Fraser Island 3/13/08

3.13.08 Fraser Island

Today we have a bunch to do to organize for our camp!!! Up and out of the rooms by 6:30am....Watching videos, getting maps, learning Dingo safety, how to drive on sand, how to get out of sand if bogged down, not to drive thru ocean water...etc...by *:15 we finally have our group of 10...Team 1..and we are off for the grocery shopping. We have a schedule and have to catch the ferry over to Fraser at 11am, we make it.

We drive our jam packed land cruiser onto the ferry and have a 45 minute ride over to Fraser island, the largest sand island in the world, it also has a rain forest and several eco-systems as well as several fresh water lakes.

First we have to lower the pressure in our tires and head into the sand tracks..damn..really crazy tracks, especially with 10 people in the car and all our gear!! We spend about 45 minutes in the deep forest until we come to Lake Mckenzie.

Lake Mckenzie is a gorgeous fresh water lake with turquoise water and snow white sand, the sand is so fine and soft it is great for cleaning jewelry and even whitening teeth and scrubbing feet. It is a bit overcast so the water does not look as brilliant as it truly is. Dingo's are all over the beach and the parking lot...beware of the dingo has become our motto..altho it is hard to think of them as wild animals..they look like timid dogs...but remember..the dingo ate my baby!!!

We head back thru the Eucalyptus forest out onto 75 mile beach, it is the main road on the island..and also the runway, so you must keep a heads up for planes and yup one landed right in front of us... we are heading to find our campsite along the beach for the night as the tide is rising and we have times we have to be off the beach driving...after a few trips up and in the dunes we find a spot and start pitching tents, really simple..only one pole!!! old army tents, a small bit alarmed about all the snake holes, oh crab holes according to some...but we later learn they are funnel web spider holes...google the funnel web if you want a real scare...I still cringe!!! we eat a lovely meal of sandy sausages and hot dogs coated with sand too..too much drinking goon and cooking, and head with tarp in hand to a neighboring site for fun and games. Night.