So here is the post on Fraser island that you have all been waiting for. I claim full responsibility for not writing about it earlier, but in my defense I have been struggling to find the words for the best part of our trip to date.
The lowdown on Fraser Island – Its the largest sand island in the world, and they say that every grain of sand on the South East coast of Australia ends up at its shores. This ensures that the place is truly huge, with enough lakes, rock formations and wildlife to make a Geographer or Biologist begin to drool at the prospect of stepping off the boat and exploring.
We were staying at a place called Hervey Bay which is the largest town on the coast nearest to the island, and is therefore overrun itself with every travel company and backpackers organisation, trying to offer the best 4 by 4 adventures to Fraser.
In our case “Koalas” was our choice. It also served as our accommodation for the ensuing days both before and after our trip. With its own on-site bar, swimming pool and not to shabby rooms, we had everything we could want. Though it is the only place we have stayed in that you both have to ask for and leave a deposit for sheets! So on principle we all slept in our sleeping bags for the duration.
Now once you sign up for the trip there are a number of things that have to take place before the company let you roam free with their 4 by 4′s for 3 days. First of all there are forms to be signed which means you are responsible for any damages that are incurred on the vehicle. Then a meeting has to be sat through where the notion of losing your deposit (which is $50 per person)on the car by doing any number of things, is carefully and willfully tattooed on the souls of all present. After such formality’s and threats, the rather eccentric man heading our meeting showed us on a map where we should go and also where we should camp. Other aspects of the meeting were taken up by explanations of why swimming in the sea is a very, very bad idea (needless to say there are a lot of sharks). Also the presence of dingos and what one should do if approached by said animal. The briefing video shown was of particular interest here as it contained two girls demonstrating the correct position to be in, with your hands folded in a cross over your chest and then backing away slowly from a bemused dingo. This was of course greeted with laughter from the collective, and was quickly rebuked by the eccentric man, who said waving a stick and shouting was probably a better way to scare off a wild dog.
So after all of this and meeting our group of 8 for the first time, all of us trekked down to the local supermarket and bought enough food to last us for the next few days. More importantly we also made a trip to the bottle shop (or off license to all those back home) to stock up on beer and some cheap wine aptly nick-named “goon” (for the record – its disgusting).
The next morning at the ungodly time of 6:30 we all congregated outside our respective cars and after packing away all our things were ready and willing to get the trip started.
Once driving to the ferry and displaying our right to be there, we were away and watched the island gradually getting bigger over 30 minutes.
After disembarking we all settled in for a long spate of driving (left to our three designated drivers, as Jack and Mark were under the required age of 21), that would take us from the West side of the island at Wangoolba Creek Ferry, to Eli Creek on the East side. It was our aim to go up and do the North East side first and then come back down to the lakes that are situated in the middle-South of the island.
Eli Creek -
A fantastic creek which runs down from the lush green forest to the ocean. Its steady current proved powerful enough so I and the rest of our gang could lie on our backs and be carried along. For this reason we all had a fantastic time here, especially as Jack was in the process of trying out his new under water camera (ooooooo!). Only thing is it might have been nice to have timed it when less backpackers were there, and attempt to get the cool waters more to ourselves. However everyone was laughing and joking, their only worry being whether to wade directly up the creek or to use the wooden walkway to the side. Really fantastic start to our trip, and if you get to see our photos of it you’ll understand why.
Maheno Shipwreck -
This, the only man made attraction on Fraser, was a quick stop off for us on our way up North. It is literally just a big rusted ship run aground on the beach, not even one with a very interesting back story either. It was a pleasure steamer due to be scrapped before it broke loose from its towing boat and was run ashore and left for the barnacles and the backpackers. Not worth more than about 5 minutes of looking and a couple of photos.
Indian Head -
The farthest place that we could drive on the island, as “Koalas” strongly advised against going any further, plus we tried and our car got stuck in the sand (touche Koalas!). It consists of a huge outcrop of rock that looks out onto the ocean to the East and the beaches running North to South. Fantastic views, made the short uphill walk completely worthwhile The place is also a breeding ground for Tiger sharks, and you can actually look down at the sharp drop below and see their predatory swimming from afar.
Champagne pools -
A longer walk up from Indian head along the beach took us about 30 minutes and brought us to the most amazing rock formation I’ve seen. Its a series of pools protected by the rocks that separate the pools and tourists from the sea. The namesake is due to the unique way that the waves crash on the rocks and send the water bubbling and bursting through the small holes and cracks caused by years of erosion – thus making a champagne-esque effect. So as you can expect we lounged around in the pools and took many a group photo, while the bubbles foamed around us with every big wave.
Lake Wabby -
The deepest lake on the island, and a firm favorite with us. However this was a bit of a trek, through the woods of Fraser, but definately worth it. The only thing that angers me and Jack about Wabby, is that our eccentric Koalas man had told us that if you take the lid off your eskis
(the plastic containers for our food etc.), then you can ride them down the steep sand slopes at lake Wabby and into the water. Rubbish! Me, Jack and our Irish friend Aidan tried for ages to make the trip down the slope on our bums and all that was gained was sinking into the sand, cursing and getting sweaty. sigh! My personal vendetta against this aside, we had an awesome time there, swimming in the sun.
Lake Mackenzie -
The biggest and best lake on the island. Its huge body of water is about as crystal clear as you could ever hope for. groups have gone to Fraser island and raced to Mackenzie first thing, and spent the rest of their time there. Sadly, we only had about half an hour to take in its sparkling beauty as our time was up on Fraser and we had spent too long at Lake Wabby. For the next time I go i think i will take the nothing but Mackenzie option above. Still, with the waters shimmering in front of us and the cameras snapping away we lounged, and sat and laughed without a care in the world.
All i have left to say about Fraser is to quote the native Butchulla people in their original naming of the island as ‘K’gari’, which in English roughly translates as paradise……
dave
p.s – it is Baz Luhrmann Jack and he also did strictly ballroom and Moulin Rouge (although he doesn’t don’t talk about those two as much)
