After getting back to shore from the Whitsundays, I had a couple hours to kill before moving on. So, in true backpacker fashion, I cleaned up in the outdoor showers at the town lagoon, grabbed some dinner at the grocery store, and waited for my 18-hour bus. The time surprisingly passed fairly quickly, even with the lack of sleep, and after passing at least a million gum trees, I arrived in Rainbow Beach, the jump off point for visiting Fraser Island.
Fraser island is the largest sand island in the world, covered in an array of different landscapes, ranging from dunes to rainforest. The island is accessible by barge and 4-wheel drive vehicles only. We hopped in our souped-up adventure bus, traversing the island along the beach, up the dunes, and through trails cut into the rainforest. The driving itself was half the fun, as I spent more time bouncing out of my seat than actually sitting. Stops during the day included Lake Mckenzie, a crystal clear rainwater lake with healing powers (just ask my skin and hair), an old shipwreck along the beach, a float down a freshwater creek through the forest out onto the beach, colored sand pinnacles, and dingo spotting. Unfortunately, we only saw a dingo silhouette from quite a distance, but I’m not so sure I wanted to get up close and personal with one anyways.
If I could do it again, I’d grab some friends, my truck, and some refreshments, and spend a weekend exploring the trails, stopping for lake swims, and just getting lost in the maze of tracks throughout the island. As it is, I still had an exciting, if not extended, time on the island.
After crossing back over to the mainland around sunset, I hitched a ride down to Brisbane with a previous co-worker who’s lucky enough to be in Australia, yet actually still be employed.
What a novel concept.