Fraser Island

Aug 10th:  Poor Sharie.  She's pinched a nerve in her neck and is suffering.  Actually, we're all suffering.  Sue gave her some Tiger Balm to soothe it, but we've been encouraging her to see a doctor.  That's why we bought traveler's health insurance - use it!  But, no, Dr Mihalopolous knows better and will manage her own treatment, thank you.

 This morning we took a ferry from Hervey Bay to Fraser Island, the world's largest sand island. We had a special tour guide/bus driver, the lovely Jared, who promised us a 4-wheel adventure through hard wood rain forests, pristine fresh-water lakes, the colored sand formations of Coffee Rock and, if we're lucky, Dingoes!

Wait a minute, 4-wheel driving?  Uh-oh, Sharie.  It had rained the night before and many of the roads to the dock were flooded.  I dreaded a cold, dreary, drizzly day hopping on and off a bus with a cranky, suffering Greek woman, cursed by the gods!

There were several large tour groups going over on the ferry and we were packed into the boat.  It took about 20 minutes and we met up with another guide/driver who explained we'd be splitting into two smaller buses.  Goran and Sharie scrambled to make sure we separated from the Italian, and off we went with Jared.

Arriving at Fraser Island.  Uh, where's the land?

Be 'Croc wise!'

Several of our tour members are seniors and you know I respect and love my older folks, but I admit I got a laugh watching everyone jostled vigorously about.  Sharie was in hell.  We were like spineless rag dolls as several times the bus leaned perilously close to toppling.  There were huge pot holes, fallen trees and sand moguls everywhere!

A 'good' stretch of road

Along the way, we learned about the island's namesake, a shipwreck survivor named Eliza Fraser, that there are still over 300 residents on the island, lumber was exported from the island for years, and we'll see the shipwrecked S.S. Moheno on the beach.

Walk ways had been built for tourists we got a close look at the amazingly clear streams, the variety of exotic trees and giant ferns.

That's a stream flowing there, folks!  See it?

From there, we made our way to the beach, where we saw the outcropping of coffee-colored sand cliffs:  Coffee Rock.

Along the same stretch of sand was the shipwrecked S.S. Maheno; a former luxury liner, turned hospital ship during WWI, sold to the Japanese, wrecked in a cyclone, beached on Fraser Island, and used for target practice during WWII.

Over 3 stories is buried beneathe the sand.

Just inland from the ship pooled a clear pond of water, collecting from a stream from the inland.  There was a sign posted warning ...

Goran and I chucked our shoes and waded across the pond to take a short walk along a pier leading into the center of the island.  It doesn't go too far, and we returned about 15 minutes later to see 3 dingoes roaming on the beach! 

Who's watching the children?!  Sharie?  OMG, WHERE'S SHARIE?!

We finished our island adventure with a drive farther inland, to an amazing lake along a white sanded beach.

We returned to the ferry dock near dark, exhausted from a day of being shaken and tossed.  Sharie got more excited about the ferry cat, a ginger who had no interest in the hundreds of passengers invading his space, than anything she'd experienced the entire day.