Fraser Island Discovery
A big thanks to Michael, probably the most travelled tour guide and the man with the most well told stories I ever met. He was an inspiration to me at this point in my life: with his partner he has travelled over 120 Countries and worked over 60 different jobs. He is also the best driver ever. That truck was massive and the beaches very sandy. "Lucky" I got motion sick and had to sit in the front where I got to chat to him a bit more.
Here is what we did with the Discovery Group:
Day one
Drive from Noosa to Tin Can Bay and experience the wild dolphins feeding. We were lucky to see 3, including a one year old still feeding from his Mum.
A walk through forest with natural (from worms) and human made carvings to Carlo Sand Blow. How was there all of a sudden a desert? It takes 3cm of land every year.
The ferry took us over to Fraser Island. It has no specific times, rather just takes people when they get there. First stop: a brown creek flowing into the ocean. The colour comes from the trees and plants growing in and around the water. It was like walking in black coffee. Like in most of Australia, you cannot swim in the ocean.
We made a quick stop at The Pinnacles which I did not find too exciting. In contrast the next stop was fascinating: the Maheno Shipwreck.
My personal highlight: swimming in Eli Creek. Or should I say drifting? Super flat water, but just lie in it and the current will take you all the way down to the beach. Walk back up the creek and do it again. And again. And again. Clear waters, beautiful nature.
"Experience the exhilaration of driving down 75 Mile Beach". Lots of driving. LOTS of driving. Even Fraser Island is massive. Like the rest of Australia. You have no idea until you have driven it yourself. 200 permanent residents live on Fraser Island. It is twice the size of Singapore which has over 5 million people.
Overnight accommodation at Happy valley. Super cute, super stoked to be in more of a hotel accommodation rather than another hostel. Guess what: you do get sick of those. Also got to share my room with my lovely travel friend Carina.
Day Two
Guided rainforest walk through Pile Valley and Central Station Rainforests. I hugged a 1000 year old tree, a type of eucalyptus which was used for a lot of ports in the world because of its resistance towards salt water erosion. It actually took 6 of us holding hands to get around the tree trunk.
Swim and relax in the pure waters of Lake McKenzie. No one mentioned we got this spa stop in the tour! Rub yourself with the sand and you get a better peeling than any facial ever got me. On my whole body! The water makes your skin even smoother as it acts as a conditioner due to its high PH Value. Soft as a baby after that.
Return to Rainbow Beach. This time we drove on the beach back to Noosa which is actually much quicker and also much more beautiful. I finally found out why it´s called rainbow beach: the sands and sandy hills off the beach come in the craziest colours.
The tropical rainforest on Fraser Island grows like a spine in the middle of the island and can only grow because the sand acts like a sponge giving it enough water, although it does not rain enough. If it did not rain the next 100 years there would still be enough water soaked up in this sandy island for the forest to survive.
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Photos taken March 2018.