Hervey Bay

The reason to stay here is a visit to Fraser Island, 30 minute ferry ride. So another trip off the mainland booked. We arrive after our overnight bus ride of which the highlight was stopping at a cafe and discovering a number of kangaroos munching on grass out the back! Our studio apartment is perfect for a couple of nights and the lady (Lesley) who checked us in was very nice and told us about the area (she was also English football mad but a man utd fan!! eeek!) Predominantly Hervey Bay, Torquay area is like a retirement town in A very nice one!!! There is a lovely walk along the beach to a pier one end and a shopping area the other. We decide to take the longer walk down to the pier ... It is just like a jetty that reaches out nearly 1km out to sea, on there are fishermen and women, so our walk along it engages us in watching them fish and chat to a man who had retired there!!! A refreshment was needed so we had a nice cold beer in the boat club / gambling club!!! And head off to grab some food for dinner. An early night for another early start!!!
We catch the bus for our trip outside the studio apartment and get driven to the ferry port. The island we are to visit is pure sand, in fact the only tropical rainforest island in the world made of sand! For this reason many people venture there for a 4x4 adventure for a few days, we are doing the highlights in one day being driven on a 4x4 coach!!! Along the single sand track it certainly was bumpy terrain, a short hold up whilst someone in front was helped out of the sand... The driver tells us that there are a lot of people who hire 4x4 cars and get stuck because they don't know how to drive through sand... Well our driver certainly does!!! He tells us about our itinerary and a little about this World Heritage island, including the dangers of the wildlife mammals, the Dingo. The first stop is a break stop at the resort on the island, probably the only place that has hard standing floors!!! It is also Dingo free area! We get back in our monster truck and are driven along the beach, 75 mile beach, the name tells you how long it is!!! It is a smoother ride because we are driving on the low tide sand, this is also the only beach in the world that has highway laws!!! We stop to look at and picture The Pinnacles; giant sand dunes consisting of different coloured sand layers and then double back to see a ship wreck Maheno; that had a story of its own that our driver indulged us in; used as a luxury liner, used in war, sold as scrap that ended up ship wrecked during a storm as it was being towed to Japan and more then used as target practice by the army!!! A short swim stop at Eli Creek then lunch back at the resort. Sarah and I got chatting to a lady who was campervaning from Broom (north west Australia) who was a teacher / principal of a school now enjoying retirement traveling!! After lunch we took an inland drive to Lake McKenzie for a swim and relaxation. This lake is purely rain water and has the silica sands surrounding it.... It truly was an amazing spot, just like being at the ocean but with no salty water... Perfect! Back on the monster truck we were heading for Central Station and a bush walk; Central Station was the main area that was used for workers during the logging industry on the island that ceased when the island became a heritage site, not much was left as the companies took most of it with them but the guide told a few stories which enabled you to imagine the work and set up. A wander through the bush on boardwalks reminded me of I'm a Celebrity and expected Ant and Dec to jump out. Instead there were a few lizards, funnel web spider webs, lots of different trees and lots of noisy insects and birds. Back at the ferry we boarded to return to our studio apartment late and exhausted. Another early get up in the morning to catch the bus to our City break, Brisbane.