Fraser Island

We arrived late in Hervey Bay to spend our first night in an actual hostel. What it is to be in your late teens/early 20’s and have no worries about hygiene and how loud you are being (sorry I’m a grumpy old man!). At the first briefing we were told we would be in groups of 8 for the whole trip and we had to sort out who was going where and we ended up in the most mixed group with one Canadian, two young Germans, two Austrian Brothers and a young Israeli, we also ended up with two tag-along Scots who didn’t like their group so became part of our group when we were out of the car.   However with a 3 day camping trip ahead we needed to guide these young souls to the way of being responsible and boring. Without much effort it wasn’t long on the island before we were being treated like the parents of the group being asked permission to do stuff (that’s just the effect Cat has on people). However that didn’t stop our group being the naughty group who kept getting told off by the tour guide but that is what happens when there is 6 guys and only 2 girls in a group! Anyway enough of the social psychology side of things. I jumped straight into the driver’s seat of the 4x4’s we would be using on the rainforest built on sand and that is exactly what it is. Miles and miles of beaches with no one swimming because of the dangerous rips and dangerous sea life which when viewed from above, which we did at Indian head, you can clearly see swimming at what is only a couple of meters deep. That wasn’t the only danger on the island. We also had wild dogs (and not just the 2 legged kind) to deal with, and you can imagine how Cat felt about these. Barely a second goes by where you’re not reminded to be Dingo safe! These almost mystical like creatures normally wait until you want to pee in the middle of the night (and yes we all had to pee in the sea if you couldn’t wait until the morning) and then sneak up on you with glaring eyes. In truth they are very lean looking dogs and the ones we saw in the light were babies. They scavenge for food and are only really a danger as a pact when against a small child or someone as short as Cat!

We camped with more flies then I care to ever see again and there were also March flies while they didn’t draw blood, they were massive and they bite like a bitch. Prep of any food was carefully watched over by us more hygienically aware old farts who knew exactly what flies do when they land on food!

Despite my moaning this trip has been the highlight of our travels so far. The natural lakes were stunning and the water was beautiful and clear, having been filtered through the sand for hundreds of years it was the best drinking water we had drunk for a while. Even the sand was cleansing, you could use it to wash your hair and clean your teeth and most of us did by day 3! This island known to the locals as paradise is exactly that and you can only hope it will get looked after. I really realised how special this island was when on the first night when we ventured onto the beach to a perfectly clear sky and the greatest show of stars I have ever seen. The lack of light pollution opens up the sky to millions of stars visible with the light of the galaxy’s streaming across the sky. Memorizing.

Anyway with all that said I have never been so sandy in my life and I didn’t really need reminding why I gave up sleeping in a tent at 13. So now sand free and not been mobbed by flies we are once again on the move, which means a 12 hour coach ride to Bryon Bay for some surfing lessons. I do like Aus but I wish they made their country smaller.