Fraser Island I
December 3-8
You would think that after a busy and expensive week of sailing that we would have taken it easy for a while. However, geography dictated that our next adventure follow closely on the heels of our last. We arrived in Hervey Bay two days after returning from our sailing trip and immediately began planning a three day 4WD safari on Fraser Island, a huge sand island with more sand than the Sahara Desert. We rented a Toyota Hilux dualcab and camping gear from Bay 4WD and, with the help of the rental company, planned our itinerary. Because you have to drive on the beach, everything must be planned meticulously, taking tides into account. The next morning we caught the ferry to Fraser Island to begin our adventure.
On Day 1, we traveled across the island through thick rainforest (don’t ask me how these huge trees grow in sand) on very rough sandy roads.
 |
| From Fraser Island |
After about an hour of bumping and jostling through the ruts, the kids were starting to get carsick so we stopped to hike in to Lake Wabby for a swim.
 |
| From Fraser Island |
The island’s freshwater lakes are unique in that they are “perched” on the sand with a thick layer of rotting leaves and forest debris forming a barrier which prevents the water from draining out. Encroaching on Lake Wabby is a massive white sand dune which is slowly creeping across the island and will eventually completely engulf the lake.
 |
| From Fraser Island |
We had fun leaping off the top of the dune and took some great pictures before continuing on to the main beach which is a kind of superhighway for 4WD tour buses and trucks. It’s quite something to see so many vehicles sharing the beach. Our first stop was Eli Creek which is a popular freshwater creek that flows into the ocean. We arrived with the rest of the crowd and a few tour buses and promptly got ourselves stuck in the deep soft sand near the creek. That was when we noticed how much smaller our tires were than everyone else’s. Oh well, lesson learned the hard way. Luckily there were enough brawny backpackers around to help push us out when we left.
Next we headed to the Wreck of the Maheno, an old cruise ship which had been sold to Japan for scrap, had broken free during a storm while it was being towed to Japan and had washed up onshore 75 years ago.
 |
| From Fraser Island |
The rusted hulk of the imposing wreck is now slowly being consumed by the pounding waves and will eventually completely disappear. We made camp on the beach within sight of the wreck and settled in for the night.
 |
| From Fraser Island |
While we were pitching our tent, a Park ranger came by to check our permit and talk to us about dingoes. Apparently, there is a large dingo population on Fraser Island and, over the years, some of these normally shy animals have become rather accustomed to people and have grown to like “people-food.” Unfortunately, some animals have become aggressive with tourists and there have been incidents where people have been bitten. There was even a tragic incident a few years ago when a 9 year old child was mauled to death. That sure put the fear of God into us! The ranger warned us against approaching dingoes and informed us that there was a hefty fine for anyone caught feeding them. She then quizzed the kids to make sure they knew what to do if they saw a dingo and their eyes were as big as saucers as they solemnly answered her questions. Needless to say, Alexa was a little nervous when I took her into the bushes for a pee and she insisted on shining the flashlight in all directions before she would squat. All night, I jumped every time I heard a sound and peeked out the window of the tent to see if we had any nocturnal visitors. Even though I didn’t see any, a shiver went down my spine when I got up in the morning and saw that our camp was covered in paw prints.
To see the rest of our Fraser Island photos, visit our web album:
Tags: Australia, Fraser Island, Hervey Bay, Queensland, Travel
tambour
Leave a Reply