Day 4
Summary: Day trip to Fraser Island
Sunday, January 5th
Our alarms went off at 5am and we got ready for our day trip to Fraser Island! It really helped that sunrise is so early – it was already light out when we got on a shuttle bus at 5:30am! The bus drove us to a marina where we got on a big 4×4 bus with huge tires.
We took a ferry over to Fraser Island and drove along the beach! It was really cool at first, but it got old quickly as it was really bumpy on the sand and the bus rocked a lot. We expected this, but it still made for a long drive! I’m so grateful I didn’t get car sick – it would been a very difficult day!
Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world and the only sand island in the world with subtropical rainforests growing on it. Tons of people camp there and we were there towards the end of the holiday so there were a lot of campers and tents set up. It would have been really cool to camp there overnight!
We stopped at Eli Creek and waded up and back in the crisp, clear water. Lots of people were floating down it lazy river style in fun shaped inflatable tubes. Even with that much traffic, the water was clear because we were walking on fine sand and not stirring up dirt.
A little ways away from the creek was a shipwreck that we got to explore (but not board because it’s unsafe)! The SS Maheno was an ocean liner belonging to New Zealand. During World War I, it was fitted as a hospital ship. In 1935, it was sold to Japan and was towed from Sydney behind another ship by a wire rope. A cyclone hit, detaching the rope, and the ship drifted off before running aground on Fraser Island where it has remained ever since! It is slowly deteriorating and it was pretty cool to see the waves through the port holes on the opposite side of the ship.
There are several freshwater lakes on Fraser Island and Lake McKenzie is one of the most accessible and popular. It is technically a “perched lake”, which means it formed above the water table and is filled only with rainwater. The sand is pure silica which make the beaches white and soft. We had just an hour to spend there before lunch, so Greg and I swam the whole time and played with the GoPro features.
The Fraser Island tour guides provided us lunch at the picnic facility that was surrounded by a fence to prevent the dingoes from getting in. Dingoes live on Fraser Island and, while they look like cute dogs, they are wild. I didn’t get to see any, but a few people said they spotted one near the bathrooms.
We got back on the bus and drove through the subtropical rainforest to an area called Central Station, where there is a boardwalk along Wanggoolba Creek. The location was home to an old logging establishment before Fraser Island became a World Heritage Site. At first glance, I didn’t even realize there was a creek! But then I realized the sand I was seeing was the creek bottom and I could just barely make out the water flowing on top because it was crystal clear!
After a little nature walk (we saw wild cockatoos and a big spider), we got back on the bus and drove back to Noosa. When driving these buses on the beach, the guides drive on the hard sand right by the water during low tide. However, it was high tide on our way home so the driver attempted to drive on the hard sand and swerve in and out to avoid the waves. I appreciated his effort and finesse, but that made the bus sway a whole lot. At one point, the four-wheel drive cut out, which could have left us stuck in the sand. He was able to get it working again and conceded that it was better to take the inland road that was used during high tide. It was really bumpy, but in my opinion preferable to the swaying back and forth we were doing along the shore.
Finally, we made it back to Noosa and the driver dropped me, Greg, and one of the girls on our tour off at Noosa Junction where the restaurants are located. We browsed a few menus and decided to try Mr. Drifter. It was a solid choice!
Thanks for reading!
-Rebecca
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