FRASER ISLAND
Day 32 - Friday 16th October
FRASER ISLAND
We had signed up for a 'tag along tour' of Fraser Island which meant if you were over 21 and didn't mind paying a $500 bond up front, then you could drive a 4WD vehicle in convoy, following an experienced lead vehicle. We got to the Fraser Dingo office at 7am as instructed and watched the safety video with all the other people who had signed up to drive the 4WD cars. The main message was GO SLOW, AND DON'T BREAK OUR EXPENSIVE CARS, OR WE'LL CHARGE YOU LOTS OF MONEY!! Suitably scared, we were then taken to the cars, and they were PINK! We jumped aboard 'Car 1' a bad ass looking manual diesel called Tukee. After some excited whoops and engine revving our thrill seeking convoy charged out of the car park and headed full throttle down the highway straight to the local supermarket to do the groceries! Pretty bad ass I know. After collecting a few stragglers from hostels, we were ready to board the River Heads Ferry to start our Fraser adventure. We were in a group of around 25 people, half of which were on a 2 day trip and we were on the 3 day. When we arrived, I was the first to drive off road. It was mental. Fraser Island is the worlds largest sand island, and is World Heritage listed. The only way to get around is by 4WD as the inland roads are completely made of sand, and the ruts where the wheels go are very deep. You get shaken all over the place, the roads can be very steep at points and extremely bumpy at others. You spend a lot of time in 1st and 2nd gear. To get around the island, you also have to drive on the beach, which is a completely different experience to driving inland. You can go much faster, but there are still obstacles to navigate, such as creeks flowing into the sea, 4WD buses, oh and the small matter of planes landing on the beach. The car had power steering unlike Vanny, which felt amazing after the bicep workouts we're used to when trying to park.
We quickly realised that our car was the best, not just because of the people - 2 British sisters, Cassie who now lived in Aus and Abbie who was visiting her sister and works ski seasons in France. Sandra, a quiet German girl who wasn't timid when she was behind the wheel, and Pascal, a Swiss guy who was only 20 so unfortunately wasn't allowed to drive. But because it was much more spacious than the other cars because it had less seats and so more room for your bags. Everyone else was sitting with their stuff on their laps. We vowed we would stay together as a group so that precious Car 1 stayed in our hands!! It was also the only manual car and much more fun to drive.
Our guide for the tour was a very enthusiastic guy named Josh who was ex-military. He was obviously keen for everyone to have a good time and was very knowledgable about the island. He was accompanied by Matt who was in training for Josh's job, the two made a pretty good double act. The BEST part was that we had walkie talkies and Josh would shout instructions through and we had to answer him. However after Josh radioed in saying Car 1 smells, and Car 2 followed up with a report that they had just picked up on Car 1's smell we started to feel bullied.
So anyway, I took the wheel first and drove from the west side of the island where the ferry dropped us off to the east side where there was a small resort town area called Eurong (no YOU'RE wrong). This is one of two tarmacked areas on the island and we had to switch the car back to 2WD to drive here. We had a satisfying lunch of ham and cheese sandwiches with plenty of salad, then it was Wills turn to drive.
He had the beach portion to do, and meant he could get up to much higher speeds. We bounced over sandbanks, splashed through creeks, whilst keeping an eye out for 4WD buses and landing airplanes.
The first sight was the pinnacles, burnt red and orange marbled sand cliffs that take thousands of years to form.
We then headed to the ship wreck of the Meheno, a former luxury cruise ship that was blown ashore in 1935 when the rope broke as it was being towed to Japan to be scrapped. The guy that had bought it ordered the scrap to be taken from the ship wrecked boat, but not before he'd had his wedding ceremony on board! It was a huge boat and incredible to walk round and imagine its former glory. It's being covered up fast though, apparently only a few months ago you could see down to the fourth deck and now you can only see the top deck. We weren't sure if the boat was sinking or the beach was rising...
We drove down to Eli Creek for a swim. The water that flows out is 160 year old fresh filtered water, and the volume of water the flows out everyday matches that of the Sydney harbour! It was a beautiful clear creek, we only wished we had rubber rings to float along on like some people had, beer in hand.
Dili Village in the south was where we were going to stay both nights. It was here that we were told that the 2 day people stayed in cabins and we were in tents that had to be set up. In the dark. Doh. With that job done, it was time to make dinner. A few people volunteered and set about chopping and barbecuing sausages, potato, garlic bread and salad. It was a delicious feast, and sitting round the camp fire after with a few tinnies finished off the day nicely. Shame about the appalling nights sleep we had!
Day 33 - Saturday 17th October
FRASER ISLAND
Had an awful nights sleep in the tent but we were treated to beautiful fluffy pancakes for breakfast. With Nutella. Oh yes! We packed up and headed off inland where we went on a nature walk. Josh gave us a history of the logging industry on the island. The trees were sought after because they grew so straight with hardly any branches until really high up. He then went on to the story of Mrs Fraser and how she came to be stranded, it's a dark story filled with deceit and murder, we will hand over to Wikipedia to fill you in.
