A dingo ate my baby

  Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia
Saturday, December 6, 2008

Everyone hates sand. It one of those things that binds all humans together. Everyone hates how after going to the beach it gets in clothes, your hair and your bag and no matter how hard you try you can never get rid of all of it. Why then would I decide to go to the largest sand island in the world? Simple because it one of the most beautiful places as well. No pain no gain so they say.
 
The place in question is that of Frazier Island. To get there one of the jump off places is that of Hervey Bay where we decided to stay before hopping on the ferry there. We had booked a 4x4 jeep which we had to share with seven others to drive around the island. The booking was made back in Cairns alongside our Whitsunday trip and a few others to save money and we didn't really know what we were going to get. Happily though the group seemed fine as we were walked through a safety talk by the hostel we were staying in and renting the 4x4 from. Simple tips like don't drive into the sea were helpful.
 
We set off early the next morning and stopped by Coles supermarket on the mainland to get the food for the three days. Had to remind some of them that we were only going for three days and not three weeks as some tried to buy the whole shop. After finally deciding on our food and budget we drove to the ferry and the first driver in the rotation then realised he'd driven all the way down to the ferry port with the handbrake, one not filling me confidence as I put life in other driving hands (unfortunately I still only have a provisional and so was not eligible to drive) and secondly wondering how good the handbrake was as it didn't seem to impede his driving.
 
About an hour later we hopped off the very packed car ferry, the attendants made all the 4x4s reverse in backwards so tightly that you barely open the car doors. I should point out that our 4x4 was very easy to find on the car deck as it was a lovely shade of pink, very manly. We drove from the east part of the island through the centre of the island to get to the east side where the attractions are. On the way we stopped in Eurong and Central Station our last point of civilisation for the next two days and people made toilet stops and the like. The inland tracks were deeply rutted and all of us in the back were bouncing around.
 
When we got to the east side of the island we turned onto the Frazier Island highway, that of the beach. The only roads on the island were near the port and the rest were tracks in land and the beach. We were given an itinerary by the hostel which we had to be wary of as you could only drive on the beach at certain times due to tides. After switching drivers we started to the drive along the beach and it wasn't long before we got stuck. If you get stuck in the sand which to be fair looked tricky, you're supposed to reverse through the tracks you've come from and then propel the jeep hard forward in the hope of ploughing through the sand. Of course these directions can be a bit tricky for some especially when they have eight backseat drivers telling them what to do. We soon got unstuck though and drove up to Lake Wabby. The lake was beautiful and was surrounded by trees and large dunes. After a little dip in the lake, I decided to climb up the sand dune with my camera and take a look. However because it was so hot and I was running up it in my bare feet, I only got halfway up the first time much to everyone's hilarity as I had to run down again to get my sandals as my feet were being cooked. When I eventually got to the top it was worth the pain. As far as the eye could was just rippling sands untouched except for only my footprints.

Lake Wabby

 
After that we drove to Eli Creek, we set up camp for the night. We got the stove on and all pitched in with preparing and cooking our dinner of steaks, burgers, sausages and salad. When the food was on the rest of us set our tents up behind the sand dunes off the beach to shelter from any wind. After we stood and ate our dinner as the sun was going down and the mosquitoes came out. Also just after we'd finished eating we met the locals, that of the dingoes. We spotted two on the edge of our camp obviously attracted by the smell of food and they continued to skulk around the outskirts for most of the night as we occasionally spotted them with a stray torch beam. Thankfully they didn't come any closer and they rarely approach and attack humans. However one of the few times when you are in a little possible danger is that if you are a woman going to the toilet. Dingoes don't attack adults as they too large but they have attacked small children and women are in danger when they how should I put it squat as they become a smaller target and therefore less intimidating to the dingo. Therefore the girls went off for a "walk" in groups with their spade and torch to dig a hole for the deed while the rest would stand guard. The guys were luckier they were allowed to go on their own.
 
We got up early the next morning and walked up to Eli Creek which we had camped beside. The creek was a tranquil stream which you could walk down through on its way to the sea and after that we bundled back into the jeep and drove up the coast to Indian Head, near the highest part on the island we allowed to go because of dangerous rocks on the beach that might damage the jeep. We climbed up Indian Head and looked out onto the South Pacific Ocean. After that we climbed down the other side and trudged through heavy thick sand and along a beach for about an hour until we got to Champagne Pools. I should say there was no swimming in the sea as they inhabited by sharks and jellyfish and even on the beach we didn't walk with our feet in the water as we kept on spotting jellyfish in the sand. Some of others didn't heed our warnings but no one got stung luckily. When we finally got Champagne pools were a big let down, there was nothing Champagne about them. They were just an outcrop of smelly rocks really that wasn't too impressive.
 
We decided after only half an hour there to head back to Indian Head for lunch and a quick game of rounders against another 4x4. After that fun we drove down the coast again to huge coloured sand dunes called the Pinnacles and then onto the wreck of the ship the Maheno which is ship wrecked on the beach. After that we drove a little more south before finding some shelter and set up camp for the night cooking spaghetti bolognaise with the dingoes.
 
Up early the next morning we drove inland to Lake McKenzie which is another example of a beautiful untouched paradise. We had got their early to skip the crowds as it's a popular destination and it was worth it as there was only a few groups there including a dingo rummaging around in the bins in the car park and a large lizard on the side of a tree on the walk down to the lake.

Dingo

We had a swim and a sunbath and a few of us decided to go to the shop in Eurong to get some lunch for everyone. When I say a few of us, it was supposed to be myself and another guy that went but it ended up being three quarters of the jeep. The drive there and back took about ninety minutes and the others were worried we weren't going to come back for them. After that we hopped on the ferry and back dry land and shops, toilets and showers. The way some were acting it was like they had just been on a six month expedition down the Amazon. All that bothered me was the bloody sand everywhere.