Well we were going to give this a miss but we are all really glad that we did this.We had discussed the night before whether or not to go to Fraser Island but we made the decision and our driver Jason picked us up from the camp at 7.45 in his lovely white Hummer .We were to catch the 8.30 barge to the island called the Fraser explorer,not many vehicles on this barge about twenty i would say and it took us about 30 minutes to cross the short channel to the Island.We were first off the boat and then we realised why we needed the 4 wheel drive (only 4 wheel drive vehicles are allowed on the island) Fraser island is the largest sand island in the world and is a world heritage site.Our first stop was Central Station which in bygone days was a logging camp.We were then left to walk just over a mile through a beautiful rain forest which was great.After the walk Jason was waiting for us with the table laid out with coffee tea chocolate cakes and biscuits,smashing.We then went along another sandy road to seventy five mile beach,when we arrived we had the pacific ocean in front of us and to the left and right of us a sand strip about 150 metres wide. Now Jason informed us that this was the main highway on the island ,he then said we would make our way north on the beach which meant turning left,all road regulation are the same on the island as on the mainland and the speed limit on the beach was 80 kmh.Now Jason did not hang around and it wasn`t a flat beach we came across dunes and creeks coming off the land from the left,this ride was not for the faint hearted.Oh and to make life more interesting we had to share this highway with the light aircraft that needed to take off and land but there are signs saying give way to aircraft (i suppose you wouldn`t argue).We eventually arrived at the wreck of a passenger ship that went aground in 1935 it was called the Maheno , then on to the swift running waters of the Eli creek where we all had a paddle.Then it was back into the Hummer and Jason found us a nice shady spot on the beach where we sat up table and Jason appeared with a basket for each of us filled with tasty prepared food chilled beer and wine.It is now 2pm and time for the next hair raising beach ride until we found a turn off that took us inland to a lookout point to view a large sand dune that is constantly changing.Back in jeep and off to Lake Mc Kenzie ,here we had an hour to relax and have a swim in the crystal clear water.We changed back into our travelling clothes and when we met up with Jason he had got a surprise waiting for us,on the table was set out strawberries ,champagne and truffles(wow it was fantastic).We then had to pick up the 5pm barge back to river heads.Jason dropped us off at 6pm and we thanked him for a truly memorable day.A couple of beers and glasses of wine later and we all went to bed ready for an early start.goodnight Betty Brian Lynn and Peter xx.
