Posted by: Jenn
Can I talk about the Koala's some more? :-)
So due south we headed. Me, Jonathan and Hippie, one big happy family.
Can I talk about the Koala's some more? :-)
So due south we headed. Me, Jonathan and Hippie, one big happy family.
Before leaving Airlie Beach we grabbed breakfast, or brekky as the Aussie's say, at Hungry Jacks. Hungry Jacks is Australia's equivalent of Burger King.
Our final destination for this stretch of the trip was Hervey Bay so we could do a Fraser Island tour. But we had a few days to kill before our tour so we picked out a National Park in between that we were interested in seeing. Eungella National Park is known for housing some platypuses in the river that runs through it. Jonathan and I had never seen a platypus and were excited about observing a new animal! We arrived at the river around dusk which is a good time to spot the shy, rubbery billed, waddling mammals. However, it was a bit too dark to see anything so we snuggled Hippie into a parking spot in the parking lot shown below.
Before I tell you what we had for dinner (well, what Jonathan had twice of because I didn't want mine) let me tell you that Jonathan was in charge of getting groceries in Airlie Beach while I updated the blog. Therefore, I was stuck trying to cook and choke down Kangaroo meat. Yep, budget boyfriend was at it again. "Jenn, it tastes great. Anyways, it was way cheaper than beef and it's less fatty."
I was so stoked about cooking burgers that night. Unfortunately, I settled for some chips and coke. The meat tasted fine I guess, but I am weird about meat. Like I didn't ever eat chicken in South America or India because it was just weird seeing chickens running around restaurants during the day all happy to be alive and then that night when we are ready to order dinner they are not there anymore. So, I couldn't really be expected to eat Kangaroo after having such a cool experience with them a few days before, right? I think I will hit up the grocery stores from now on and you guys will have to be patient with the blog updating. ;-) Fully expecting to get sick off the one bite of meat I had we fell asleep in anticipation of getting up at 6 AM to catch some platypuses fishing.
No stomach ache! And no interruptions during the night from a park ranger telling us that we shouldn't be sleeping there! We moved Hippie to another parking lot and made our way to the platypus observation deck. As soon as we walked up we saw some movement in the eerily calm river water. Sure enough the ripples were caused by a platypus making his morning rounds. I didn't know what to expect but we got such a intimate experience. The platypus was so tiny and so cute and he just swam around and fished right in front of the viewing deck.
No stomach ache! And no interruptions during the night from a park ranger telling us that we shouldn't be sleeping there! We moved Hippie to another parking lot and made our way to the platypus observation deck. As soon as we walked up we saw some movement in the eerily calm river water. Sure enough the ripples were caused by a platypus making his morning rounds. I didn't know what to expect but we got such a intimate experience. The platypus was so tiny and so cute and he just swam around and fished right in front of the viewing deck.
On average the platypus is about 50 centimeters long and weighs only 1.5 kg. Their fur is waterproof and their bills are rubbery and have grinding plates for mashing food. We watched for about an hour, intrigued with it's movements and fishing skills, before hopping back into Hippie to head towards Hervey Bay.
On our way to Hervey Bay we were thoroughly entertained with the colorful signage that Australia prides itself on to keep sleepy drivers awake. Because it was the middle of the day and we were fresh, the signs gave us a good laugh every time we passed a new one. The photo below probably shows 1/4 of the signs we saw in 100 kilometers.
On our way to Hervey Bay we were thoroughly entertained with the colorful signage that Australia prides itself on to keep sleepy drivers awake. Because it was the middle of the day and we were fresh, the signs gave us a good laugh every time we passed a new one. The photo below probably shows 1/4 of the signs we saw in 100 kilometers.
We didn't arrive to Hervey Bay before dark so we stopped to Rest, Revive, and Survive. Dinner that night was leftover Roo meat mixed in our spaghetti sauce.
I'm happy because I picked all the meat out and gave it to Jonathan.
Finally we reached Hervey Bay. We had previously booked a 3 day, 2 night 4WD tour of Fraser Island so we met our group and set off the next morning for the ferry to take us across. Our group was a total of 14 people with one guide in two 4WD SUV's. Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world and is made up of a network of rugged sand tracks leading to all the lakes and views.
Finally we reached Hervey Bay. We had previously booked a 3 day, 2 night 4WD tour of Fraser Island so we met our group and set off the next morning for the ferry to take us across. Our group was a total of 14 people with one guide in two 4WD SUV's. Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world and is made up of a network of rugged sand tracks leading to all the lakes and views.
We drove off the ferry a little before lunch time, switched the cars into 4WD and headed towards the beach for lunch.
After lunch we drove towards Lake Wabby, which is situated at the base of a sand blow.
Some nasty weather rolled in shortly after hiking back from Lake Wabby so we seeked out the shelter of our campgrounds.
The tour operator we went with, Nomads, has a permanent camp site on the island with a pavilion housing BBQ pits, gas stoves, fridges, bathrooms, picnic tables and ten person tents.
