Hervey Bay & Fraser Island (28.12.18- 01.01.19)

When we arrived in Hervey Bay, we immediately rented bicycles from our hostel. So we first went north. There we visited a museum that provides information about Fraser Island. There was also an exhibition about adoptions. As far as we understood, there used to be many forced adoptions in Australia. Children were taken away from young, single mothers and given to other couples. This was only discovered later. The exhibition was very exciting and had video material. Afterwards, we went to a remote meadow where we could observe kangaroos. About 20 kangaroos looked at us bewildered when we arrived. We looked bewildered back... We continued to the northern part of Hervey Bay and then back along the entire Esplanade. We could discover a lot. A Christmas-decorated bench, an XXL playground, the most beautiful villas, and another public pool. Our trip ended at the pier, where we headed back home. When we were back at the hostel, I called my grandparents to wish them a Merry Christmas. After that, there was a free BBQ and then it was time for bed.

The next morning, we set off early towards Fraser Island. All the people were picked up from their accommodations by a shuttle and taken to the harbor. The boat trip took about 45 minutes and then we were on Fraser Island. There we were greeted by our tour guide. After everyone had taken their seats on the bus and helped themselves to some snacks, we went to the first highlight: Lake McKenzie. The way there was extremely bumpy. There are only paved roads in the resort. Everything else is sandy tracks that have extremely many potholes. The tracks are also quite narrow, so you have to stop often to let oncoming cars pass. So the rides were never boring. Every now and then we also saw a dingo. Lake McKenzie is a lake filled with rainwater. The sand at the lake has a similar quartz content as the sand at Whithaven Beach, which is why the sand is very white. The water is also very clear. In the past, the Aborigines used it to drink from. Now it is used by crowds of people for swimming. After swimming, we had lunch. We could make our own burgers. It was very tasty. Then we went to the so-called Central Station. A station in the middle of the rainforest. There we took a walk and came out at the spot where Meghan and Harry were. This is symbolized by a big sign. After a few more snacks, we went back to the resort. The rooms were occupied and dinner was prepared. Plenty of food, very tasty, and a lot of it. Afterwards, Ben and I went to the port. The starry sky is supposed to be incredibly beautiful from there. And it was, but unfortunately, we couldn't see the Milky Way. Luisa had been able to see it in the summer (according to German seasons) at that spot. Now that it is a different season, you can't get a good view of it. More exciting than the stars, however, were the fishermen. They were very successful and caught squid at almost every minute. By the way, after they catch them, they pump out their ink. I found that really fascinating. Then we went to bed quickly because the following day started quite early.

After a diverse breakfast buffet, our group headed to 75 Mile Beach. Again, the way there was very hilly. At 75 Mile Beach, we made stops at different locations. The first stop was at the famous wreck (S. S. Maheno). The second stop was at 'The Pinnacles'. These are mountains with different colors of sand. Then we continued to the Champagne Pools. Here we could swim, but there were so many people there that we lost interest. We also saw those dangerous jellyfish there for the first time. They are small and very blue. Then we continued to a lookout (Indian Head). This is an elevation that offers a fantastic view of the ocean and the beach. It was fantastic. After everyone had gone down the steep path again, we drove to a shady place where we had lunch. The weather was unusually hot that day, according to the tour guide. After the meal, we went to Eli Creek. A crystal clear river. Many tourists used the gentle current to drift on their air mattresses. Especially at Eli Creek, we noticed how crowded the attractions are. Many people come to the island every day. The traffic on the tracks is really terrible. The beautiful tourist attractions are almost overcrowded. But you have to say: understandable. Fraser Island is really beautiful and offers a lot. Since Eli Creek was so crowded, the tour guide offered to go back to Lake McKenzie to spend an hour there. Everyone agreed to this suggestion. After another swim, we returned to the accommodation. We all still had dinner and then went back to the ferry and to Hervey Bay. The day was very exhausting and we were glad when we saw our next accommodation. After we checked in, we realized that one of our bags was missing. We currently have six bags and unfortunately, we were too tired and sleepy in the darkness to notice. Well, since the bus driver had said that he stops at a very large station on the main street as the last stop, Ben immediately went there. Unfortunately, in vain. The way was very long and Ben and the bus missed each other by about 5 minutes. During that time, I made calls and sent emails, but it was already midnight and no one could help us.

After an almost sleepless night, we continued trying to call the organization and get this backpack back. The organization almost always hung up on us. However, in the morning, when they were less busy, Ben received an email....our salvation. The bus driver was so kind and went to a hostel during the night where we had stayed before. He read that on a note inside the backpack. The email included the bus driver's number. He had taken the backpack with him. After waiting for another hour, he came with the backpack. We were incredibly relieved and now completely tired. After a short walk, all we could do was take a short nap. Since it was December 31, 2018, there was a festival on the Esplanade. We visited the festival at 7 p.m. The festival can be imagined similar to a fair. Food stalls, small market stalls, children's attractions, and live music. At 8 p.m., there was a fireworks display on the beach. In Australia, it is prohibited to light your own fireworks because of the weather conditions that can easily cause bushfires. Many children then played with glow sticks. There are public fireworks, like the one at the pier. It lasted about 10 minutes and was really beautiful to watch. All the children were amazed every time a rocket went off, so occasionally a fascinating 'ohhhhh' went through the rows. When the fireworks were over, we watched the fireworks in Sydney on a live stream in the hostel. Sydney is one hour ahead of us, so Marie celebrated New Year's Eve in Sydney first. When it was almost midnight for us, we went back to the pier. Unfortunately, there wasn't much going on at midnight. But we didn't think that was too bad because we had almost not slept the night before.

The next day, we woke up just in time for New Year's Eve in Germany. We packed our things and were already on the Greyhound bus that was supposed to take us to Rainbow Beach... However, the bus broke down. The cooling system leaked, so we had to wait. After about three hours, the bus was ready to go again and we headed to Rainbow Beach.