Fraser island

What an experience! Fraser island was fabulous. It's hard to describe it and do it justice. For one night, I didn't even mind the camping.

While Toby (our guide) went to get a couple of 4-wheel drives, we each packed a bag which contained the stuff we'd need for one night at Fraser island. Once he got back with Mick the other driver, we stopped to get some groceries and headed for the ferry to take us over to the island. We got there without a minute to spare.

Fraser island is the largest sand island in the world. It is several kilometers (something like 100 km) wide and about half that across and as it says on the tin, it's completely made of sand. That doesn't mean that it is just a giant sand dune, trees and plants grow on it and there are several beautiful lakes in the centre of the island. It does mean that it's very difficult, and dangerous, to build any real structures or roads on the island so the main road tends to be the very wide beaches. How much fun is that? Driving a 4WD on the beach... hmmm... fantastic, have a look at some of the pictures on this site about Fraser Island.



We got there and went for a little tour where we saw some coloured sand mountains, an old shipwrect and a lovely rock pool that we could swim in. We haven't been able to swim in the sea due to the jellyfish which inhabit them at this time of the year so this was our first dip in the ocean.

We then went to our campsite and set up camp. There was a not so nearby toilet so we all went and on our way back we saw some wild dingos - they are their purest bread on Fraser island and completely wild.



The sun set and after dinner we all sat on the now deserted beach looking up at the stars. We couldn't see another camp in any direction, it felt as if we had the whole island to ourself. There were no lights except a couple of boats at sea so all the light was from the moon and masses of stars. I had to thank God for making such a beautiful world for us to live in and enjoy - he certainly knew what he was doing!

The next day we went to a couple of freshwater lakes and did a short hike through the island. How on earth can you have lakes on a sand island? Won't the water seep through? Aparantly not, the lakes - Lake Wabby and Lake McKensie were both raised lakes formed from dead vegetation forming a plug at the bottom of the valley. Over thousands of years of rainfall they were filled with pure water. Lake McKensie was the most beautiful with cool which silica sand and crystal clear water.



We left the island in the afternoon and headed for our next campsite. We have camped every night so far this trip and I think that I have now reached to the end of my camping total for the next 10 years! I do believe that I have been missinformed about the trip - I thought there should have been 4 nights accomodation included and the plan so far is to have one night (tonight) in accomodation. I've sent off an e-mail complaining about it so we'll see if anything happens. I hope so but in any case, if you aren't a camping fan, I would advise you NOT to go on any tours with LetsTrek America/Australia/New Zealand etc.

I think that I'm going to stay with the group tonight and then when they leave tomorrow, then I will stay in Surfers Paradise for a few days. I've already been in touch with Jo and Andy Holt so I'm going to link up with them until Friday then make my way down to Sydney.