Let's Off Road!!
Trip Start
Jul 27, 2004
1
17
42
Trip End
Dec 21, 2004
Fraser Island,
Australia
Tuesday, September 7, 2004
Now before we start a quick apology to both sets of parents. We know we said we wouldn't venture into the bush alone. So sorry, because the weekend just gone we decided to hire a 4X4 jeep, jump on a ferry & drive around Fraser Island - the largest sand island in the world & also the largest populated island with the least number of bitumen roads - approx 4 - hence the 4X4, you're not allowed onto the island unless you have a 4 wheel drive vehicle. Now neither of us had driven 4x4 before so we knew things were going to get interesting.
Fraser is a wonderful place with several eco-systems exisiting side-by-side (some as old the dinosaurs), there are hundreds of square miles of rainforest, creeks and mangroves
But it's not raining
. People go there to sea-fish, bush walk in the forests or (like us) go for a drive around.Although extremely bumpy we had a brilliant time driving on uncompacted sand roads & particularly driving along the beach literally metres from the sea (good fun dodging the waves, not so good avoiding creek wash outs - the sides of which being 3ft high).
The island was pretty deserted & it was lovely to arrive at one of the lakes & be the only ones there. We went to a few lakes, each one different in it's own way - McKenzie was a beautiful mirror lake when we arrived, Wabby is surrounded by a huge sand dune, like a volcano crater - the lake is actually disappearing because of the sand blow. Lake Boomanjiin looked filthy from a distance but close up the water was perfectly clear, it's just that it has a red tint to it.
Saw a dingo on the beach, Kerry nearly stepped on a snake, oh & we got lost in the rainforest - with no water, no sun block, no food & very little idea of how we were to get back!
All in all had a brilliant time on Fraser so in a way it was a good thing Julie broke down.
