Rainbow Beach to Fraser Island

We departed early to catch the ferry to Fraser Island and make the most of the day. Collected in a converted off-road military transport we squeezed onto the platform of the small barge that transports traffic across the beach heads. With no dock the barge cruised right onto the island's southern beach and we rushed off the ramp with the other vehicles like an amphibious invasion.
It felt like 'Wacky Racers' as we shot off across the long strip of beach between tide and forest. Our Mercedes engine roaring hard to accelerate over the sand and leave a field of 4x4s in our wake.

We passed those who had arrived before us, collecting fishing bait from the sands whilst a lone Dingo shadowed them. With only 250 of the species on the entire island we were lucky to see this one at all. Nevertheless there are many warning signs to the predatory nature of the Dingos and how to keep yourself safe from attacks (go big, go aggressive - lesson for life right?).

We stopped at Lake Mckenzie where a white silica beach slid into the waters, dropping quickly and deeply, changing the colour from aqua to cobalt to almost black at its centre. Within 2-3 metres from the shoreline you were up to your neck and although the temperature was cold, our bodies quickly adjusted under the warm protection of the sun. The water was beautifully clear and the silica is so fine that it can be used as an exfoliant.

Fraser Island's mass is completely sand but it is very diverse in both plant and wildlife. We walked through humid rainforest of giant ferns, straggling vines and towering trees. Water silently flowed through shallow sandy creeks, giving the illusion that the water was static. This is because our minds associate flowing water with the sound it makes over rock beds, which does not exist here.

After hiking through forests of white gum, satnay and kauri trees we stopped to rest in an opening where our heads turned full tilt to look up to the canopy above. A patchwork of light and foliage played in the sky with the only sounds in the cooling air being bird calls and our own breathing.Read more