Fraser Island Recap

Even though the weather wasn't cooperative at all, my three-day experience on Fraser Island was spectacular!! The largest sand island in the world turned out to be breathtaking, with three thousand year old plants & trees, sandblows that look like ocean waves and the peacefulness of being in nature.

There was only seven of us on the tour - myself, a Hungarian couple, and a family from Russia via Singapore - so we were able to travel Fraser Island in a Toyota Forerunner instead of a large bus and I was able to ride shotgun the entire time.

Day 1: We didn't arrive at Rainbow Beach until 1pm, so we had lunch and then afterwards we headed over to Fraser. We drove along 75 mile beach first and then went and checked into our "resort." We left Eurong about 3pm and headed to Wabby Lake. Wabby use to be a river until
the sands of the Hammersone Sandblow cut it off and turned it into a lake. It's estimated that the lake will be filled in with sand in another 50years. The Tuesday night dinner was Mexican food, which actually turned out to be decent. After dinner I spent the remainder of the night at the resort bar making friends with other travellers. Day 1 pictures. Here's a video of us heading to the ferry.

Day 2: The weather on Day 2 started out very nicely so it was decided to head to Lake Birrabeen to take advantage of the weather. On the way to the lake, we spent a couple of hours at the rainforest. We had lunch at Lake Birrabeen and then spent the remainder of the afternoon at the lake (until it started raining on us again). That night I met a couple of Canadian girls from Vancouver - Heather & Jen - who were really nice. So I spent the remainder of the night hanging out with them and making it to the semi-finals of the pool tournament. Day 2 pictures.

Day 3: I woke up on Thursday morning to rain and it didn't stop all day. Since the weather was crap, we were limited on what we were able to do. We went and saw the SS Maheno, an old luxury liner that shipwrecked on Fraser Island back in the 1930s; the Pinnacle Rocks, which are a multi-colored rock formation; and Ely Creek. Day 3 pictures. We headed back to Rainbow Beach for lunch around 1pm, which is when I found out that my tour up to Town 1770 & the Barrier Reef had been cancelled. I was/am completely disappointed, but I had my money refunded to me and the tour company put me up in Rainbow Island for another night. So along with spending Thursday night at Dingo's Backpackers, I also spent Friday night.

As much as I wanted to go to 1770, I had a good time on Friday - with surfing in the morning and kayaking in the afternoon and then heading to the Carlo Sandblow in the early evening. I met some really cool people at Dingo's on Friday night so it wasn't completely a lost situation.

I leave for Hawaii on Wednesday afternoon and arrive in Honolulu on Wednesday afternoon. I'll post something when I arrive to let everyone know that I made it to Hawaii alright.

Rainbow Beach - update 2

I'm back in Brisbane after spending the last several days at Fraser Island/Rainbow Beach. I went kayaking with the dolphins yesterday afternoon, but didn't see any dolphins. It was still a very relaxing and peaceful experience ... sitting in a kayak in the Pacific Ocean just riding the waves of the ocean. After heading back to the hostel, I met a couple of my new bunch mates - Petra & Sana - from Sweden. I chatted with them for a while before I headed out to the Carlo Sandblow. For the first time since I left Brisbane, I actually had an early night. My bus left Rainbow at 7:40 and about 5hrs later I was back in Brizzy.

I've got a couple of days off in Brisbane before I leave for Hawaii. I'll keep you updated if I do anything interesting.

Rainbow beach - update 1

Just finished my surf lessons on Rainbow Beach. The weather actually cleared up and it was a perfect morning to surf. The waves were the right size to relearn how to surf and as the morning went along, the waves got bigger & bigger. This time around I actually was able to catch my own waves!! By the time I get done surfing in Hawaii I'll be a pro at it! Gonna be kayaking with dolphins in about 30minutes ... will let you know how that goes.

Staying at the hostel is an absolute blast. Granted, I'm several years older than most of the kids here. It's amazing the amount of people you meet from other countries of the world ... Sweden, England, Canada, Ireland, France, Iran, etc. I've actually befriended a couple of girls from Canada that I met on Fraser a couple of nights ago and we met up again last night. They're staying at the hostel right next to mine.