Fraser Island Adventures

On the barge on the way over to Fraser

On the 28th November we picked Amanda up from Hervey Bay airport, after much rushing around trying to organise very important things like inflatable lilos, food and drinks! It was so good to catch up after so many months apart. We jumped into Reggie and headed south towards Rainbow Beach where we were to take the barge from Inskip Point to Fraser Island. After a 1.5 hour drive we arrived at Rainbow Beach and stocking up on last minute supplies we put our tyre pressure down for the next 5 days of sand driving. 

Maheno Shipwreck survivors 

Gav doing superman jump

As we approached the barge we saw a Mercedes 4WD being towed out with all the windows smashed in and sand filling the car - it had met a boggy end on a high tide! We exited the barge quickly on the other side to try and avoid bogging, then made our way up towards Dundubara campsite - around 3/4 of the way up Fraser Island. On the way we stopped off at the Maheno ship wreck and the Pinnacles (sandy rock formations) for some photos. We found a good campsite in the shade and all of us felt a bit more comfortable as it was a fenced in campsite with electric grids, so no dingoes could come and get us in the night! 

Gav's goanna catch... go Manda! 

The set up at Dundubara

The next morning we woke to a scramble as Gav ran across the campsite to catch a goanna. We then got ready for an action pack day, leaving early to avoid the tides. On Fraser Island, it can be very difficult to pass certain places on high tide, so most of the driving on the sand needs to be done on low tide... which in our case often meant we were out all day to get the morning then afternoon tides. We stopped off at Eli Creek, where a freshwater stream meets the ocean and had a nice refreshing morning dip. Then we drove south to the Cornwalls and headed onto a deep and boggy 4WD track. It wasn’t long before we came across a tourist couple in an Apollo Van who were bogged - clearly not a high clearance 4WD. We helped them out using our Max Trax and then on we headed.

Our next stop was Lake Mackenzie - definately a highlight of the trip and very popular amongst the tourists. This lake is crystal clear and super warm, with pure white sand along the edges. It is a freshwater oasis in the middle of the bush. We played frisbee, sunbaked, drank our beers and floated along on inflatable lilos. When we felt that we were sufficiently burnt, we headed on towards Wanggoolba Creek and Central Station. The water at this creek was so pure and clear that at first glance I thought it was empty - was like glass. Drove on through the rainforest - the trees are so tall and ancient looking, sometimes it’s hard to remember that the island is made from sand. On the way back to camp, we saw our first dingoes. Gav whistled to them, which is exactly what you are not meant to do... trust. Got some good photos though, and Amanda and I watched from a safe distance. 

Gav and I at Lake Mackenzie

Manda and I doing the Royal Wave from the Lilos

The best Dingo shot ever! 

The next day we had another early start, and Amanda and I drove Reggie along the sand and saw another dingo running along. We took a track south of the Pinnacles to Lake Allom. On the way we stopped off at the Knifeblade Sandblow and took in the large sand dunes that went for as far as the eye could see. At Lake Allom there were turtles and fish swimming everywhere. Gav tried to do a few turtle catching dives, but they were too quick and so on we went towards Woralie Creek on the west coast of Fraser Island. Here we came to a deserted beach. We were going to try and go north but the tides were wrong so we relaxed in the sun, swam in the crystal clear water and sunbaked. 

Manda and I at the private beach! 

Gav and Manda - statues of awesome!

It looked like the weather might turn on us, so we headed back to the east coast where we pulled up at Eli Creek again to cool off. Out came the lilos and we floated downstream - it was so much fun and definately a trip highlight. We had so far been really lucky with the weather forecast, with beautiful sun shining days. That afternoon we drove north to Indian head, where by coincidence we came across a rather large family of Indians!! We took the bypass to Waddy Point where Champagne Pools are. These are amazing rock formations that have formed pools of crystal clear water where the waves crash into - making it look like champagne bubbles. It was so nice to cool off in them! 

