So it has been over a month since I went to Fraser Island with Brendan and figured I better reflect on the journey for something to read in the future.

Wednesday

• Fly up to Brisbane from Newcastle
• Grab supplies from Woolies
• Crazy lady at Bunnings and $8 camping chairs

I flew up to Brisbane with Jetstar and ended up having a good chat to the guy next to me. He was heading to the Solomon Islands for a week, that explained why he boarded the plane in winter wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Brendan picked me up from the airport and we hit up Woolies to get stocked up on food for our trip. It became apparent that we needed some camping chairs so a quick stop at Bunnings had us sorted. We were greeted with this dear ole lass of a lady who seemed a bit over excited to tell us where the camping chairs were. We followed her directions and found the camping chairs. Although I have a dislike for Bunnings, I can’t complain about the chairs we picked up for $8 each… bargain.

Thursday

• Drive to Hervey Bay
• Get 4WD
• Maheno Shipwreck
• Setup camp
• Steak

An early start at 5:30am in order to drive up to Hervey Bay in time to organise our 4wd and catch the 12:30pm barge. Normally I would do my best to be sleeping at this hour but with the excitement of an adventure Brendan and I were packed and on the road after some oats for breaky. Surprisingly we almost ran over someone walking their dog in the early hours as we reversed out of the driveway. So Brisbane to Hervey Bay was an alright roadtrip of about 4hrs with some technology advanced road signs telling us we were tailgating. We passed an interesting looking pub and a giant Ned Kelly as we arrived into Hervey Bay. A quick lunch and we got the keys to our 4WD after watching a safety DVD. It was a Landrover Discovery with a 2.5L turbo diesel engine supplied with basic camping gear and a gas cooker.

Friday

• Knifeblade Sandblow
• Turrtles
• Didn’t quite make it to Champagne Pools
• Indian Head
• Backpackers

Brrrrrr…. It was a cold night. I didn’t sleep too good but today was our first full day on the island so after a few old man noises we were packed up and off to see some turtles in the wild at a freshwater lake. A quick stop at a lookout to see Knifeblade Sandblow offered a chance for a photo and some knowledge from the information board. Basically the island is made of sand, as the wind blows sand into the forests it kills anything in it’s path. These inland sandblows are created and are constantly moving throughout the island. As for the turtles, the guy we hired the 4WD from told us to “head out to this jetty and clap your hands, you’ll see a shitload of turtles thinkin you’re going to feed them!” Sure enough, there were about 20 turtles bopping their heads looking at what we had to offer them. It was a pretty cool sight.

We then headed back to the main beach and booted it north towards Champagne Pools. As we approached Indian Head there was a large group of 4wd’s that appeared to be getting bogged in the soft sand. It was time to test out the 4wd. Locked diffs, low range and plenty of momentum had us getting through the soft stuff without too much drama. On the other side of Indian Head we were stopped in our tracks as the high tide prevented us from going any further. We’d spent over an hour driving to get this far so we decided to get out and have a look around. Up the top of the headland the view was spectacular.

Nature put on a show for us as we were lucky enough to see a stingray from above and whales breaching out at sea. The quality of backpackers was also worth admiring. Cooking lunch on the beach is fairly relaxing when you consider it’s Friday and most people I know are usually working As we headed down south again we passed a plane parked on the beach on our way to another sandblow.

This place was surreal. A slight crust had formed on top of the sand as the sun had evaporated any moisture and there was plenty of underlying sandstone that crumbled easily. Strangely enough in the middle of what felt like a desert we stumbled across a small stream offering a chance to cool down a bit. The dunes were steep and we felt inclined to run up them for the sake of falling down them. It was worth it.

Another neat camping spot behind the dunes was found, complimented with a stunning sunset. We were in for another cold night so I upgraded to wearing two jumpers in my sleeping bag.

Saturday

• Airstrip
• Lake Wabby
• Lake Birrabeen
• Lake McKenzie
• Dingo Dinner

A few days without a shower and we started to smell pretty bad by this stage so the search for somewhere to swim began. Our first destination was Lake Wabby but there was a bunch of tourists so we powered on to find a disused grass airfield in the middle of the bush. There’s something pretty fun about driving on an airstrip, similar to an episode of Top Gear although it was only dirt and our 4wd’s 0-100km/h performance was nothing to rave about. As we battled the inland tracks Brendan managed to flip the esky upside down after hitting a few consecutive bumps in a row.

Lake Birrabeen was like an oasis. This place was purely awesome. The water was crystal clear with the white sand below. Whilst the temperature was a little chilly, we didn’t care as we frolicked around like it was the first time we’d seen water. I didn’t have my glasses on but I was certain I saw an eel so it was time for some photos and a quick chat to some German tourists. A few minutes drive down the track and we came across a vehicle that was stuck on a tree root. Our Landrover looked like a monster truck compared to this city slicker softroader. Brendan and I were able to give him a push to get unstuck as he scraped the undercarriage of his vehicle. It wasn’t long until we caught up to him as he was driving more cautiously and powered on to Lake McKenzie.

The water in Lake McKenzie had the same appeal as Lake Birrabeen but it was ruined with commercialisation. Whilst good for families with kids, disabled people or the elderly who need a dunny close by. The timber boarding, planted trees and walkways just didn’t do it for me. I felt like we almost had to pay for parking. A quick photo, a glimpse of any talent and we were out of there to visit Central Station as the sun was setting. Central Station is an old loggery village housed within the tall timbers of the rainforest. The scenery was different to the rest of the island with huge trees, ferns and vines. It was starting to get cold and we needed to find a campsite, off to the main beach to scout the dunes.

Our last night on the island. Dinner included a mix of everything that was left and surprisingly turned out really good. So good infact that the local Dingoes were onto us before we’d finished setting up the tent. At first it was a bit alarming… until I got my camera out of the car. The island is known for the Dingoes and it was quite a memorable way to spend our last night watching this guy forage around our campsite. As tempting as it is to feed them, it’s stricly prohibited and can lead to attacks. He seemed more intimidated by us as we moved closer to shut the door and left us alone. It was another cold night, I think I went to bed with 3 jumpers and 2 pairs of pants. I really need to invest in a sleeping bag for winter.

Sunday

• West Coast
• Mud crabs
• Rainforest Walk
• Barge
• Drive back to Brisbane

Brendan’s Dominos skills came in handy as he made Dampa with honey for breaky. Fantastic. A little tired but we had to make the most of our last day on the island so we hit the inland track to visit the east coast. We arrived at this old timber jetty and slipway for a boatshed. You can see that we were on an island from the sheer drop into the water! It was a nice sunny day to be out exploring. There was an abundance of mud crabs between our toes.

After some messing around we had a bit of time to walk the boardwalk through the rainforest at Central Station before boarding the barge to return to the mainland.

Overall it was an awesome trip.

More photos in the gallery –>

Download the Video – 57MB

Cleaning up more video that I had lying around, this is a 4WD trip video from our trip through Lithgow to Newnes.