Fraser Island in a sand island just minute away from the coast, near Rainbow Beach. It’s a very popular destination for backpackers who want to live an outdooor adventure for the time of 3 days and 2 nights. And I was part of it.
1st day
Early departure from Dingo’s hostel at 7h 45 am…but with all the people trying to organize the camping gear and food, we left arounf 8h 30. I ended up being in the group D, in the leading car, which was such luck. Here’s why. First, the tour guide, Muzza was the driver and the most experienced one for driving throughout the sand. Second, our car was made in a way that the seats were not the most confortable, but we were placed in a way that we could speak to everyone around, 4 people facing 4 other. And most of all I got along so well with the people in my car. Quickly, I bounded with two 20 years old guys from Sweden, Marcus & Niclas. Talking about random stuff and dancing to gangsta music while bouncing in the car, we were entertaining the rest of the crew. Then, we also included Kilian a sweet German guy. Niclas had the brilliant idea to bring a permanent marker on the trip, so we decided to draw paws on our hands, as a recognition sign of our selective dingo group.
After a bumpy ride throughout the forest we arrived a tour first stop, lake McKenzie. The water is crystal clear and contains silicone, which is good for the hair and skin. So, everyone jumped quickly to the water for a fresh swim. I took the snorkelling gear to find some turtles around the edge of the lake. Luckily for me I saw one swimming away to hide in the grass.
From there, we drove a little bit and had lunch on pick-nick tables. At that time, we realized that we were a group of 10 people, while the 3 other groups were 8 but we had the same amount of food. So after only one thin sandwich, I was still hungry…so I could imagine how the boys in our group were starving. At least we had some biscuit, so as a flight attendant I started distributing them to everyone. This image stayed with me for the rest of the trip, I was now the biscuit lady. Back to the car, we head for the campsite. After settling down, in group we prepared dinner. After that, we had an early start on drinking games. King’s cup for the initiated. We headed to the beach, where we talk under the moon, while dingos were trotting not far. Good thing we where in a group and probably loud…
2nd day
Next morning, Isabelle, a great girl form Germany comes to me to tell me she lost her camera last night. So we are both heading back to the beach to search for it, because it the last place she remember having it. On the way, I explain how I have lost one on my flip-flops last night, and exactly at that moment I look down and…there it is! Life is trickily funny sometimes. Unfortunately, when Isabelle and I went to the beach we couldn’t find anything, but after leaving the campground for the day, we gather the whole group for the search and we finally found the camera on the shore. It had survived a whole night and water tide, what a luck!
Eli Creek
From the first sight, the stream of water didn’t look impressive, but when you walk along it for 2 minutes you can get to the end and then you can let yourself flow back to the ocean in a cold refreshing pure water. Perfect curve for hangovers. As we float down the stream, we were pretending to be Australians crocodiles. It was actually my favourite place on Fraser Island, especially when the tour guide tied a rope between two cars, as a net so we could play (in a very proper way) at volleyball.
Maheno Shipwreck
When there is the low tide all the people gather around this shipwreck made of iron, that’s why it is actually still there after 60 years. This ship was used as a floating hospital during Second World War, because it was fast enough to escape from any other ships. Tourists shooting time!
Champagne pools
Another drive, this time to get to the Champagne pools (and not showers LMFAO). Mother nature created those little pools near the ocean; so tired backpackers could rest in warm water and bath in the sun. The only predator there was a little angry fish that would bite you if you would come to close. Nothing too dangerous. Also, there was those spitting sea rocks sponges that would gorge themselves with water and spit right back at you. Really funny to watch!
Indian head
Last stop for a busy day, a short walk up to a great view from the cliff of the Indian head. From there we had the chance to see a turtle and some even luckier had the opportunity to see a shark. You could also see the island from another angle and how sand covers the most of it. Back to the campground for dinner. This night, our campground became karaoke. Somehow, people started to sing and by the end of the night, we were dancing on tables and screaming our lungs out. My Swedish friends brought their Go pro camera, sot hey basically wear it on the forehead and filmed most of the night. The guys also made me promise to sing in polish so I did. Hopefully for me, the song had a sing along part, so the guys had no choice but to sing with me. There is a video of that moment, but I’ll keep that one to myself, in times of sadness, because obviously is quite funny. (I swear the next morning, watching the videos, our singing didn’t sound that good as we thought.)
3rd and last day
Ouf…! Rough morning after a short night of sleep followed by a walk of 45 minutes in the sun to get to Lake Wabby. Is it worth it? Totally! At that particular point a sand hill meets a little greenish blue lake surrounded by luxurious forest. A natural peace place. No one wanted to leave and walk back the 40 minutes. Quick lunch with the food that was left, which was mostly white bread and biscuits. So one the way back, we where trying to find a way to amuse ourselves with biscuits. It started with Frisbee competition and throwing them at the other cars, but then we found the perfect game. We had to pass the biscuit to the person beside us without hands only with the mouth. Nick and I were being cheeky and everyone time the biscuit went by us we ate half of it, so at the end not much was left. It was a great bounding moment I swear, especially between guys. We arrived just in time for the 2 o’clock ferry back and not long after we were back at the hostel. The shower never felt so good. Dinner was quiet and everyone was tired, but happy from the trip. Even tough, we were tired; Marcus, Nick, Kilian and I talk for hours, pillow talk Oprah style. When you travel, everyday rules fall apart, you can bound with people very quickly leading to become good friends in just a few days. When the guys left the next morning, heading down to Noosa, I run after the car sad that they were leaving in the opposite way, but confident that I will see them again. Same for Kilian and lovely Isabelle. I have a feeling I will have to go to Oktoberfest someday somehow.
Mot-clé :adventure, Australia, Australie, beach, camping, Champagne pools, crocodiles, dingos, driving, eli creek, fraser island, Indian head, lake mkenzie, lake Wabby., Maheno Shipwreck, nature, photos, plage, rainbow beach, sand, trip, volleyball, voyage, vues, wildlife