Fraser Island II
Dec 7-8
On Day 2, we had to get up really early and leave by 6AM in order to drive on the beach before the tide was too high. Our plan was to drive to Indian Head, at the north end of the beach, and hike across to another beach and into the Champagne Pools. We made it to Indian Head by 8AM and there were only two other trucks there ahead of us deciding whether or not to attempt to cross the bypass.
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| From Fraser Island |
The guy at the rental agency had told us not to attempt to cross at Indian Head due to the deep soft sand so, considering our experience at Eli Creek, we decided to take his advice. Claude parked the truck as high up the beach as possible and we made a sort of double retaining wall around the truck to keep the tide at bay.
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| From Fraser Island |
I’m sure if the tide had come high enough our wall wouldn’t have lasted more than a few minutes, but it made us feel better. While we were digging, several more truckloads of backpackers came along and we watched smugly as they each took a run at the crossing and bogged down.
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| From Fraser Island |
Soon there were about ten vehicles stuck in the sand with dozens of sweaty, shirtless guys trying in vain to push them out while the girls cheered them on. I certainly didn’t mind the view. Once our truck was safely barricaded, we left the frustrated crowd at Indian Head and hiked to the top of the headland and then back down to the beach on the other side. We spent the next few hours walking the beach, exploring the Champagne Pools and admiring the view from the top of Indian Head (scary high).
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| From Fraser Island |
Unfortunately, due to strong currents and man-eating sharks (no kidding), we weren’t able to swim to cool off. Simon learned his lesson about staying on the path when he stepped on a cactus and managed to embed several spines in his foot. From the sounds of things, I think they hurt more coming out than going in.
We were relieved to find our truck high and dry when we returned caught some sun on the beach while we waited for the tide to recede before heading back down the beach to Eli Creek for lunch. After lunch it was time head 10km inland to Lake Boomanjin where we would camp for the night. This time, we had chosen a fenced campground in the rainforest with a shower and toilet block. While it lacked the charm of our beachside campsite, it was a bit of a relief to sleep inside the high fence. However, since the amenities block was about 25 yards outside the fence, it was nerve-wracking to have to make a bathroom run after dark; Alexa insisted on being piggybacked and Claude made me carry the hatchet. We laughed later about all the hype about dingoes (and how we bought into it), considering the fact that we’ve backcountry camped in the Rockies where there are much more fearsome animals like bears and wild cats to contend with. As we prepared to go to bed that night, a few drops of rain started to fall and, within an hour, it was a torrential downpour. The showers continued all night and the morning of our last day dawned dull and dreary.
It rained off and on for most of the day and we weren’t truly able to appreciate the beauty of Lakes Birrabeen and Mackenzie which are famous for their brilliant blue colour. We made the most of it, though, by going palying in the rain
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| From Fraser Island |
and having fun blasting through the huge mud puddles that were created by the rain – isn’t that the point of having a 4WD?
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| From Fraser Island |
The only misfortune to befall us on our Fraser Island adventure occurred when we stopped for lunch at Lake Mackenzie. Claude was backing the truck into a picnic spot when we felt a little jolt. Further inspection revealed that we had backed into a small wooden post that left a 2 inch dent on the rear bumper. Needless to say, Claude was really pissed off with himself and could think of nothing else for the rest of the day. I tried to reassure him that it was only a tiny dent and, based on the quality of the other dent and scratch repairs (looked like Liquid Paper had been used), they may not even charge us. The drive to the ferry was a quiet one and, afraid of causing any more damage, Claude drove like my grandmother (not you, Marjorie, or Vivienne either, for that matter… OK like a generic grandmother) for the rest of the day. Since the weather didn’t show any sign of improving we decided to catch an early ferry back to Hervey Bay and face the music. In the end, the repair cost us $400 which I tried to claim through our VISA auto rental insurance. I spent weeks collecting the appropriate documentation and faxing it to VISA only to find out that pick-ups are excluded from their policy. Rats! The good news was that they did approve the claim for our camera which we had damaged in New Zealand and we got our money back for that. Oh well, you win some and you lose some.
To see the rest of our Fraser Island photos, go to our web album:
Tags: Australia, Fraser Island, Queensland, Travel
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