Sand, Ship Wrecks, Dingos and Whales

Friday, 27 June

We arrived in Hervey Bay shattered following the night bus adventure. Didn't sleep very well, only got a bout 4 hrs shut eye. The trip was made worth it though when we had a rest stop at a garage in the middle of nowhere. The stars were so bright, I could see every single one (I've convinced myself that I could see the milky way), I sat staring at them for ages, the people still on the bus must of thought I looked like a loon!

Our first day in Hervey Bay was a lazy one as neither of us felt very awake or up for much. We took a walk down the esplanade and saw the most beautiful sunset I think I've ever seen, over the water. We also had a wee trip to the cinema to see the Incredible Hulk, not very touristy but it made a nice change!

On the Saturday we were up early so that we could set out for Fraser Island, the only island which is completely made of sand but where the rainforest can still grow. We made our way round the island in a huge four by four bus which flung us about whenever we went over any kind of bump - of which there were a lot! We had a guided walk through the rainforest where we saw some amazingly huge trees (considering they grow from sand!), at one point we stopped while our guide pointed out the floor bed below us - at first I did look at it and think "why is this guy showing us sand?!", but after looking a bit closer I realised that it was actually a creek - the invisible creek - and it was just that the water was so crystal clear (as if the name didn't give it away!).

We were then taken down to the beach - which is also the islands highway - and driven along it while trying to spot whales and dingos. About half way down we were given the opportunity to go for a 15min flight over the island, so glad we did it! It took off over the beach and flew us over all the amazing sand dunes and lakes that the island has as well as over the water in hope of catching a glimpse of some whales - no luck unfortunately! We landed just in front of the sand pinnacles - mounds of colored sand, we were told that there was approx. 70 different shades of oranges, reds and yellows in them.

After our brief stop at the pinnacles we headed to the Maheno shipwreck, got some pretty awesome photos of it! We then headed to Eli creek, a crystal clear freshwater Creek which runs from the heart of the island to the sea. We waded up it for about 10 mins and then swam back down (a really nice family who were on our bus took our things for us so we could do it!) it was so awesome swimming through the rainforest!

After lunch we headed to Lake McKenzie - the highlight of the island - the sand here was as white as the sand on Whitehaven beach and the water just as clear. It was a bit cold by then so we went for a paddle and then lay on the beach drying off before getting the ferry back to Hervey Bay. Was shattered by the time I got home but managed to stay awake long enough to phone into Emma's party! Was so good speaking to everyone, so thank you!

The next morning (Sunday, 29 June) was spent sunbathing on the beach before getting the greyhound down to Brisbane and a train out to Robina - near to where Amy's relatives stay. They picked us up and have been spoiling us rotten ever since! I didn't actually realise how much we had been slumming it until I was in a real house again! :)