“All I can say is thank goodness Kris had a sense of humour as he soon had us laughing.”
Rich and I woke up in Hervey Bay at 6.15am to monsoon rain. It was pouring down all night and given the weather forecast wasn’t due to get much better, neither one of us was looking forward to our day trip to Fraser Island. Part of us hoped that the trip would be cancelled and booked for another sunny day but this was not to be.
Kris our tour guide and driver picked us up at our hostel and we joined the two French and two Australian’s already in the 4×4 looking about as excited as we were. All I can say is thank goodness Kris had a sense of humour as he soon had us laughing despite the fact we were likely to be driving around a sand island to scenic spots that we wouldn’t want to explore in torrential rain.
“Fraser island is 75 miles long, 13 miles at its widest point, the largest sand island in the world and is listed as a world heritage site.”
We boarded the ferry to Fraser Island and half an hour later we got back in to the 4×4 and set off on our adventure. The rain had eased off slightly but the forecast still didn’t look great for the rest of the day. We passed another tour group on the way to the ferry we had just departed and the driver told Kris that they had a terrible night camping on the island with 38mm of rain. He then drove away laughing and wishing us luck with the 120mm of rain expected for the day!
Fraser island is 75 miles long, 13 miles at its widest point, the largest sand island in the world and is listed as a world heritage site so we had a lot to pack into our one day tour. Kris decided to re plan our itinerary for the day. The weather was supposed to be light rain in the morning and get worse throughout the day, so we headed to the places where we had to walk to the look out points first, leaving the afternoon to visit the lakes and creeks where we would get wet anyway.
As we drove up through the island we passed miles and miles of lush rainforest. In fact Fraser Island is the only place in the world where a rainforest grows out of sand dunes! Heading out of the rainforest we ended up on 75 mile beach, a national highway and registered airport where planes can land. Kris put his foot down and drove up the highway (beach) to get us to our first few viewing points before the heavens opened again.
“We even spotted a couple of turtles in the sea directly below the cliffs we were stood on!”
Our first stop was the Maheno shipwreck, an old ship wreck that was once on its way to Japan when it ran aground on 75 mile beach. We then headed further north up to Indian Head. On our way up the beach we passed the Pinnacles, sand formations with over 70 different colours on display. The mostly reds, oranges and yellow coloured sand dunes have developed over thousands of years as minerals have seeped through the sand.
When we got to Indian Head we got out of the 4×4 and walked up to the look out point. The views were beautiful, it was a fantastic place to see the serene white sands of 75 mile beach and look out into the vast blue ocean. We even spotted a couple of turtles in the sea directly below the cliffs we were stood on!
Our final port of call before lunch was the Champagne Pools. These are shallow sandy pools where the sea crashes over the rocks and forms bubbles in the pools. The current is strong around this area so no swimming outside of the pools is advised, especially as the east coast of the island is a breeding ground for Tiger Sharks! All that aside, we loved our first opportunity to bathe in Australian waters since being in Oz.
After half an hour of frolicking in the Champagne Pools we headed off as a bus load of people headed down the cliff side to join in. At this point we were all extremely glad that we weren’t on a bus tour with 50 other people and had the pleasure of enjoying the sights with only a few people around us for company.
Following the excitement of playing in the crashing waves, we were ready for lunch and Kris had prepared a lovely one for us to enjoy on our return to the 4×4, topped off with beers and sparkling wine to wash it down with.
We had been really lucky with the weather thus far with only a few sprinkles of rain here and there during our morning of sight seeing. The clouds were still thick in the sky and it didn’t look like it was going to clear but Kris did a great job at driving us around the rain storms. We could literally see the rain falling all around us in the distance but luckily managed to avoid it for the rest of the afternoon!
“Even on an overcast day like ours we couldn’t help but appreciate the beauty”
After lunch we headed to Eli Creek, the largest fresh water creek on the eastern side of the island. A boardwalk took us as far up the creek as was allowed and there we got in to enjoy a paddle (for me) and swim (for Rich) back down to the beach. The water was crystal clear and very cold but it didn’t put us off heading back up to come down the creek again!
Our final stop for the day was Lake McKenzie, the most picturesque perched (filled by rainfall only) lake, even on an overcast day like ours we couldn’t help but appreciate the beauty!
Unbelievably as soon as we got back in the 4×4 to head back to the ferry it started to rain, we had managed to dodge the rain for most of the day and so we had no issues with the rain falling once we were heading home.
We had a great day on Fraser Island despite the overcast weather but the forecast wasn’t set to get better anytime soon. We had planned to stay in Noosa overnight and enjoy a day on the beach the next day but with even heavier rain anticipated we drove back down to Brisbane where the sun was due to shine.
Lambs on the loose 