Fraser Island
Hello there, if you read my last post about Noosa you'd know that Fraser Island is the major activity to do while you'r there. Now I want to share my experience and oppinions about the place.
So what is Fraser Island?
Well it's an island entirely made of sand and happens to be the biggest sand Island in the world.
None of this really means much untill you go there and experience it yourself, which is exactly what I did.
There are two places you can get to Fraser Island from. Personally I chose Noosa. The other meeting point being rainbow beach, named for it's colourful cliffs and rock formations.
The only way to get to Fraser Island is by ferry, and the only way to get to the ferry is to drive through some really deep soft sand.
Our hostel (Nomads) had their own tour and vehicles which I was booked on for so luckily for us we had a convoy of four 4x4's with enough grunt to get through it all.
Afterall, since the Island is purely sand, you'd be an idiot to drive a regular car over there...
For most of us, it was our first time driving on sand including me. But for some it was their first time driving!
This sent a shiver down my spine as I knew full well how easy it would be to lose control and roll the vehicle.
Our guide told us a story about some backpackers trying to overtake the vehicle in front for a bit of fun. Guess what happened? They rolled it and killed everyone on board.
I took at good look at the group of strangers I'd just met and quickly realised that when it was my time to be the passenger, my life was literally on their hands.
Guide - "Right, who want's to drive first?"
Obviously the gjost story didn't work as about half the group put their hand up. Including me. They didn't show us any pictures of the news report which is exactly what you see above.
I was the first to drive in our vehicle.
I'm the guy at the back with the number 22 on my shirt 😎
After spending the first night we drove to a lake called Lake Mckenzie which is a spectacular place.
It's simply a big hole at high altitutude which holds the rain water. The ground drops off suddenly which is why there is such a colour difference. The only downside is that the water is pretty cold and only the brave go in for a swim.
The sand there is simply white and when you shuffle your feet it squeeks!
The water is pure, they told me that people use it to condition their hair. I didn't believe it untill I got out, my hair was super soft and my skin felt smooth. It was an incredible feeling and I've not experienced much like it since. (Appart from Whiteheaven Beach) More on that another time.
The water there is also crystal clear, you can see clearly without googles and doesn't hurt your eyes at all. Saying that, there's not much to see...in fact there are no fish at all in this lake. Literally none, no life at all.
Along the coast
One thing that truly amazed me about my trip to Fraser was the whales and how close they are to shore. There we were driving down the beach and we could see whales pop up to breath. But what was remarkable is how close they were. They were no more than 50 metres from where the sea met the beach. There must be a huge drop off for them to get that close!
You are not allowed to swim there, the sea is rough with underwater currents. It is probably the most popular place for tiger sharks too, they simply love to hang around Fraser. Add the fact there's no lifegaurds there to save you and yeh...you get my point.
Did I see any sharks there? No. But apperntly some members in the group did which I didn't believe.
Driving all the way up the coast you reach the Champaign pools. Named because of all the bubbles that get trapped there. Although it didn't look that bubbly to me. I felt a bit sick after the previous driver hammering it through the deep sand so I was busy recovering and trying not to vomit.
The Champagne pools
Right next to the champagn pools is a short climb to Indian head where you can overlook the island and get a good view to spot rays and sharks in the shallows. If it's whale season, you'll see humpbacks leaping out the water in the distance too!
You can see quite a fair way down the coast.
Heading back down the coast towards camp, theres a ship called Maheno Wreck. She got caught up in a storm way back in 1935 and has been slowly eroding there since. They reckon in 10-20 it'll becompletely gone.
You can walk around the ship and there is a plaque nearby with a picture of what it used to look like when it first crashed there.
Further along heading back in the direction of the ferry landing is a lazy river. Eli Creek
Eli creek is simply a natural lazy river, we had rubber rings with us and I was mostly in the water so I didn't take any pictures.
Our last visit was another famous lake. Lake Wabby. Unlike Mckenzie, this lake had fish in it... alot of fish and as you can see is practically black due to the sheer drop off and vegetation below. But it's the location of this lake that is interesting. It's literally being taken over by a sand dune!
Just getting to the lake is an experience you start on a bush trail which leads to sand dunes and the whole place has a weird feel about it.
*When you walk across this, it's difficult to think that there is a lake just a minutes walk, no wonder people die in the desert. The mind games are enough to kill you.
While your there, If you shout out something, you'll hear an echo about 4 or 5 times so when everyone is having fun in the water screaming and having water fights you get this weird mix of noises, as if the treeline oppositte is haunted. It's wierd trust me!
That was the final stop and on the same day headed back to the safety of the mainland.
All in all it was a great trip but I'm just thankful to be alive to talk about it as well as all the others I met that made the exerience unique.
What could possibly beat this...
I take time and effort with my posts, if you like what you see, please help by upvoting. Thanks for taking the time to read.