Fraser Island is the world's largest sand island. It is approx. 120km long and a little under 25km wide at its widest point.
It's a beautiful place, like the typical desert island fantasy image... but with lots of 4-wheel drive buses roaming about! It's a 4x4 only zone, which means the tour buses have to be adapted & raised onto off-road chassis and wheels to cope. Most buses are mini or half buses, but I saw one big 52 seater on the island - it was a monstrosity! Shouldn't be allowed. As well as that, how can anyone enjoy a nice secluded part of the island if they are getting off a bus with 50 other people?!?
Luckily I was on a bus with just 4 other people, all of who were normal and happy to enjoy the island views without needing to drink 6 cans of XXXX before lunchtime! (this is a typical activity of young, male backpackers).
You'll see from the photos that it was a lovely place. Highlights included:
- Indian Head. So named by Captain Cook (still as Lieutenant back then) who had just discovered Australia in 1770. As his ships sailed past on their way back to England the local Aborigines climbed to the island's highest vantage point to get a better look. Cook saw all those coloured faces looking down on him so called the point Indian Head. (Before the days of political correctness of course). Beautiful views up there, I saw humpback whales breaching in the distance, rays & turtles swimming in the shallow waters below me, and a wild dingo.
- S.S. Maheno wreck. The S.S. Maheno was a luxury liner that used to sail between NZ and Oz. (Q: Do you know what S.S. stands for? A: steam ship). It sailed a good and full life, even serving time in WWI as a floating hospital. In 1935 it was decommissioned and sold to a Japanese company for scrap. To save money they decided to tow the vessel to Japan. It got struck by an out of season cyclone, broke away from the tow line, and in 1935 became stuck on a sand bank on the east coast of Fraser Island where she still lies today. Quite an eerie sight in its own way.
- Lake Mackenzie. A large fresh water lake completely filled up over time by rain water. I walked around it, which took 90 minutes and it was a lovely walk in the sand. It was a bit fresh for swimming in though. I also saw my first kookaburra in the picnic area by the lake - the cheeky chappy stole a sausage from the plate of a Japanese girl in our group! They are lovely looking bird. I didn't hear it 'laugh' though - its beak was too full of sausage to laugh!
- A full moon. I know, full moons can be seen every month, so why is this one of my highlights?? Well on Friday night it was the 2nd full moon of the month! This is very rare they tell me, hence the reason a 2nd full moon is referred to as a blue moon. They occur on average once every 2.72 years. Now you understand the origin of that old phrase, "Blue Moon, You saw me standing alone, Without a dream in my heart, Without a love of my own"..... oh not that one, it was "Once in a blue moon" I meant.
I had a great trip to the island and the tour was great. Our guide, Sarah, knew her stuff as she'd done an Environmental Studies course at uni. It was really interesting. I recommend a visit if you're down this way.
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| Fraser Island |
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