Fraser Island
The next morning we got up early. Again. It was gray and drizzling
outside. We ate our breakfast and waited for the tour bus to pick us
up in front of our house. We rode the bus to the marina and boarded
the ferry to Fraser Island.
Fraser Island is the world's largest sand island. It's 75 miles long,
only 10 miles wide, and mostly covered in forests. The western beach
is the border to Hervey Bay, the eastern beach opens up to the Pacific
Ocean and lots of great white sharks. All of the island's roads are
just sand tracks that require a 4x4 to negotiate.
We disembarked the ferry and boarded our 4x4 bus for a tour of the island.
First stop after quite a long drive was a lake that we were invited to
swim in. No thanks, way too cold (were they crazy?). We walked along
a path around the lake and found a few interesting scribble bark trees,
which we later learned had embedded insects causing the scribbles.
Back on the bus, was there even time for a swim? We headed off on
another long drive to a resort on the island for lunch. The lunch was
mediocre. Already the day was half over and we'd only seen a small
lake. The drizzle continued.
After lunch the bus hit the eastern beach. This was more interesting,
too bad the weather was so miserable. The bus drove right on the beach
past a number of colonies of crested terns, all facing the same way
into the wind. We passed a few other 4x4s and even tents.
We soon found ourselves near an old shipwreck of the Maheno that
beached itself in a cyclone back in 1935. At this stop a few people
got out to take a scenic flight up and down the beach and around some
of the island. Yes, the beach was not only a highway and campground,
but also an airstrip.
We stayed on the bus and visited a creek where we were again invited to
go swimming. This time, though, some people took advantage of the
opportunity. Although it was still quite overcast, the drizzle had
stopped and it was warming up. The creek was barely knee-deep so it
looked funny watching people crawl or backfloat down it.
Back aboard the bus we headed for the 5% of the island that was rainforest
(as opposed to the 95% which was transitional forest). We were promised
a short hike, so that sounded nice. The bus entered the rainforest and
stopped to let us out. We were told that the bus would continue on and
setup for afternoon tea. We just needed to walk down the flat, sand
road about 300 yards to meet the bus. What a hike! At afternoon tea we
were explained yet again the mysteries of the strangler fig before we
boarded the bus for the ferry. The ferry took us back to the marina,
and the bus back to the house.
So Fraser Island was a disappointment: a poor-weather day coupled with
a 9-hour tour where only 1.5 hours were spent at sites-of-interest. I
would do it again, but I would hire my own 4x4 on a sunny day so that I
could see the things I wanted to see on my own time.
The evening brought more rain, so Pauline was nice enough to drive us
to an English restaurant. When we were done we called her up and she
picked us up.
| 
