Up and out early today - 6.30 pick-up in what I can only describe as a monster truck!

I'd booked to go to Fraser Island, which is the biggest sand island in the world and 1 1/2 hours drive north of Noosa. So, I imagined a little mini-bus coming to collect me but no! It was the biggest four-wheeled-drive-mean-machine I have ever seen! I thought it was the local recycling truck when it first arrived! It was brown, with mahoosive wheels and the suspension had been raised so that the passenger cabin was about 4 ft from the ground.

We drove through Rainbow Beach and got the boat across the short distance to Fraser Island. Switching into 4wd, we then went whizzing along the beach, watching the southern humpback whale swimming along and seeing dingos just mooching along the beach.

Heading into the middle of the island was an adventure and 4wd at its best! We bumped and slid along through the dense wooded areas to Lake McKenzie - this is a rainfall created lake in the south centre of the island. The water was crystal clear and lovely, if somewhat cold!, to swim in.

After a bbq lunch, we headed off back around the island and into the sub tropical rain forest which was stunning.

Coming back off the island, the tide was low and so we were able to drive back along Rainbow Beach and 40 mile beach back to Noosa.

Rainbow Beach was stunning and gets its name from the sand formation - picture the sand bottles where they layer different coloured sand and that's exactly what the sand formation is naturally like!

Then, after an exhilarating 12 hour day, another Denise special - instead of pulling a $5 note from my purse to give to the tour guide, I realised once I'd walked away that I'd actually given him a $50 note!!!!! That's equivalent to about £35 - doh!!!!!