Driving on the beach with Whales ! Caroline and I headed to Hervey Bay in the hope of some whale watching and a trip to Fraser Island. The humpback whales migrate from Antartic to the coast of Queensland to mate and give birth in warmer waters. Unfortunately the main tours did not start until the beginning of July so we opted for the Ultimate Tour of Fraser Island instead. With 2 nights booked at the lovely YHA we set the alarms for an 8am pick up and looked forward to a trip of a lifetime... We were not disappointed we were collected by bus in the morning and taken to the ferry for our 30minute ride to Fraser Island. Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world, measuring 175km long and up to 20km wide. It is listed as a world heritage site and some 450,000 people a year make the pilgrimage and tour the island on a 4WD. Ranger Bill our guide for the day met us on the ferry, and from the very first moment I saw him I was mesmerised! I just could not take my eyes off him. He had the most amazing ...................... mullet I have seen. Close to a grade 2 on top of the head and a highlighted shoulder length mane at the back. He explained that there were only 5 of us on this tour today and if we wanted to go downstairs for free coffee and muffins it was waiting for us. Is the Pope a catholic ! Once on the island we met Lawrie, Gloria and Judy our fellow tourees and headed off in our 4WD bus. As Fraser is entirely made up from sand there are virtually no bitumen roads on the islands and the tracks previously carved out of the forest for the logging trains create the infrastructure used by all the 4WD vehicles. These are all single tracks with passing places, and you can see the fear on a land cruiser drivers face when this 4WD bus looms at them round a corner and they have to reverse to let us pass. The first track out of the resort was called rollercoaster and it really did have you rolling from side to side. I was handed the mystery parcel wrapped in calico and Caroline sat up front in the passenger seat. If you want to know what the mystery parcel was you have to send me an e-mail from home with news. The first stop was Lake Wabby, one of the 200+ fresh water lakes on Fraser. This deep lake is home to catfish and is borded by a large sand blow. We viewed it from the look out and Ranger Bill advised that the walk to Lake Wabbi was 1.6km then the walk the Easterly Beach from the lake was another 1.8km. This looked like a leisurely tour and we trotted off into the forest with our water and sunnies in hand. This was not before Caroline asked if there was any mullet in the lake! Well the opportunity was too good to miss! The lake was emerald green and in the shallows you could see the catfish swimming in line up and down the shore. As brave as a lion I did not go in but I did sit right by the water. But what we had not spotted from the lookout was how steep the dunes leading from the lake to the beach were. The sandblow had created dunes, just as you imagine in the Sahara, a beautiful yellow gold colour. The older sand to the left was pure white where the natural mineral coating had been worn away over time. We huffed and we puffed our way across the dunes and eventually made it across to the beach. This was an achievement as my pictures will prove. Once on the beach, Ranger Bill and the bus were waiting for us. This is known as 70mile beach but is really only 56miles long. It is also the main road for this side of the island. It is a good job the inviting sea is filled with Tiger Sharks and Stingers(deadly jelly fish) as sunbathing there may be like sunbathing on the hard shoulder of the M1. Infact speeding and "incidents" have become so much of an issue at fraser that they have employed 2 policemen to live on the island. Apparently they are both keen fishermen and this is a dream posting. So just remember you can get radared on the beach ! Reassured that the Tiger Sharks stay out the other side of the surf we did a pommy paddle and then went back to the bus. Lawrie sat in the passenger seat as we cruised up the beach. Lawrie then spotted a humpback about 100 metres off shore and we sat and watched as he swam up the beach surfacing every 60 seconds or so.... The sheer size of the beast is just awesome. They can swim some 30km under water without having to surface ! Just think the Japanese want to kill these beautiful creatures for the sake of 'scientific research' , when really they sell the meat to restaurants. After the excitment of the whale and the exhaustion of the dune walk we went for an massive buffet lunch and beer! Then it was my turn up front and once again thanks to Lawrie we spotted a dingo another native resident of Fraser. Because Fraser has been cut off from the main land these are the most purebred dingoes in Australia, 85-95% pure. They can be agressive as they associate humans with food, and a 9 year old boy was killed by one a couple of years ago on the island. He was not savaged as the media reports said but received a single bite to the leg that severed and artery and he bled to death. Tragic but because ignorant people still insist on feeding the wildlife dingoes are still put to death for being aggressive when they hassle people for food. Fraser Island, although made entirely of sand, it also supports a rainforest and the afternoon was spent walking in this sunlight dappled world. The sand filters the water so efficiently that the streams through the forest are crystal clear. The forests were once logged commercially for the hooped pine and satinet trees. If you eat an ice lolly here the chances are that the stick is hooped pine, selected as it has no taste or odour. If you go to the docks in London the wood used is from Fraser the Satinet Tree, choosen as it is resistant to marine boarers. We did not see an eel that inhabit the clear streams but we did see an Azure Kingfisher. As if this was not enough then onto Lake Mackensie. The largest shelf lake on the island. If you are curious how lakes can stay present on an island made purely from sand, then read on. When sand and vegetation mix and are compacted over thousands of years they form coffee rock that is impervious to water. Lake Mackensie sits on this rock and is an azure blue pool of freshwater with white icing sugar sugar sands and rain forest surrounding it. Sounds Idyllic, it is ! The water is slightly acidic and much to my delight it is fish free. It is not feed by any inlet and has no outlet. It is just topped up by rainfall and run off. Therefore you have to be careful not to swim caked in suntan lotion as this impacts on the lake water purity. Fraser is believed to sit on a water table that holds more fresh water than Sydney Harbour! The Island just continues to amaze and astound you with the feeling of wilderness and the wonder of nature. Trees and funghi live in harmony to make the most of the nutritionally poor soil. Scientists believe that most of Frasers Flaura and Fauna live in some kind of symbiotic relationship. This goes to show how clever nature is at making the most of what she has. Stories were abound The Aboriginal girls who lived on the Island would have to prove their transition into womanhood by taking a highly toxic fruit, tenderising it and leaving it to run in the fresh water stream for 7 days. It is then made into a paste and cooked on the embers of the fire. Only then can it be eaten without it killing you! The 60 4WD vehicles that are lost to the sea on Fraser each year, when inexperienced and experienced drivers are fooled by the even looking sand and become grounded. The $450,000 tour coach stuck at Indian Head that even after 3 hours of attempted rescue still succumbed to the rising tide. Serenaded by a jetty full of people and their stubby's there to watch the seas claim it's latest victim. Our last view of Fraser saw a dingo on a sunset lit beach, approaching a photographer, as the guy bent down the dingo stole his bag and made a run for it. This caused much merriment on the ferry as we turned to face the setting sun and head back happy and exhausted to Hervey Bay. My tip to anyone coming out this way is put Fraser on your list and if you can afford the $145 (61 pounds) meet up with ranger Bill and go explore. Love Lynne