So we arrived in Rainbow beach just as it had got dark! We jumped off the bus with no idea of where Dingoes hostel was or how we'd get there. Fortunately some girls heading further north told us it was just across the road, we couldn't see it because the bus was still parked up, lol. We headed over and got checked in but were still unsure whether we'd be heading to Fraser on the Monday or Tuesday. Due to Naomi's skydive early the next day we headed pretty much straight to bed. The next day we were up bright and early, although the sun wasn't, it was a bit of a grey day ready to meet the skydiving guys. Na was the only one jumping that morning but the instructor was kind enough to let us go to the airstrip with her and then the land spot just down from Rainbow beach. As soon as she was back we headed for breakfast in the village and had a wander .. th place is tiny though and there's barely anything here, it's mainly a gateway to Fraser. That afternoon we attended the breifing and were given health and safety instructions re: driving, dingoes and all other things on Fraser. We were put into groups meaning we'd be off on Monday, the last day of self-drive with roof racks and up to ten people per car. As of April the rules changed meaning all kit had to be in the truck with a max of 8 people! Legends! We planned the rest of our trip up the coast, had some munch and got an early night ready for our 6am start.

Monday morning, free coffee and pancakes was provided for our breakfast before checking out and gathering with the rest of the groups for a final briefing. We packed up the truck including camping gear, food and booze for 3 days, 2 nights; were given a suggested itinerary and a run down of how best to drive 4wd vehicles and were then on our way. We drove out of Rainbow towards where the barge left the beach and were loaded on. Merv (the adventure guide/hire/odd-jobs man extriordinaire) waved goodbye and we were off. On the other side we first had to cruise round hook point just getting used to the experience before having a brief toilet/lunch break and then heading the length of Fraser down to Inidan head; this was the first part I drove just cruising down the beach on the hardest bits of sand I could find at about 70 kmph over washouts and round rocks. We climbed up to the rocky outcrop with the hope of seeing shraks, dolphins and turtles .. however it was pretty hard to tell what as moving down there. From there we headed back up the beach to the first nights campsite. Although there were 6 cars in our convoy we'd all got seperated throughout the day and that night we ended up camping byourselves - the 10 of us anyway. That night we cooked our steaks and made a couple of salads. Just as we were eating we spotted one of our first dingoes but with a few claps and stomps of our feet and by shouting 'go home dingo' it shortly disappeared. We had a few beers, played a few goon drinking games and headed off to bed. The tents weren't the greatest and the floor was hard as anything even though we were on the worlds largest sand island! But eventually the sun was coming up and it was too hot to sleep anyway. After a hearty breakfast of eggs on toast we packed up camp and took a walk down to the Maheno shipwreck for photos. Then it was back in the car and off to Eurong for water, ice and toilets before heading inland on tracks to spend the day at Lake McKenzy. We'd bumped into the boys from Bondi on our first day and had been told the 'road' up to McKenzy was a bit hairy. No-one in the group seemed keen to drive apart from the one guy that none of the girls felt to confident with and in the end I was nominated/volunteered to drive the 11km inland on unknown track!!! I can't say I was massively looking forward to it .. although I'd felt comfortable in the drivers seat the day before my biggest worry was what to do if something did start to go wrong and the responsibility of having 9 other bodies in the car with all that weight on top! The track was deep with sandy, bendy and in places bumpy but we manged okay. I got stuck at one point with a few other backpacker vehicles behind and everyone had to get out in order for me to reverse and give it another shot! I carried on until there was a decent spot to pull over and let someone else take the lead. We were fine again until just before the car park where we came over the brow of a hill into a massive pothole and rocked violently from side to side purely because of the weight, the cars in front of us without roof racks were looking back in horror and we stopped a moment just to compose ourselves before continueing on to park! We headed straight down to one of the most stunning lakes I've ever seen and jumped in to cool off and wash off! After spending a couple of hours relaxing and sunbathing we headed back for lunch and then to find our 2nd nights campsite. This time 18 year old Canadian Jordan drove, although technically not allowed because of age, 'experience', he was confident and so were we given his farming background and experience in driving big trucks at home! We made it back safe and sound and had to bomb along the beach before the tide came in. That night we set up camp with 2 other cars, had a chicken and vegetable stirfry and then mingled and drank with everyone before again heading to bed! The next day we were up bright and early again and headed off for the final time. We stopped along the beach and walked for 30 mins into Lake Wabbi for a bit of a swim and some fun on the sandunes. After a bite to eat it was a race down the beach and back to the barge. We headed back to Rainbow and Mervs workshop, cleaned and put away all our gear and got the car checked over by mechanics! Luck for us no damage and no fines!! We were taken back to the hostel and attempted to desand everything, got a shower and put some washing on! After a beer of 2 and dinner we were all shattered and ready for bed!

Tonight we head to the Town of 1770/Agnes Water for a couple of chilled beach days and then at the weekend we'll visit Mackay. On Tuesday we head to Airlie beach ready for our Whitsundays boat trip next Wednesday. Looking forward to a bit of pampering and luxury in a lush location then it'll be a case of finding work and getting some more money together!!!

Hope you enjoyed!! More to come soon!