I have a cunning plan, well it’s not so cunning really, it’s to head to Fraser Island.
I’ve been told that it is a 'must do' in Australia so now in Hervey Bay I try and track down a suitable tour package.
In the local Backpackers the pushy blonde teenage assistant who must have been on some kind of commission (she was on something!) was trying so hard to convince me that I should camp my way through Fraser...ah to sleep in the great Australian terrain....errrr I don’t think so!
Besides after sleeping on a nonexistent mattress in the back of a van I was really hoping to sleep on a proper bed for a few nights
This young hardcore camper couldn’t understand why I would want an alternative method of accommodation other than a tent in the middle of an island and when she said
'What’s wrong? Why don't you want to camp in Fraser? Is it the Dingoes or the deadly snakes you're afraid of??'
Eeerrrr yeah I think it would be both!!!...... So being quite adamant that this wasn’t for me, don’t ask me how but I I ended up agreeing to an 18-30’s group.
Cool Dingo’s is the 18-30s version of experiencing Fraser Island. So I’ll be sharing a lodge with 6 other travellers on a two night three days package.
We crossed the 30 mins ferry over from Hervey Bay to Fraser Island, our names were called out by our tour guide Ranger Bob. After swapping pleasantries with our fellow group members we all boarded the large 4x4 army bus.
After two hours of driving through rough terrain we were all dropped off for an hour to enjoy and relax at Basin Bay. Basin Bay is a lovely beach and what made it even more special was having the beach solely to ourselves.
As I lay out in the sun trying to avoid the biting insects, I heard a couple of the boys shouting with excitement, they had found some funnel webs....hmmm I thought funnel webs made from funnel web spiders.... aren’t they supposed to be the most deadliest spiders in the world?!!!!!
After a two hour rain forest trek we were brought to Lake McKenzie, what can I say about Lake McKenzie except its breathtaking and worth the two hour walk to get there! Absolutely beautiful clear blue water, squeaky white sand, deep blue sunny skies, in a word, it was perfection!
Ranger Bob then drove us back to our shared lodge to freshen up before dinner at 7.00pm. The evening commenced with the group consuming a large quantity of alcohol whilst swapping traveller tales, followed by more alcohol and then came the games, yes games such as 'shit head' ...don’t ask, I honestly can’t remember!!
On day two we had encounters with a Dingo and a Python. Amazingly we also saw a Whale breach, it might not sound like anything to read but it was an amazing thing to see. Everyone screamed with excitement, it was like perfect timing.
We also saw a Bulldog Ant, again this might not read as exciting stuff but believe me, this was the biggest ant I've ever seen, it was a HUGE red fierce looking thing and despite being an ant, I wasn’t prepared to get that close.
Later Ranger Bob told us that Bulldog Ant’s can jump 5feet in the air and has a sting like a hypodermic needle, but better still they are, 'rarely found.
Ranger Bob we salute you, without you Cool Dingo would not have been the adventure it was.
So with Ranger Bob still behind the wheel of a large 4X4 our adventure that is Fraser Island....still continues!
