Wednesday: Island tour
May 26 2005 04:06 AM | Australia
My day began early at 4:45 a.m. I had booked an
all-day tour to Fraser Island last week. It was going
to be a long day. Fraser Island is a World Heritage
Park, and the largest sand island in the world. The
company I chose was Fraser Island Adventure Tours The
company is Eco certified, meaning it was friendly to
the environment. I chose a great day to go. There
weren’t many people (and no kids or screaming babies)
and the day’s weather was perfect. For $139 Aussie, I
got picked up from the house (by the owner of the
company) and taken to several spots, and served
morning and afternoon teas and a great lunch. Quite a
bargain.
We rode in Mitsubushi 4x4 coaches that were air-conditioned and had big windows. The truck was a beast, and plowed through the soft sand with skill.
Normally, there are 3 to 4 trucks on the trip, but this time we had one truck with 13 people. So it was a small group, which was fantastic. Our tour guide, Andrew, was well-versed in the history, flora and fauna of the island. He was also a dang-good 4WD driver. Most of the routes were along the beach or sandy inland tracks. Four-wheeling! There is nothing like zooming down a beach in a 4WD with the waves crashing on the shore just outside the window.
One of the main stops on the trip was Lake Mackenzie, which is one of the purest lakes I’ve ever seen. White sand and tall trees surround it. We spent about one hour there before lunch. Once again, I found myself wishing I had brought my iPod along. The lake — which can normally be very crowded — had about 200 people around it. The sand was very fine, and the water was fresh and unpolluted. It also was at the same Ph level as human skin. Although I did bring my swimming shorts, I only waded in. I did want to scare the locals with my hairy North American tan.
Did I mention we saw two dingoes? That is a rarity.
Check out my photo gallery here
We rode in Mitsubushi 4x4 coaches that were air-conditioned and had big windows. The truck was a beast, and plowed through the soft sand with skill.
Normally, there are 3 to 4 trucks on the trip, but this time we had one truck with 13 people. So it was a small group, which was fantastic. Our tour guide, Andrew, was well-versed in the history, flora and fauna of the island. He was also a dang-good 4WD driver. Most of the routes were along the beach or sandy inland tracks. Four-wheeling! There is nothing like zooming down a beach in a 4WD with the waves crashing on the shore just outside the window.
One of the main stops on the trip was Lake Mackenzie, which is one of the purest lakes I’ve ever seen. White sand and tall trees surround it. We spent about one hour there before lunch. Once again, I found myself wishing I had brought my iPod along. The lake — which can normally be very crowded — had about 200 people around it. The sand was very fine, and the water was fresh and unpolluted. It also was at the same Ph level as human skin. Although I did bring my swimming shorts, I only waded in. I did want to scare the locals with my hairy North American tan.
Did I mention we saw two dingoes? That is a rarity.
Check out my photo gallery here