Hi everyone,

We spent this weekend on Fraser Island, a little sand dune island off the east coast of Rainbow Beach. Early start on Saturday as we met our group of 10 and then had to get all our equipment and food and load up the van which was harder than you would think. After a quick driver briefing we were on our way to the ferry in our 4wd.

We didn't get 500m from the hostel before the first drama occured. Rose anbd Lydia were sitting in the front and Pete was driving. All of a sudden Rose started screaming, she had the biggest spider you have ever seen crawling up her leg. Instinictivly she flicked it off her leg, it just so happened to land on the driver who is terrified of spiders! Came to a halt in the middle of the road while those 3 jumped out! The spider then started heading for me in the back, i jumped out the way and Steph bravely flicked it out the car - what a drama. Luckily it didn't make us late for the ferry! It was just our vehicle and another going to Fraser Island, there were suppose to be 4 other vehicles full of Irish lads going with us but they destroyed the hostel Friday night so weren't allowed to go, thank god.

The ferry ride was only 10 minutes long and then Lyd was driving us off the ferry onto the beach! We had to go on the inland track to start with as the tide was too far in to drive on the beach. Both vehicles got stuck trying to get up onto the track because of the soft sand, but we made it eventually. The inland track was extremely bumpy and we were all thankful to get back on the beach after that!

First stop of the day was Lake McKenzie, an inland lake which is one of the hotspots of Fraser because it is so beautiful. The sands are a bright white and the water is crystal clear. Spent the afternoon chilling at the lake and soaking up the views. All too soon it was time to leave and head up to the 'Maheno' Wreck to find somewhere to camp for the night. Found a good spot on the beach behind some sand dunes. It was a race to get everything soprted and the tents up before the light went down. Then it was time to start the marathon task of cooking, the steaks and potato salad were fine, everyone was so hungary by the time they had cooked that we would have eaten anything. After we had washed up in the sea it was time for the drinking games to begin! Had a really good night and all got to know each other. Had a few visits from dingos as we were sitting up talking.

Sunday everyone was up by 6.30am as the tents heat up so quickly. After packing up the car the first stop was the 'Maheno' Wreck, got some awesome photos of the ship wreck, its amazing it is still there after so many years. After we had all got the required shots it was up to Indian Head for the day. Indian Head is the most northen point you can drive to on the island. Once we had got there we had breakfast, scrambled eggs and bread which again took an age to cook! With breakfast out the way we wlaked up to Waddy Point to watch out over the sea for whales and dolphins. Saw a pod of dolphins, about 18-20 of them just off the headland, Rose saw a stingray and we saw what looked like 3 reef sharks. Sat and watched for as long as we could bare and then took the 40 minute walk along the beach to Champagne Pools.

Champagne Pools are basically big rock pools. By the time we got there we were so warm the only thing to do was to dive straight in! Spent a few hours chilling there then we had to walk the 40 minutes back along the beach to the car. Saw lots of Blue Bottle Jelly fish washed up on the beach.

After a quick bite to eat we headed off the Eli Creek, which is a clear freshwater creek that runs right down onto the beach. Unfortunately because of the tides we only had time for a quick dip because we had a fair way to drive to our camp for the night. Saw some whale blows out at sea while we were aound the Creek.

Arrived at our campsite with just enough time to set up again before it got dark. This time we found a little enclosed campsite to ourselves. Dinner was stir fry which didn't take quite so long to cook and it was delicious compared to the steaks the previous night, only a small percentage of sand! Sat up and chatted after dinner, no one was really up for drinking that much after hitting it hard the night before so early nights all round! Again we had a dingo sniffing around camp.

Monday i was the first up by miles, so i had a very peaceful half an hour reading by myself on the beach, one of those moments when you just can't believe you are in just a gorgeous place. Had breakfast around 7am and were all ready to head off by 8am. Few problems getting out the campsite, the sand was really soft and we were stuck for about half an hour, eventually we got her out though.

First stop of the morning was Lake Wabby. It was a 1.8km mission over sand dunes to get to it but it was definately worth it. It is the deepest lake on Fraser Island and half of it is engulfed in a huge sandblow, pretty spectacular. The water is a lovely emerald green colour. The only thing to do after the treck was run right in, boy it was good. Stayed for about an hour at the lake, in the end the wind was getting to much and everyone was fed up with getting covered in sand so we made the walk back to the car.

Caught the ferry back at 3.30pm, we were all pretty sad our little adventure was over. Took the car back to the workshop and by the time we had washed the dishes and de-sanded the car we were back at the hostel around 5pm. We all had much needed showers after not even seeing a bathroom in 3 days and then had dinner together. Spent the evening re-living the trip and exchanging email address. Good times.

Love Hayley and Rose x