We left the Whitsundays on a bus to Hervey Bay where our Fraser Island 4x4 driving would begin. 

It started with a group meeting the night before to get alcohol and food but as it was ANZAC day (bit like Remembrance Sunday) everything was shut except the Spar and the bottle shop! 

We were up and checked out by 6.30 so we could watch a video about driving on sand and dingeo safety (like foxes but vicious). We loaded up the cars and set off, there were 28 people in our group so we were 4 cars of 7 but not everyone could drive (had to be 21 and over with a manual licence). There were 5 drivers in our car, Dan went first, driving us to the ferry then onto the first lake. He loved it sand tracks slipping and sliding everywhere! 

Fraser Island is the biggest sand island in the world and has 40 of the worlds 80 freshwater lakes on it. It has the purest breed of dingoes anywhere in Australia, your not allowed to swim in the sea because of sharks and if they told us about the snakes and spiders we wouldn't go apparently!! Honestly I'm so glad we booked this trip!

The first lake we went to was Lake Birribeen it was really pretty and had silica sand (cleans anything skin, jewellery and hair) but too early for us so we didn't swim just watched the others. Your not allowed to take food near the lakes because of the dingoes!! So we ate lunch near the cars then set off for a little village which had dingo fences so we were 'safe' for a bit (they don't keep out the snakes and spiders though!)  in the afternoon we went swimming at Lake Wabbi which is a lake next to a massive sand dune, which your not allowed to run down into the water (its illegal) as so many people have hurt themselves. The lake was great there was the little fish that nibble your skin in there so we all had a foot pedicure while we were there. 

After a couple of hours here we headed to our camp site, which looked promising when we turned up nice tents, a kitchen area, then the big announcement........ there are no toilets and we have to go in pairs whilst taking a large stick with us to beat the dingoes away with if they try and attack!!! Before China I might have been shocked by this lack of facilities but after those toilets this is paradise!!! 

We slept really well on our first night, surprisingly! Then it was my turn to drive in the morning, we were heading up '75 mile beach' to the 'champagne pools'. I didn't like to driving at first but soon got used to it, the pools were ok but nothing special. After lunch we went to the shipwreck of the Maheno, which was huge but impressive as we have never seen a wreck up close before. Dan then drove us onto 'Eli Creek', which is a freshwater river that floats you down towards the sea then you go back to the start and float down again. Was good but not enough water to carry us all the way down. While we were at the car drying off a dingo appeared wandering along the beach. He wasn't even bothered by us (don't know what all the fuss is about) and wandered off into the bush after about 20mins. Then back to camp before dark after dinner we heard a helicopter, which apparently is not a good sign on Fraser means someone is badly injured, turned out a man had run down the dune at Lake Wabbi (2nd lake we went to) and hit his head and possibly broke his neck!!! 

The next day we were up early again and I drove us to Lake Mackenzie, it was bumpy, windy track all the way but I coped quite well I thought!!! The lake was really pretty and we all got in for a swim, just as well really as it started raining not long after we got there. We then drove to the ferry port to head back to the mainland. 

On our last evening in Hervey Bay as a group we ordered pizza from dominoes. Don't think I have ever seen so many pizza boxes! We had 26stacked up in the kitchen a good end to a good trip!