Before we were allowed to go we were made to watch a cheesy video that basically reassured you that you will die on Fraser Island. My second favourite piece of advice was the bit where they told you not to sleep in the road. Ok, the road is mainly just along the beach and I've met some stupid backpackers in my time, but still? But my favourite part of the video by far was the 'What to do if a dingo comes near you' section.
So, as the rain poured, we split up into four vehicles and headed for the ferry to take us over to this island of sand and danger (apparently). Riding and driving the 4WD over uneven beach and sand track was so much fun, we bumped, jiggled and flew our way around the island as we got to know our group.The actors, with very straight faces, froze, crossed their arms over their chest and did a kind of moonwalk backwards. I jest, but I did have two dingoes cross my path and yes, I did clap my hands across me and moonwalk backwards, a la Michael Jackson. You don't mess with dingoes.
After pitching our tents, Wayne led us to Lake McKenzie in the middle of the island, the largest lake on Fraser where we got to splash around and do some sunbaking in the first bit of sunshine we had seen for days. After a long, sweaty morning of tackling potholed dirt tracks in a 4×4 with little suspension, it was heaven.
With its fine, white sand, shimmering, green water and its wonderfully remote location in the centre of a desert island, it was well worth the whiplash and sore bottoms inflicted on the way.
Dinner was a mass cook-up and I channeled my bossiness along with a few of the other girls to whip up a stir fry for everyone. Most groups divide the cooking up into four groups, but we decided to cook on four gas stoves for 30 people. I'll be adding that to my CV!
Our campsite was tucked behind a small sand dune only metres from the sea. We had nothing but a tent, a tarp and some cooking gear. Med and I are used to this, but it was funny to see people go the loo in groups, shrieking at the dark and the chance of snakes and dingoes. If you needed a number two, you had to grab the shovel and head off to dig a big hole. It's amazing how quickly you get to know people when you're discussing poo-hole digging methods after less than a day together!
The next morning Wayne, our stout and friendly guide, woke us up at 6.45am and people appeared from their tents in various stages of disarray after drinking too much goon the night before. Wayne just chuckled, he had been on the Bundaberg and Coke himself and had the energy of a five year old.
We headed along the beach, dodging the waves (although often failing and getting a face full of saltwater) and trying to avoid the obstacles of people, dead trees and other unidentified debris. Fraser really is unusual and arrestingly beautiful with its surging sea, flat white sand and lush rainforest. In fact, it's the only place in the world where rainforest grows on sand - it's as strange as it sounds.
We passed some burnt orange, sandy pinnacles perched right along the beach and we went for a wade in Eli Creek, where some of the runoff water from Fraser makes its way over a riverbed, through a creek and into the sea. Then it was on to see a rusty old cruiseliner, Maheno, that had been shipwrecked on the beach a long time ago, which no one had every bothered to move. It was built in 1905, was only second in size to the Titanic and somehow, despite being wrecked for more than 70 years, still had patches of timber left on its umber skeleton.
Next it was on to the Champagne pools, where huge waves crash over the coast and fizz like gallons of champagne into the cracks in the rock pools. This was the only place we were allowed to step foot in the sea, something our danger video had informed us. They tell tourists that the sea is infested with jellyfish and sharks so you can't swim here, but mainly it's the strong rips and currents that will whip you out to sea before you can shout "dingo!" So, we got none of the benefits and all of the disadvantages of our seaside location – salty skin, frizzy hair, crusty sunglasses and sand just about everywhere.
After an exhilirating splash about, we climbed Indian Head where the headland stops abruptly and the shark and killer jellyfish-infested water begins. It's from this height that you really appreciate the wonder of Fraser for the first time; from here you can see the undulating sand dunes interspered with the rainforest.
Tonight we cooked 30 steak dinners, and then danced the night away in the sand.
The next morning, at the end of a long trek through a rainforest and across deep sand dunes, we found Lake Wabby hiding in a hollow between one towering dune and hundreds of thriving trees. Exhausted, parched and covered in a gritty layer of sand and salt, we ripped off our clothes and hurled ourselves down the dune and face-flat into the ice cold water. It was so refreshing we didn't care that the rain had returned and was soaking our only remaining clean clothes.
After a chip buttie, it was back to the mainland, but it would be another five hours before Med and I could shower and put on dry clothes: we had a bus to catch.
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