There are zero roads which makes driving interesting... This huge 4 wheel bus is trying to get through I and we are all literally being chucked around violently every moment of the drive...
Our first stop on the island was Central Station, a now deserted clearing where those that first arrived on the island as part of the logging industry set up their community. It is right in the middle of the rainforest so the trees are ginormous and varies. We get a little tour of all of them while walking through the forest alongside a fresh water creek - I have honestly never seen such clear water...
The only word to describe our next stop is paradise. After years of vegetation lining the dip between sand dunes, a huge lake with crystal clear water emerged - Lake Mackenzie. I'll let the photos do the talking here...
After an all you can eat buffet... Nom... We drove down to the beach which spans the entirety of the island's east coast, about 75 miles of Pacific Ocean... And just drove along it at high speed. I've never experienced anything quite like it. There's an element of the feeling you get when you walk out in the middle of a main road when there's no traffic or something.
Along the beach we stopped at three different spots. The first was the iconic wreck of an old cruise ship that had hit a cyclone in the early 1900s. Rust red and buried deep in the sand, it was a striking image and felt super eerie. Apparently the ship was huge but most of it is buried under the sand.
We were told not to swim in the sea because of the high number of sharks. This, however, was apparently the signal for two fellow travellers (who clearly love themselves and swan around half naked with no shoes and zero charm) to run into the sea neck deep and frolick together like tanned douche bags. The guides were literally just staring at them thinking what utter idiots...
Next stop, the pinnacles. Apparently there we could see hundreds of different colours of sand. Me and me found 2.
Further along the beach we spotted three wild dingos, which was fun. I feel I've now seen all the most important wildlife sights of Australia after the red centre and the sanctuary yesterday!
Then one of the highlights, Eli Creek. The creek comes out onto the beach into a shallow pool and from there you can walk up the creek into the mangroves and float your way back down to the bottom using the current!
The highlight though has to be mine and Em's spontaneous decision to take a plane flight over the island. The tiny plane took off from the beach, right over the Pacific Ocean where we could see animals swimming below. We then turned left to get a view of the island from top to bottom with the miles of rainforest and lakes below. Ahhhh still feeling the high (pardon the pun...).
The ferry back to the mainland was delayed due to low sea levels. When I say low sea levels... I'm talking sand. Just sand. I momentarily wondered if we would be staying the night on Fraser, but by the time we got going, we had the sunset as a reward to enjoy the whole way back, which was pretty spectacular.
If only that were the end of a perfect day, but we stills had a three hour drive to go to Noosa. But when we finally arrived at our final stop in Oz, tired and sticky with beachness, I think we almost cried. Our little private yurt is beautiful, white, clean with everything you'd want. A little patio and in the fridge a gift from the owners, some homemade granola, milk and fresh strawberries. The next few days are going to be pure bliss.
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