Fraser Island

The best laid plans are rarely followed and before we know it Shaz and Andy are coming along as well. Oh and then Laura and Glen, oh and we’ll meet up with Claire, Sarah and Silver at Rainbow beach. We get there quite late on so decide to stay the night, arrange 4x4s in the morning and get the ferry across to the island later. Silver lets us know that Monkey, Sean, Carole, Scotty and Cecilia are arriving first thing too, so what was a quiet time away is becoming anything but. A few beers and a bbq by the beach and we crash out in the vans for the night. 4am and a loud banging on the van doors rudely awakens us “Can’t you buggers read?!” Apparently we’ve parked up in a no camping area, so we’re moved on and 2minutes down the road we resettle for a couple more hours kip.

The hot sun on the van has us all up early and we grab a shower on the beach and a spot of breakfast before arranging the 4x4s. Two 5 seater pick-ups should do the trick as the other guys have their own cars. A whopping $1000 deposit which we lose if they get covered in salt water, plus the knowledge that if we damage the cars at all we’re not covered for their $40000 value means we’re going to have to be careful. The tides are such that we can’t go across on the ferry until 2pm anyway so we stock up on firewood and food in town and laze out on the beach waiting for the ferry across to the island, enjoying a spot of cricket and frisbee.

Fraser Island is a National Park, it has no roads only sandy tracks and a long 75mile stretch of beach up the east coast is the main route for travelling up the island. The high tides mean this is only going to passable early morning and late afternoon so we plan our stay accordingly. The other guys are happy to stop early up the island but we press on pass an old shipwreck on the beach called Maheno and north up to Cathedral beach, then back track and go inland up to Lake Allom. Lake Allom is situated in the middle of dense rainforest up some steep sandy tracks, as we bounce along we get our first taster of just why they only allow 4x4s on the island. Settled at the campsite (for campsite read clearing in the wood, with two picnic tables and a couple of peat toilets). The Lake is somewhat disappointing being surrounded in reeds, but the little heads of turtles poking up out of the water are a wonderful sight. Silver gets on with cooking pasta for 9 people in two very small pans i.e. 3 lots of 3 lots of pasta, then we all settle down in the dark of the woods. Before long, every snap of a twig is interpreted as a dingo or a wombat and we all on the edge of our seats. A bizarre game of ghost stories then starts with each person carrying on from the last and just telling a little bit of the story. Very very funny and we wished we’d captured it on video.

The next day the other guys meet up with us, still up from partying the night before, we let them know our plans but I think they need a more restful day and head back down to the beach. Our day is spent bouncing round the tracks and walking to a couple of lakes which again prove a little disappointing due to all the reeds. Mid afternoon we’re back on the beach and up at Eli Creek, a fantastic freshwater creek where we can wade up the creek then allow the flow of it to carry you back down to the beach, great exercise and really refreshing, just a few too many people. It doesn’t stop everyone coming up with the highly entertaining game of snatch kicking though... We find the others camped just down the beach so pitch our tents with them and join them round a campfire for dinner and more ghost stories.

The day dawns bright and beautiful and I manage to watch the sunrise over the sea through the door of the tent. We amble up to Eli Creek and have the pleasure of it all to ourselves for an early morning dip. There aren’t any showers around so this is as close as we get to it and its bliss. Aware that the tide is coming in we set off back down the beach and pick up breakfast at Happy Valley before setting off inland again to Lake McKenzie, probably the most famous of the lakes on the island and duly so. Glorious white sandy beaches and clear sparkling turquoise waters. We swim then sun ourselves for a while, we’re lucky to be there quite early so have a huge stretch of beach to ourselves. Rob digs a “mantrap” and we half bury rob in it then break off for some noodles for lunch. Only bad thing about the place has to be the flies. Huge horse flies that really sting when they bite so we all take on a customary dance flicking at ourselves and one another, their only saving grace that they don’t leave an itchy bite behind. From McKenzie we move on to Lake Wabby. Quite a substantial walk (well ,about 4km) from the carpark you get a taster about 1.5km in as from a lookout in the trees you can see the vast sand dune leading down to the bight azure waters. The sand, when you get down to it, is red hot and we all fly down the steep banks and into the cool waters. A lot steeper and deeper than McKenzie the lake is more private and with the impressive dune overlooking it seems all the more beautiful. More swimming and lazing and we’re back off through the forest to the cars. A combination of frequent safety meetings and DJ Ritchie’s Equinox CD (track 6 specifically) mean the progression along the sandy tracks is taken more confidently and we fly back to the beach in no time at all, back up for a dip at the creek and a bbq on the beach again.

Our last day on the island and we head to central station, famed on postcards for Wanggoolba creek, a lush rainforest creek. We walk around it then set off through the forest to basin lake. This must be one of the better kept secrets on the island as a 3km walk takes you to a beautiful lake surrounded on all sides by white sandy beach and then rainforest. We enjoy having the place to ourselves before setting off to Lake Birrabeen for lunch. Birrabeen seems to be a favourite with tour buses, I guess though being more accessible and having acres of beach due to it being so shallow in slope into the lake. A final push takes us down onto the beach where we have to make it down to the bottom of the island to catch the ferry back to the mainland. The tide has only been going out for an hour or so and when we near the bottom of the island we’re left with a dilemma. We can see where the ferrys are coming across to the island but the tide is still too far in for the cars to safely get round without being in the salt water. Rob and I walk round to check the route and are followed back by a dingo to where the others are questioning some people in a truck about to take the pass. We call the car hire guy and he lets us know we’ve 10mintues to get the last ferry so we decide to make a run for it and get there just in time for the last ferry to arrive and take us away.

We swap the cars back in for the vans and Silver and the girls head off straight away to have a night of comfort back at their adoptive parents. We head back out to the beach for one last campfire before heading back to the DZ the next day, with plans to meet the girls at the Zoo en route.