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We'd heard lots of good things about Fraser Island from fellow travellers but the idea was still a bit daunting - sending 11 strangers off in a rented 4x4 to camp for 3 days. Luckily 'team A' seemed to get on well from the outset as we got on with the first task of buying enough alcohol to last the experience.
Under strict instructions, all groups were in the car park the following morning at 7:30 where we set about packing the roof of the car with 4 tents, 11 sets of belongings, a camping stove, etc. Unfortunately, besides Kev and me, only one other person was able to drive, and although Kev was looking forward to the driving experience, I'd only fancied having a bit of a go one day. Having successfully packed the car and listened to the brief driving instructions, we left in convoy to catch the ferry to the island.
Having set off in the baking sunshine, the clouds quickly came and didn't really leave us for the next 3 days. Kev managed the rubble track very well leading to the 'great ocean road' which was a surreal experience. We stuck to our suggested itinerary and headed firstly to Indian Head at the northern tip of the island, however, there were no dolphins or sharks to be seen.
Our strict tide times forced us off the beach at 4pm, when we set up camp behind the sand dunes and cooked a farely impressive stir fry, given the circumstances. After the sun had set, we proceeded to make our way through the boxes of Goon (wine supposedly made from fish eggs) and admired the fantastic night sky which was particularly bright against the new moon.
Although nobody fet like it, we were forced out of our tents at 6am by the bright sunshine and had just enough time to pack the tents away before the rain started. The tide wouldn't let us drive until 11am so we passed the time playing 'the name game,' in the middle of which someone announced, "but Fraser Island isn't meant to be like this."
The rain did let-up to allow us to enjoy the beautiful Lake Mackenzie and to have a picnic lunch. It became clear that the other 3 groups had ended up camping at the same spot the previous night so we made plans to camp together that evening. The track back from the lake was certainly an experience and by the time we got to the beach the sun was setting so we headed for the agreed camping site just in time to put up the tents and make a steak dinner in the rain. Luckily the evening brightened up enough for everyone to enjoy the make-shift beach party.
On our last day we visitied Lake Wabby which meant a walk in the pouring rain, but then a walk back over the sand dunes in the sunshine. By the time we'd finished at the lake it was time to head down the beach to catch the ferry, with me driving this time. I'd taken to the driving pretty quickly thanks to Kev's guidance and wasn't even fazed when the bags started flying off the roof. Problems did occur, however, when the beach widened and started to curve round making it increasingly difficult to follow the edge of the sea. We started to move further up the sand so as to avoid the water but all of a sudden we fell into a ditch and became submerged. Although we recovered quickly it was certainly a scary point, especially as we all had the $1000 dollar excess charge in the back of our minds.
The journey back to the garage was rather more subdued than it had previously been, so when we were slowly called over after the mechanics had checked the car we all feared the worst. Thankfully, we hadn't damaged the car by driving it through the sea, but had created some light scratches by using the ladder to climb onto the roof. Although we were insistent that we hadn't been told not to place the ladder on the side of the car, our efforts were useless and we had no option but to pay the excessive $100 charge.
The incident had slightly soured what had been a great few days, but as we finished off the remaining Goon and slagged off the garage workers everyone perked up and enjoyed a final evening together.
Rosa
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