Today we were up early once again to catch a 7:45am bus to the ferry. There were some dolphins out on the water during the 40 minute ferry ride, but they never got close enough for us to take a good photo.
Once we got onto the island, we were quickly taken onto a 40 passenger air-conditioned 4WD bus for our 2 day adventure with the tour operator Karl.
Karl is a fun-loving, comical guy who really seemed passionate about the island. Knowing all the ins and outs, he added a few things to the itinerary that weren't planned, such as our first stop to Lake Birrabeen.
The lake was so beautiful! I've never seen a lake with such clear water. And because Fraser Island is a sand island, there were no rocks or slippery grass to walk on. The water was warm enough to swim in and cool enough to be refreshing. With the sun shining and no fear of crocodiles or stingers, life felt like it couldn't be any better than this!
Because we were on a tour, we had less than 2 hours to enjoy the lake before heading off to the next area of the island - the rainforest. After spending a few days traveling down the tropical north of Australia, the nature walk on Fraser Island was paled in comparison. It was not hot and humid (thankfully), and there was a crystal clear freshwater lake along the walk. We had a nice hour long hike in the forest before lunch.
Once we finished the walk, around 1pm, we were starving and ready for lunch. The tour provided lunch at the hotel on the beach where our accomodations were. Unfortunately, lunch was pretty disappointing. The only good thing was it being buffet, so we could fill up - which we did.
Once we all finished lunch, we were off again for a coastal drive literally on the beach. We were brought to an area where we had to hike 2.5km to sand dunes and a swimming hole among the dunes. The destination of the hike was amazing. I really did feel like I was in the desert.
To one side we could see the ocean and to the other there was an oasis - our swimming spot.
Swimming felt wonderful after the short hike and walking on the hot sand. We were in the water for the entire 2 hours, chatting with two new friends (Joanne and Rosa) from Dublin (though Rosa is from Italy).
By the time we hiked back to the bus, it was getting late and time to head back to the hotel for dinner. Along the beach drive, Karl stopped to show us the stingers left by the tide on the beach. This is a photo of just one of the many predators in northern Australia waters - the Portuguese Man of War.
Dinner was similar to lunch and again we felt disappointed in the meal. Unfortunately, we also didn't have air conditioning in the hotel room, but the fan did work well enough. Fraser Island also afforded us another opportunity to do some star gazing, which was lovely.
Overall, I would say it was a wonderful day. In my opinion, the best we've had in Australia so far.
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