If I lay here - Fraser Island, Lake Wabby Day 3 / 21.11.2018

Today we woke up at 4:35 am to watch the sunrise. Linni and Jermaine were already outside when Daniel and I woke up, and Daniel didn't want to get out of his sleeping bag at first, until he said he would regret it later if he didn't come along.

So we went down to the beach, a faint orange light was already appearing on the horizon, but we quickly noticed that the clouds wanted to spoil our plans because a wall of clouds had formed right above the sea, even though the rest of the sky was completely clear. The bugs also had it out for us in the morning, but we all endured the bites - there were about 7 of us - except Daniel, who turned back after just 5 minutes. The view of the sea looked like a melancholic Tumblr post with a profound quote - in a good way - and as the minutes passed, we quickly realized that waking up early was worth it. The colors became more vibrant and just as the sun passed through the wall of clouds, a dingo trotted down the beach right in front of us, making the scene absolutely perfect.

Afterwards, we all went back to our tents for an hour, and I even fell asleep again until breakfast at 6:30 am, as we wanted to leave early today. We had a bumpy car ride to Lake Wabby - a lake surrounded by huge sand dunes, so we had to tackle a small but exhausting hike through the endless, soft sand, over roots, and through the forest. Now we understood why we left so early - it was already scorching hot and the cool lake was more than welcome and long-awaited. A large sand dune led directly into the green water and from the shore, we could see some larger black fish, the catfish. Tony told us that if we caught one, we'd win 50 dollars. But none of us managed to catch one.

When we sat in the shallow water, after a few minutes we saw many small fish approaching us - the same fish used for removing calluses in those salons. They lived here naturally and immediately started nibbling on our skin - it felt really funny, but sometimes it was quite uncomfortable because they liked to go for old scratches and wounds. However, they didn't touch our feet.

Quite a few people ran down the sand dune into the lake, including Iris and a Canadian guy whom I didn't interact with much, but who was really nice and cheerful. He twisted his ankle pretty badly and took a nasty fall, unfortunately, none of us knows what exactly happened, but he had to hobble back with the help of 2 of his buddies and we all decided to leave as well.

I took one last look at the green lake, which would gradually become smaller and eventually disappear over the next 10 years, as the sand dunes continued to bury it day after day. We were already panting after the first few minutes because of the steep dune and the relentless bugs threatening to devour us.

We took some cool group photos - including one where we all climbed onto a sand ridge on the beach and Tony took the shot with one of the cars in the foreground, making it look like we were all standing on the car - and also some with just our small groups. It felt weird that the good times we had here were coming to an end.

Then we headed back to the ferry and I played DJ one last time, as Daniel had taken over the job in recent times, and Iris, Linni, and I were pleasantly surprised because his taste in music was actually not bad.

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Back in Rainbow Beach, our convoy first stopped to refuel and then went to the large Nomads car park, where Linni, Karim, and I collected our large luggage and then we all waited until the bus was ready to take us directly to Noosa, our next stop.

While waiting, I sat down with the others on a wooden platform, and because my backpack was so heavy, I was pulled into a comfortable lying position from which I couldn't get up. So, I decided to sing "If I lay here, if I just lay here, would you lie with me and just forget the world" with Iris, and we laughed until tiredness somehow took over and I closed my eyes for a moment (which Jermaine took some creepy pictures of, since I also caught him sleeping a few times - during the bumpy car ride!!!). Then Daniel suddenly played "Chasing Cars" and when the first notes started playing, everything was fine again and I felt excited, I even managed to do a sit-up with the extra weight on my back.

Then the whole group got on the bus and the 2-hour journey passed quickly with the help of cool loud music that everyone sang along to.

Our new hostel in Noosa was the Nomads, where our tour had started, so we didn't have to pay for the next 3 nights. However, we had a 10-bed room, which was a bit cramped but still okay, and we went to take a shower first before going to the after-show party later. There were delicious spring rolls for everyone and another free blue drink, which everyone gradually got at the bar. Water pong was played again, but even though Daniel and Jermaine joined in, Linni and I didn't feel like playing anymore. However, we cheered on and were happy for everyone from our tour who played and advanced. Unfortunately, Daniel would only stay one more night in Noosa and then travel towards Cairns, but Karim, Jermaine, and Iris would also come with us towards Brisbane and stay a few more nights, which was definitely cool.

And so, the best tour we had so far came to an end, and later we fell into our beds, completely exhausted.

Song of the day: "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol, and why will be revealed in my entry.