16.-18.09.16: Fraser Island

On September 16th, we took our packed supplies in our SUVs from Hervey Bay to Fraser Island by ferry. Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world. The entire island is a national park with no paved roads, so driving on sand is not easy. The island has a 75-mile long beach that serves as the official highway. There are also allegedly dingoes on the island, so one should never walk alone. Unfortunately, we didn't see any.

Our first stop was one of the numerous freshwater lakes on the island. The water was crystal clear and the high acidity in the water is said to make the skin more beautiful.

After lunch, we took a walk through the rainforest, even though the island is made of sand, dense rainforest grows almost everywhere on the island. It is also the home of the infamous funnel-web spider, whose venom is enough to kill an entire tour group. There was also a crystal-clear creek in the forest, where you really had to strain to even see the water.

The third stop was Lake Wabby, which was formed when a river was interrupted by a huge sand dune. We had to climb this sand dune first. Hiking in the sand is quite exhausting. Luckily, there was a BBQ and Goon in our camp afterwards, before we went to our (very sandy) tents.

After a more or less restful night, we continued with our cars along the 75 Mile Beach to the Maheno shipwreck. The luxury steamship was washed up on the coast and has been rusting away since the 1930s until the sand eventually swallows it completely.

Then we went to the Champagne Pools, rock pools at the edge of the ocean that are filled with water by waves. When that happens, the water bubbles in the pools like champagne.

After that, we went to Indian Head, where you have a beautiful view of the island's bays and the ocean, where numerous whales were visible on the horizon. Then we went to Eli Creek, a shallow river with clear water that you could walk through.

After another night at the camp, we visited the largest lake on the island, Lake McKenzie. Unfortunately, the morning was very rainy, so we couldn't swim and the usually blue lake looked very gray.

After lunch, we waited for the ferry that took us back to the mainland and finally to a well-deserved shower.