The trip of a lifetime

Hello to you!!!

We last left you as we were about to go to our briefing for the Fraser Island trip. The briefing was highly amusing and informative!! The one piece of information from the video that stuck in everyone's minds was that if you see a Dingo you have to cross your arms and cover your nipples! Strange we all thought!! The guy giving the speach after the video was called Merve and he pretty much contradicted the entire video! Changing speed limits that we had to adhere to, asking us to stick to roads that he suggested and that if you see a Dingo, don't cover your nipples because he'll probably laugh at you!! One vitally improtant piece of information was that we had to look closely at the high and low tide times so that we knew when it would be safe to drive on the beach (our "highway" on the island). As a group we then placed an order for some alcohol that would be ready to be packed onto the 4x4's in the morning along with our stuff and everything else we would need. We all met up in the evening and had a drink and got to know each other a little more before getting an early night.

25/03/08
We got up early due to the fact that we had to have another briefing behind the hostel which would run through the vehicles, the equipment and how to operate the 4x4s, due to the fact that most of us had never driven one before! In our group (soon to be known as our new family) there was us two, Andy (from Germany), Deena (from Ireland), Cheryl (from Ireland), Daisy (from Wales), Veronika (from Austria), Maeka (from Holand), Adi (from Israel), Ofri (from Israel) and Efi (also from Israel). As you can see the lads were greatly out-numbered by girls but meant that we could take charge and by the end of the trip we had been clearly labeled as the group elders/leaders!! There were 5 groups in total leaving from our hostel with 11 people in each group, so there were quite a few of us! Each of the 5 jeeps had a yellow tarpauling covering all of the equipement on teh roof so we could easily recognise each other on the beach highway!

The first job for us all to do was to run through all of the equipment we had to take with us and ensure that it was all there before placing it up onto the roof of our Toyota Landcruiser!! This was to be done in a certain way so that the weight was evenly balanced to avoid toppling the vehicle on the rough terrain! After we had done this Luke (one of Merve's right hand men) took us through the itinerary/route that he would suggest for us to take on our 3 days on the island. He then went through the handling/operation for the truck. It's all pretty simple, but the main difference is that you have a second gear stick which allows you to put the truck from 2WD into 4WD and then into "Super 4" should it be required (Super 4 is basically a very low gear ratio which allows one to drive in very soft sand and up very steep inclines with surprising ease!!). After we had done this, we were all set to go so Matt jumped in the driver's seat and we headed round to the mechanic's depot for one last check over the vehicles before heading off to Fraser Island.

On the barge across the water we all all jumped out of the trucks to see if we could catch a glimpse of a turtle or a dolphin or even a shark, alas we were disappointed and 7 minutes later we were back in the trucks ready to drive off the barge onto Fraser! Matt still driving we headed inland on a dirt track (as it was still high tide and not safe to drive on the beach yet) and after about and hour or so we came out of a small access road onto the beach. We were pleased to see that it was now low tide and we could drive at the recommended 60Kph up the beach to Eurong. This is where we could then drive inland again up through the rainforests of Fraser Island to the beautifully blue Lake Mackenzie, with it's crystal clear waters and sandy beach! The sand gave us the impression that the lake would be salty but the lakes on Fraser are fresh rain water (not fed by streams/creeks, the taste could have been mistaken for Evian bottled water) and surprisingly you can open your eyes under water and have swimming pool visibility without the stinging of chlorine!! It was slightly overcast but the sun shone through long enough for us to get some amazing photos, have a swim and sunbath a little. Then we headed back to the truck to prepare lunch. Today's meal was corned beef sandwiches with salad.

After lunch Matt jumped back in the driver's seat (due to the fact that everyone way pleased with the way he had handled the rough terrain up to the lake) and we headed back down to the beach. Here Andy took over the driving and we sped up the beach to the Maheno Wreck. This is the wreck of a ship (the Maheno if you hadn't guessed) that was washed up onto the shore of Fraser island in a cyclone in 1935. It has remained there ever since, rusting and decaying and is a tribute to the unspoilt beauty of Fraser Island. At the wreck we took pictures and met up with the other 4 truck that departed with us that morning. We suggested that we all camp at the Maheno campsite for the evening so that we could all get together, chat and eat our evening meal. We arrived at the campsite which was an area of vegetation just behind the fore-dune of the beach..... essentially we were camping on the beach! An hour before sundown we set up the camp and prepared the meal, which tonight was steak, salad, boiled potatoes and a potato salad. We then listened to music and had a couple of cold beers before walking round the other groups, finding out what they were doing the next day and getting to know a few more people.

