Sunshine and Dingoes
By jingo! There's a dingo!
And he is the only one I saw (so maybe my title is a little misleading - but there was no shortage of sunshine!) during my trip to the world's largest sand island known as Fraser island!
While some, myself included, would have been happy to see more perhaps it was a blessing that we only ran into one of them! Although they look like your normal everyday dog, we were reminded both by our tour guide and the caution signs around the island that they are wild and can be quite aggressive! See the sign below!
So you know where Fraser Island is before I ramble on about... it's located not far off Queensland's southern coast so basically towards the middle of Australia's east coast.
The tour began with the tour guide collecting me and some others from my hostel in Noosa at a very early 6:15 in the morning and we set out in a big honkin' tank of a vehicle on our way to Fraser! Being one of the only solo travelers in the group, I got the front passenger seat of the tank and enjoyed the amazing views! The trip to the island itself took about 3 hours driving and ended with us on a tiny little peninsula named Inskip loading a barge that would take us a short 15 minutes across the bay and deliver us to the island.
Loading the barge from Inskip Peninsula
The "tank"
Our "tank" getting ready to pull this little camper out of the sand! We did this on a few occasions...
The first day was spent rolling about 60 mph down 75 Mile Beach (the highway of the island) enjoying the sights and stopping along the way.
75 Mile Beach
Our first stop was Eli Creek, a popular swimming spot amongst visitors. It is not recommended to swim in the ocean off of Fraser because of sharks and jellyfish.
Eli Creek
Next, we continued down the beach to Indian Head Rock. It is actually the remnants of a very old volcano and was named for the Aboriginal people that Captain Cook saw during his explorations and referred to as Indians.
Indian Head Rock
One of the views...
It was a little windy!
View from the top!
Next on our bumpy (and I mean bumpy! If you didn't have a seatbelt on then you were going to end up in the floor or hitting the roof!) ride along the beach was the Maheno Shipwreck. On July 8, 1935, after 30 years of service, the Maheno was in tow to Japan when it was separated from the ship that was towing it and was a few days later found on the shore of Fraser Island. It was unable to be refloated and there were no buyers so the ship was abandoned where it still sits today. For more information on the Maheno - I did some extensive Wikipedia research... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Maheno. However this article claims that access is prohibited when clearly it is not...
After day one we settled into our apartments in Happy Valley...one of about three "villages" on the island. And by "village" I mean a hotel or apartments and a restaurant/store/gas station combination. And "village" does not include paved roads, internet, or cell service...if you do need a phone there is one pay phone at the store...it is more remote than you usually find yourself these days to say the least! Electric fences surround the "villages" to keep the dingoes out of the area so we were warned if we left Happy Valley that night that we were in dingo territory...which we did! To see the stars on the beach that night after a fulfilling steak dinner with the tour group (which included people from Germany, England, Scotland, Turkey and the USA of course!). And I wish I had photos of the stars because they were breathtaking. The Milky Way was so bright and obvious...and that's coming from someone that never can see anything that anybody points out to me in the sky. So if you ever find yourself in Australia and feel like stargazing - make your way to Fraser Island!
The roads through the village of Happy Valley
The next morning we set out to explore the inland areas of the island including Lake Mackenzie! Lake Mackenzie is a fresh water lake in the middle of Fraser, believed to have formed after wind created a bowl shape in the sand and leaves and bark from the surrounding forests eventually created a seal to hold in the water. Normally known for its clear, turquoise water, the lake was about a meter higher than normal which made for less beach and more clear without as much blue water...still beautiful nonetheless!
After soaking up the sunshine at Lake Mackenzie we took a trek through the forest where we saw several lizards and this friendly guy...
And then we loaded up in the tank for the drive back towards the mainland and once there enjoyed a ride down Rainbow Beach with the sights of the Colored Sands alongside us.
During my trip to Australia's appropriately named Sunshine Coast I also soaked up the sun at Noosa Main Beach, visited the famous Eumundi markets, explored the Noosa National Park, and spent a day at the Australia Zoo (Home of the Crocodile Hunter! Steve Irwin! His show was one of my favorites on Animal Planet when I was younger!). I rounded out my trip with a day exploring the city of Brisbane - and by exploring I mean dinner on the bank of the Brisbane River and shopping at Queen Street Mall!
Noosa Main Beach
Out for a walk in the National Park!
Hell's Gates
Brisbane!
At the Australia Zoo - The Steve Irwin Family!
One of my favorite animals! Haha!
Always the biggest kid in the petting zoo!
Not the best picture but I had to share - this is an Albino Burmese Python...if you read my last post about my cousin, Justin, then the snake that bit my hand that I referred to was one of these...it was not that big at the time thankfully!
World Famous "Crocoseum!"
Kangaroos are so lazy...
Have you ever seen a Brolga? This guy is modeling next to his sign..
When I see these animals a small part of me wishes I had gone to vet school to specialize in exotic animals...which was my original plan before I became a Spanish graduate and world traveler!
And finally - you can never have too many koala pictures!
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