Righty Oh! No Dramas! You'll be AMAZED at the results!

On Saturday Allison and I got up at the ungodly hour of 4:45am (although that's about the time Allison normally gets up to milk the cows so it wasn't so ungodly to her) and we made the 1 1/2 hour drive to Hervey Bay where we were picked up by a free shuttle bus at 7:20am to start our tour of Fraser Island. We took a ferry to the Island which took about 40 mins. I was feeling pretty shit at first from not sleeping and my legs were (and still are) KILLING me from climbing that mountain but after the sun came up and after a coffee I felt much better.

Fraser Island is the biggest sand island in the world and because of that is a World Heritage Site. Nothing can be brought onto or taken off of the island. Not even a grain of sand. You need a 4x4 vehicle to drive on it. It is 120km long and about 14 km wide which means that we unfortunately spent a lot of time on the bus and not enough time seeing the various sites. Most people camp on Fraser for a few days but Allison had to be back at work and this time of year around there it still gets quite cold at night.

This is the tour bus that we were on. Our tour driver Alex used the expressions "Righty-oh", "No dramas" and "You'll be AMAZED at the results" far too many times. But other than that he was pretty rad.

The first thing we did was go on a short rain forest walk. This tree had these big roots wrapped around it. It's called the strangler and does exactly that. It will take approximately 300 years to strangle the tree and kill it.

We mostly drove along the huge stretch of beach which got quite bumpy at times. There was a plane ride you could take that took off and landed on the beach but it was $70 per person for 15 minutes. No thanks!

In the morning when we started the tour it was still quite cool and we had a few layers on but as you'll see they started to come off as the day went on. Remember, this is WINTER in Australia. I still can't get over it.

Here's just a pic of one of the other tour buses driving along the beach. It was pretty cool driving so close to the water. We got moving pretty fast sometimes. You can't swim in these waters around Fraser at all because they are shark infested.

These rocks are called Pinnacles. They form from the sand and are different colours because of all the minerals.

Allison and I took some timer photos of ourselves throughout the day. We're so cool.

Then we went to see a ship wreck that had happened in 1930. This was the coolest thing we saw in my opinion. The ship was being towed to Japan to be sold for scrap metal (after spending many years as a cruise liner) and an unexpected cyclone hit the island and washed it ashore and after several failed attempts at moving it, they just left it to corrode. The navy used it as target practice and dropped bombs on it from high up at one point.

There are 2 meters of it showing on the surface and 8 meters already barried underneath.

It was very big and rusty.

Hard to picture what it used to look like.

Neat eh? I thought so.

Then we went to Eli Creek. It was very pretty and the water was very clear.

As you can see it had started to warm up by this time. There is no humidity here compared to Toronto so when the sun is up it's quite warm (about 20 degrees where we were here) but drops to about 5 at night.

Unfortunately we didn't see any Dingos but there are apparently about 300 of them on the island and campers often see them. Especially after drinking too much goon, passing out, and forgetting to put the food away.

Some more self-timed silliness for you...

Our last stop was this lake which was crystal clear and quite warm (although not warm enough for Allison and I to want to swim in it even though some others did). Our driver told us about 10 times that the minerals in the water were very good for your skin and hair and would leave you looking 10 years younger and that we would be AMAZED at the results. I guess we'll have to take his word for it.

Actually reminded me a lot of a lake up North in Toronto but a bit clearer.

Then after a long day on very little sleep I hopped on the night bus to Airlie Beach and again had a fairly sleepless night. Apparently every backpacker takes the night bus to save on paying for a nights accommodation so not only did I not get 2 seats to myself but I also did not get a window seat. Luckily I was seated next to a funny and talkative guy who entertained me until I finally passed out (partly on him:P) at about 2am. I think I slept about 5 hours and arrived in Airlie Beach at 9am. I booked my sailing trip for the next 2 nights and then spent the day suntanning on the beach. It was so hot and I am starting to get a tan again! Woot! I think this sleep deprivation is unfortunately going to go on for a few more days. Tonight I am in a room with 9 other people, mostly boys who started drinking at 10am, and from what I've heard the sleeping quarters on the boat are fairly tight. But I am excited to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef and we will be having a camp fire on the beach one night.

I am spending my hard earned money much faster than I anticipated but I am trying to keep in mind that this is why I am here...to see Australia and travel around. And unfortunately Australia is not a cheap country. Speaking of which, due to money constraints of the people I am travelling the West Coast with in a few weeks it looks like our plans may have to change a bit (told you they would!) Now we are talking about camper vanning from Darwin to Broome and then flying to Perth. This would mean we would be finished travelling about mid-august and at this point I am very unsure as to what I am going to do afterwards. Possibilities include: Going to South/East Asia and then New Zealand. Going straight to New Zealand. Staying in OZ and either working on a Wwoofing www.wwoof.org/ farm for accommodation and food or finding some more work for a few months. Or coming home. Thoughts? Suggestions?

P.S. Someone sent me an envelope (I'm presuming a b-day card) and it arrived after I left Melbourne. I asked my flatmates to post it to me in Byron Bay since I was there for a week and even though it was posted on Monday, it never arrived:( Stupid OZ post. I am so upset and I have NO idea who it was from. So, if you know what I'm talking about please please please ease my mind and at least tell me that there was no money in the card. Also tell me what it said. Getting mail is the best!

If I get eaten by a shark or stung by a sting ray on this boating trip (I'm sure it will be fine...but I did have to sign this like 2 page release form advising me of all the risks they will not be held responsible for should anything happen to me!) please know I love all!