26/03/08
Up at 5am!! This was so we could get everything packed up and move to our next destination before high tide at around 7.30am. In order to rouse the group, Matt put Pink Floyds Dark Side of the Moon over the stereo which could be heard over the camp as more and more people left there tents and the sun slowly made its way higher into the multilayered sky with the colours of the surf changing from minute to minute. This is one start to the day that rarely happens in ones lifetime and one that we shall not be forgetting in a hurray! One by one, we all set off up the beach for a 40 minute cruise to Indian head were we would spend most of the day until it was safe to drive back down the beack at around 3pm.

Upon arrival at Indian Head we got breakfast down form the roof and ate scrambled eggs on toast, cereal, fruit and had a glass fo orange juice before a tea/coffee. Naturally Rick just had a black coffee as breakfast really isn't his thing!! At 9:30am the sun was baking yet we battled on and washed our pots in nature's dishwasher (AKA the ocean as we had previously been told detergents could not be used as they could get into natural water systems and damage the delicate and unspoilt ecosystems of the island!!!), we soon packed everything up and headed off on a 40 minute walk round the bay to the Champagne Pools. So adequately named because as the waves crash over the rocks they fall into hollowed out pools and fizz - just like Champagne!! These were perfect to sit in and protect us from the savage ocean of which we were not allowed to swim in due to the dangers of Jellies, sharks and very strong rip tides. We spent a couple of hours on the small beach (Rick made himself a small fort out of sand, such a big kid!!). and in the pools enjoying the heavy spray of the ocean jumping over the razor sharp rocks. We also randomly met the two french girls that we on our boat trip 3 days earlier, who had come to Fraser from Hervey Bay rather than Rainbow beach like us. We cought up with them for deciding to head back to the truck to move on to the next visiting spot of the day.

