Fraser Island

Listed as a World Heritage site, Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world. With 75 miles of untouched beach, the national park is host to a variety of wildlife and dense vegetation(which is remarkable considering it grows in sand). We stuffed the 4WD car with all kinds of things to survive one night of camping in the wild. Blankets, check. Peanut butter and jelly, check. 4 liters of cheap boxed wine ("Goon"), check. tent, duh. bread and water, check. flashlight, check. The list goes on. We brought enough food to feed an army and enough music so that we only listened to the same song 10 times before the end of two days. Similar to Moreton, Fraser can only be accessed by ferry and has one-way sand roads. These bumpy paths make navigating difficult when you're trying to avoid getting hit head on, run into some animal, hit a bump funny or get stuck in the sand. You get the hang of it, but for the most part it's bump...bump bump, thud. We're ready to drive along the smooth beach. However, in the middle of the island is where we found Lake McKenzie. A beautiful, freshwater lake with crystal clear, bright blue water (it was hard to believe the postcards), the view was surreal and quite rewarding--as if to say, congratulations for making it here. Our jostled bodies thought otherwise. After enjoying a picnic lunch on the lake, we hightailed it north to find a campsite before sunset. On the way, we gave some German hitch-hikers a short ride, but because they couldn't fit in the overpacked car, they hung on to the outside as we carried them much further than they would have liked to walk. As we began to pitch the tent, a park ranger approached us about the problem with dingoes. As if we hadn't seen the 100+ warning signs around the island, she thought it'd be great to brief us on the wild dogs right before it got dark. They have attacked people in the past and ripped through their belongings looking for food, she said. Do not hesitate to use force if they become aggresive. Oh okay, sweet dreams everyone. We gather our dinner and head to the barbie to cooke some sausages. Thanks to a full moon, the night was quite bright. However, it wasn't light enough to show us the animal peering behind the glowing eyes looking at us from the woods...just a bird. We roasted marshmellows, made smores, and gazed at the stars hoping that nothing was staring at us from behind.

Because it's winter here, you can drive along Fraser and go for miles without seeing anyone. We got up early to continue exploring the island. Just in front our campsite we watched several humpback whales enjoy what they considered to be warm water. We were fascinated with them as we watched their massive bodies jump almost completely out of the water several times before moving up the coast. We stopped at a few places to take in the island's natural beauty: champagne pools, a creek that you could see right through, a beached shipwreck, and headlands that provided a great view of the coast. The water here looks like blue koolaid and everything seems clean and refreshing. And to be an island supposedly infested with dingoes (we saw 1!) and sharks, we witnessed everything but them. Wedge-tailed eagles soared overhead and other funny birds stuck their beaks into the sand looking for goodies. The weekend was an adventure; one we'll remember for it's all its wonders--the joys of off-roading and camping as well as the splendor of untouched land and protected wildlife.

Highly recommended.