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We arrived at Hervey Bay, the gateway to Fraser Island and our 4x4 safari adventure. Hervey Bay itself is a very quiet, subdued town with not a lot happening and generally full of newly wed couples and nearly dead pensioners so we didnt plan on spending too long there............. although it didnt really work out that way because once again our p*ss poor planning let us down!
After a week in Hervey Bay our Fraser Island experience was eventually set to begin with a very early start for a briefing and an introduction to our new team buddies. We sat there very bleary eyed taking on information about the island and the "deadly" dingos knowing full well it was going in one ear and straight out the other! After the talk it was time to discover who was lucky enough to spend the weekend with two strapping fellows like ourselves - but lets be honest it felt like being introduced to new class mates at school! As the names were reeled out and "Team 2" came together we realised we had been lumbered with 3 Yanks (Keith, Kayleigh and Kaitlin), 2 Swiss (Aaaaaaa and Reto) and 4 Brits (Loz, Jess, Chrissy and Simon) and in fact the only two people that could legally and ?safely? drive the 4x4 was us as everyone else was either under age, didnt have a license or couldnt drive a stick - thats Yanks for you!
We headed off in the newly acquired vehicle with Gav behind the wheel - however, before departing we had to make a special request for a booster seat, as Gav was struggling to see over the wheel! We went to pick our camping equipment up and visited a supermarket to buy our weekend supply of food and alcohol - the teams total came to $250 while Chris brought some extras for himself amounting to $160! After the food trip we realised never leave an American in charge of getting meat from the deli as our ham bill alone came to $50!!
Spending too long shopping we were a little pushed for time to make our ferry from the harbour so Gav had to put his foot down. Unfortunately he put his foot a little too far down and we missed the turning for the harbour - how we missed a 20 foot billboard sign we dont know but seeing as a woman was holding the map we probably know why!! We eventually made the ferry with seconds to spare and were the last to board - off the Fraser Island we go!
Once we got on to the island we were greeted with the most wonderfully coloured sands and dense rainforest vegetation. First stop on the intinary was Lake McKenzie, a fresh water lake in the middle of the island, and it was time for Gav to experience his first bit of off roading on deep sands that were littered with trechorous potholes. The lake itself was absolutely stunning and luckily we had a photographer on our team (Simon) to take photos on his rather expensive piece of kit - dont worry we will be stealing his pics shortly and passing them off as our own! It was then off to 75 mile beach to set up for our first night camping together. As to be expected we initially struggled to get the tents up but we were soon to be eating like kings and drinking like queens with our burgers/sand and goon/sand in our newly created accomodation. The bbq must have been so good that the dingos wanted to come join us for dinner but with spade in hand we turned them away.
The next morning we all woke with very heavy heads and needing something to clear them we quickly packed up camp and headed for Eli Creek for a swim down a fresh water stream. Soon feeling revitalised we headed north along the beach - Gav still driving! - to a shipwreck and then onto Indian Head which was a viewing point where we were told we could see Tiger Sharks breeding and some fantastic views of the island. All feeling a little peckish we stopped for a bite to eat and witnessed the most amazing sandwich making ever - no sh*t Keith had about 20 slices of ham/sand in his foot high sandwich!! No wonder America has got an obesity problem - yes Chris is an honourary Yank! We then went to search for a new spot to set up camp for our last night together as Team 2 / Team Tooheys / The United States of Great Switzerland! The camp went up a lot quicker then the night before and we were soon settling down for a meal of pasta/sand and gone off mince/sand hoping that we wouldnt be regretting the decison the next morning! That evening we spent drinking, laughing and joking with our new pals from around the globe.
Once again we awoke with heavy heads so a trip to Eli Creek was in order - Gav still driving! - and then off to Lake Wabby. We were told it was a short walk to the lake but it was in fact a 2km trek across sand dune after sand dune! Finally after 30 mins we came to what we hoped was Lake Wabby and not a mirage due to our dehydrated state! We spent a couple of hours enjoying the fresh waters, sun and sand, frolicking with small cat fish and small Gav. Unfortunately it was time to bid farewell to the island and we headed back to the harbour.
After driving so placidly for the whole of the trip Gav decided that a little bit of erratic driving was in order and with the aid of Chris egging him on (from the passenger seat!) Gav then hammered it over bump after bump after bump to the pain of the passengers in the back as they were flung around! But Chris and Gav, not ones to feel any guilt, couldnt contain their laughter in the front even though the screams of agony were getting louder from the back!!    Â
A wonderful weekend was had by all and spending three days with three Yanks has made us realise that Americans arent all bad afterall! A big thankyou goes out to all of Team 2 that made our Fraser Island trip such a memorable one! TEAM 2 RULE!Â
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