Fraser Island
Lørdag morgen stod jeg tidligt op for at pakke mine ting og spise morgenmad før jeg skulle på tur. Jeg var næsten ved at misse turen, for jeg havde fået oplyst et forkert navn på det selskap som skulle hente mig, og chaufføren havde været lige ved at køre. Heldigvis var dem i receptionen vågne og jeg kom med buseen :-) Vi kørte ned til færgen og sejlede i ca 20 min for at komme til Fraser Island. Her ventede vores chauffør Warren i en bus, der nok er lidt anderledes end dem man ser på de danske veje. Man kan vel bedst beskrive den som en 4-hjurlstrukket bil i forvokset udgave. Warren var hyggelig og efter 17 år som guide kunne han mange forskellige historier om øen. Han startede med alle advarslerne: slanger, edderkopper, hajer og farlig understrøm i havet. der dør flere mennesker på øen hvert år ved at bade i havet, hvor der er stor chance for at møde en haj. Warren, fortalte også at en canadisk turist for 2 uger siden ville ta en aftensvømmetur i havet, og en strøm tog ham og han kom aldrig tilbage... så nu havde vi respekt for havet!!
Men men, da det seriøse var overstået kørte vi til Lake McKenzie (?) som var helt vildt flot, og lignede et billede på et postkort. Vi badede og slappede af og jeg fandt ud af at to af de andre på bussen også var danskere - fra Odense, selvfølgelig :-) Vi kørte videre på meget ujævne veje til en gåtur i regnskoven og kørte derefter til Eurang resort for at spise frokost. Herefter kørte vi til endnu en sø. Her skulle vi gå 2,3 km for at komme frem. Det var stegende varmt og det sidste stykke gik vi gennem en sand dune (kan ikke huske hvad det hedder på dansk) så det var dejligt endelig at komme frem til søen og bade.
Da vi havde gået turen tilbage til bussen kørte vi tilbage til hotellet hvor vi fik tildelt vores værelser. Der var en hollandsk dame på ca 50 år med på bussen som man vel godt kan kalde lettere højrøstet. Til min ærgelse fandt jeg ud af at jeg skulle dele værelse med hende. heldigvis var mine to andre room mates, Lina og Melina (Jep vi havde næsten ens navne) rigtig søde. Og vi boede på et hotel hvilket var dejligt efter mange nætter på vandrehjem; gode senge, friske håndklæder og et dejligt badeværelse. Efter et forfriskende bad mødte vi de andre i resturanten hvor der var Aussie mad på menuen. Buffet'er er farlige når man er backpacker, for man vænner sig hurtigt til at spise mere mad :-) Bagefter gik vi i beach baren til Happy hour. Jeg drak en enkelt øl og gik så tilbage på værelset for at slappe lidt af. De andre kom lidt senere og vi gik i seng. Jeg vågnede første gang omkring kl 2 og undrede mig over hvad det dog var for en lyd der havde vækket mig. Det viste sig at den hollandske dame snorkede som jeg aldrig har hørt nogen snorke før! Hendes ekstreme lyde vækkede mig flere gange i løbet af natten så jeg var ikke specielt udhvilet da vi stod op næste dag - og jeg var ikke den eneste....
Efter en god morgenmad kørte vi ned på stranden. Af sikkerhedsmæssige grunde er stranden en officiel motorvej som kontorlleres af politiet. Fartgrænsen er 80 km/t så vi fik lidt fart på. Vi mødte en Dingo på vejen så vi stoppede og tog billeder. Efter lidt mere kørsel stod der et lille fly på stranden og vi stoppede fordi vi havde mulighed for en lille flyvetur over øen. Selvom det kostede lidt, så meldte jeg mig straks, og det var en rigtig flot tur. Lidt mærkeligt at lette og lande på stranden, men fedt at se det hele ovenfra. Vi kørte til et vrag fra et skib som for mange år siden skyllede op på stranden, og herefter gik turen til champagne pools, hvor det var sikkert at bade i havet da hajer ikke kan komme derind. Bussen var tæt på at sidde fast i sandet, men efter et par forsøg lykkedes det Warren at køre videre. Vi kørte til Lion's Head hvor vi havde udsigt over stranden og havet, ca 80 meter under os. Vi så store rokker, skildpadder og hajer - og til vores overraskelse en der snorklede. Da vi kom ned igen spiste vi de madpakker hotellet havde lavet til os. Så var dag nummer 2 ved at være overstået, og vi kørte tilbage til færgen som sejlede os til fastlandet. Vi ankom til vandrehjemmet sidst på eftermiddagen, og efter et bad mødtes jeg med Alberto, en spanier som var med på turen, for at spise aftensmad og drikke et par øl. Og så var det ellers i seng for at være frisk til endnu en gang at pakke tasken og ta bussen sydpå....
Fraser var fantastisk, men vejret var desværre ikke helt med os. Det var overskyet og om aftenen regnede det helt vildt meget. Jeg synes det var en god tur, men jeg synes helt klart at Whitsundays var bedre... men men det er jo bare min mening.....

