Fraser Island and Brisbane
Having driven almost 2000km down the east coast of Australia from Cairns we arrived in the picturesque town of Rainbow Beach which was to provide our crossing point to Fraser Island.
Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world. The island is about 120km from top to bottom and as well as beautiful beaches the island has a considerable amount of rainforest and some stunning fresh water lakes.
We were collected from our hostel in a four-wheel drive coach for our day tour. First was the ferry crossing which lasted all of ten minutes, then we were on the sand being thrown about inside the coach as we travelled over the uneven sand.
The main highlight of the tour was the magnificent lake McKenzie where the water is unbelievably clear and the sand almost snow white. It proved to be a relaxing way to spend an hour floating in the water. It also made a nice change to be swimming where there was no chance of getting stung by jelly fish.
The rest of the day was spent driving up and down the beach visiting various points of interest (ship wreck, coloured sand, fresh water stream, old logging station) all the while being entertained by our guide/driver who had a limitless supply of bad jokes that seemed to appeal to David more than anyone else on the coach.
After failing to see the famous Fraser Island Dingo (famous because it remains genetically pure as it hasn't bred with dogs) for almost the whole day our luck changed minutes before we were back at the ferry when a female Dingo stood in the middle of the beach. We were a little disappointed though as it basically looked like a dog!
Our final stopping point in Australia was the capital of Queensland, Brisbane where we were kindly being put up by another relative, Sam and her two children Alex and Maddy. We were collected from the train station by John and Glenys who are Sam's parents and spent a very restful afternoon catching up on family news and drinking lots of tea.
The following day with the temperature well into the thirties we explored the centre of Brisbane, which has some fine buildings, a river which meanders its way through the centre and a botanical gardens which have some big trees which provide ample shade for an afternoon snooze.
In the evening Sam hosted a family meal at her house where apart from John, Glenys Alex, and Maddy, Sam's sister Andrea and her husband Paul and their kids Nathan and Kate also came. It was fantastic to meet everyone and to spot the family resemblances. Thanks to Sam and everyone for making us feel so welcome and for getting up at 5.30 to enable us to catch our flight!
Next stop Auckland (briefly) then onto Christchurch to pick up our campervan for campervan adventures the sequel…