Noosa is certainly one of the most beautiful places in the world to
live, but to say that it has a lot going on would not be the truth. Having
lived here for a month and a half now, I feel like I’ve pretty much seen the
best of what the town has to offer, and it was about time for me to venture
further afield.
The most enticing option in the surrounding areas is definitely Fraser
Island, so after a bit of research, I opted for Sunrover’s 2 Day 1 Night
camping trip, firstly because it fit nicely into my schedule being just a
weekend trip, and secondly because the whole tour was guided, and no way in
hell was I going to do a self-drive tour (Me, in a car, on foreign lands? No
thank you…)
Bright and early on Saturday morning, I headed down to the Visitor Information
Centre on Hastings Street to be collected. Our guide for the two days, Mick,
walked us over to the van which was to be our home for the next two days. On
first glance, it looked a bit like prison transport – eight seats facing each
other in the back of a van that seemed to have seen better days. But hey, this
was all part of the experience, so I hopped right in alongside my travel mates
– two Americans, two Swedes, and a French girl.
We set off, driving through Tewantin and onto the ferry which took us
across to Noosa North Shore. Almost immediately, we began driving on the beach,
which was super fun. The beach here acts like a road, so you obey the same road
rules, meaning we were tearing down the beach at highway type speeds, dodging
in and out of the waves as they rolled in. I thought this was all part of the
fun, but realise now that staying so close to the waves meant staying on the
most compacted sand, ergo the safest to drive on. The more you know!
About an hour and a half later, we arrived in Rainbow Beach where we
had fifteen minutes to grab something to eat and admire the beautiful scenery.
If I thought this was nice, I didn’t know anything yet. Connecting with another
car which was bringing other adventurers up from Brisbane, we carried on until
we got to Inskip Point, where the ferry would cart us across to Fraser Island. There
wasn’t much talking throughout the drive, but Mick gave us a Bluetooth speaker
to blast whatever we wanted as loud as we wanted, and the excellent music
selection coupled with the stunning beaches we drove along made for a very
enjoyable ride.
Waiting a short while at Inskip, we joined other cars for the short
ferry ride across, and then the island was ours. Vast swathes of beach, sun and
blue skies to cruise along. We drove first to our campsite for a quick
sandwich. The campsite was actually better than I had anticipated, with fairly
large tents and a good covered cooking area. Hypothetically, I should have been
sharing a tent with another of the adventurers, but we had enough tents to have
them individually if we wanted to – even if mine didn’t come with a mosquito
net, but this didn’t turn out to be a problem.
A short while later, we soaked up the sun on the sand before making the
trek back through the forest to the car. We continued along up the coast,
tearing past slower 4 wheel drives and up to the Maheno Shipwreck. This cruise
liner has been resting at this spot since the 1940s and photos don’t do the
size of it justice. It was really impressive to see up close, and I wondered
what would be left of it in a couple of decades time.
Two minutes away lay Eli Creek, one of the largest of the creeks that
we had splashed through throughout the day. It has basically turned into a lazy
river now, meaning you can float your way right down to the sea. Somehow this
was even colder than Lake Wabby had been, but you can’t say no to an experience
like this, so I braved hypothermia and pushed my way down the creek.
Technically you could’ve just walked along it too, but where’s the fun in that?
By the time we were finished at Eli Creek, the sun was beginning to
set, casting beautiful colours in the clouds and over the ocean. We raced back
along the beach, but evidently more carefully than others, passing an
overturned 4WD which had flipped onto its roof thanks to some unstable sand.
With the tide approaching at quickly, this is the last position you’d want to
be in. We even had a bit of a hairy situation ourselves, getting briefly caught
in a bay as the water rushed in, but thankfully Mick knew what he was doing and
got us safely out.
We reached the campsite as the heavens opened and took the last
remaining glimpse of light to set up our tents with sleeping bags. With nothing
better to do, I then went to watch the meal prep for dinner, before chowing
down on yummy burgers and hot dogs. I headed off to play cards with my new
American pals before we caught wind that a campfire had somehow been built in
spite of the wet weather, so of course had to head outside to roast
marshmallows over the fire and stare up at the stars before the rain came down
again.
The following morning was definitely the earliest of any during my time
in Australia, arising at 6am to walk down to the beach and watch the sunrise.
This really was something quite special though and I was so glad I’d woken up
early to see it, sitting in silence on the beach as the rays began to shine
through.
Back at camp, we had a yummy breakfast of pancakes before hopping back
into our beloved prison car to head into the centre of the island. Unlike the
beaches, whose sand was flattened every day by the sea, the ground here was
super uneven, making for a very, very bumpy ride, which at times felt like we
were on a Disneyland simulator. Again though, great tunes and an appreciation
for life made me think that there was nowhere else I’d rather be.
Thoroughly shaken and stirred, we arrived at the Central Station
rainforest which, given all the scenery we’d seen prior, seemed quite out of
place on the island. We wandered off for a walk through the tall Satinay trees,
making it back to the car just in time for the rain to start again.
A short drive made longer by the bumpy road later, and we arrived at
the beautiful Lake Mackenzie and its beautiful light blue waters stretching
back into deep blue. As we headed down to the shore, the intermittent rain
started yet again, and didn’t look like it was going to let up any time soon.
Figuring that I was going to get wet anyway, I stripped down to my bikini and
made a run for the water. Better to be intentionally wet than just walking
around in saturated clothing, right?
Once in, it was actually really pleasant, and the rest of the group
eventually joined me as the sun began to show its face again. We spent a happy
hour playing in the shallows before the dreary clouds started rolling in,
signalling it was time to go. Yes, there was a bit of rain during our time in
Fraser, but not enough to impede any of our activities.
With that, it was time to bid farewell to Fraser, most of my companions
taking the long ride back as an opportunity to nap. We drove back to Rainbow
Beach, stopping here for lunch. I opted to try Brent’s Burgers, sampling an
utterly delicious Cajun Cauliflower burger with the coolest fries ever – a must
if you’re ever in Rainbow Beach. We parted ways with the Brisbane car, and then
took the spontaneous decision to drive back along the beach up here, where we’d
had to turn off before on the way up.
This was a great decision, as we got the chance to say goodbye to the
beach, and also pass right by the Coloured Sands, cliffs of reds and oranges
and yellows, making a perfect backdrop for a group photo and to cement the
memories of what had been my favourite weekend of my time in Australia so far.
I don’t think I can fault this tour at all – I saw the best of Fraser
Island, had a very competent driver and guide, and had the added benefit of
doing it with a great group of people. I can only hope that my upcoming travels
around this beautiful country will be just as good!
I hope you enjoyed today’s blog –
be sure to follow me on Twitter @CiarasCountry for all future travel blogs, and
drop me a message in the comments below with your thoughts on Fraser Island, or
indeed anywhere I must visit while I’m in Australia – thanks for reading!
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