!! The sun was beautiful and warm. After Wabby we drove up the beach to the famous Maheno Shipwreck.

The S.S. Maheno was originally built in 1905 in Scotland as a luxury passenger ship for trans-Tasman crossings. During the First World War the ship served as a hospital ship in the English Channel, before returning to a luxury liner. In 1935, the ship was declared outdated and on 25 June 1935 the ship was being towed from Melbourne when it was caught in a strong cyclone. A few days later, on 9 July 1935 she drifted ashore and was beached on Fraser Island. During the Second World War the Maheno served as target bombing practice for the RAAF and was used as an explosives demolition target by special forces from the Fraser Commando School. The ship has since become severely rusted, with almost three and a half storeys buried under the sand. It was impressive to see but I was shocked how much of it has disappeared from earlier photos I've seen of the wreckage.

The first night in camp we were shown our tents, I was so pleased we had rented roll mats to provide some comfort from sleeping on the floor. There were dingoes wandering around the camp site waiting for you to turn your back on your food. Luckily, they never got any but I was surprised how tame some of them were. They came really close. We were told not to walk around alone and always go to the toilet with someone as the dingoes are dangerous. We cooked a massive BBQ in our group and it was fantastic! We had baked potatoes on the campfire, sausages, burgers, steak!! And salad! We had a few drinks and chatted around the campfire but we went to bed early compared to some people who got quite drunk. I just kept thinking rather you than me because jiggling around in the 4x4 on the bumpy tracks the next day with a hangover would not be pleasant!

The second day was really busy, we went all the way up 75 mile beach to see the Pinnacles. The pinnacles are a section of sand coloured cliffs. Murray said that reports have shown 72 different types of red in the sands. They were really pretty. We carried up to Waddy Point a lookout area. And then onto Indian Head. I was really impressed with this viewpoint. As you can see from the photos, it was spectacular. You could see all the way down to the beach and this is where we saw the sharks in the waters down below. We were also lucky enough to see 2 whales in the distance splashing around. It was breathtaking up there. One of the best views I've ever seen.

After Indian Head we carried on after lunch to Champagne Pools which is the only safe spot on the island for salt water swimming. As you can see from the pic you could just swim where the water came around the rocks. I had a little paddle, Andy went for a proper swim. It was nice to just relax on the beach soaking up the rays. The weather could not have been better. We all said that to do Fraser Island in the rain would be hard work so we were so lucky. We had a lovely campfire again that last night. We cooked pasta bolognese, it was lovely. Nice to have something warm as the temp did drop quite a lot at night.

The last day on Fraser Island Murray took us to Eli Creek. After rainfall it becomes a fast flowing freshwater river. It was lovely to walk through, so clear. Our last stop before getting the ferry was to Lake Mackenzie which is the prettiest lake on the island. It is a perched lake sitting on top of compact sand and vegetable matter 100 metres (330 ft) above sea level. Lake McKenzie has an area of 150 hectares and is just over 5 metres (16 ft) in depth. The beach sand of Lake McKenzie is nearly pure silica. I think they said the sand was 95% silica whereas the Whitehaven Beach sand is a bit more. The lake was beautiful to swim in, bit cold again but really refreshing.

We caught the ferry back to the mainland, a bit sad to leave. No damage done so we all got our deposit money back which we were all chuffed about. We had another night in Hervey Bay as booked with the tour so we checked in and showered as quick as we could. Unfortunately, being out of signal on Fraser we later found out that Andys Grandma Sonia had sadly passed away. Rest in Peace Sonia, you were all for us going on this trip of a lifetime and even wanted to come with us. I know your watching over Andy and myself now and will be with us for the rest of the trip.

Thanks for reading everyone, really appreciate the comments, miss you all!!

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