Hervey Bay further up the coast is the hub for everyone wanting to go to Fraser Island. This is an island national park made mostly of sand and famous for its 75 mile beach and its Dingoes. Our 4×4 hired, drivers seat blagged with a copied licence ( due to the earlier stolen wallet ) and our fellow companions met, we head off on our 3day/2night adventure.
Sticking to our itinerary slightly we visited the beautiful lakes finishing off with Lake McKenzie which was truly stunning. The two nights were spent under the stars, none the like any of us had ever seen. Hawk-eye Wilky spotted 14 shooting stars in one sitting, Jonny dismally only one. The evening BBQ meals were cooked up skillfully by Scott, despite cooking in the dark both nights. Jonny in the driving seat, we burned up the 75 mile beach with ease however getting stuck in the process. Tide creeping up, Co-driver Wilkinson had us dug out in minutes. Unfortunately no Dingoes were met along the way apart from the one which creeped up on Jonny in the dark. Still made him scarper up a dune..
A thirteen hour stint on the Greyhound got us to Airlie Beach. Here we were scheduled to go sailing on the famous Whitsunday Islands, fringing the Barrier Reef. This wasn’t until we had got Australia Day over with, drinking the Aussies under the table and Lowy being crowned toad racing champion. 12pm the next day we boarded Wings 2, our catamaran for our sailing trip. Scott, whose cardinal rule of never drinking before getting on boats broken the night previously, suffered immediately. His golden tan was reduced to a shade of green/yellow.
Here we sailed for the next 3days/2nights, donning stinger suits as we dipped in and out of the water frequently to go snorkeling, taking in the beautiful scenery and eating delicious food. Jonny, Scott and Wilky had their first introductory dives and immediately took to it. Lowy, still scarred from a bad experience with a turtle in Barbados, stuck to snorkelling. We briefly stopped to visit Whitehaven Beach, the second best beach in the world ( Phi Phi still holding the crown ) which we thought was pretty average. We secretly bigged up Longsands the 3 hours we were there.
After docking we all headed out for post sailing drinks with the rest of the group. An amazing time and friends made. The last night spoiled however when Jonny was awoken by a german guy sleep pissing on his rucksack. The hair clippers came out to compensate after he went back to bed, which we thought was a fair price to pay..
Cairns was our final stop in Australia. Here Jonny and Scott were planned to complete their PADI diving course. Or so Jonny thought. A diagnosed Otic Barotrauma aka burst blood vessel in his ear meant he couldn’t dive. As he was in Australia mainly for this reason, you can imagine the fury. Both joined the boat as normal for the live-aboard trip regardless where Scott proceeded with his certification over 8 dives and had an amazing experience. Jonny snorkelled and had an equally fantastic time on the Barrier Reef. Scott also sighting a 12 metre Whale Shark which most don’t see in a lifetime. Jonnys luck continuing, missed it.
At the same time Lowy and Wilky were also enjoying the Barrier Reef on a separate day trip, briefly stopping off to gate crash 5 star resorts. A fitting end for all of us and our Australian trip. Our 4th companion Master Wilkinson left us on the 6th Feb to head home which took us down to 3. A tear in Lowys eye, we were all ready for our next leg, Fiji..
Apologies for the delay in posts. Due to the fact we have been on remote paradise islands with intermittent internet connections, updating has been slow. Hopefully this will be back on track for the time being. Thats probably until we reach more paradise islands.. I know, life is HELL – JH
