The sun was shining on fraser. Gaz drove us off the barge (we were one of the last vehicles to get off) and we began to follow the cars up ahead along the sand track. There are no tarmac roads on fraser island, it is purely a sand island hence the roads all being made of sand. At times the sand is very soft making driving conditions difficult with the risk of getting stuck but the wet/compacted sand did not appear too much of a hinderence to drive on (i personally cant comment on the difficulty because only Gaz and Ian drove the car...and very well they drove it too!). When we reached a junction, the 2 cars in front (and the car behind us) stopped and one of the guys got out and approached our car. He said they had stopped to check we werent following them down a road we didnt intend to go down. It turns out they were going to be doing the same route we had already planned which was perfect as the road we had chosen was a lot quieter than the main road and it meant if we got stuck or broke down, there would be people there to help us. Gaz drove the car really well along the sandy road and eventually we left the cars in front to take a detour down a separate road. We arrived at Lake Boomanjin. It was a little disappointing as the water level was high and we couldnt get on the walkway around the lake because it was flooded.
After a few minutes at Lake Boomanjin, the horse flies got the better of us and we retreated to the vehicle. Further on we travelled to Lake Birrabeen.
At this point we found a nice picnic spot and enjoyed a spot of lunch. Afterwards we cooled off in the lake...myself edging into the water slowly only to be splashed by Gaz who insisted i get wet ASAP! Ian and Chris were like fish to water and swam deep into the lake whilst Gaz and I sat in the shallow water basking in the sunshine. Once we had dried off and applied more fly repellant to try and rid of those pesky horse flies, we drove forth to Central Station (an area of rainforest on fraser island...it is very impressive to see a rainforest on a sand island!).
(I couldnt work out where the rotation button is but you need to turn the picture 90 degrees!)
We walked along the designated footpath through the trees and stood in awe at the river below. So pure you had to double take to see if it was water there at all because all that was visible was the sand below. It was so peaceful amongst the trees...the sound of running water and birds singing. No cars, no annoying man with a lawn mower, no music blaring...just the sound of nature....beautiful!
Having had a busy day, we headed to our accommodation at Eurong Beach resort. We were pleasantly surprised the resort. Our apartment had a view of the beach and overlooked the swimming pool. It was spacious and had all the basic amenities for cooking which was perfect as we had taken our own food for the weekend. Once we were settled in to the apartment we had a relaxing swim and chatted to the families that we had met coming off the barge. Gaz and I cooked dinner and at 8pm we had all hit the hay.
6am we were up and dressed so that we could be out of the resort by 7am for the long drive along the beach up to Indian Head rocks. We left so early because we had to work by the high and low tides in order to get access to driving along the beach. By 9am Gaz had shot us across the beach towards the north of the island. We spotted a dingo trotting along gracefully next to the sand dunes who ignored us as we passed.
We changed drivers halfway to Indian Head and Ian took over the driving, managing to get us stuck in the sand right next to our destination....it was a great photo opportunity...getting stuck is what fraser island is all about...its all part of the experience!
The view from Indian Head was spectacular. The sun beat down on us and we had timed it perfectly so that the tour group left not long after we had arrived. Indian Head is supposedly where the aboriginals spotted captain cooks ship all those years ago. As the sea was a little rough, we didnt managed to see much sea life but Gaz did spot a sting ray which was very visible amongst the clear blue ocean.
After indian head, we took a turning off the beach to Lake Allom. I had visited this lake 5 years ago on my travels to fraser island and was impressed by the turtles that pop up out of the water. 5 years ago there was a jetty out into the water that enabled you to get a closer look at the turtles...and from what i remember, the water was a lot clearer making photographic opportunities a lot easier! I was a little disappointed to see they have taken the jetty away and the water was a lot darker so the turtles less visible. Nevertheless, as expected, they popped their little heads up out of the water to see what all the commotion was about from the sound of our voices. The horse flies had caught up with us here although they seemed a lot more interested in Gaz than the rest of us.
After the lake, we got back on the beach, driving past the Maheno ship wreck...of which there is a lot less of it than 5 years ago when i passed by.
We waded up Eli Creek and just about managed to float down it, having to crawl like crocodiles in the shallow parts. At the bottom of the creek, a group of men on a stag party were playing volley ball...dressed in fluorescent wigs and with the stag dressed in a 'mankini' from the film Borat. They encouraged all of the passers by to join in the game...Gaz was very good at volleyball but i, however, was useless....they stopped asking me to play after they saw how bad i was!
Because of the tides, we had to head back to the resort at 1pm. This was not a bad thing as we were all getting tired! We had lunch back in the apartment before having another relaxing swim in the pool....again chatting to families that we had met on our trip earlier that day. In the evening, Chris and Ian treated us to dinner in the resort restaurant...it was an all you can eat buffet with an australian theme. It wasnt really australian but more....a british roast. Whatever it was, it hit the spot and it wasnt long before we were all fast asleep.
Sunday morning we had a bit of a lye in and didnt leave the apartment until 9.15ish. We checked out and were back on the beach heading for Lake Wobby. We parked up on the beach and took the 40minute walk to the sandblow. It was a strenuous walk...especially in the 28degree heat and horse flies that wanted to eat us. Australian horse flies, like everything else in australia, are twice the size of the horse flies back home and have very nasty bites! We finally made it to the sandblow and took a short trip across the desert to the Green shimmering Lake...that is Lake Wobby.
It is amazing to have a Lake amongst a desert! Ian was first in....it felt so refreshing to have the cool water touch your skin. The lake is also home to cat fish that swim past you if your still enough. We all agreed we could have spent all day here...but unfortunately our lunch was back in the car! On the walk back, we spotted a monitor lizard on a long which i managed to get a nice shot of.
The last place on the list to visit was Lake Mckenzie. This lake is renowned for its white sand and crystal blue water. It is a popular tourist spot because it is so beautiful. We lay on the beach in the shade and guarded ourselves from the giant black ants that were patrolling the area.
Chris had a dip in the sea but the rest of us didnt feel like getting wet again before getting on the barge back to hervey bay. A dingo to the right of where we were sitting had worked out how to open some ones cooler...flicked the lid off and attempted to steal some food before being yelled at by some bloke so it scampered. We didnt know how long it would take to get back to the barge so as usual, we were there in plenty of time! Chris and Ian spotted dolphins swimming past the boat on the way home. I was inside asleep with Gaz, heads resting on one another. It was nice to get back to the house and have a shower but it was also a shame to leave the island behind. We had beautiful weather, great company and a nice place to stay. Will definitely go back again!
Yes looks as thought you all had a fabulous time. Looks so beautiful in the sunshine as you remember dad and I had two days of rain! There certainly isn't much left of the shipwreck. Fab photos too. x
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