The crew with lilos at Eli Creek

Manda and I groovin at Eli Creek

Gav and I having fun at Eli Creek

Manda and I at Indian Head

Champa

Woke to a cloudy morning and headed down towards Dilli Village where we took a crazy inland sandy road towards Lake Boomanjin or should I say, Lake Disappointment. On the brochure, there is a rainbow coloured lake but wall we saw was a tea coloured lake that was really high, with no beach and rocks and sticks everywhere. So on we went. Drove to Lake Birrabeen - lovely spot, white sand and nice lake but nothing on Lake Mackenzie. Began to feel slightly demoralized at this point after all the driving so we stopped in at Eurong for a few extra supplies and then drove north. It wasn’t low tide so we decided to do Lake Wabby, which required a 2km walk in to the lake. None of us were very impressed with Lake Wabby’s distance - sand walking in the heat was followed by a lot of complaining, sweat and negativity. However when we got there it was definately worth it, with huge sand dunes that plunge straight into a deep freshwater lake that was really warm. Despite the forecast for thundery rain, the sun shone through and burnt us even more. Massive catfish and turtles swam in the lake and Gav fed them with Jatz from his hand. We schnitzled ourselves and rolled into the lake covered in sand ... was a lot of fun. Some english tourists tried to surf down the dunes into the waves but there was more falling over than actual surfing! The walk back to the car was much more positive and not so hot... had some beers on the tailgate and then headed north to camp. 

Manda at Lake Disappointment haha

Butterfly breakfast

On the beach road with our friend the seaplane!

Lake Wabby woo! 

When we got up the next morning the weather had completely changed - grey sky, rain coming through, and an extreme wind. The beach had completely changed shape, washed out and boggy sand with deep edges all the way along. That morning we finally saw dingo puppies and the mother from the car. Amanda and I were so excited and were pretty fortunate to have seen them. Afterwards we had the Dingo Pancake Breakfast cooked by Gav served with fresh coffee brewed by Nina! We decided to chill out as the weather wasn’t great, cooked damper, played Uno, played beach cricket and Gav took us girls for a 4WD lesson! 

The Dingo Pancake Breakfast! 

The next day was our last day on Fraser Island. Woke up early and anxious to make the tide we packed up and were ready to leave by 7am. The beach wasn’t as bad as the day before, so what we though would be a 3-4 hour adventure turned out to be only a 1.5 straight through trip. We got bogged trying to get onto the barge - typical. We hadn’t bogged the whole time we were there, but it happened just as we were about to leave. It was ok though because there were lots of people around to help and we got onto the barge relatively quickly. There were so many cars on the other side waiting to get on, as we left on a Saturday and they were all coming over for the weekend. After a quick wash off of the sand at Inskip Point we went and had rainbow paddlepops at Rainbow Beach. Then we drove back to Hervey Bay and the Caravan Park where we set up and showed Amanda around town. We went to the Boat Club for dinner.. and played Keno with all the golden oldies that inhabit this town. 

Farewell Fraser from your hippie friends!

Rainbow paddlepops at Rainbow Beach!!

Manda left the next day after a farewell breakfast at Enzos on the Esplanade. Gavin and I spent the rest of the afternoon setting up and organising the tent for the next few weeks of work.  Over the next two weeks we experienced crazy weather and were been flooded out three times. Luckily the company that we bought the tent off were in Hervey Bay, and as it is covered by warranty we managed to get a new one as it isn’t meant to leak the way it did. Here’s hoping the new tent doesn’t leak! I managed to get a job for one day at Jamaica Blue Coffee and quit because it was the most horrible experience of my life. Work came through for me at Gav’s work, doing bistro and function things. We had fun working at the Bayswater, and it was nice to make new friends in town. I have also been busy making jewellery and have managed to make a fair few pairs of earrings which I will sell at the markets in the next few weeks. 

After Christmas we headed to Brisbane and are currently staying with Gav’s friend Tyson. I visited Sydney briefly and then did another kiosk stint in Caloundra while Gav did some landscaping for Tys. After some sight seeing this week we are planning on heading south towards Ballina to see some family then west and south towards South Australia, where we will be meeting up with Josh and Arielle, our long lost housemates! 

Because we didn’t get around to doing a Christmas blog, may all of you have a wonderful New Year and we hope 2012 is one to remember. We will write again soon with more news.  

All our Love,

N & G