We arrived at Hervey Bay mid morning and Gem and Helen went straight to the beach. I was still a bit hungover so went to sleep for an hour and then went in search of a camera repair shop. There wasnt anywhere in Torquay where we were staying so ended up getting a bus to a retail estate and lookig there. I ended up having to buy a new camera same make and nearly as good and only a hundered pounds so not a bad deal. That evening we went to have our safety briefing for the trip and met who would be in our group. There are 27 people altogether but that is split into 3 cars of 9. Our group had me gem and helen, a lad from hudds called Olly who's mum actually wored at the examiner with gemma and is currently Jodie's boss (small world), he was traveling with a guy from Leeds called Dan. Then there were 3 18 year old lads from down south and a french canadian called Patrick. We all had a brief chat but everyoe went to bed early as we had to be up at 7 to go and buy provisions for the trip. We did bump into TJ and Sean again though from Byron bay. They had just come back that night from the islands and said it was amazing. Was really good to see them again and hopefully will meet up in the Whits when we go.

The next morning no one could remember any of the safety tips we had hear the night before, and i got totally confused when the mechanic was telling us how to drive the 4x4's. There are no roads on the island, so it is beach driving or rocks or rough terrain. Luckily Olly and Daniel had done off roading before so we decided they would do most of the driving, but us 3 girls said we would give it a shot. We went to Woolworths to get food and alcohol. I kid of took on the role of Mum which everyone seemed ok with and we decided to have a bbq the first night and spaghetti the 2nd night with sandwhiches etc for lunches. We then went and got alcohol me, gem and helen settled on 10l of Goon (which is cheap boxes of wine) and the lads got wine and beer which we stacked into our cool boxes.

We got onto the island at about 11 and the first stop was Central Station to stock up on ice to keep the alcohol cool and some water for our hangovers!!! We then went to pitch our tents at One Tree Rocks which is just off the beach. You have to park at least 50m from the sea because of the tides and you aren't allowed to swim in the sea because of sharks. Especially at this time of year as the Tiger Sharks are breeding!!

We then walked for an hour to Lake Wabby which is a fresh water lake with huge sandunes at either side which lead into the water. The lake was amazing, and we all had a go at running down the dunes and into the water. They are quite steep though and we got told off by a ranger as apparently 2 people were killed this morning at Indian heads when their car toppled over so they are making sure everyone is extra careful.

We all walked back to the campsite just before nightfall and the lads did an excellent BBQ with salad and bread etc. We then started some drinking games using the Man Utd cards that Aunty bought me (which went down a storm with the lads!) Everyone had a bit too much Goon and was in bed by half 11, which was a blessing as we all had to be up at 7am. However, as soon as we got into our tent someone thought it would be funny to pull the cover off and just as they did it started to absolutely throw it down. Luckily Olly was still awake and was going to sleep in the van as it was too cramped in their tent so he let us in as well and gave us the best seats in the house whilst he slept in the front with the gear stick in his back all night. The sleeping bags were soaking so it wasn't a great nights sleep. helen was too drunk so stayed in the tent and ended up with a bit of a cold the next morning so we weren't impressed.

The next day we got up early and headed up to Indian Head, stopping at the Pinnacle sandunes on the way. Once we got to Indian Head we walked up to the top to look for Sharks and Wales but didnt see anything apart from a Dingo playing in the sea. From here you could walk to champagne pools which are natural craters in the rocks that you sit in and wait for the sea to fill them with foamy water. We gave it a miss though as there are jelly fish in the sea and it was an hours walk there and back! We drove back down the beach to Eli Creek stopping at the Marenho Shipwreck on the way. Me, Gem and Helen all had a go at driving as well, but i didnt really like it and Helen got caught by a wave so we left it to the boys after that. You can get $1000 taken off you if you get salt water on the engine so we were a bit worried but i think because the island was recovering from a cyclone the tides are stilla bit tempermental so it was a bit scary coming back. When we got to the Creek it wasnt very good and then we realised we couldnt actually camp there, so again the itenerary wasnt that great, so the lads had to drive the car through the sea to the campsite, but we all walked in case something happened. WE set up camp quickly and I put on a Spag Bol. It was one of the things recommended on the list of things to cook, but it took ages. Luckily we had some left over pork chops so had those as a starter. Once the Spaghetti was cooked though it was really nice. Everyone was still tired from the antics from the night before but we played a few games then went to the beach and watched the stars which were absolutely unbelievable!

WE went to bed about midnight and were up early again to get to Lake McKenzie which is supposed to be the highlight of the island. We stopped at Eulonga and bought some lunch and then headed for the beach. Lake Mckenzie is gorgeous (see pictures) and everyone was so annoyed that we only had a few hours then. The water is crystal clear and the weather was gorgeous. At 1:15pm we all set off back to the boat and headed for the hostel. We then spent the night at the hostel and had an all you can eat Mexican. Everyone stayed up and had a few drinks but most people were moving on the next day so had an early night. It was such a great few days and we met some amazing people who hopefully we will see again further up the coast.

When we got back to the hostel we found out what had happened with the crash. Apparently 3 cars had been racing along the beach and one had been hot by a wave and rolled between 7 and nine times. Noone was wearing a seatbelt so the driver and from passenger got thrown through the window. Another 2 are critically injured and one is now paralysed from the neck down. To add to that we got a text msg from our friend Danni who we are meeting in Whitsunday islands and it turns out the driver was her friend Ian, a 22 year old from Rippon. When danni first decided to go travelling she joined a group and they all met up in London and then again in Sydney. And ian was one of the lads. She said it was awful as she read his facebook and his last status said how happy he was to be going to Fraser and his brother had written how jealous he was and wished he as there. Its such a tragic story and must have been awful but i am so glad our group was sensible and had some experienced drivers.