hellooooo!

so, i survived the giant spiders and dingoes on fraser island whoop whoop! had a great couple of days, group was bad like only 3 backpackers but hey never mind havin a guide meant i learnt loads about the island, and most places we went i found my mates from the last couple of hostels who were camping so i just chilled out with them at the different spots so was cool. PLUS i had an amazing hotel to stay at - double bed, single bed, kitchennette, massive shower all to myself!result!!food was amazing - mat and vernon would have fainted with delight - freshly made muffins on arrival, all you can eat buffets for breakkie lunch and dinner! and dinner was a full aussie roast!roast beef, pork, lamb, veggies.... taken a nice piccy of it for them lol

so onto what we actually did on the island (gonna put up pics later cos have to go and check in at the marina for my whitsundays trip tomorrow). First we went to lake wabby, involving a little forest walk (hmmm first little terrifying possible spider encounter - anyone remember my nightmare in mexico?) which i got through, then a 1km walk across a sand blow, pretty spectacular and felt a little like someone on a pilgramage to get to this 'lake wabby'...surely it couldnt be worth it?? it was. beautiful emerald green lake, obv clean, the green was just from all the plant life. spent a while there chillin on the steep sand banks and laughing at all the typical lads running and rolling down the dune into the water.

...(continued - ran outa time last time lol) also went for a swim across lake wabby which was lovely, then swam across it again with a couple from my group who were really nice. then had to walk for 40mins through the rainforest back to the bus. cant actually believe i did it, i was so so terrified but the people i was with were very supportive and helped me calm down when i got too upset when the trees and branches were too close for my comfort.

then we headed to eli creek, across the beach again. oh one thing i forgot to mention is that there are these 'wash outs' running into the ocean which are a deep red - it is tea tree (antibiotic stuff that is often in ladies' face stuff for you men who are like 'what?' lol which was quite cool. wanted to go and lie in it lol!) got to eli creek which was a little dissappointing as it was very crowded due to it being australia day. so it being out of forest i happily joined my group in wading up the creek, pass people floating back the other way, some on body boards or in rings - it was like a natural lazy river - mum you would have loved it!!! i got nearly to the top end of the creek and saw a few meters away an ominous web with a spider that looked a little on the too large side, so i wandered back towards the beach - which was definately the right thing to do as the rest of the group told me there were loads from then on and it was near the end anyway. so i was happy i didnt miss out on anything. saw my other friends when i got back to the beach so i wandered back up the creek with them and floated back down - cold but fun and refreshing! lots of pics with them and the drunken celebrating aussie dudes back at the beach.one of out group decided she'd like a swim in the ocean despite the warnings...and prmptly came running back to the creek having been stung by a blue bottle jelly fish. got some vinegar on it and she was ok.

then it was off to indian head - you get a 360deg view from the top - it was beautiful but saw no dolphins, sharks, turtles or rays like was hyped up. so it was just a pretty view really. on the way home the bus broke down. fun sitting on the beach with the tide coming in and the bus not moving. had to be towed back...

the sunday we went to central station and pine valley. basically central station was what used to be the community school on fraser island and also used in the world wars as a base. it was in a rainforest - which is special because fraser is a sand island and the fact that a rainforest can thrive on an island made of sand is very very special. the trees were huuuuuge. saw a bright blue kingfisher which was cool. and there are these things called takedas which are LOUD!!also saw a leach which was cool too. this rainforest walk was ok as it had a purpose made footpath which was nice and wide so i actually enjoyed it which was a nice change.

next was lake makenzie. simply stunning, white, ridiculously fine sand, crystal clear shallow water which drops off deeply into deep blue fresh water. found my friends again which was cool, started to swim across it with one girl but she wasnt a very strong swimmer so we didnt get very far - about half way, and swimming slow breaststroke across a huge lake takes time, so we just went to the beach closest, had a rest then swam back again. still no sign of any dingoes which was sad.... after lunch went back to the lake for an hour, then it was time to go. but the bus broke down, again, this time it was smoking and we all jumped off the bus immediately, which was quite funny, obv as everything turned out to be ok...

got back to the hostel, borrowed some friends' shower and got on the 14 hour bus journey to airlie where my story continues....