Day 77- Tues 25th

We headed for Rainbow Beach today which took 2 hours on the coach. The bus stop was right outside our hostel called Dingos. The hostel is really nice and a lady who works there was really friendly. We are sharing a 7 bed dorm with people who are also doing the Fraser Island trip. Vicky and I took a walk around the town which wasn't very big and dead to be honest. We went back to the hostel where they gave us a talk on our Fraser Island trip, we were put into Group B along with three German people called Dorothy, Babet and Mike. There were four people missing as they hadn't got to the hostel yet so we will meet them tomorrow. We didn't do much else today except a bit of washing and using the internet. We had a wicked dinner at the hostel for $5. We packed for Fraser and then had an early night.

Day 78- Wed 26th

We had a very early start, had to be at breakfast by 7 and out by the jeeps by 7.45. The guide Luke was so funny and had us checking all our equipment and loading it up onto the jeep. We met the four others in our group who were irish and called Sinead, James, Declan and Andrew (Cheesy). Our group was one of the first to get everything sorted, Luke gave us a chat on what to expect, the route to take and how to drive the 4x4 jeeps. James drove first, two people could sit in the passenger seats and then the rest of us were in the back which was a tight squeeze. All our bags had to go on top as there was no room in the back. We drove in convoy to the ferry terminal and we drove onto the ferry and it only took 5 minutes to get across to the island. We still drove in convoy with the other 6 jeeps but some broke down and others stopped so we pretty much did our own thing. Driving on the sand was weird at first, the tracks weren't too worn in so it was bumpy. The weather today was baking, we were very lucky. Our first stop was a town called Eurong, it wasn't big at all and only had a few shops where we could buy ice for our cooler boxes (eskies as they are called over here). We then drove to Lake McKenzie which was absolutely stunning. It was a fresh water lake which had a pure white sand shore and the clearest water I have ever seen. It was cold at first but once you were in it was fine. The water was so clean you could drink it. All the other jeeps were here too and we all just chilled out and played in the lake. There were a few dingos lurking around but they didn't attack us. We had to leave around 3pm so that we could get to the campsite before dark and set up our tents. Lisa drove this time and did really well. There were three of the other jeeps nearby at the campsite but we needed to park near a sand dune so that the wind didn't blow our tents down. Lisa, Vicky and I started to make dinner straight away as it was getting dark whilst the others set up the tents. The hostel had sorted all our food out and had given us a very descriptive menu of what we could eat each day. For dinner we made steak, potato salad and green salad. We ate dinner around the jeep in the dark apart from a lamp that was powered by the engine. After dinner we cracked on with the drinking, we had bought 16 litres of wine between the four of us! Over here they call boxed wine 'goon' and that's pretty much what we were drinking and it wasn't great. We played drinking games and even went for a late night paddle in the sea. We went to bed quite late, we were all shattered from a busy day. It was a bit scary going to use the bushes whilst there were dingos around, we had to take someone to keep a look out!

Day 79- Thurs 27th (My Birthday)

Today it's my birthday and I'm very excited. I woke up quite early and went to help the boys do the washing up in the sea. We then started to make scramble egg and toast for breakfast. The rest of the group took the tents down but we were the last ones to leave the campsite as we took ages packing up. We were a bit behind schedule which might have been a problem as we needed to drive along the beach and the tide was coming up fast. We made it to Indian Heads just in time before the tide totally took over the beach. All the other groups were there and making breakfast so we headed for the beach. We walked about 30 minutes along the shore to a place called the Champagne Falls which were beautiful. They were rock pools right next to the sea and the waves would crash over and make the water fizz, hence the name Champagne. We paddled here for a bit before it was time to get back to the jeep. We didn't have time to walk up to the top of Indian Head but apparently you could see dolphins and turtles from the top. We drove back down the coast of the island to find somewhere to stop for lunch. We found a picnic area and made our sandwiches. Then it was my turn to drive!! Luckily we were only going along the beach which was easy. We got to a place called Airlie Creek which was crystal clear. You could lie on your back and the current would take you along the creek all the way down to the sea. On the way to the next campsite we stopped at the ship wreck which was right on the beach. It's been there for a hundred years and is a bit rusty! We got to the campsite and set up the tents. We tried to flag down the other jeeps but only one set up camp near us. I wasn't allowed to do anything as it was my birthday so I sat and relaxed, although I did do a bit of washing up. The cooks made a nice chicken stir fry. The girls then surprised me with a birthday cake/doughnut and everyone sung me Happy Birthday. The girls gave me their cards and presents and had bought along party hats, balloons and banners to put everywhere. We also had sparklers! It started to rain so we joined up with the other group and hung a canopy between the two jeeps so we could sit somewhere dry. We played drinking games and the Irish lads gave me a dance for my birthday…it was hilarious. I had a brilliant day and felt very special, will never forget my 22nd.

Day 80- Fri 28th

It was our last day on Fraser…I woke up early and tried to wake the rest of the group up, I was being too nice about it so Vicky came out and shook everyone's tents! We didn't make breakfast but packed up the truck and made an early start to get down the beach to Lake Wabby. We left our rubbish bags next to the other groups truck as a joke. We chose to do the shorter walk around the lake but it still took us a while to even get there. Had to walk over huge sand dunes but the weather wasn't too hot so it was bearable. The lake was beautiful, it wasn't as clear as Lake McKenzie but it was still pretty. It had a green tinge to it but when you got closer to the edge you could see the fish as the water was clear. There were steep sand hills running down into the lake and the boys tried to boogie board down them but it didn't work. We had a paddle but the water was freezing. We couldn't stay long as we needed to make the ferry at 11am. All the other groups had left so we were fairly behind on schedule but it didn't matter too much as ferried ran every ten minutes or so. Declan drove the remainder of the way back to the ferry point, we had to wait awhile but the ferry came and we took the truck back to the garage for a check. We all cleaned it out and cleaned all the gear before taking it back to Dingo's. We also filled it up with a new tank of petrol. We had a well deserved shower at the hostel and took a long nap. We woke up for our $5 dinner and sat and had a chat with our group and a few other friends we had made.