After our history class we went to a creek that's name translates as "invisible water" as the water is so clear it looks almost like a dry river bed. We had a few mouthfuls, it tasted so fresh and cool.
We also learnt about Stag horn weeds that grow attaching themselves to trees and can consume anything that lands inside, but over a long long time. It was a little unnerving when military man Josh mentioned it could even consume a human body... Hypothetically of course.
We then climbed up the hill to reach Lake Birrabeen that was surrounded by trees apart from a small clearing where you could get in and out of the water. It was a circular shape and perfect for swimming. Will went off to the other side whilst I played it safe and went to the middle then back again to dry land. We were the only tour group there and it was very peaceful.
After lunch we headed to the second lake of the day, Lake McKenzie. It was stunning and massive, with a white sandy beach and beautiful water. Whilst relaxing on the white sand Josh made all the guys race about five meters on their stomachs with their hands behind their backs. Will was scowling as he hates any sort of forced fun and avoids it like the plague. However he is also quite competitive and after accepting the fact he would have to fit in he actually won. People swam, dozed and played ball games until it was time to go.
We drove along the inland path, another crazy inland route with massive peaks and troughs to drop off the 2 day people at the ferry back to the mainland. Then we drove an even crazier route back to camp. To give an idea of the state of the roads, one section we drove was nicknamed "the rollercoaster"
I drove back along the beach as the sun was setting and it was an incredible view and probably the best bit of driving I've ever done. As we were nearing our destination, we saw a pack of 6 dingos which is rare to see 6 all together. We observed them from the safety of the car, as they can be dangerous wild animals. On Fraser Island they are the most pure breed of dingo left in the world, and whilst they may look like a pet dog, they are in no way domesticated and are hunting wild animals. They neared a group of people who clearly didn't know what to do when dingos were around. We were told on day one that wherever you are on the island, you need to have a 'dingo buddy' with you at all times, so that you can stand together and look more threatening if one should appear. However there was guy on his own, and the 6 wild dogs started towards him and looked like they were going to circle him. Once the situation became apparent, Josh drove his car in between the guy and the dingos to stop them going for him. He could have been attacked if Josh hadn't done this. Josh then proceeded to lecture the guy on what he should have done. Further down the beach, we saw another group of dingos and another group of people near by, who again looked like they were in over their heads.
That night we cooked chicken and veg in white wine sauce with pasta. It was a feast and to top it off, we were told the cabins hadn't been locked from the night before... Which we took as a hint that we could sleep in there instead of the tents, as long as we didn't get caught. After dark we wandered down to the beach, the stars were incredible, you could even make out the Milky Way. After some beers by the fire, Matt looked at Will and named him the 'Birmingham Jesus' which stuck for the rest of the trip. When it was time for bed,
we headed over to the tents but accidentally ended up sleeping in the cabins which had accidentally been left open. It was our first nights sleep in a proper bed for over a month and it was bliss.
Day 34 - Sunday 18th October
FRASER ISLAND
A group of us rose just before five and were on the beach at first light. With nothing between Fraser Island and South America the potential for an amazing sunrise was on the cards however a passing storm in the distance put an end to that. Still the passing clouds added some texture to the sky and water reflection picking up the beautiful colours of dawn. We headed back across the sand keeping an eye out for Dingos, we didn't fancy becoming an English breakfast. A couple more hours sleep mixed with a bowl of porridge and we were ready for the final leg of our adventure.
Went to Lake Wabby, it was a bastard of a walk through really fine sand. Eventually we passed through the opening and saw a huge expanse of sand, surrounded by huge sand dunes and drifting sand. The view was otherworldly. Down a steep dune was an emerald lake full of catfish. Will jumped in as it had started to rain, and if he was going to get wet anyway then he might as well jump in eh!
Lunch was a brilliant BBQ lunch with potato chips and delicious onions on the Barbie and fresh bread. Damn good.
In the afternoon we headed to another lake. The route here was pretty interesting, firstly because before Fraser Island became a World Heritage Site there was a massive logging industry destroying the island. The logging companies were so sure that they would win the vote they kept everyone working right up until the court case. However when they lost, everyone downed tools and left the island immediately, leaving cut logs, tools and machinery all abandoned which now have been reclaimed by nature and sit scattered around the road side. The second reason it was an interesting route was a massive python sunbathing across the road which we had to send on its way. When we arrived at the lake we were greeted with a more rugged and overgrown scene than the others. The final leg of the journey was across another crazy inland route all the way to the boat terminal and luckily it was my turn to drive. Suitably shaken we boarded the ferry and watched the sun set as we glided back west to the mainland.
After lots of good byes, handshakes and hugs we bid farewell to the group. We hopped off into our van and drove away into the night. Only to realise that where we were parked was probably the best place to sleep, so sheepishly drove round the block, parked back in our parking space and went to sleep.