We drove down the beach for around 40 minutes until we arrived at the beginning of the Lake Wabbi track. We parked up on the beach and began our 35 minute walk through the bush. Upon turning the last corner, we all went silent as we took in the sight before us. There was an Emerald green lake surounded by eucalypt forest and on the other side along the waters edge the magnificent Hammerstone sand blow. We stuck around for around an hour before heading back to the jeep to find somewhere to camp for the night. We headed back a different way over the sand blow and upon reaching its summit we were befronted by a mini Sahara desert, something which is not easy to describe in words. Especially with the amount of bush surrounding us it was challenging to take in the conflicting landscapes.
Matt and Rick headed the group and we soon began chatting about how we had AGAIN managed to land ourselves with such a cool group of people and how much of a good time we had been having, upon leaving the expanse of sand, we once again re-entered bush terrain and waited for the rest of our 'family' to turn up. After a couple of minutes, the tour guide we had previously seen entertaining some Asian tourists turned up and as we carried on walking, he began telling us about the various wildlife on the island, showing us a Golden Orb spider (of which he had been bitten by a few days earlier). He also talked to us about Kangaroos and Koalas which apparently still exist on Fraser Island but in very few numbers. He then exclaimed "ooo chocolate" and proceeded to pick a couple of white berries from a bush. These berries are known as Midyin Berries (prononuced Midge-in) and to our suprise, they did taste like chocolate.
As we arrived back on the beach we had a short walk back to where we had left the jeep, so the tour guide kindly offered us a ride in his large 4x4 tour bus equiped with Greyhound style seats and belts. We then moved a Kilometer up the beach to our camping ground for the night (Cornwells Camping Ground) where we met up with the other 4 groups. Once again there was a hive of activity as we set camp for the evening, and as the fiery ball weighed heavy in the sky, we enjoyed a cold (well earned) beer and began to prepare our evening meal. On the menu that evening was stir fried chicken with rice and salad, which was delicious and 11 of us easily finished the lot. Once everyone had finished eating in the groups, all 55 of us started to move around the camp and mingle. One of the best things about the whole trip was we could stay on the beach camping grounds with no other people on them apart from our group. This meant we could make as much noise as we wanted without worrying about other peoples sleeping patterns. As usual in social situations, Rick's iPod became the central attraction with various compliments and complaints about the bizarre diversity within. We partied late into the night safe in the knowledge that we only had a 7am start in the morning.
27/03/08
As planned we got up at 7am with various members of other groups slowly making an appearance and Matt and Ric proceeded to once again rouse our family members with a combination of handclapping, pot banging, and Blurs Song 2. This worked more effectively on some members of the group than others who were nursing catastrophic hangovers! We once again packed up camp and set off on the short drive down the beach to head inland before high tide. Once inland at Eurong, Rick took the wheel for the rather fulfilling off road track up to Lake Birrabeen. This was not technicall allowed due to the fact that Luke and Merve had warned us not to stray off the orange marked roads but we chanced it (the reason for this warning is that luke used to be inundated with telephone calls from people who were lost or stuck because of the hazardous terrain!). Rick successfully navigated the bumps, ditches and steep inclines and we arrived at the lake, much to Matt's surprise we didn't end up on our roof!!, and bumped into the tour guide (together with his group of Asian tourists) who ran into the lake with his snorkel and mask and shortly reappeared holding a small turtle!! We didn't stay long as various members of our group really wanted to go back and see Lake Mackenzie in the blazing heat of the sun for our last day. Naturally, as happy families do, we all agreed this would be best and set off back to Central Station to take a different (safer) track to Lake Mackenzie. Upon arrival at the Lake mackenzie car park we had breakfast and then strolled leisurely down to the lake. We spent a couple of hours here swimming, sunbathing and watching Dingo's steal food that people had stupidly brought with them, blatantly ignoring all of the warnings!! At 1pm we needed to be heading back due to the fact that low tide would be upon us by the time we got to the beach and we only had 2 hours to get back down to Hook Point for the barge to the mainland! We arrived at Hook Point at 3:02 to see the barge halfway across the channel with a distinctive yellow blur on the back. Not to be disheartened we took the opportunity to get some last minute group photo's by our jeep and we very pleased to see 2 more jeeps with Yellow tarps come round the corner meaning 3 out of the 5 jeeps had missed the first barge! We had to wait 8 whole minutes before the next barge could ferry us back to the mainland! Upon hitting the mainland we had to stop off at the petrol station to top up our jeeps ($82 worth of diesel) before heading back to the depot for the mechanics to check over our vehicles and to check all of the equipement was present and correct. Aside from a missing butter knife and a broken spade, we were all good! All that was left to do was clean everything, including the back of the jeep which by now closely resembled the beach at Lake Mackenzie, and then we could take the jeep back to the hostel. As we arrived back we were greeted by Merve again and he was delighted to hear that we had the most awesome time!! We checked back into the hostel, collected our bags, showered and then met everyone in the bar for a departing drink. Some of our group were on a week's holiday from Queensland Uni in Brisbane (Andy, Deena, Cheryl and Veronica) and were heading up to the Whitsundays that evening for a boating trip like the one we have just come from. Unfortunately it was another night of goodbye's and we wished them well on their travels and with the remainder of their university studies. That night we were in bed by 8:30pm due to the fact that after we'd eaten we both fell asleep in the bar!

28/03/08
Due to the fact that we were very tired from our trip we awoke at about 10am and planned so sort out our lives and plan for a number of things that were coming up. These included arranging a bus down to Byron Bay, accommodation there, accommodation for Sydney when Charlie arrives, a hire car for when we go back over to Perth for Gary and Jo's wedding and a bus from Byron Bay to Sydeny. This turned out to be a lot more complicated than we first thought but needless to say, it's all sorted now!! We relaxed in the hostel for the rest of the day as they put a film on in the bar and we ate burritos!

29/03/08
Today we had to check out of the hostel and walk to the hostel next door as they only had one bed left at the previous hostel. All is well, we bumped into two girls we met in Melbourne this morning (minus one of their party - Drew!!). We have an early start in the morning so it will be another chilled out night with a decent meal. We hope you enjoy this post as we lost it and this is the second time we'rve had to write it!! Grrr!

Here's some more photo links for your viewing pleasure!!

King's Park (Perth) and Adelaide

Road Trip along the Great Ocean Road

Melbourne and Neighbours Night!

Brisbane

Airlie Beach and Sailing Part 1

Sailing Part 2

Sailing Part 3

Rainbow beach and Fraser Island Part 1

Fraser Island Part 2

Fraser Island Part 3

Take care all,
Rick and Matt
xx