We got to the bus stop at 7:45 Wednesday morning to be picked up for our 2 day/1 night excursion to Fraser Island! Which is the worlds largest sand island and a national heritage site due to the remarkable complex ecosystem developed solely on sand. However, due to the busses fan belt coming off we weren't picked up until 9:15, yet they failed to contact us and let us know what was happening. Nevertheless, the bad beginning of the trip didn't ruin the rest. We hopped onto the four wheel drive bus and made our way to the "manta ray" barge which took us over to the island. We got to the Eurong Resort for morning tea and then we were transferred onto another bus as the bus we were picked up by was the day trip. We met our guide Warren and found out that the massive bus he had was for us and the four other guests on the tour! This made everything quite personal and was really nice not to be in a huge group. From the resort we went to Lake Wabby. It was a 2.3km walk to the lake, it was mainly uphill and surprisingly rather sandy so gave our legs a good workout! We got through the forest part of the walk and came out onto a massive sandblow (a massive sand dune which keeps getting blown by the wind making it bigger and moving it). We followed the marker posts and came to a steep descent down to Lake Wabby. It was like nothing we'd ever seen before! A lake in the corner of a massive sand dune. Half of it surrounded by sand and the other half surrounded by vegetation. The fresh water lake was formed by the underground water table making it rich in nutrients. It's suggested that soon the sand blow will kill off the lake as it continues to move further onto the island and consequently covering it. We didn't have enough tine to swim in it but dipped our feet in it. The walk back was a lot easier.When we got back to the bus there was a dingo on the beach! it didn't attack anyone though as there were a lot more of us and only one of him but warren told us some interesting facts about them - like they're a species of wolf - the Asian white salt wolf; and apparently they caused the extinction of the tasmanian tiger as the hunted in packs. It was lucky we had the exercise to build up an appetite as we headed back to the resort for a buffet lunch which was delicious in comparison to our pot noodles the night before! In hindsight we are a little too much as getting back on the bus we went inland over extremely bumpy roads so a full stomach wasn't what you wanted. Luckily, no one was sick though. Driving through the inland was so much fun - proper 4 wheel driving! We got to Lake Mackenzie, known to the indigenous people as Boorangoora, which is possibly the most popular part of the island. Again it's a fresh water lake but this time it was formed by the rain water and therefore has no nutrients and a high acidity level, meaning the animals had to adapt to it. We had a bit longer here so we had a little walk around the lake on the white sand and then managed to fit in a little dip. The water was rather refreshing! Pretty chilly when we first got in but was really nice in the end. Just like what Warren had said to us the water was very smooth and had no taste or smell - apparently this is because of its lack of nutrients. It was then a short bumpy trip to Central Station. Central station was set up for the first white residents of Fraser Island that settled there for timber cutting. They made the village as they didn't want to employ young men as they would only work long enough to buy beverages so on employing married men they needed to provide and develop a village for the workers families. There is not really anything left to see there but Warren dropped us off so we could walk through the rainforest. It was crazy to see how diverse this island is. Going into the rainforest you could feel a totally different climate - a lot damper and humid. On the walk we followed a fresh water stream that ran over sand which is apparently very unusual. The trees were so tall! Some of them being over 200,000 years old. The size of the trees was really amazing . And Mel kept us all entertained as she was petrified of getting a leech on her! But we didn't see any of them. Warren picked us up at the other end of the walk and took us back to the resort. We were meant to be in quad share dorms but as there was only 6 of us they gave a room to each party so that was nice. We've done pretty well on getting upgraded on our excursions! Dinner was a buffet again and like always went down a treat. Embarrassingly, I was fast asleep by 8pm after all the excitement of the day.

Thursday morning we were up bright and early after a long nights sleep. Breakfast was at 8 and we jumped onto the bus at 8:45 as we had to wait for the tide to recede so we could drive down the beach! Still, when we turned onto the beach it was all a bit hit and miss as the tide was still pretty high. But we managed it. After navigating our way through the coffee rock (not actually rock but old forrest floor that has been covered by sand and sea) on the beach and avoiding the tides we got to TS Maheno. TS Maheno was washed ashore in 1935, the boat was still intact when it landed on Fraser Island. However, the government ordered it to be bombed. It took the Australian armed forces 3 days to hit the stationary object. Nevertheless, they filmed it to show other countries that they could protect Australia. The wreck is still very visible and really quite a sight. Sat in the sand deteriorated and rusty but beautiful nonetheless. When we got off the bus we were told to be careful as we were crossing a Highway! The eastern beach became a gazetted highway to stop people driving homemade cars on the island. Which is rather bizarre as it just looks like any beach - no lines or Tarmac! We then carried on along the beach and came across "The Pinnacles" these are coloured sand dunes. They were very pretty. There is an aboriginal story that says: a man took a girl and held her captive against her will. He told her that if she tried to run away he would kill her with his hunting boomerang. Everyday the girl prayed to the rainbow that she be let free from this man. One day the rainbow came so close she thought it to be calling to her so she made her escape and ran as fast as she could to the rainbow. True to his word, the man threw his boomerang. Just before it hit the girl it collided with the rainbow, saving the girl. The rainbow then collapsed onto the beach creating the colour sand dunes - The Pinnacles. We hopped back onto the bus and made our way further down the beach to Indian Head, named by Capt. James Cook who sailed past it an saw Aboriginal people on the rock, never having seen Aborigines before he believed them to be Indian. Thus, Indian Head. Indian Head was an active volcano about 60million years ago and would have stood in the middle of the island. However, due to erosion only half of the funnel still stands at the oceans edge. We walked up to the top and the views were amazing. The ocean, the beach, the forest, the sand blows. It was really amazing. At the top we stopped to try and spot marine wildlife like manta rays, dolphins, whales and sharks. But we had no such luck. We even tried speaking whale (lessons taken from Dory, Finding Nemo) but they obviously didn't hear us or they've changed their dialect. Warren thought he'd made a great find, telling us there was a shark. However, when the surf moved it became apparent that it was just a big stick! Back onto the bus and onto the Champagne Pools. These are natural rock pools and the only safe part of the ocean to swim in as they have big currents and fierce marine wildlife...sharks! A short walk along a boardwalk and we were dodging barnacles to get into the water. Rather chilly and extremely salty it was a short swim and then spent time looking for fish and carbs in all the little rock pools. The area was stunning though. The sun was starting to appear through the clouds and the scenery was just beautiful! We then drive down onto the beach and stopped for a picnic lunch - ham & cheese salad rolls. It was very pleasant. Not much beats a picnic on a the beach with the sun shining and clear blue water in front of you. Making our way back toward the resort we stopped at Eli Creek, which is a fresh water stream the leads into the sea. The creek produces an astounding 4 million litres of fresh water per hour. We went for a little paddle up the creek and back down to the bus. Probably the coldest water we had been in so far on the island but it made you feel so clean after being in the salt Champagne Pools. Back on the bus, Mel shot gunned the front as we made our way back over the coffee rock to the resort. Who needs rollercoasters when you can go in a four wheel drive that feels like its about to tip on its side. At the resort we swapped back onto the bus going back to Rainbow Beach and made our way back onto the Manta Ray, dodging waves as the tide was coming in and the bus driver tried and failed twice at getting up the sandy hill onto the gravel track!

The trip was really amazing. Warren was an amazing guide and taught us so much about the geography of the island as well as the aboriginal culture attached to it and the history of the white settlers. It was so interesting. Fraser Island is absolutely stunning. The diversity of different things that you can see there and the beauty that surrounds it all. It's definitely one of my favourite places in Australia.