April 10th:

So it's now the longest I've ever been away from home, and what better way to mark that milestone than by going to see Fraser Island.
It was a group tour that took us to the island for a safari on a rather funky looking bus! It was a 20 seater which looks almost ex-military. It was rugged with four huge wheels and had a go anywhere look about it.
Our driver and guide, Drew, was as Aussie as they get but unfortunately the trip didn't start as smoothly as hoped. 10 minutes in we had to turn around and go back to change to another bus due to some mechanical problem. The new bus was definitely higher spec. It even had an interesting waterfall feature in the back thanks to all the rain we've had.
Just before we crossed onto the island we paused to prepare the bus for off road driving, and as we stopped people went to the bakery to grab something quick for breakfast. I got a doughnut and coffee. As I stepped back on the bus I realised that I had just taken a boiling hot liquid onto what was about to be the bumpiest ride of my life! My crotch paid the price, and I only got to taste half the cup I paid for! As if to rub it in, once we got to the island we pulled over on the beach for a complimentary hot drink!
While drinking we were showed an interesting stream which was really dark brown. It was like this because it had trees around it which were leaking tannin into the water. Apparently the tannin is the same reason a cup of black tea is black. - so it was a stream of tea!
We then went to Lake Mckenzie which wasn't quite the picture post card I've seen so much of. The water levels rising are to thank for that. It's a lake which has no rivers flowing in or out, so is filled and emptied solely by the rain and sun respectively. It has a pH of 4 meaning its acidic. So much so it cleans all your jewellery and nourishes the skin, making you look younger. Hence Lake Mackenzie is also called the lake of youth.
After the swim we had a steak BBQ with plenty of extras accompanied by the first XXXX beer I've had!
After the beer we got back on the bus and got out for a bit of a walk in the rainforest where we were told about all the creatures out to get us on the island! I was very twitchy! Then we drove back along the beach and back across to the mainland.
Got back to the hostel late and was tired so didn't fancy another battle with the kitchen so I just went for a Chinese!