Three days on Fraser Island

Wow, what an amazing three days on Fraser Island, most definitely the highlight of Australia for us so far. On the 7th March we had our pre-trip briefing where the staff ran through all the safety aspects of the trip, such as the dangers of rolling a truck while driving on sand and also cleaning up after ourselves so as not to attract any unwanted attention from wild dingoes. During the briefing we were also split up into our smaller groups, and met the people we would be spending the next three days in a 4x4 with. We were definitely very lucky with our group, me Izzy and Peter and three girls travelling together from Brighton, Steph, Jess and Emma along with Tobias who was a German guy travelling alone.

The next morning we were up early to be ready for the 7:45am start to the trip. We had to check we had all the necessary equipment for camping, eating and of course drinking. We loaded up our Toyota Land Cruisers and got on our way. It was about a 20 minute drive to the barge crossing to Fraser and once on that barge there were to be no more roads, just beaches and dirt tracks.

The first stop would be camp for the first night, just tucked behind the dunes on the beach. After a quick lunch out of the back of the truck we headed to the Champagne Pools, an area of rock pools by the sea that the waves regularly top up with fresh water. Unfortunately there is no swimming in the sea on Fraser because of the terrible rip currents and shark infested waters. Apparently it takes 3 minutes for the rip to take you 8km out to sea, and sadly someone didn't listen to the rules and died 10 weeks ago because he thought he would be strong enough to swim there. Needless to say we didn't go swimming in the sea, but the Champagne Pools were awesome fun and the walk down gave some great views of the coast.

Our last stop for the day before heading back to camp to set up for the night was Indian Head... An area of headland that stretches out to sea, again giving fantastic views of the coastline. Unfortunately Izzy didn't get to see it because on the treacherous walk up the rocks she slipped and nearly took her toenail off, but after a quick bit of first aid I rushed up the hill to grab a few photos.

So back to the camp we drove, and unpacked the trucks to set up camp. We were given three tents per truck, some tarpaulin, some rope, a stove, cooking equipment and just left to sort ourselves out. Me, Peter and Tobias were left to put up the tents and somehow attach the tarp to the truck while Jess, Emma, Steph and Izzy got the drinks flowing and the food cooking. Fraser Island is one of the world's largest sand islands so obviously dinner was quite crunchy, but after a few drinks no one seemed to mind. Another early start, everyone was up and by about 7:30am and quickly got packed to head to our next destination, the Maheno Ship Wreck. The ship was built in 1904 and was used as a commercial passenger ship; during the First World War it was used to carry wounded soldiers home. After it was decommissioned in the early 1930s the Japanese bought it for scrap, but when towing it back to Japan the cable snapped and the ship ended up beaching itself on Fraser Island. After 12 months of trying to re-float it they gave up, and left it to the Australian Military who used it as target practice.

Next stop, Eli Creek. Right by the sea, an area of freshwater, icy cold and a perfect hangover cure! We spent about an hour here bathing in the water and chatting to Daveo, one of our tour guides.

The next part was probably my favourite part of the trip... 40 minutes of quite intense off road driving, and Daveo the guide was keeping a good pace going. Peter and Emma started to feel a bit ill in the back of the truck I think, but it was awesome fun in the front! Eventually we arrived at Lake Mckenzie, one of the island's biggest fresh water lakes which has pure white silica sand and crystal clear water... Very similar to Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays. We also got to see our first dingo here, I can't believe how comfortable they are around people. Even though they look like dogs, they are wild animals but the one we saw just walked past us within metres and was completely unfazed.

Our last night was in another area of the island, but similarly close to the beach tucked behind some sand dunes. This time we took extra care to avoid getting any sand in our food and thoroughly cleaned all of the plates and cutlery. The food was amazing, we were all so impressed with the food which was included in the price of the trip, we had stir fry that night.

At about 5am we were awoken by the sound of what must have been at least 10 to 15 dingoes howling all around the camp, they were clearly near our tent and into the distance as well. I was really tempted to get out the tent and have a look but the thought of me defending myself against 15 hungry dingoes didn't sound good. Again, up early in the morning around 7ish to pack up camp and get on our way to Lake Wabby. Another good drive along the beach and then a 45 minute walk through woodland and a massive sandblow which may as well have been called a desert. The effort was so worth it, eventually we reached the freshwater lake which was full of catfish. If you sat still enough in the water they would come and nibble you.

Back to the truck and the final drive back to Rainbow Beach. As I said before, without a doubt the best part of Australia so far!