Zelma’s Trip

I arrived at “Beaches” hostel in Hervey Bay and was pleasantly surprised.  I was informed when I checked in that I had to be in the bar area for 7AM the next morning to be given the run down for the trip out to Fraser Island.  I met two of the people who were going to Fraser Island in my dorm and both Katrina and Justin (both from Canada) made an instantly positive impression.

In the morning various alarms were going off and people were moving about but I was in a less than rapid mood.  I eventually got up and faffed about for a while.  Everyone else left and I decided I had time for a crafty fag and to put my make-up on.  So I was sat outside the room when Katrina arrived and said that she had been instructed to find me and inform me that if I wasn’t in the bar area in two minutes they would leave without me.  I asked that she didn’t report back that she found me sat outside the room smoking and doing my make-up and she went back to the group.  When I got to the bar area there was an overly enthusiastic woman trying to get everyone organised.  She gave us a list and said that we had two minutes to decide what alcohol we wanted before one member of the group went to the bottle shop.  We then had a similar task with the weekend shopping.  I ended up being one of two designated shoppers and the other nine in the group went off to watch a safety video and briefing.  Michael and I were responsible for the shopping which turned into a kind of value supermarket sweep.  I do think we did exceptionally well though.  The group mocked us as we bought nine loaves of bread but there was less than half a loaf left on our return. 

After the shop we met the group and loaded the four wheel drive which looked slightly crustier than those on the photos but still looked vaguely roadworthy, and more importantly island worthy.  Eventually we set off and headed for the port where we were to get the ferry over to the island.

Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the World and is renowned for its wildlife both on the island and in the sea surrounding the island.  There is very little in terms of development on the island with the majority of accommodation being relatively basic.

We arrived at the boat and made the crossing over to the island.  When we drove onto Fraser Island we started out in a kind of convoy of four by fours heading through sand tracks imbetween the trees.  We had a suggested itinery and obliged by following it to Eli Creek.  The Creek was beautiful and we waded back through the clear waters.  The next stop was “the pinnacles” which to be fair sucked in comparison to the real pinacles that I had visited.  This was allegedly columns of different coloured sands but neither matched the real pinnacles or the Isle of Wight for that matter.  It was, however, an extra place to stop off along the beach drive.  The final stop on the first day was a shipwreck which was half in the sea and on the shore.  It was a photographer’s heaven with interesting orifices and rusty structures with the sea lapping up behind.

When we got to camp we met Larry, one of the camp staff.  He was a real Aussie character and his name was so befitting.  Larry told us horror stories about how long it had taken some people to put up their tents so we were pleased when our efforts were relatively quick.

After setting up camp we asked Larry if there was anywhere else we could go to, or was that the other way round?  He suggested we head to Allom lake where you could see long-necked turtles (although there was later some debate about whether he had said long-necked or long legged).  I was driving which was actually a real pain as the track up to the lake was deep sand.  When asked, Larry had said that the vehicle was up to it but it depended on the driver as some parts were quite steep.  The soft sand was a bit of a nightmare in parts and it didn’t help having ten backseat drivers.  On a couple of occasions the van was clearly struggling to get up soft hills in second gear and as I was about to change to first one of the German girls shouted, “Gas”, which was most helpful I must say.  It was fine though, although I later realised that I had managed to drive one of the most difficult routes the first time I have ever driven a four wheel drive.  Not that I want to go on about how great I am (no honest) but I think there was a reason this particular route wasn’t on the suggested itinery!

Antyway, when we got to lake Allom there was a short walk to the lake and then we were greeted by the turtles.  They were very close to the side, probably as they thought they might be fed, and entertained us for a while.  After lake Allom we headed back to camp and started cooking our first meal which was a barbeque.  Well when I say we to be honest Justin did the whole thing and was getting quite into it.  The only problem with this is that we ate really early which meant that we were clock watching wondering if it was a suitable hour to go to bed.  Beer and goon drinking provided a useful bonding activity for the group and we headed down to the beach to watch the stars.  As there was so little light on the island the stars were absolutely amazing and there were plenty of shooting stars.  I also had some sparklers which provided great amusement on the beach.

