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Fraser Island, Australia
25° 15' S 153° 10' E
Feb 27, 2006 02:01
Distance 936km

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Four Wheelin'

Text written in: English

So Noah and I had heard quite a bit about this strange sand island called Fraser island. As it turns out this is the worlds largest sand island and also one of the best spots in australia to spend 3 days. Basically, what you do is book a tour with a youth hostel and they put you into a group of about 10 people (we had 8) and they hire a 4x4 car for you and lend you a bunch of camping equipment.

We were herded into our groups bleary eyed at 6:30 in the morning and given instructions to purchase food and beer for the trip and then agree on jobs for everyone in the group. Our group seemed very nice, but at such an hour were extremely shy, so Noah and I ended up being in charge of almost everything, which was actually ok with us (we are control freaks). Only two hours later we and our 4x4, loaded with all kinds of equipment, were on a ferry heading over to the natural wonder that is fraser island.

Now Sand Island conjures up images of dunes or maybee a huge place with one lone palm tree in the middle, but as it turns out.. this place is huge (at least 150 k long from tip to tip) and full of lush life. Even though there are resorts and at least 500 other people on this island at the same time, you dont know it because the jungle is so dense and the tracks so rough that it takes about 25 minutes to drive just 10 kilometers. anyhoo, we first drove to famous lake mckenzie, which is a gorgeous crystal clear lake perched in the middle of perfectly white sand beach. The coolest part about the lake is that its literally crystal clear for about 5 meters and then all of a sudden turns dark blue because the depth of the lake changes from about 1 meter to about 4 meters in such a short distance that there is a blue line all around the lake. After some swimming and some frisbee we next went to another lake at the bottom of a huge dune which allowed for some great running leaps into the water. It was at this point inthe trip that I swore off any kind of footwear until we got back to the mainland (extremely liberating, but dirty on the feet).

After racing down the beach in our 4x4 we got to base camp and made camp. We had some wine, some good food, enjoyed getting to know eachother and then went to sleep excited to explore the island some more. The next day we awoke early to beat the crowds (there were, believe it or not, crowds on this island) and carreened down the beach to go see some tide pools and then climb up a rock to try and catch a glimpse of some sharks or whales or dolphins. Although we didnt see any of those creatures we did get to hang our legs off a cliff that was at least 500 ft from some very jagged and mean looking rocks, and enjoy the wind billowing up from the crashing waves below. Speaking of not seeing or seeing wildlife, we were warned before about the ferocious dingoes on the island. As it turns out Dingoes eat people's babys, but as far as I could tell these were just skinny dogs who wanted table scraps too; every single evening about 3 dingoes gathered around our camping area at dinner time hoping to get some scraps, they weren't brave or vicious, they were just dogs that I had to resist petting and feeding.

Anyhoo, after these two slightly dissapointing sights I gathered up the courage to drive the 4x4, which was a manual transmission (which I dont know how to drive!!!) on nothing but dirt tracks. I headed out of the campsite, down the dirt track, and then on to the beach, with minimal jerking... but soon enough when I tried to pop her into 3rd... KACHUNK, the car lurched to a halt, I had killed the engine by accidently putting the gear into 1st. Start the car back up, doing good, get into 2nd, rev up the engine, and again KA CHUNK. Frustration sets in, but I get her going again, shortly thereafter... KACHUNK. I gave the keys to one of the other group members and he drove us to our next destination: turtles!!1

the turtles which were cute poked there heads out of the water at us and at me as if to ask? why cant you drive a manual.. .thus encouraged I decided to give it another go, after all the dirt track from the beach to the turtles had been so rough there was no need for third gear: I could drive the whole way in 2nd. I got behind the wheel again and bravely put her in reverse to get out of the car park, unfortunately, I killed the engine because i wasnt giving the car enough gas, car starts... goes back a foot dies, car starts back a foot, dies, about 15 times... by this time I was sweating, frustrated, and embarrased because a small crowd of other groups were now watching this embarrasing spectacle. Exasperated I asked how I could feel the clutch and the gears better to which one of our german group members encouraged:

"David, you are a man, just be a man and drive!" With that I pulled out of the parking lot, drove all the way down the dirt track, and then once on the beach into 3rd gear without killing the engine once. I felt like a man....

we spent the rest of the day searching for another beautiful lake, but only found a muddy one, which was still nice because the water was nice and we could sun ourselves on the beach. At the beach I got a new nickname, one of the other germans on our trip informed me that i looked like Tingle tangle Bob, who for those who might know is Sideshow Bob in the German version of the simpsons. the name has stuck as it is pretty funny to call someone mr. tingle tangle and its a pretty accurate description of my current hairstyle. That evening was more of the same, eating, drinking, chatting, but this time we walked down to the beach in the dark to see one of the most spectacular night skies I have ever seen. So Many stars there was little need for a flashlight. I bathed in the pale glow of this light and thought that i was so lucky to be right where i was right at that moment. That feeling continued through the night, and on into the third day which was similarly filled with the beauty of the island and some frisbee throwing....

The island was incredible and a must see in Australia