We unloaded the vehicles and hunkered down for some card games and dinner. The tour doesn't come with the food or the cooks. So before we left for the tour, at the briefing, we were given grocery lists and we were to mark as a group what we wanted to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the entirety of the trip so it could be picked up and paid for before we left for the ferry. This was supposed to eliminate the agony of walking through a grocery store with 14 people you don't know and trying to pick out food for three days. However, marking it down on paper was just as agonizing. It took a while but we finally 'ordered' some cereal for breakfast, sandwich fixings for lunch, and the meat package (yum, more unknown meat), which was sausages and hamburger patties, and then the burger fixings for dinner. So after we had worked up our appetites through some intense card playing we all chipped in and made dinner.
The campsite also came with a pack of wild dingoes. We are supposed to be cautious of the dingoes because they are wild and undomesticated. However, because I am such a HUGE dog lover, I look at the dingo and see a really cute doggy. It's really hard for me to want to avoid them because I just want to love them. But I did my best to keep distance and watch from afar. Their movements and behaviors were interesting to watch because even though it looks like a dog, they have very different characteristics.
The next morning was soooo sunshiny! We anxiously ate our cereal then packed lunches for our first full day of exploring Fraser Island. Our first stop was about ten minutes from our campground. It was the Maheno passenger liner. The liner was being towed by the Japanese to a scrap yard in 1935 when the tow line broke during a cyclone and the Japanese couldn't really retrieve it due to the storm. It was blown ashore, so on Fraser Island it rusts and rests.
Next: Indian Head. A cliff lookout point giving a spectacular view of the two neighboring bays, whales, dolphins, and sting rays.
We stopped for lunch at Eli Creek. This crystal clear, sandy bottomed creek wound its way through lush forest before escaping to the openness of the long beach. Here, we enjoyed our already prepared sandwiches and went for a wade through the water.
One of my favorite stops on the tour was next. Our tour guide, Peter, called it the fairy tree. I'm not sure what I was expecting. I mean, we have seen some pretty outrageous things on this trip that I think I thought there might actually be fairies in it. When we stopped at the tree I still didn't understand because there were not any fairies, but the tree itself was awesome.
There once was a tree that grew to be tall.
It was suffocated by vines that surrounded it all.
The tree that once was died with time.
But the vines flourished and created something fine.
We climbed up the middle and poked our heads out,
And the fairies were born in the tree no doubt.
Sometimes I like to write poems, don't laugh.
Our last stop of the day was to another lake. The lake itself wasn't anything noteworthy but it was filled with little turtles that were hungry and not shy. We fed the turtles until we were turtled out then headed back to camp.
It was suffocated by vines that surrounded it all.
The tree that once was died with time.
But the vines flourished and created something fine.
We climbed up the middle and poked our heads out,
And the fairies were born in the tree no doubt.
Sometimes I like to write poems, don't laugh.
Our last stop of the day was to another lake. The lake itself wasn't anything noteworthy but it was filled with little turtles that were hungry and not shy. We fed the turtles until we were turtled out then headed back to camp.
That night we cooked some more meat and played some more cards.
The blue sky and sun woke us up the next morning and we once again had breakfast and prepared lunch. Because this was our last day we cleaned up the campsite and loaded the cars so that after sightseeing we could head straight for the ferry.
We hit up Rainbow Gorge first. Peter showed us how colorful the sand was by getting each of us to wander about 20 feet in all directions and bring back two handfuls of sand. This was the result.
The blue sky and sun woke us up the next morning and we once again had breakfast and prepared lunch. Because this was our last day we cleaned up the campsite and loaded the cars so that after sightseeing we could head straight for the ferry.
We hit up Rainbow Gorge first. Peter showed us how colorful the sand was by getting each of us to wander about 20 feet in all directions and bring back two handfuls of sand. This was the result.
Pretty cool huh? We hung out on the sand blow for a while and enjoyed the lightly packed, wispy sand.
Annnnnd for the grand finale we saw Lake McKenzie. A lake that has the best of a great beach and lake in one. Crystal clear freshwater and white silicon sand.
Unfortunately we only got to spend about an hour at our favorite spot on Fraser Island. We would have preferred to visit this lake every day after seeing how awesome it was.
After the lake we made our way to the ferry only to find that the ferry times changed and we had two hours before it left. We all were so excited because we could go spend more time at McKenzie....except that our truck didn't have enough feul to get there and back. Bummer! So instead we got a good game of cards going on the landing strip near by.
After the lake we made our way to the ferry only to find that the ferry times changed and we had two hours before it left. We all were so excited because we could go spend more time at McKenzie....except that our truck didn't have enough feul to get there and back. Bummer! So instead we got a good game of cards going on the landing strip near by.
We really enjoyed our group and our guide was super knowledgeable. The only drawback was the huge amounts of driving on crazy bumpy tracks and the small amount of time we spent seeing each site. If you are going to Fraser and are only interested in spending a lot of time at McKenzie and a little time seeing a few other things, do it a different way. Partying around a campfire at night and playing cards was awesome, but we could have done that on mainland for a lot cheaper.
So what now?! We are hitting the highway again to make our way to Byron Bay!
So what now?! We are hitting the highway again to make our way to Byron Bay!