Hi All,

Survived my self drive safari nd it ws great fun! We were driving a hot pink 4 x 4 whaich could be spotted WHEREVER you were on Fraser Island! I met the 8 people I was to share a jeep with and thankfully they were all cool, a few Scottish lads, one Canadian lad, a Swedish girl and a couple from London (Dollis Hill Mafia....)

Anyway, our first task was the shopping for the three days which was relatively painless! We bought loads of pasta, bread and cheese as we had a gas stove in the jeep. We probably spent more money in the bottle shop though!

We had to catch a barge to Frser Island which took around 40 minutes and when we drove off at the other end it was SERIOUSLY bumpy! Thankfully some of the lads had experience driving 4 x 4 vehicles and we felt pretty safe! We stopped at Eurong Resort to collect some ice to keep our food cool and headed onto the beach. The beach here is classed as public highway so normal rules apply but it was so much cooler than a normal road! The best part of the beach driving was the random light aircraft that took off and landed on the beach! It was mad they headed straight for us and then took off on scenic flights!

The first day we went to Lake Wabby, it was 2-3km uphill but well worth it! The lake was at the bottom of a sand dune and had loads of catfish in it. Unfortunately the weather was stuffy and rainy but still gorgeous. We headed back to set up camp and cooked on the outdoor stive which was interesting! I've never cooked for 9 people before, never mind outside when you're getting eaten by nasty little marsh flies (Who are just MEAN) but it was all good and noone was ill! We sat around in the evening playing silly camp games and getting to know the group in the other hot pink van. They were awesome too, a sl;ightly older crowd, one of the ladies (From Quebec)was 77 and part of a hiking club, she was fitter than all of us put together! If I'm half as healthy as her when I'm 70 I'll be doing VERY well!

The next day we went to the Maheno shipwreck to take loads of pics. After that we went to Eli Creek but it was v shallow so we headed of the itineray to another lake which was deserted! It was really weird though, it started off a coppery colour then went dark blu and black...a bit creepy to be honest! We played frisbee in the water until a coach load of people turned up which was our sign to leave!

The second night's camping was FREEZING! It had been a glorious day and we all caught the sun but there were no clouds so it was perishing!! We were wrapped up in our sleeping bags sitting outside and wishing we were allowed to make a fire! It was worth staying out though as the sky was AMAZING! Never seena nything like that amount of stars before it was great. I didn't see any but apparantly there were 4 or 5 shooting stars too. It was ace.

The next day was our last day and we went to Lake MvKenzie for the morning before we got our barge...WOW is all I can say. It was like a paradise island, white sand and the clearest water I've ever seen. I stayed in the water for about 2 hours and then sunbathed till it was time to go!

Fraser Island was awesome but the only thing I couldn't cope with was the number of evil insects that bite for no reason! They were enough to send you insane!! We had a great few days though.

When we returned to the hostel it was STRAIGHT into the shower and packing for me as I had night bus to Rockhampton to catch. Arrived in Rockhampton at 2:30 am and waiting in a 24 hour cafe till 6:30 when I was picked up at taken to Myella farm which is where I am now, will blog that ater this week!

Hope all is well at home.

Sel

xx