Fraser Island

Before I kick off my blog about Fraser Island I want to take a moment to just say how lucky I am to have met two great girls who I have been travelling with. This morning Pihla and I carried on our journey from Airlie Beach to Townsville, leaving Mia, who is heading straight to Cairns. It’s funny how people you didn’t even know two months ago can become such close friends. You share your experiences and adventures with them, your highs and also your lowest moments. We have laughed together and we have cried together. Oh, and we have even jumped out of a plane together!! People say that the friends you meet travelling will be friends for life and I can be certain of this – can’t wait for a trip to Essex when I’m back in the UK. ♥️

So, Fraser. A MUST if you are travelling the East Coast of Australia. It is the world’s largest sand island scattered with beautiful lakes. To get around the island you will need a 4 wheel drive, trust me on this one. I booked a 3 day, 2 night tagalong tour with ‘Dingos’ which I could not recommend more. The three days were packed full and with 5am starts, I was a complete zombie by Sunday evening when the ferry dropped me back to reality. I have given a lowdown of the itinerary below…

Friday

Eli Creek (a natural lazy river)

Maheno shipwreck

Stargazing on the beach and spotting plankton glowing in the sand

Saturday

5:37 Sunrise

Lake garawonga (tea tree lake)

Lake allum (home to turtles)

Champagne pools (pools of bubbling water caused by the sea crashing over volcanic rocks)

Indian head look out

Cathedral beach

Sunday

The final day was spend exploring and swimming in freshwater lakes:

Lake Mckenzie (the famous one!)

Lake Wabby

Lake Birrabeen

Between each destination we were driving pink 4x4s along the beach (also the island’s main highway) and off-road through the rainforest. I felt like I was in some kind of action movie, it was incredible!

The island is still home to some indigenous people and we soon found this out. Being a blonde, pale Brit I made sure to slap on the factor 50 because ‘the Australian sun is strong’. I also basically bathed in insect repellent as the bugs on Fraser are like something from Jurassic Park. The flies are all horseflies on steroids and you do NOT want a bite from one of them. (I even spray my face now as I had one bite my forehead and I looked like I was growing horns). We were not advised by the tour company that we should not apply suncream, in fact it was recommended. On day 2, at Lake Allum, we were greeted by a very hostile woman screaming that we were poisoning the lakes on the island and should go to the beach if we wanted to go swimming. She then continued to begin chanting and put a curse on us. Well. I hate confrontation and did not want to be disrespectful so stayed clear of the water. I understand the premise that suncream in the lakes is a pollutant but you can also not swim in the sea around the island, without special suits, due to it being stinger season. This is the case for most of Queensland bordering the Great Barrier Reef October to May. The following day, on an island measuring 76 by 14 miles we bumped into her again- what were the chances?! This time we were head to head on a narrow rainforest track. Even though we were a convoy of three cars to her one she began screaming, effing and geoffing (we could hear her from the back car) that she had right of way. We, therefore, had to reverse and try and squeeze off the track (which proved difficult as there was a sheer drop to the side and she refused to ‘squeeze past’ unless there was enough room to park a bus). Finally, we were out of her way and she drove past slowly whilst shouting and laughing ‘backpackers who can’t even go backwards’. And I thought Australia was meant to be one of the friendliest countries…

As well as the angry indigenous lady, the dingos which inhabit the island are also less than friendly. To look at you may think ‘oh hey look at that cute dog’ but noooooo. They can are wild and we were assured that they will go for you if you get too close. This meant we had to always stay in groups of at least two and take sticks with us if we were going to the beach at night. Thinking back, I don’t know that if it came down to it a stick would cut it. Luckily I didn’t find out.

Apart from those encounters, staying on the island was an amazing experience. I got to explore natural wonders which are beyond anything I had seen before. I also learnt that even if you don’t shower for 3 days, the tea tree lakes are great at conditioning your hair!

From roughing it – Bear Grylls style – on an island to cruising around the islands on the Whitsundays next!

Annabel x