Fraser Island

Well friends, we broke down and went to the dark side. We joined a tour of 30 other holiday-makers and headed over to Fraser Island. It is not our preferred style of travel, but it was an enjoyable trip and it gave us a good overview of the island.

We were picked up early Thursday morning by our driver Mark, a fast talking Aussie version of Harrison Ford, equipped with a vast repertoire of one liners. The vehicle? A bus chassis mounted on a 5 ton Man diesel truck frame with "true" 4 wheel drive with locking hubs all around. A real machine. (You know what I mean girls?) The first test of our driver and his machine was at the end of the road where he had to cross the dry, sandy beach at full speed and launch us onto the ferry which was waiting at the water's edge.

Once we were on the island, most of the travel was done on the hard sand at the edge of the water. There are so many vehicles traveling the beach, the Australian government has designated it as a highway with road rules and police enforcement. Several attractions took us on inland roads that were a real mess. The men were put to work pushing out vehicles that had bottomed out in the soft sand.

There were many amazing sights along the eastern coastline: 75 Mile beach, the Maheno shipwreck, and the champagne pools. We elected not to join the throngs and climb to the top of Indian Head. Instead Craig headed for some surf fishermen on the beach and struck up a conversation. Within minutes an offer was made and Craig was casting out into the ocean. Before the big one was landed, it was time to get back on the bus and head to Eurong Beach resort for an overnight stay.

On the second day we went to two very different lakes. At Lake Mckenzie, a rainwater pocket, the sand is bleached pure white and the water is crystal clear. After a 4 km trek across the Hammerstone Sandblow we arrived at emerald green Lake Wabby. We were happy to dive into the cool water and swim with the resident catfish (and three fellow Canadians.)

As well as all of the scheduled events, we were lucky enough to see some native wildlife: an Asian dingo, a mother and baby humpback whale, and a dead sea snake (a casualty of the highway traffic.)
Fraser Island is definitely at the top of our "places to return to" list.

(without the bus and the 30 holiday-makers, of course.)

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