Pretty sandy

May 11, 2005

After a few days chilling out and exploring Brisbane, including the pretty Southbank, we caught a bus north up to Hervey Bay the gateway to Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world.
We booked a self drive 4x4 3day/2night trip on the island and after an introductory meeting about Fraser we were split into our vehicle groups of nine or ten and sent down the supermarket to buy our supplies.
After an early start to put our big rucksacks into storage we were given all our camping equipment, a car, a map of Fraser Island, directions to the ferry and a wave goodbye as we pulled out of the gate.
Without the restrictions of a tour guide we were free to decide where we wanted to go so once on the island we quickly found ourselves on the track to Lake Mackenzie, one of the most popular of the many freshwater lakes on the island.
After bumping down the inland tracks for little under an hour we heard a slightly ominous exploding noise and realise we'd blown a tyre. After the boys in our group showing their strength, and performing a tyre change F1 would (possibly!) be proud of, we were on our way again and soon reached the lake.
It is very bizarre to walk down a beach and not find salt water at the bottom. The lake is so fresh and clear you can open your eyes under water. Lake Mackenzie was beautiful but unfortunately the weather wasn't. It was a little overcast so after a swim and a game of Frisbee we decided to move on and see some more of the island.
Heading east we hit the smoother terrain of 75 mile beach and turned north. We paused for photos at the Maheno shipwreck, the wreck of a former luxury line that now lies on the beach slowly rusting, before heading as far north as we could go to Indian Head.
We climbed the rocky outcrop of Indian Head we watched the water for a while hoping for a glimpse of some tiger sharks, they supposedly breed around there, but the water was a little choppy so we didn't see anything.
We turned back south and found a sheltered spot to set up camp for the night. We camped alongside another vehicle from the same company and constructed a shelter with our tarpaulins which we cooked our BBQ under then cracked open the beers and spent the rest of the night sheltering from the rain. It did clear up long enough for us to play British Bulldog on the beach which was interesting in the dark.