Treks and the City

Writer Charlotte Ward charts her travels and reveals all about the highs and lows of her new life Down Under. As well as her regular blog on iVillage.co.uk, you can follow Charlotte on Twitter and also catch her at www.charlotteward.net

4x4 frolics on Fraser Island

By Charlotte Ward on 20 Feb 2012 No comments

Finding myself at a loose end I decided to go on a last-minute trip to Fraser Island in Queensland, a place everyone seems to rave about.

Driving for two hours from Bundaberg I arrived in Rainbow Beach and met up with the Sunrover tour, a three day 4x4 experience taking holiday-makers on a whistle-stop tour of the island’s hot spots.

I was met by our guide Troy, a laid back, messy-haired Aussie dude, and quickly introduced to the other guests – an eclectic mix of characters and nationalities.

Our motley crew consisted of Christina and Michael, a smiley couple from Germany, softly spoken flatmates Joyce and Amy, from Indonesia and South Korea respectively, clearly sleep-deprived Koji from Japan (the poor chap spent much of the first day nodding off) and deep-thinking Chris from Adelaide. Then there was Andre, a hyperactive electrician from Sydney who talked ten to the dozen and eclipsed everyone with his infectious ‘Woody Woodpecker’ laugh and deadpan humour.

'You are ridiculous,' he’d declare every time I tripped over a rock or tree root. Then there was the mirth when I pulled out my swimming goggles. 'Ridiculous and English,' he concluded like the two meant the same thing. Charming.

We began our trip taking the barge from Inskip Point. Ten minutes later our 4×4 rolled on to the sand at Hook Point. Paradise stretched out in front of us as we were immediately greeted by the sight of the stunning 75-mile beach panning out seemingly for infinity. The blue sea met the shore with ripples of white surf, water lapping on to the sand and casting silvery teal reflections of the sky.

Heading north we arrived at our base, the Dilli dingo campsite, tents were organised and a suggestion was made that we head to the ‘watering hole’ for a quick dip. There it was, a mangrove-lined pool with treacle like black water that screamed ‘croc!’ – an observation that obviously caused laughter and accusations of ridiculousness from one particular Aussie in the group.

With our limbs still intact we headed off in the four-wheel drive, skidding, wheel-spinning and bunny hopping across the sand, spotting dingoes and helpless blue jellyfish beached on the sand along the way.

Our first stop was the amazing crystal clear Lake McKenzie, a freshwater lake surrounded by pure white silica sand so fine you could sit in the shallows and exfoliate your skin. It was arguably one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen and after an hour I was reluctant to leave.

Off we careered, slipping and sliding down high banked tree-lined sandy roads, observing notably different eco systems as we went – sun-baked sand dunes, open wallum forests and cool, dense rainforest.

Eventually we arrived at a peaceful rainforest setting – Central Station, a historic former forestry camp settlement. There, Satinay and Kauri pines loomed grandly above us. Our attention was soon captured by loud squawks and flashes of brilliant white as a flock of cockatoos flapped from tree to tree.

We made our way to the rainforest boardwalk which took us on an elevated path parallel to the Wanggoolba creek. The water of the creek trickled almost silently and the light filtering through the canopy of palms and vines growing densely overhead created a soft green focus.

Suddenly everything seemed peaceful and still.

That night, tucked up peacefully in my tent, I fell asleep listening to the distant sound of the ocean. Of course, I did my best not to think about the colossal spider that Troy had kindly removed from my tent earlier in the evening or the small black snake that had crawled across Andre’s foot as we’d sat down to eat. Ugh.

The following day we embarked on a 2.5km trek to Hammerstone Sandblow, a massive sand dune which, year by year, is engulfing neighbouring Lake Wabby – a former creek blocked off by the sand.

After a walk across a vast golden plain, Lake Wabby appeared, at the bottom of a steep sandbank, emerald green and inviting, with the dark shades of sizeable catfish visible in the shallows.

Next stop was Eli Creek, the largest creek on the eastern beach of Fraser Island which pumps up to four million litres of fresh water into the ocean every hour.

Strolling from the beach along a boardwalk you reached a bridge from where you could clamber down into the crystal clear water to walk or float downstream to the beach once more.

After a pleasant afternoon, a short drive from Eli brought us to the site of an impressive shipwreck which has sat disintegrating on the shore since 1935. The ship, the SS Maheno, was built in Scotland in 1904 and used as a hospital ship in World War I. Declared unseaworthy in 1935 it was sold to a Japanese company for scrap metal but was caught unexpectedly in a winter cyclone and grounded at Fraser Island where it has remained since as a shoreline landmark.

Another day over it was back to the campsite for food, wine and drinking games, which certainly helped to keep thoughts of snakes and spiders at bay.

Waking early, everyone emerged bleary-eyed for breakfast, packing up for our third and final day. Thankfully our hangovers were remedied with a trip to the Champagne Pools, natural rock pools named after the frothy affect of the waves crashing and bubbling over the rocks and a refreshing spot to take a dip.

We also took a visit to neighbouring Indian Head, a high climb to a headland with 360-degree views of the surrounding island and a fantastic place to spot stingrays and turtles in the water below. The beauty spot was given its name Captain Cook, after he spotted Aboriginal people on the headland as he sailed by. He described them as ‘Indians’ as many natives were called at that time.

As the weather turned overcast our trip had sadly come to an end and despondently we piled into the 4×4 for the final time and headed back to the ferry. Wandering around barefoot with messy hair and no phone reception for three days had been glorious.

Now, sadly, it was back to reality.

To find out more about Fraser Island tours visit www.sunrover.com.au