After a 13 hour greyhound bus ride we got to Hervey Bay for a night before being put into a group of 10 for our 4x4 self drive safari over to Fraser island - the biggest sand dune island in the world. On our team was a couple from the Netherlands, three Swedish girls (who were actually some of the ones who came over to our boat on the whitsundays toga night) a French dude and two English blokes who grey up in Germany.
We set off for the ferry and then once over the other side engaged 4 wheel drive and were off, stopped at a lake and had some lunch (we all put in 20 dollars and got sandwich stuff and also bbq for the first night and pasta for the second) and then it was my turn to drive...for about an hour through forest with sand below us, I was basically in second and third for a bit of the journey but it was bloody fun! Altho im not sure the people in the back enjoyed it as much when we went over big bumps and veered towards trees or walls - I knew what I was doing tho....course I did!!hmm
Then it was a drive down the beach for about an hour, stopping off at a ship wreck and also a lake before arriving at the aborigine camp. Ben the English guy managed to get us nicely wedged in on the road up to the camp. Was quite cool.....BUT boy the toilet, I nearly vommed every time I went in, even tho I held my nose from start to finish - it was a real toilet...but just a hole below, god it stunk!
A night round the bonfire (you’re not allowed bonfires on Fraser but cos they’re aborigines they can do whatever the hell they like! rock on!) next day it was off to the champagne lake = waves just crashing in on rocks, pretty cool and refreshing and then a visit to another lake or two...
Unfortunately at the camp that night they didn’t do one of their traditional dances but did a short one cos we basically begged! More goon (10-14 dollar 4 litre s*** wine in a box, you know the stuff!) was drunk and a night round the fire. 'Smiley' the aborigine killed some deadly snake that night and warned us there could be more and not to go walking too much...and where was that ever so nice toilet = the other side of the camp! nice (the pic of this snake is on my facebook pics)
The next morn I drove on the beach, but as tide was in it was the deep thick s*** so once again second and third gears were featuring a lot and a lot of tyre squealing, bloody tiring in the end and a few quick stops as there were massive dips in the sand. Then we had a walk to a lake in the middle over what looked like desert! Saw a dingo up close and then laughed as about 30 peop just followed this poor thing along the beach taking pics!) With dingos you’re supposed to face them and just stare at them as if you turn your back to them they can attack, but thankfully (for us) they go for women more than men!!!woo
On the way back we were stuck in a long que as some bloody ford 4x4 s*** vehicle got stuck coming the other way - a bus had to pull it out, we then managed to jump the whole que, but Marcel the Dutch guy then managed to get us stuck - all out, red faced and a push later we were back on track for the ferry.
The whole few days were amazing and we had such a good group it was wickedhttp://nottinghamac.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2074744&l=f6e52&id=199703881 http://essex.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2889&l=31c4b&id=283600208