2 days Fraser Island

Our time at the Gold Coast is over and the journey continues. So we had to leave our beautiful home by the sea and made our way to Fraser Island. A short stopover was Noosa Heads, where we booked our Fraser Island tour. In the meantime, we had considered driving with our car to the largest sand island in the world, but some locals advised against it as it is easy to get stuck in the sand. For our tour with Fraser Island Explorer, we paid $330, which is about €220, per person. So it can't be called cheap. However, it included full board and one night in a hotel. Other tours were more expensive and only slept in tents. Those who did these tours talked about large spiders - the size of a hand! These were apparently sitting between the tent tarpaulin and the inner tent, so you could have looked at them all night.
Enough of the horror stories. We left on Friday at 7:45 am, and had some concerns about the weather, as it had been raining a lot in the last few days and the forecast was rather mediocre.
The bus picked us up near Dingo Hostels, where we spent the last two nights in the car, and made its way to the ferry. The ramp was directly from the beach to the ferry, which took 6 minutes to Fraser Island. Then the fun began. As a first stop, we stopped at our hotel and could enjoy a muffin, juice, and a ceramic toilet, which was supposedly the last one until we returned to the hotel. We reached the hotel and it was pouring like buckets, so we arrived pretty soaked after the 20 meters to the entrance.
The first attraction after the meal was Lake McKenzie. The approximately 45 minutes to the destination went over sandy paths over stock and stone and sometimes a tree brushed against the window, which was pushed out of the way. In other words, the paths were not very wide. Occasional 'potholes' or little hills made you hop on the seat, it was like a roller coaster. So buckling up is a good idea.
Lake McKenzie is beautifully turquoise at the edge, even without Photoshop (you never know nowadays what colors you can actually expect). Due to the low pH value, the water is supposed to feel warmer, at least that's what the bus driver said. I don't know if the reason is true, but the temperature was really pleasant, around 26°C. The water is also supposed to be like a conditioner for your hair. I found it interesting that the lake was formed only from rainwater, as there is an annual rainfall of about 2-3 meters and it has accumulated in the former valley. However, during our one-hour bath, it drizzled from time to time, which was supposed to be the last time for the tour. After that, we were released into the rainforest, where we walked along a 1.5 km long path along a river. The water is so clear that you can hardly see that it is actually a river/stream. At the other end of the path, we were picked up and driven to the next bathing opportunity. Lake Wabby is behind a sand dune or in the middle of a desert. We walked 2.5 km through the rainforest and over sand to the destination, a lake that smelled a bit and was green. But the water cooled pleasantly after the walk. Having reached all the daily destinations, we went back to the hotel, where you could stuff yourself at the buffet with the theme of Mexican night. Since it gets dark around 6 pm, you somehow get tired earlier as well. The long day naturally promoted it too. We were in bed around 10 pm, as the following day also started around 7:45 am. Startet. The next morning we drove a distance of around 80 km, which takes about 1.5 hours, as you 'only' are allowed to drive between 40 and 80 km/h on the beach. In between, a scenic flight was offered, which could have been done for $80. We had heard from others who had done a scenic flight over the Great Barrier Reef, which is supposed to be extremely beautiful. We might do that, which is why we saved the $80.
The morning destination was the Champagne Pools in the north, which are splashed by the waves, giving the impression of filling a pyramid of glasses with champagne. After that, we climbed a small mountain that protruded into the water and even saw two turtles and a shark from above, which can be seen as black shadows in the sea. According to the bus driver, that wasn't too good a catch, usually you see more sharks.
After the effort of climbing the mountain in the midday heat, we made our way to the next cool down. Only a short stopover was the Coloured Sands - the Pinnacles - which were honestly disappointing. Eli Creek (pronounced ilei, not like the German Elli) was beautiful and icy cold. The water got colder from one water point to the next and reached its lowest point at around 18°C or so at Eli Creek. The small stream flowed into a kind of lake, which is located opposite the sea, only separated from the beach. Here we could slide down the creek in a donut. We weren't fast, but it was a lot of fun.
After an hour of bathing fun, we went to the last attraction, the Maheno Shipwreck - a rusty ship lying on the beach and half buried in sand.
After that, we went back to the mainland and our excursion was over.