Whales and Off Roading

Day 2

So I am trying really hard to catch up with our trip on this blog but I am just always so sleepy by the time we get back from doing everything every night. But, picking up where I left off, we woke up very chilly the second day on Fraser around 7am again. We all made a group breakfast and got ready a big slowly although our guide Damion was pretty pushy because we had a lot we had to see in this day. It started with a stop at Eli Creek which was also deemed Hangover cure. It is a very shallow creek with pristine water that is so clear it doesn't even look like it’s there. Apparently it is so refreshing it kicks your hangover fast and effectively. Four of the guys in our group jumped in immediately. I was a bit more hesitant as it was barely 10am and in the shade, but in the end I at least got in up to my waist. The water really wasn't all that bad. I mean in comparison to creeks in Washington it was super warm! We all hung out freezing for a couple minutes and then called it good.

Our crew stayed with our rust box of a car the whole trip, so we all piled in again and off we went to the next location which was pretty cool. As a whole group we had decided that if there were lots of tour buses we would wait and come back to the next stop later, but we got lucky and there was only one other group ahead of us at the Maheno Shipwreck. This was pretty cool to see although our guide gave us a short background story that was less cool. Basically it is this giant ship that was magnificent in it’s glory days but was bought by the Japanese after its glory days. One the way to hauling it back to Japan, they got caught in a winter cyclone that washed it ashore. They tried for years to rescue it but eventually gave up and now has its final resting place on the island. Although it still looks huge up close and in the pictures I will post, over half of it is now currently buried under sand and the front half of the boat is missing because Australia used it as target practice for its military.

After that fun story we kept moving as it was windy and other sightseers were starting to show up behind us. Pretty much this entire day was a drive on the beach which was super cool. After the shipwreck I actually got in the drivers seat and gave it a go. It was my first time driving on open sand and it was pretty awesome. It felt super weird and you have way less control than on a real road but it was also beautiful. I drove for about 30 minutes to our next destination and then let someone else have a go. Makenna didn’t get a chance to drive because all the vehicles are manual :( We wanted to try and teach her on the open beach but we never really had time and I won’t lie, but the crappy car we had would not have been the best learning tool.

The next stop was a place called Indian Head which is this massive cliff that juts out over the ocean. We actually decided to stop here before going to the last place because as we were driving Damien (Damo) saw WHALES out in the water. Now to get to the top of this lookout there was no real path and you had to actually climb over boulders to get there. Which is totally my thing, I loved it. He told us he was required to tell us to wear shoes but he didn't have any on and I followed suit. I felt much safer gripping those rocks with my bare feet instead of flip flops. Got to the top and it was a stunning view. Down below the water was all shades of clear blue and you could see sharks and stingrays. We were asked not to walk to the left of the cliff as it has special meaning to the local aboriginals as at one time hundreds of their people were forced to death off of the cliffs edge... very sad story. Anyways, we all stayed up there looking for whales for quite a while and we kept seeing just the water they blow out. Finally, right before we all headed back we saw a nice big one jump and splash. It was really freaking cool even though it was so far away. I have seen so many amazing creatures on this trip. Feeling pretty satisfied we all headed back down the cliff and had lunch.

Our last stop of the day was what they called the Champagne pools. They are small pools that have formed slightly above the waterline and when the waves crash down they fill. Some of them are pretty deep but it is the only place along Fraser Island where you can swim in seawater. Otherwise there are sharks and crazy riptides. Unfortunately, while here I cut my foot on some serious sharp shells(?) maybe rock maybe coral. I am unsure what it was but it was sharp and it hurt. We were even forewarned as Damo said he has only had two tour groups ever where no one ended up cut. The worst part was that the cut was right in my arch on the very bottom of my foot. It was thin and shallow but stung like crazy. And of course I had to walk in super deep fluffy sand before getting back to camp so that felt awesome...It was also still quite cold. Even with the sun out, the wind was nippy and the water cold. We all hung out and tried to pretend to lay out even though we were freezing. Once done here we were on a tight schedule to get back to camp and beat the tide.

This was probably the best part of the trip. The beach had nearly disappeared throughout the day as it does with tides and all but you never realize how important that is until the beach is the road. Everyone including Damo nominated Lynn to drive us back and so we all cheered her on. We were driving so far up the beach to try and avoid the salt water since it’s really bad for the cars. At one point we were surrounded by water but had it better then the cars behind us that we saw the waves crashing onto and rocking the car.. it was so cool! Poor Lynn though, it was also very stressful. We all made it back in one piece and was probably the most memorable part of the trip. That night we all stayed up drinking goon and just hanging out. The dingos were seriously out this night to and some even came straight into our camp! They are quite cute to look at but that doesn't mean you can get close to them. I tried to stay up as late as I could but once I gave in it ended up being pointless anyways. Later in the night we added an extra person to our tent because his tent mate had thrown up all inside his....now this wouldn't have been a huge deal if we didn't already have too many people in the tent and/or he didn't snore. Both Lynn and I were so uncomfortable and irritated that finally at about 5am I went and slept in the back of one of the cars because I couldn't get over the SNORING. urg.

After a lame night of sleep I woke up in the morning not particularly thrilled but it was our last day so I put on a happy-ish face. We drove to Lake McKenzie which was our last stop and the ride there was more nauseating than normal. Once we got there it was super overcast and again we laid on the beach pretending it was warm. Kenna got in the water and I refrained because I was already freezing with all my clothes on. We had to kill so many hours here before we got to the ferry that by the end everyone was just kind of ready to be back with civilization and to shower. We had chosen to use our second free night at the hostel so we wouldn't be rushed and tired and that was a fantastic idea. Sleeping on a real bed never felt so good! The next morning we got an early start again although we were the last people left in that section of the hostel which was weird...and headed to Noosa :)