Days 2,3 - Fraser, Fraser, Fraser

We spent all of Monday and much of Tuesday on Australia's most famous island, Fraser Island. Apparently the sharks surrounding the island don't scare people away, because there were a lot of people on that island. Not as many people as sharks in the water, but still a lot of people. That was the island's biggest vice: it was too populated and, I hate to say this, too commercialized. I realize that it's a huge island and you problem couldn't explore much of it without vehicles, but, alas, I've been spoiled by the Appalachians.

We took the guided tour, which was probably the right choice. Some people choose the self-guided tour, where they are rented out 4 x 4's and drive them throughout the island on the sandy, narrow, dangerous roads. Upon returning from Sydney, I learned that a group of friends had managed to flip their vehicle and had to pay $200 each for repairs. So choosing the guided tour was smart. Plus, my callow ass can't drive stick anyway (and I wouldn't trust Melvin to either).

Our guide, Patty, took us in a huge bus to as many of the island's "attractions" as he could. We took a walk through a rainforest, which was pretty cool (pictures to come). Patty had a great wealth of knowledge, pointing out interesting facts about the plants, trees, water in the creek, you name it. My "Patty Fact of the Day" was that it was perfectly healthy to drink the water in the creek. Patty even pointed out that the creek's water was likely better to drink than some bottled water (and better for the environment). I'm with you on that, Patty. We also visited two pristine lakes on the first day - Basin Lake and Lake McKenzie. Basin Lake was smaller, but absolutely picturesque. Both lakes get all the water from rainfall, and there are no living creatures in them either. Without fear of encountering a cantankerous creature, I swam all the way across Basin Lake! I felt like Aunt Vic. I'll never swim across a lake again. When we arrived at Lake McKenzie, it started pouring. You know how much I adore rain, but it was also cold out and the water wasn't that soothing (my skinny frame probably didn't help me either). Anyway, we swam for a while before hopping back on the bus, our teeth chattering like kids on a school bus. We returned to the central resort and immediately looked for the hot tub. Upon locating it, and soaking in it for a good hour, we rued about our shivering bodies of the past.

On the second day, Patty had to improvise his schedule. Because of extremely high tides in the morning, he couldn't take us out on the beach - yes, vehicles drive on Fraser's beach sand - so instead we went bus bushwacking, driving on roads too insular for the large vehicle. The bus rocked back and forth as we collided with unlucky tree branches. I wasn't sure we were going to make it out alive of that jungle.

We did.

In the afternoon we found the beach, which was beutiful except for all the vehicles polluting it. Although Patty said the waves wash away the vehicles tracks each day, I still couldn't paint myself a pristine picture of the place. Anyway, back to the "highlights." We visited a cute little freshwater stream for lunch. I would have swam down the current, but the water was only maybe two feet deep. Not deep enough for me. So I just ate. Then we headed to an ancient shipwreck washed up on the shore (sorry, again, don't remember the name). It was nice to look at for about a minute and a half. Don't worry, I've got pictures. The highlight of the afternoon was our stop at Indian Head, the highest point on the island. It was a cliff, maybe a couple hundred feet high, overlooking the ocean. After about a 7-minute hike from the beach, we reached the top. I could stayed up there all day. It was windy and the temperature was perfect. Flies? There were none. Cars? Not if I looked straight ahead. The cliff was so close to the ocean, that vehicles had to take a road behind it to continue on the beach. I sat near the edge of the cliff for as long as I could, soaking in the ocean breeze. It was the highlight of Fraser.

After a long, bumpy ride back to our cabins in da bus, we ate dinner and then waited for the ferry to return us to mundane Harvey Bay. Finally, after two hours and some technical difficulties, the ferry was ready for us. We took the hour boat ride back to Harvey and didn't have to worry about finding nightlife in Harvey. It was already past 10 p.m. and we had a 5:55 a.m.bus to catch the following morning. We hit the sack.