Its Crystal Clear...
Trip Start
Sep 10, 2008
1
36
71
Trip End
Sep 03, 2009
Where I stayed
Beaches Base Camp
Fraser Island,
Queensland,
Australia
Sunday, February 1, 2009
After a brief ferry ride and drive on dirt tracks, we made it to Lake Mackenzie. There was no denying the beauty of the place. Crystal clear water lightly sloshed over pure white sand
Ferry Over to Fraser
. The hot sun blazed down over the tourists dotted along the beach, slowly turning them varying shades of pink, perhaps emphasised by the fact there was no shade. After a good while, we headed for lunch, all the time trying to keep walking in groups so we didn't get attacked by the island's dingos. In case you were wondering by the way, according to the safety video, if you do feel threatened by a dingo, you should stand your ground whilst crossing your hands over your chest. The '80s gear and hair style is optional, but I believe it helps you look less appetising. Whilst eating lunch we were joined by a very large lizard, which of course the boys decided they want to poke with an even bigger stick, but thankfully we managed to persuade them that it probably wasn't a good idea. I could tell that this was going to be a long few days...Aware of the tides (which are kind of important when you're driving along the beach), we cruised alongside the sea, stopping off at an old ship wreck to take a few photos. Arriving at the campsite, we stuck up our tents and listened to a surprisingly amusing safety talk from the manager, who claims that two girls left this morning after they heard his last one (most likely due to his descriptions of all the deadly spiders and snakes that you wouldn't actually encounter anyway. We spent the evening singing songs and playing a photo game which involves getting someone to take a picture of you, getting them in the photo, giving the camera to the next person, then they get in the picture and so on
Driving along the beach
. All before the battery of the camera runs out.And then, lets just say the few days were eventful. Trying to persuade two girls in particular that they did actually need to get up for the time printed on the sheet in order to make the tides and that they really shouldn't drive on the road that we weren't insured to drive on ended up with them persuading one of the group to drive that way anyway when a few of us were out of the car. I eventually convinced the driver to turn back, but of course, in the process, he got the car stuck in the soft sand and instead of stopping and getting everyone out, he carried on, rolled the clutch and burnt the clutch out. Smoke poured from the vehicle. I was not impressed to say the least!
We managed to nurture the vehicle back to camp, after stopping by a beautiful creek. This time the girls decided they would actually get up, which I guess was something. Needless to say, when we finally got back, we had to pay for the clutch, which is pretty gutting considering I wasn't even in the car at the time, and didn't consent to driving it to where they were going. Lesson learned, although the island was stunning, I certainly will never go on that style of trip again!
