Danny and I decided to go on an adventure during Labor Day weekend. We got our hiking and camping gear ready and started our 4 hr drive north to Hervey Bay. We arrived around 5 am in the morning in order to catch the 8 am ferry to Fraser Island. Fraser Island is the world's largest sand island, in fact only four-wheel drive vehicles are allowed because the whole island is covered in sand. Also, the island is jungly and full of wild dingoes. There were waves but since it's so close to the Great Barrier Reef, ocean swimming and surfing is restricted in some areas due to sharks, jelly fish or something else that is deadly. Danny and I got off the ferry with full intentions of hiking... little did we know that the hiking we had mapped out was going to take more than the whole time we would have been on the island... we found that out the hard way.
A nice tour bus driver let us hitch a ride with him to the other side of the island, at this point we were thinking we are making great time! We start our hike from Eurong Beach hoping to make it through the Valley of the Giants (a forest of the tallest trees on the Island) and finally getting on the Great Walk hiking path from the beach to Eli Creek. After about 30 minutes and only covering less than 1 centimeter on our map we decided to change routes. We had planned on hiking to Lake Wobby to Lake Mackenzie and then just haning out around Lake Mackenzie, then hike back to the ferry. We had hiked for 8 hrs straight covering 22 km by the time we had reached Lake Mackenzie. It was almost night fall when we reached camp. It was scary because we encountered 0 other hikers on the path we were on.
Finally we made it to Lake Mackenzie, just as it was getting dark...I honestly feared for my life because until we reached the lake there were no other indications that we were going to be safe by nightfall! We decided to set up camp in a fenced in picnic area by the lake, since there were no other campers or hikers around and it was getting really dark and with the free roaming dingoes, we didn't want to risk it. Finally our tent is up, the full moon is out and all we can hear are the sounds from the jungle around us. We eat our provisions of beef jerky, tuna and nuts and try to get some rest. Sometime in the night we hear, more than once, an attempt of some animal trying to get into the fenced in area, we can tell by the sound of the incessant hitting of the metal fence. Also, there were wierd ass sounds almost like screaming monkeys during the night but there were none on the island so we could only assume it was some weird dingo howl or something. Needless to say, I didn't sleep very well...what with the animal sounds and the hypothermia who could?
The best parts of our adventure:
hiking in peace with no other people around, appreciating the beauty of the whole island. Hearing the sound of the birds and other creatures while we walked through.
Seeing cool views of the ocean from the look out points, sand dunes and different types of plants, trees and flowers.
we encountered a creepy spider with a beautifully spun web, we also saw an echidna waddling along our path and digging its head deep in the sand when it heard us approach.
seeing the beauty of the deserted lake...no soul in sight. Only the reflection of the moon on the clear water, the white sand beach and the trees surrounding the lake.
The following day we spent the morning at the lake, just relaxaing and hanging out... we headed back towards the ferry.
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