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Rainbow Beach was our starting point for the 4x4 self drive tour of Fraser Island, the world's largest sand island. The day before we were due to leave, we had to have a briefing with the company at our hostel. The briefing turned out to be about 2 hours of getting told what to do and what not to do while on the island! There was also a hilarious safety video from the government to watch. The main man who spoke to us, Merv, was a true child of the 60s and every bit Aussie! Every other sentence he said was about 'peace and love man'. It was very different form the last time I visited the island, when you literally were given the keys and a map and sent on your way! We were also put into our groups for the trip. There were roughly 60 of us, split between 6 4x4 Toyota Troop Carriers. There are 2 proper seats in the front and then a small bench running down each side in the back; 10 of us had to squeeze in there for the 3 day trip, along with all our camping gear, food and supplies loaded onto the huge roof rack. Our group was a good bunch, made up of Canadian, French Canadian, Swedish, Danish and Dutch.

After the meeting we had time to go and buy extra personal supplies - i.e. plenty of sunscreen, tonnes of mosquito repellent and enough booze to keep James happy for 3 days - we were loaded down! We also had a little wander down on to Rainbow Beach itself. It is a huge, long beach, stretching out as far as the eye can see….you can also spot the tip of Fraser Island in the distance. We watched a few sky divers land on the beach, which did not make us feel any more willing to try it out!

Very early on Sunday, we met up with our group, checked off all our equipment and loaded it onto the roof. The 5 drivers - me and James included - had a crash course on driving 4x4s on the beach and off we went to catch the 10am ferry to the island. No-one really wanted to be the first driver, so James bravely volunteered and got us to our first destination - Lake Mackenzie - safe and sound, albeit with much heckling from the back seat! The lake, in the interior of the island, is a beautiful, crystal clear, freshwater lake, with a white sandy beach surrounding it. We spent a few hours playing in the water, learning how to throw an American football (one of he Canadians in our group was a pro player back at home) and sunbathing. The bumpy ride to the first night's campsite was pretty long and we all had sore bums by the time we got there! By the time we were set up, the sun was starting to set and we had to cook our dinner in darkness, with 3 head torches between the 10 of us! Camping was back to basics, everything you needed had to be brought with you - this included water supplies. We had to use sea water to wash up with, just to preserve our supply of fresh drinking water. The toilet was a walk down the beach, find a secluded spot and dig a hole!!

Unfortunately, we had another early rise the next day too, purely because the sun was so hot that when it hit the tents they turned into saunas inside! The tents were packed, we'd cooked our breakfast and the car was loaded and set to go by 8am! It was nice to get in the car and start moving so the breeze could cool us off! We stopped off in Happy Valley - a small township - to stock up on ice and use the clean, flushable toilets. Of course, the girl's line was round the corner of the block! Now it was my turn to drive! I was pretty nervous, I had 9 people's lives in my hands, and Merv, quite frankly, had put the fear of God in me about even turning the steering wheel in the sand, in case we tipped over! But all in all, it was fun and I even got up to the speed limit a few times, although the sensation of driving on sand is very strange and a few times it felt like the wheels were going from under me! We made it to Indian Head in one piece and climbed up the rugged headland to get spectacular views of the jagged coastline. From the cliff top we could see down into shark infested waters below; we only saw one shark and a few stingers! Next up was the long drive back down the beach to Eli Creek, close to our campsite for the night. The creek, which is really more like a stream, was very cold and refreshing - we hadn't showered since we left the mainland and the heat was intense, even through the night - so we used the chance to freshen up a little!

That night after our dinner - we were by now more effective at setting up camp and had cooked, eaten and washed up in the sea before nightfall - we were besieged by dingoes! Obviously, all the noise and scraps of food had attracted their attention, and they are pretty harmless as long as you didn't get in the way, but it was pretty scary seeing them up close, especially when you wanted to go to the toilet in the dark. James had to act as my guard everywhere I went that night! Another early rise in the morning, but sadly, we weren't going anywhere in a hurry this time - we had a flat battery! The other 5 jeeps, tried to help us out by pushing us up a hill, but it was a flat as a pancake, so they all left us to it!!! Fearing we would have to call out Merv, and get charged through the roof for his services, we tracked down to the beach and flagged some passersby. Luckily, the third car we tried had some jump leads and was willing to help us out. After 5 minutes or so, the engine roared to life and we were off again! Our friendly helper even followed us for a while to make sure we got going ok - there are still some decent people out there, our faith was restored!

Our last stop - which of course, we were now quite late for - was Lake Wabby. Very different from Mackenzie, it is a dark, green, murky lake full of huge catfish. We were not put off, after our hectic morning we all wanted to cool off in its waters. Only half an hour later though and we had to start the drive back to the furthest point of the island to catch the ferry back to Rainbow Beach. Our adventure was nearly over and, even though we were shattered, looked like sand monsters and were in desperate need of a shower, we had had a great time. Back at Rainbow Beach, we had no time to spare, as we were now facing a 12 hour drive to Airlie Beach and we only had one day to do it in!