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Published: July 10th 2009
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Day 71 - Hervey Bay incl Fraser Island
So, today was the day we went to Fraser Island in a Hummer! Maggie, I hope you’re chuffed that we at least got a drive in one even if it was just for the day!
There are so many different ways to do the Fraser Island trip but the essentials are that you must have a 4WD and have a reasonable idea of how to tackle driving on sand. We’d decided to do it in somebody else’s vehicle and thus choose a Hummer tour! We’d tried to get on a 2 day tour so we could stay over night but alas we’d just been unlucky with that so we weren’t going to see Champagne Pools or Indian Head but maybe we’ll do that another time.
The journey across to the island only takes 30 minutes and the crossing was really calm this morning. Not long after setting sail the shout went up that dolphins were nearby and sure enough they breached the water just ahead of the barge. Nice way to start the day!
When we got on the island the first thing we see is one of the
island recovery trucks loaded with a 4WD that for whatever reason is unable to make it’s own way off! We made our way to Central Station before the buses made it there! The water in the creek is so clear you initially think that there’s scummy stuff on the top of it until you realise that what you can see is the sand at the bottom! It’s really bizarre! We had a pleasant walk through the rain forest area and thought about doing the walk to Pile Valley but then decided we’d drive by that later. Instead we went up to Eurong to get on to 75 mile beach and start the journey up to the Maheno Wreck. The beach was flatter, wider and there was much less traffic than there had been at Rainbow Beach but the inland tracks were a bit worse than we’d seen on the Freshwater track down there!
Bingo - Dingo! There are still a fairly large group of dingoes on the island and they’ve not long had pups but in June this year there was a cull because one of them bit a tourist. Not sure of the circumstances, provoked or not, but
it seems a shame that the dogs that call this place home are being hounded out a little bit in the name of tourism. We were happy to see ‘the nice doggy’ trotting along the beach without a care in the world and seemingly completely in charge of everything around him as he walked in front of the cars on the beach and made them get out of his way! Go Dingo!
The shipwreck of the Maheno has been here since 1973 (I think) and was initially raped by locals on the island and then left to rot. There’s talk, apparently, about moving it which is what they’ve done with the Cherry Venture from Rainbow Beach. So that’s why we couldn’t find it when we were there last week, they’ve shifted it!! Anyway, there are the normal ‘Danger’ signs all over the wreck, plus the warning signs about standing too close to it etc etc. The tide is still fairly high so walking all the way round isn’t going to be possible today, unless we wanted to get wet!
Up next were the Pinnacles, the coloured sand formations standing proudly behind the beach. These are part of the
Dreamtime stories which describes the Aboriginal theory for the sand formations. Another highly visited spot which has sadly been abused over the years with some clever arse climbing the wire fence to write ‘No Fat Chicks’ high in the spires. And we wonder why things get fenced off!
All the while we’re on the beach we watch the activity of the day trippers, tourist buses, backpackers and fishermen whizzing up and down intermingling with scenic planes waiting to fly you up above it all.
And so to Eli Creek, where the freshwater pumps into the sea at an astonishingly fast rate! There’s a board walk here part of which leads to the toilets. It’s quite a long walk, up lots and lots of steps at the end of which are the Men’s, Ladies and Handicap toilets - think about it for a minute and smile at the political correctness that insisted on Handicap toilets despite them being almost totally inaccessible to the people they were installed for! We paddled into the creek, walked to the end of the boardwalk section and then returned to the beach via the beautifully clear water, which in parts was up to our
bum! Eli Creek is significant to the Aboriginal culture as the birthing waters and this is why it has been agreed tourists should not walk beyond the boardwalk bridge, so we don’t.
We have our lunch by Yidney Rocks where the outlook is very pleasant. The section to our right is under siege from the tide at the moment, sometimes it’s passable and other times it’s underwater. This proves to be our source of entertainment as several vehicles approach it and either attempt the drive around the rock outcrop or return to take the by pass up the top. Those that attempt the drive then have the challenge of the rocks just round the corner. This is where the clearance of your vehicle becomes the key to success or failure! We see several that make the crossing and one that decides not to take the chance and has to wait for the tide to die down before he can get back to where we are. Beach driving is hazardous in so many different ways.
After lunch we find our way to Pile Valley and then on through to Lake McKenzie. The Lake is beautiful and it’s quite warm
in there as we have a bit of a paddle. There’s one brave lady who takes the plunge for a swim but sod that! It’s warm today but not warm enough for that!
We had lots of time on our own by the Lake, it was a lovely walk and we really were the only ones in the section we’d made it to for ages. We eventually met a family that had walked from Kingfisher Bay, 17km so far and they had to walk back yet so they soon made tracks!
The ferry was due at about 4pm and we made it there with a little bit of time to spare, enough time to spot the Terrano we first saw in the queue this morning! I went over to chat to the driver of ‘our’ car and he had nothing but praise for his vehicle saying that they’ve been all over in it and were making the trip to Birdsville sometime soon. Hurrah for Terrano’s! The crossing back was good and the sunset was pretty from the barge.
Back at camp we sat for quite some time to try and figure our route for the next few
days. We want to take in some free campsites to keep the costs down a bit and plus they’re often lots nicer than the tourist trap caravan parks. We think we’ve sussed something out so should hit Cania Gorge on Wednesday and then make it through to Gladstone and Rockhampton by the weekend. We’re still a bit behind our schedule but we’ll take some time soon to figure out the impact and if we have to speed up then we will!!
We’ve got a 4 hour drive tomorrow so we’re in bed early and hoping for a good nights sleep!
Dar and Sar
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Alec
non-member comment
BarBQ
Hi Sar Dar, I can see your having a whale of a time but I think you ought to ease off on the barbies or Dar might be floating away like a whale, looking pretty chubby mate. second thoughts; sod it! have a great time. All the best Alec