Hello Everyone!

After Airlie Beach and the Whitsunday Islands, we headed down to a cattle ranch called Kroombit - this was part of our Oz Experience pass, and somewhere we had to stay on-route to the rest of Australias coast. When we were about 10 minutes outside of the ranch, our bus decided to break - beeping that the engine was majorly over heating! As its Australia though, the bus driver didnt seem to care that it was nearly at 100 degrees, and contiuned driving!lol We thankfully got to the ranch safely though. In the evening we attempted to crack a whip and ride the mechanical bull - both me and Clare didnt last very long! Int he morning we had a go at goat wrangling which involved lasooing, flipping and branding a goat. We got pretty lucky here as we got a pretty lazy goat which let us wrap the rope around him anyway - brilliant!

Later that morning we made our way down to Hervey Bay so we could do our Fraser Island trip the next day. We got put into group of 9 that evening (how many of you were in each car), and got given a huge talk about what not to do - pretty much if you didnt follow their rules you were going to end up hurting yourself, get eaten by dingos, or pay extortionate amounts of money for damaging the vehicle (at this point we didnt really want to go!lol). Luckily we did!

The next morning we set off for the supermarket at about 8.30am to get all our supplies for the 3 days - sandwich fillings, stir fry veg etc. We then got a ferry across to Fraser Island at 10am, only a 45 minute crossing. Once we landed ont he island we were all very shocked at the terrain. We were told it was going to be sandy, but we didnt quite imagine it to be completely covered in (in some cases knee deep) sand! At this point, Amy backed out of driving!lol

Two of the lads in our group, Chris and Callum, did all the driving - we only got stuck once in the whole trip so that was pretty good going (most people get stuck several times!). On the first day on the island we had to drive to Central station to fill up our water tank for the next couple of days, then drive to our campsite (which was behind a sand dune on the beach - with no facilities!). After we set up camp, we then walked to Lake Wabby. What the organisers failed to tell us was that it would take at least 1hr 30mins to walk there, and the same amount of time to walk back, in the blazing heat across sand! Basically, by the time we got there everyone was exhausted and extremelly hot, luckily the water was well worth it! That evening we spent on the beach staring at the stars, we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

The second day involved getting up early (not that we were planning too, but the sun was blazing so you couldnt sleep past 5am!) and then driving to our first stop, Eli Creek. This was beautiful, and mine and Clares favourite place on the island. You could just sit in the creek and the water would just take you along - so crystal clear as well. Next was the ship wreck. This was interesting to see as the boat was so old, but thats all that it was, a ship stuck on a beach. The last stop of the day was Indian Head. This involved walking up a hill until you were right on the edge of a cliff - you could see the whole island from it, and it had the most amazing views! That evening we went to a different camp at Central Station - this one had toilets and showers that everyone got very excited about!! It was this night that the group really got to know each other, as there were large benches that we got to sit at and eat our dinner. One of our friends, Sam, thought it was funny to try and teach Chris (who is from Switzerland) to say discombobulated - pretty much impossible for him! Chris gave Sam as good as he got though, which ended with Sam being thrown into the pool once we returned to the hostel!

The third day was spent at Lake MacKenzie. This lake was bright blue, and completely clear - was lovely to relax on the sandy beach. In the afternoon we had to drive back to the ferry again, in order to make the 2pm ferry back to the mainland. One of the cars got stuck so many times though it missed the ferry! Soooo pleased that wasnt us. That evening we spent as a group, having diner at the local pub in Hervey Bay. Two of the girls we met were from Chicago, so we are planning on meeting up with them, either in Las Vegas or in Chicago itself! Both me and Clare thought that the best bit about the trip was the great people we met, it makes the world of difference to how much you enjoy yourselves.

We will write again soon about life after Fraser - Byron Bay, Surf Camp and Coffs Harbour. Hope everyone is well, keep in touch!! Lots of Love Amy and Clare X x x