Fraser Island
Saturday morning I got up early to pack my things and eat breakfast before it was time for my next trip. I almost missed the trip because I had been given the wrong name of the company that was supposed to pick me and the driver almost left without me. Luckily, the lady in the receptions was alert and I made the bus :-) We drove down to the ferry and sailed for about 20 minutes to get to Fraser Island. Here our driver Warren, was waiting for us in a bus that was quite different from the ones you see on the danish roads. I guess you could best describe it as an overgrown version og a 4WD car. Warren was nice and after 17 years as a guide he knew many different stories about the island. He started with all the warnings: snakes, spiders, sharks and dangerous currents in the ocean. more people are dying on the island each year by swimming in the sea where there is a great chance to meet a shark. Warren also told that 2 weeks ago a Canadian tourist went for a late night swim in the ocean, and a current got him and he unfortunately never came back ... so now we had respect for the ocean!

Oh well, time for the fun part, we drove to Lake McKenzie (?), which was really beautiful, and looked like a picture on a postcard. We swam and relaxed and I found out that two of the others on the bus also were Danes - from Odense, of course :-) We drove on very bumpy roads to a walk in the rainforest and then drove to Eurang resort for lunch . Then we drove to another lake. Here we had to walk 2.3 km to get there. It was sizzling hot and the last stretch was a sand dune so it was nice to finally get to the lake and swim.

Back at the bus we drove back to the hotel where we were allocated our rooms. There was a Dutch lady of about 50 years on the bus and to put it nicely you can say that she was a bit loud. To my resentment, I found out I had to share a room with her. luckily my other two room mates, Lina and Melina (Yep, we had very similar names) were really nice. And we stayed at a hotel, which was nice after many nights in the hostel, good beds, fresh towels and a nice bathroom. After a refreshing shower, we met the others in the restaurant where there was Aussie food on the menu. Buffets are dangerous when you are a backpacker, because you quickly get used to eating more food :-) Afterward we went to beach bar for Happy hour. I drank one beer and then went back to the room to relax. The others came a little later and we went to bed. I awoke the first time around 2 am and wondered what sound had awakened me. It turned out that the Dutch lady snored as I've never heard anyone snore before! Her extreme sounds woke me up several times during the night so I was't really well-rested when we got up the next day - and I was not the only one ....

After a good breakfast we drove down the beach. For security reasons, the beach is an official highway controlled by police. The speed limit is 80 km/h so it was pretty fun. We met a Dingo on the road so we stopped to take pictures. After some more driving there was a small plane on the beach and we stopped because we had the option of a short flight over the island. Although it cost a bit, so I signed up immediately and it was a really nice ride. A little weird to take off and land on the beach, but great to see everything from above. After we drove to a wreck of a ship, which stranded on the beach many years ago. Then we went to the champagne pools, where it was safe to swim in the ocean because sharks can not get in there. The bus was close to getting stuck in the sand, but after a few attempts, Warren got us moving. We went to Lion's Head where we had views of the beach and ocean, about 80 meters below us. We saw huge stingrays, turtles and sharks - and to our surprise a snorkeler. When we came back down we ate lunch, that the hotel had packed for us. Thenover 2nd day was almost over and we drove back to the ferry that sailed us to the mainland. We arrived at the hostel late in the afternoon, and after a bath, I met Alberto, a Spanish guy who was on the Fraser trip with me, for dinner and a few beers. And then it was off to bed to be rested for the next day where I once again packed my bag to take the bus south ....
Fraser was fantastic, but the weather was unfortunately not quite with us. It was cloudy, and in the evening it rained a lot. I think it was a good trip, but I have no doubt that I enjoyed the Whitsundays more...