Fraser Island Trip: Day 3, 4, and 5

The next morning at Dundabarra camp we slept in really late, at least by camping standards. It was about 8am when we finally got up. It was roasting hot in the tent already. I made scrambled eggs for brekkie and as we sat enjoying our meal, we watched no fewer than four large goannas amble on by. I spent a good half hour chasing them in an attempt to get some good photos.

Our plan for the morning was to do a short hike from the campsite, but we the trail was closed. We of course discovered this after we had spent the time changing into our hiking gear and lathering up with sunscreen and bug spray. The tide was still relatively high, so our options were limited. Ultimately we decided to drive back to Eli Creek, which was about a 10 minute drive from the campsite, and wait there for the tide to recede.

After a quick dip in the creek we decided to take a drive inland to check out the island's interior. Well, I don't know exactly what I was expecting these inland tracks to look like, but after just a few minutes on the track I knew it would be slow going. When it wasn't deep, thick sand it was menacing holes filled with tree roots. But our little Daihatsu was up to the challenge.

Our first stop was Lake Garawongera, and it took us a good hour or so to get there. The lake was beautiful and not the least bit crowded. In fact, there were only about 10 other people there. We had a nice swim but started to hear thunder and see some dark clouds off in the distance. Needless to say we didn't hang around there too long.

The rest of the track was equally as difficult as the first part. There were a few times Lindsay had to help fill in some holes. Check out this video:

By the time we made it back to the beach it was about 5:00 and the dark clouds were still looming. We chose another beachfront campsite (Gabala) that night. As we pulled into the site we saw a dingo hanging out right where we were planning to camp. Initially he was very reluctant to move, but Lindsay persuaded him to go by revving the engine a few times. The sky was getting darker by the minute so we quickly set up the tent and broke out the tarp to make a shelter from the impending rain.

We managed to get dinner started before the rain hit, but as the water for the pasta began to boil the sky opened up and dumped. It was only then that I realized that during my assembly of our tarp-shelter I had not considered where the rain would go once it hit the tarp. Well, from the tarp the water poured onto the ground and subsequently headed directly for the tent. So, I did what any chivalrous husband would do - I got out in the rain and dug two irrigation ditches by hand. Ten minutes later I had the rain water flowing down the hill instead, and we were able to enjoy our ravioli with mushroom and onion. It poured all night long.

The next morning the sky was clear and the sun was shining. The day's plan would take us off the beach again to explore more of the island's interior. Two hours on one of the rough inland tracks led us to Lake Wabby, one of the many beautiful lakes on the island. Most of the islands are "perched" lakes, which are formed when organic debris builds up on a sand dune, creating an impenetrable layer. Over time water builds up on the debris and forms a lake. As you can see in the photo below, Lake Wabby is situated right next to (and atop) a large sand dune. According to the guidebooks, the lake gets smaller every year as it fills with sand. We hiked down and took a swim in the warm green water.

From Lake Wabby we continued on the inland "road" through a beautiful rainforest to the most famous lake on the island: Lake McKenzie. This lake, also a perched lake, is a bright blue color and visited by what seems like 400,000 German tourists per day. It really was beautiful, but it was too crowded.

We didn't spend too long at Lake McKenzie. After all, we had one more lake to visit before the end of the day. Lake Birabeen was a short drive away from Lake McKenzie and was practically deserted. The water was a beautiful orange color from the tannins.

At around 4pm we made it back to the beach. We made a quick stop for some more gas at Happy Valley just to make sure we had enough to make it back to Rainbow Beach the next day. Along the way to our campsite we spotted a pack of dingos playing on the beach.

After the dingos disappeared into the forest we drove another 10 minutes to the Govi beach campsites at the south end of the island. That night lacked any of the drama of the other evenings - no dingos, no treacherous rains.

The next morning we were up at 5am so that we could catch the ferry back to the mainland during low tide. All went without a hitch and we were back in Rainbow Beach before long. We had a bus to catch back to Brisbane at 1030, so we used our last couple of hours there down at the beach playing in the waves.

The bus ride back to Brisbane was uneventful, and it was an easy 5 minute walk from the bus terminal to our hotel downtown. This hotel, chosen by Lindsay, was even nice than the other one we had stayed in the other night. (Lindsay has discovered a website, much like Hotwire, where you can get great rates on "anonymous" hotels.)

We got cleaned up - and boy did it feel good to take a shower - and walked down to the river front to have a drink. Just as we got to the bar a massive thunderstorm came through. It was beautiful to watch from the covered patio at the bar. The rest of the evening included a nice sushi dinner and Avatar in 3D. Each movie ticket was $19. Amazingly enough, it was worth it.

The next morning we headed back to Townsville and back to work. (In the below photograph you can see Fraser Island just under the wing.)