After an overnight Greyhound journey on the 27th we arrived in Hervey Bay. After a good night's sleep we woke early and met at the hostel's bar to go to Fraser Island. We were split into groups of 9 for each 4x4 vehicle so we met our group and the first job was to write our shopping list for the 3 day trip. Whilst Jo and another couple went to the shops to pick up the food the rest of us went to the 4x4 garage to pack our car and watch instructional videos on 100 ways to die on Fraser Island. "Dingos will attack you, snakes, spiders, sharks and jellyfish will kill you. Here are some photos of fatal car crashes on the island...etc etc". Dan volunteered to be the main driver for the group and set off for the ferry. The car's handling, even on the tarmac of the mainland, strongly resembled that of a shopping trolley with 9 people sat in it. After the 30 minute ferry ride we were let loose on the island. We switched to 4 wheel drive and bounced down the tracks! Our first stop was Lake Wabby, a short drive along the beach....or would have been if Dan hadn't got excited and took us (and the other cars following behind) on a 2 hour adventure over some ridiculous inland tracks. It was so much fun, particularly sitting in the comfy driver's seat from which you could see 8 people being thrown around behind you in the mirror. We eventually found a lookout point over the lake and it was stunning. The sandblow is slowly engulfing the lake so in a few years it will all be gone. We then drove to Rainbow Gorge, a beautiful and surreal landscape of sand an natural springs with dark sand that changed colour when you walked on it. The next stop was Eli Creek. We couldn't understand why we hadn't arrived there already after driving so long and then we found it - before we realised the beach we had been cruising down had suddenly disappeared and we were half way through the creek with water spraying in through every open window! We then headed up to see the shipwreck on the beach and then headed to base camp to pitch our tents and cook. As the campsite was the only place with lights for miles we were joined by every fly and bug on the island! Thankfully a tiring day and a few cups of Goon helped us to sleep pretty well.

Day 2 we drove along the beach to Indian Head. These cliffs are the most easterly point of Australia nad looked out over a beautifully clear sea. From here we could see turtles and manta rays swimming below us. After some sunbathing we headed to Lake Garawongera. The lake is lined with tea trees and after thousands of years of shedding their leaves into the water the lake has turned into a giant cup of tea! The water was bright orange in places but it was excellent to swim in. When we got back to camp we had found that dingos had ripped through two of the tents (not ours fortunately). We were spared from that however a huge huntsman spider had decided to camp in our tent too. Dan did the manly thing and poked it with a stick until it started running around and then he went to find the ranger who thought he was a little girl when he asked him to get rid of the spider!

The next morning we needed to leave camp early to drive an hour down the beach before the tide came in too far. After about 5 minutes we were stuck on the beach! The soft sand had trapped us and every attempt to get out seemed to be taking us deeper. After an hour of digging, deflating tyres and pushing we finally got the car out of the crater we had made! Thankfully a local tour guide had seen us and came to help or we may have been there all day!

We finally made it to Lake McKenzie which was beautiful and we had a much needed soak after the morning's exhertions. We then headed for the ferry back to the mainland. Unfortunately one of our tyres had continued to deflate from the morning and though pretty low getting on to the ferry it was completely down by the time we got off. We all got out and jacked the massive 4x4 up on the smallest and most unstable jack in the world. Eventually we changed the tyre and headed back to return the car. That night we all met up again for a BBQ and were pretty relieved to shower, wash clothes and eat without having to check to see how many bugs had just landed on your food!

Fraser was an incredible experience and one that neither of us think we could have done at the start of our trip. We've both enjoyed testing our limits - Jo camping was impressive enough but even more so when you consider we'd had the huntsman spider running around the tent!

We're now spending a few more relaxed weeks on the way down to Sydney, starting in Noosa tomorrow.