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Blog Day 160 Thurs 13th October 2011
Today starts off with another cup of cornflakes then we all jump into the cars and head off to our first destination. As we are driving in convoy along the sand Kev suddenly slams on his breaks. We come skidding to a stop and look on as Colin (one of the Canadian lads) jumps out of the car. The way the boys have been drinking we all presume that he needs to be sick, but no, he drops to the sand and starts doing press ups. By the time he has done his ten we are all rolling around laughing.
The first stop on our last day is at a rainforest walk. Kev takes us part of the way giving us little snippets of information, and then points us in the direction of the 15 minute walk. He needs to drive the cars round to the end of the walk and asks for a volunteer to drive the other car. Dan offers and Kev is chuffed as he heard about the card tricks last night but missed out on them. This leaves Trish to walk the walk and take in the 500 year old trees. At the end of the walk Trish and the others come out of the rainforest to find Dan holding a deck of cards and Kev with a dumbstruck look on his face!
2 weeks ago a huge bushfire ripped through part of the forest on Fraser Island, as we make our way to Lake McKenzie we drive through the burnt out area. And it's really eerie. Charcoal black trees as far as the eye can see, rising up out of snowy white sand. It's like a scene out of Sleepy Hollow.
We plough on towards Lake McKenzie and it's not long before Kev is on the brakes again. This time he jumps out of the car and dives into the trees (very Steve Irwin-esq). He backpedals out of the trees dragging a carpet python onto the track. The snake is about 6ft long and seems to be struggling a little bit with its latest meal. Half way down the snake's body there is the contorted outline of a small rodent like animal. The legs of the animal are protruding so much that it looks as though it's helping the snake cross the road.
Finally we arrive at Lake McKenzie. This is the most famous lake on Fraser Island, with crystal clear waters it really is a picture postcard area…………….when the sun is out. Unfortunately for us the skies are dark and rain is on the way. We have just enough time for a group photo in the chilly water before we all head back to the cars for a sandwich. Lovely!
So that concludes our trip to Fraser Island, which has been a definite highlight of our Australian adventure so far. That being said we absolutely cannot wait to get back to the hostel to wash 3 day's worth of sand out of places we previously didn't realise we had!
On the way back to the hostel an old boy come up to us asking us if we are backpackers, having spent 2 ½ months in Asia where every other person is trying to sell you something, our immediate response is to tell him that we are backpackers however we are fine for accommodation etc. The guy then informs us that he is only trying to tell us about a free sausage sizzle (hot dogs) that he and a few friends are having down at the picnic areas. Feeling terribly guilty we thank him and tell him we may be down later.
The Canadian lads are all going for fish and chips tonight as they've heard about a joint that serve them up for cheap. As we are looking for the restaurant we walk past the sausage sizzle boys who try to get us to go over again. We are all of the opinion that 'nothing is free' and opt for the fish and chips. On finding that the chip shop is closed we are forced to walk back past them again to a different one. This time we can't avoid the sausages any longer and within minutes we are clearing out the last of their stock. And to our surprise they are 100% free! The sausage boys ask us all where we are from and where we are going, and tell us that they try to do a sausage sizzle once a week for the local community. As we are thanking them and go to leave we are handed a 'God' card. We knew there had to be something. The 'God' card gets deposited in the nearest bin as we make our way to the Chapel of Fish and Chips!
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