Island of Sand and Dingos

Once we checked out of our awesomely cheap campsite in Bundaberg, we made a quick detour to the Bundaberg Rum distillery for a quick photo shoot with the giant Bundaberg rum bottle and a stop at the gift shop. I will admit it was pretty cool and the smell in the air was a sweet sweet aroma of brown sugar. mmm... apparently they use all local sugar cane in their factory which I found pretty cool. Anyways, after getting lost trying to find this place we finally got on the road to head to Hervey (pronounced Harvey) Bay. Once there we again got lost around town trying to find the hostel. Once we found it we checked in with the nicest front desk guy ever. A total contrast to the asshole who checked us in at Airlie Beach. Oh what a difference it makes! We got all organized and had plenty of time before we had our “get ready” meeting. Signed away our lives and got the lowdown on getting booze and food. They suggested pairing up with people to buy food but there is always that initial unease of trying to pick people to join up with. Lucky for us but two of the girls from our Whitsundays boat were there as well and we ended up pairing with them. The funny thing was, Lynn and I got the first shuttle to the store while Makenna and Clare stayed and waited for the second. While they were waiting, they had decided to join up and while Lynn and I were walking around the store, WE decided to join up. So, once together we obviously became one group and we added a single along as well, a Swede named Oliver.

We clearly had the best group if you ask me. We got the perfect amount of food and we all pitched in $20 bucks. Except the minor issue at that point was that Makenna and I only had 20 for the two of us...oopsy. Luckily Oliver was amazing and we only went over about 5 bucks and he covered it. We got hot dogs, hamburgers, sandwich stuff, spaghetti, snacks, juice, coffee, tea. It was awesome. Once our group was clearly set I was super excited for the trip and we stuck together the rest of the “weekend”. (It felt like a weekend the whole trip, because really who goes on vacation on a Tuesday?!).

Departure was 6am. again. Man am I getting used to being awake at that hour. It is awful. Don’t let it fool you into thinking I have become a morning lover. That will never happen. However, the night before I did possibly pass out before 9pm so I was pretty well rested and the sunrise was quite pretty. We all piled into what we fondly ended up calling the “Rust Box”. Naturally, we ended up with the oldest crappiest 4X4 Toyota jeep(ish) that was there. I did not pick that car to put our stuff in, and they did make it sound like we would switch up the cars once on the island, which never happened. Regardless, our car ended up having the most character for sure. Nothing worked and when it did we were all shocked. It was rusted all over from the continuous salt water and covered in sand and dirt, yet it had a bit of a charm. It was the most authentic four wheeling, off-roading vehicle I have ever seen.

The car had seven seats so the five of us squeezed in and added an Irish couple, Ruth and Stephen. There were only two doors and you had to crawl over the seat to get to the back. Later on, the window stopped working and the passenger door would only open from the outside. It was pretty hilarious. Anyways, Lynn became our designated driver and we headed off to the Island.

Day One: Sand Everywhere

Once we got the caravan of cars going we got to the ferry and were finally on our way. The ferry was interesting because coming from Washington I am so used to how ours are designed. This one only had one ramp so they made all the passengers walk on and the driver had to reverse onto the boat... So glad it wasn't me. On the boat it was super cold but we all stayed on top deck because you could see pods of dolphins all over the water. It turns out these dolphins are special as they are smaller in size and only about 3000 remain in the wild. I wish they would have been closer to the boat but either way it was amazing to see. The boat ride took about 35 minutes and then we arrived on the largest sand island in the world: Fraser Island.

Right away it was a bumpy ride. Less than 100 meters into the island the road turned to sand and you had to be sure to stay centered with your tires in the tracks or else the car would veer off to the side. It took forever. I mean like a normal 10 minute drive turned into 45 minutes but it was all part of the experience. We stopped at a couple places along the way but my personal favorite was this beautiful lake, Lake Wabby, surrounded by sand dunes. It was about a thirty minute walk from the beach but i did most of it barefoot so that gives you an idea of how nice it was. However, it was through the trees and at times very uphill so there was some minor grumbling. An Irish lad named James at the back grumbled with me. Once we got there, the lake was at the bottom of sand dune and although every part of you wanted to just run and roll down the giant hill like a child, we were forewarned that we were not allowed to do that as it erodes the banks and is not considerate of the island...boo. The temperature outside was moderately warm which did not stop us from jumping in. We were sweaty and I had skipped the first swim of the day at 10am when it had been much colder. All the water on this island is amazing for your body, skin and hair. It is all naturally tinted and infused with real tea tree. Who would have thought my parents were right to be using it all those years!? The sand is also like Whitehaven Beach although only 70% silica, you can still exfoliate and polish with it. Although we ambitiously got in, I would be lying if I said it was warm. After becoming numb we got out and tried to warm up again. What I have noticed about “winter’ here is that its not that there is no sun, its just that the sun isn't very hot and it gets cooler quite early. Since we had a deadline to get back we all packed up and left after an hour or so and let me tell you, getting back UP that sand dune was hell. Not only am I seriously out of shape, but it is so vertical that every step I took my foot just slid back down. I was the last person back to the top, huffing and puffing. Luckily, Oliver was sweet enough to stay back and keep me company.

Once at camp we all settled in to where we would be sleeping for the next two nights. We were sleeping in tents but were given very thin pads if you were lucky. Kenna and I decided to bunk up with Lynn and Clare again thinking four in a tent would be warmer and it just seemed to make sense. Camp wasn't bad. We had two BBQs, a little stove, some tables to sit at. No toilets, no running water and no campfires were allowed. True camping. Plus lots and lots of sand. Fortunately, Makenna and I are well versed in this style of camping however, we were not as prepared for the dingo precautions. Yes, dingos. Everywhere. There are signs and warnings all over the island and our tour guide made it very clear that you were never to go anywhere alone. You always took a dingo buddy, a dingo stick (a big stick you could I guess hit them with if necessary), and a light. Which, my headlamp has been the best purchase ever and everyone was jealous of it.

First night I tried really hard to stay awake but I went to bed pretty early and man oh man was it COLD! burrrrrrr. We all froze our asses off but I do have more warm clothes then Makenna... Apparently when she came in and was trying to sleep as well she said how she wished her sweatshirt had a hood... I sleepily replied “mmm... I have two” and rolled over and passed back out. I have no recollection of this encounter but when she told me I could not stop laughing. What a good best friend I am. The next night I did give her one of my sweatshirts to try and make up for it.