I’d have loved to have gone on one of those tag-along tours where you get to drive the 4x4 on the beach and go camping…but a shortage of time and money made me think a one day tour was enough for now. Hopefully I’ll go back one day with friends and spend a whole week camping and dingo spotting!
The bus picks you up from your hostel and takes you to the ferry terminal. The ferry over take about half an hour and then you get onto a 4wd bus which takes you to the various points of interest.
The bus picks you up from your hostel and takes you to the ferry terminal. The ferry over take about half an hour and then you get onto a 4wd bus which takes you to the various points of interest.
I sat next to a German girl called Rici who was a fab person to spend the day with. Our first stop was ‘Central Station’ which I, like most people, had expected to have ‘things’ in it. Maybe a shop. No – it’s so called because it’s the old central forestry station, so it’s basically just a clearing. We couldn’t do the nearby board walk over the creek because recent storms had helped put a tree through the walkway!
Then it was time to drive on the beach. The weather was amazing and the beach – aptly named ’75 mile beach’ goes on as far as the eye can see. Within minutes we saw a pair of dingoes. They were much fluffier than I was expecting. But there are warnings all over the island about how dangerous they can be.
The journey became quite bouncy and Rici was scared. I loved it and I hoped it would get worse! Then – highlight of the day for me – the bus got stuck in the sand! So we all had to pile out while the driver tried to dig his way out of trouble. A group of us tried to push, but to no avail. Eventually another tour bus turned up and gave us a tow. But when we were back on the bus the driver said he had a confession to make. He’d left the bus in 2wd!
The journey became quite bouncy and Rici was scared. I loved it and I hoped it would get worse! Then – highlight of the day for me – the bus got stuck in the sand! So we all had to pile out while the driver tried to dig his way out of trouble. A group of us tried to push, but to no avail. Eventually another tour bus turned up and gave us a tow. But when we were back on the bus the driver said he had a confession to make. He’d left the bus in 2wd!
May I present: a bus stuck on 75 mile beach!
We went up to the shipwreck and we were a bit behind schedule by now so it was just a quick photo stop. Then to the coloured rocks of the Pinnacles, and finally a stop at Eli Creek which we could walk up for a couple of hundred metres.
After lunch the final stop was Lake McKenzie. It’s what’s known as a ‘perched lake’ formed 80 metres above sea level on the top of a sand dune. The whole of Fraser is just one big pile of sand. It’s the biggest sand island in the world. Because of the ecology and acidity of the lake, not a lot lives in there. But I did, for about 40 minutes! It seemed cold at first and the sun wasn’t particularly strong, but I loved the chance for a good, energetic swim and another reason to put my genius underwater case that I’d bought in Cairns to good use!
The deadest bar in the deadest town myself and Laura had ever experienced!
No cars. No people.
So then it was time to get the bus/ferry/bus back to the hostel and enjoy my final night with my old colleague Laura. We thought we’d go back to Houlihan’s in Hervey Bay, but it was closed. The whole city was closed. There were no cars and no people to be seen anywhere! We remembered another pub just along the street and lights were on but there were chairs on tables. They allowed us a glass of red but I’d only got about 4 sips into mine when they said they’d have to hurry us up! We couldn’t believe it! Even the quietest place in England we’re pretty sure you could drink until 11pm. Right now it wasn’t far beyond half past nine!
So we sulked off home and ended our night entirely sober!
RSS Feed
