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Tuesday 10th April 2007Journal brought to you by Sophie  Last night the two Irish guys that were sleeping above me and Tami in the bunkbeds came in really drunk and the one sleeping above me fell out of bed on top of me.  It was a bit of a surprise to say the least!  We woke up early this morning to get underway to Fraser Island and discovered that Cam had had his ipod stolen from him in the middle of the night.  Tami then realized hers had also been nicked. From our shrewd detective work we worked out that it was obviously a dodgy guy that had been hanging around the rooms late last night. However there is a slight happy ending to this story when Tami found hers in the top pocket of her bag.  Idiot. Cam?s, unfortunately, had definitely gone, which was a bit of a rubbish start to the trip for him.   We were supposed to be on the island by 9am but we were still packing up all the cars by this time!  We had to put on the cool boxes, the alcohol, then the sleeping mats and bags and then our own stuff.  We also had to have another briefing on where to camp on the island and about driving. Tami and I had been initially upset that we wouldn?t be able to drive as we weren?t old enough but because there was only one driver that was old enough we were allowed to sign up.  I only put my name down as a last resort as I didn?t really want to be responsible for 10 people with my driving!   Eventually we set off for the ferry, stopping off just before boarding to change the tyres to 4WD (four wheel drive).  And then we were on our way! YEY! We were at the island within a matter of seconds and immediately headed for Lake Mackenzie, on of the main tourist spots there. The drive there was extremely bumpy. I was so glad that Tami and I had managed to bag spots in the front seats. Jeff told us he had never driven a manual before. I hoped he was joking? On the way we were following the other group from our hostel and they went too fast over a hidden creek on the beach and their tarp flew off, along with one of their cool boxes of food.  It was quite scary.  We had lunch of sandwiches and crisps and fruit and then made our way to the lake, on the way bumping into Luke and Holly.  The lake itself was pure paradise. The sand was white as white can be and the water was a bright aquamarine right by the shore and a dark, navy blue as it went deeper and deeper.  Gorgeously green vegetation surround the whole thing. It was deliciously warm to swim in and deceptively deep too. We all made a human pyramid which was great, especially as I got to go on top and then was not at all squashed when the whole thing collapsed. Tami stupidly decided to be on the bottom.   After this excitement we drove round to find a campsite before it got dark and ended up parking about a 3 minute drive from the Maheno Wreck. I have cheated here as the following information is from the internet but this is the basic story of the wreck. Built in 1905 as a luxury passenger steam ship, the 400-foot vessel was one of the gems of the merchant marine.  She held the Sydney to Wellington speed record, and would power through the waves at a ripping 16 knots.  After 9 years of panache and service to the upper crust from both sides of the Tasman, she was refitted and was enlisted in the Navy as a hospital ship for service in the First World War.Some 25,000 sick, wounded and dying soldiers were valiantly transported and cared for as she traversed the English Channel over the five years of her military service.
After the war, she was returned to her former glory as a luxury liner, and made six New Zealand to England voyages. But the advent of internal combustion engines, ironically improved by the war, lead to her demise as newer, faster and cleaner vessels took to the high seas, leaving the Maheno in their wake.  Out dated, and out classed, she was decommissioned in 1935, and sold to a Japanese firm for scrap.  It was on that final voyage that things went wrong, and she found her way to Fraser Island. "En route to Japan, in cyclonic conditions her tow rope broke and she came to grief on the eastern beach of Fraser Island. That was back in 1935," said Ranger Dyball.
"During World War II she was used for bombing practice from above and also had shells fired at her from the sea," said Allan, "She also had commandos climbing all over her, blowing her up.? We set up camp and then began cooking dinner.  It was at this point that the rain came down.  I was huddled under the tarpaulin in my ultra cool waterproof stirring the pot.  Now does that make me sound like a witch or what?!  No comment Matthew or Jonathan Nix. The party then started! Two of the other groups, including Holly and Luke?s group, joined ours and we had the music going and the alcohol flowing and it was an absolutely cool party.  We saw the moon resting over the sea with an orange orb around it and it was a stunning view.  I need some new vocabulary. Anyway despite the rain it was an amazing first night in Fraser.  Rock on the rest of the trip!
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