The following morning we were up at six, had breakfast and left camp at around seven.  We had been told that, due to the tides, if we didn’t leave by six there would be no point as we would miss a lot waiting for tides and then may struggle getting back.  Leaving early did mean that we had a full day though.  We headed North and our first stop was Indian Head.  We climbed up to the top and had the most amazing view over the coast.  From Indian head you could see small sharks swimming as well as turtles, rays and whales in the distance.  At one point one of the rays leapt out of the water several times which was great.  From Indian head Diego drove and parked the van at a bit of a comedy angle on some soft sand.  We then walked the length of the beach to the “Champagne Pools”.  These were basically shallow pools in rocks where the waves crashed over creating a trickle of white foam down over the rocks, hence the name.  I was slightly less brave than others and paddled slightly (it was f-f-f-freeezing) and we chilled out on the sand.  When we got back to the van we had a lunch of sandwiches made on the bonnet then, just as we were packing up, a ranger type dude arrived and pointed to the no parking sign.  We pointed at the van and he conceded that it was stuck so we were okay.  It was possibly slightly fortunate he didn’t arrive when we were all tucking into our sandwiches.  When we got back into the van it was clear that we had not been lying as it was well and truly stuck.  We tried pushing it in various directions for a while but it didn’t budge.  I went on a mission to find planks of wood for extra grip but just as I got back to the van the guys managed to shift it.  We headed back to camp and bought essentials at the camp shop which ranged from chocolate for some to ice drinks and ice cream for me.  It was still majorly early and we considered going further North.  We had discussed this prior to coming back to camp but several of the group boringly pointed out a big, “do not cross this line” line marked on the map.  The woman in the shop unhelpfully told us there was not really anywhere to go before the tide played havoc and it became dark.  Unperturbed we stared at the map and I pointed out a “scenic drive” marked slightly further South.  In the end Katrina, Michael, Michael’s mate (whose name I really won’t be able to spell), Justin and I headed off.  When we got to the track Justin took over and it soon became apparent why it was not one of the suggested tracks.  Although it was mostly not sand there were divots the size of craters.  The ride in the back ranged from uncomfortble to traumatic to the extent that, at one point, we had to stop so that I could get a cup of wine from the roofrack to calm my nerves.  This proved a foolish idea as I then spent a good while avoiding tipping wine all over myself.  I actually did a really good job until a set of particularly bumpy tree roots.  At one point the road was so crazy that we all insisted on getting out.  Helpfully we all then took photos and videos of Justin negotiating the mad track.  I had my camera on the wrong setting and managed to record about two seconds of ‘truck going down hill’ prior to me saying on camera, “Oh I missed it, can you do it again”.  Perhaps the hairiest moment of the track was one particularly bumpy stretch when the van seriously nearly tipped over.  It wasn’t as worrying as it sounded as there were steep sand banks and the van would have fallen into one rather than straight onto its side.  It felt like it was very close to doing so though to the extent that I was trying to undo my seat belt to move over and balance the van.  Justin didn’t panic and motored on like a trooper bless him.  It was after that point that I needed the wine!  Perhaps the funniest part of the track was when the load became loose.  Although we had unpacked all the camping gear there was nowhere at camp to store food so we kept this on top of the van.  All the bumps had some affect and as I looked out the back window I saw a jay cloth waving at me.  As I watched it it slid out and blew off in the wind.  I found this hysterical and was crying laughing.  The group started asking what I was laughing at and I was like, “the j-j……….c…..it fl…..the”, unable to get my words out through tears and laughter.  It got even more amusing later as ominous liquids started dripping down the windscreen and various other windows, then coleslaw and the piece de resistance was chunks of breakfast cereal which landed on the windscreen wipers.  With this finale we were all in absolute stitches particularly when Justin put the windscreen wipers on to clear the window of cereal and foodstuffs.  This hilarity re-surfaced at various points such as when one of the gourp, who wasn’t on the trip, picked the cereal box up the following morning, turned it upside down and looked confused as four pieces of cereal landed on her plate.  We had thought it best not to explain to the frowny group members who didn’t attend that we had lost or destroyed a great amount of the food and nearly tipped the van over.

Despite our best attempts the van emerged unscathed and we headed back to camp.  A few members of the group went for a walk and I took the opportunity to have a (hot then very cold) shower and pack my things.  In the evening we made pasta and I was delighted when the care in the community Canadian turned up at the camp!  I was shattered and in bed by about half nine along with Katrina.  As in she went to bed early too, don’t go getting any odd ideas here!

The following morning we had to be up at half four to pack up camp prior to leaving before the pesky tides caused havoc again.  Yes you heard me right, half four…..and we were aswell…..and we managed to pack up so efficiently that we were on the beach way before sunrise.  People were keen to see the sunrise, especially the two guys from Holland.  I was less than keen to be honest and would have preferred the extra time in bed.  I held my tongue though but am now able to say that the sunrise was a bit poor and no way as good as the one I saw in Noosa. 

After watching the sunrise on the beach we headed to the first of four stops of the day.  The first three stops were picturesque and peaceful but had nothing on the final stop.  One thing which possibly is worth mentioning is that Michael managed to get seriously close to things on a number of occasions and, despite those of us sat on the left commenting on this, managed to wipe the wing mirror off on a tree.  A couple of the guys went and retrieved it and to his credit Michael took it apart and put it back together on the van. 

I drove one of the lake stretches and was amazed at how much easier it was to drive on tracks, however bumpy, when it wasn’t deep sand.  At the third stop, Central Station, half the group decided to walk to Lake McKensie.  This left me as the only driver so I drove the rest of the group to the lake.  They were shocked at how bumpy it was and commented that it was the most difficult track we had driven – if only they knew!

The last lake was Lake McKensie which is apprently ranked in the top ten lakes in the World.  If the employer for the role of “lake ranker” is reading can I just say, “Me, me, me”.  Alternatively I would consider ranking waterfalls, beaches, temples, mountains (actually can we make that hills, mountains are a bit high), rivers, mojitos, abs….okay enough now.  Where was I?  Oh yes, lake McKensie, well all I can say is that the ranker did a good job and I’d be interested where to find the other nine.  It was truly stunning with a white silica beach and luminous turquoise blue waters.  The weather had been amazing for our trip and it held out for Lake McKensie also.  Unfortunately someone had not told the lake what temperature its water should be but I guess you could describe it as cool and refreshing.  That or something with lots of expletives and possibly canine genitalia slipped in for good luck.  Okay that was not meant to sound as disgusting as it did.

Right, hu hum, so after swimming at Lake McKensie, having a rather rubbish lunch with what was left of the food and driving back to the port, we got the boat back to the mainland and Hervey Bay.  When we took the van back we were amazed that we had not lost any equipment.  They did, however, comment on the scratches on the bonnet which, “looked like someone had put cool boxes on it”, (us, never!!) and the fact that there were footprints all over it.  Initially they said they were going to charge us $50 to buff the bonnet which, in all fairness isn’t much split between eleven, but they let us off.

Back at Beaches I did my washing, joined a couple of the guys in the bar and had an early night.