Australian Walkabout

Whales, Fraser Island, Rum (22-26 Aug 2000)

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Last modified January 5th 2001

Tue 22-Aug : Whale watching at Hervey Bay

After a frenzied 3-hour dash north from Noosa to Hervey (pronounced Harvey) Bay we set off for the afternoon on a whale watching trip near Fraser Island. The whales are magnificent and graceful as they surface right beside the boat and slap their massive flukes and fins on the water.

It is a whale, really.

I spot another whale, or possibly a McDonalds ?

The fellow passengers are an interesting bunch, including a group of American pilots who have rented a few small planes to fly around eastern Australia for a few weeks; after many tiring hours of highway driving, I envied their slick but expensive holiday plans.

We stay the night at Colonial Backpackers which is a friendly place. However, the service in the restaurant is of a peculiar variety; my request for vinegar is greeted with a cool 'sorry mate but I've put it away', which seems mildly amusing in retrospect.

Wed 23-Aug : Fraser island wilderness adventure

This is the first day of a 'wilderness adventure' on Fraser Island, which is claimed to be the largest sand island in the world at about 140km in length. It is a fantastic place of dense forests, spiders, snakes and wild dingoes (which are treated as vermin on most of the mainland). The island has no paved roads so our transport on the rough sand trails is a robust 4WD bus expertly driven by Steve the ranger/guide/cook. Today features bush walks through splendid rainforest, by crystal-clear streams and swims in chill freshwater lakes. Our group of 29 travelers are a pleasant and friendly bunch form a myriad of countries including Ireland, England, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Argentina, Japan etc.

Wild Dingo scrounges for Pedigree Chum

Thu 24-Aug : Fraser Island, beaches with sharks

Our second day in the wilderness starts at the unearthly hour of 6.30am for a high cholesterol breakfast. Most of the morning bus driving is along the length of 'Seventy File Mile Beach' on the eastern side of the island. This is a beautiful stretch of superfine sand by azure blue waters; however nobody is swimming as the beach itself is like a highway with and endless stream of 4-wheel drives, buses and airplanes zipping along. The beautiful water is the sole reserve of the many sharks, which can be seen patrolling its length on the lookout for fresh and tasty morsels. There are many surf fishermen clustered at channels along the beach and seem to be hauling in a fine selection of glistening fish.

We stop to swim in the 'Champagne Rock Pools' out of reach of the sharks. 'Indian Head' is one of a few rocky outcrops which anchor the giant sand island to the ocean floor; here we see a giant osprey nest perched precariously on the cliff edge.

Alan and Sarah Lichfield at Maheno shipwreck on Fraser island.

The main excitement of the afternoon is that the bus gets a puncture and the driver us passengers are like a bunch of boy scouts trying to change it but eventually succeed while covering ourselves in grease and oil. A soak in the swimming pool and jacussi back at the Kingfisher Resort helps to unseat some of the grime.

Fraser Island adventurers get on the bus.

Late at night, Alan and myself head off into the darkened forest to see and hear the creatures of the night under a galaxy of brightly twinkling stars. The trees are alive with the squeaking and chirping of nature. Alan manages to see a squirrel-like glider soar from tree to tree but I managed to be looking the wrong way at the time.

Fri 25-Aug : Fraser island, sand surfing etc.

This is the last day of our wilderness adventure and the group has shrunk to a more intimate 12 people. The first activity of the day is a piece of silly fun called 'sand surfing'. This involves climbing up a very high sand dune while clutching a smooth boogie board, which would usually be used for riding the waves on the beach. Having reached the highest point, the brave rider lies on the board and lets gravity drag them back down the slope in a thrilling high-speed ride. It takes a while to master the techniques required, but by the end of an hour our group have formed a human chain up the dune for rapid board elevation and figured out that the fastest descents are to me made on dry and virgin sand.

Surfing dude Kennedy rides the big one.

After our barbecue lunch it is a long hike uphill from the beach to the beautiful Lake Wabby which was formed when a moving sandblow blocked off a stream. Its cool waters give welcome refreshment after the exertions of sand surfing and hiking. The three Irish travelers and two English ones use the smooth sand dune to play a bizarre combination of volleyball, soccer and cricket which we are hoping to have entered in the Olympics sometime soon.

It is with heavy hearts that we catch the ferry back to the mainland at the end of three days in Paradise, but undoubtedly further adventures await us

Sat 26-Aug : Bundaberg rum distillery

This day features a lot of tiring driving northwards. We stop for a lunchtime tour of the Bundaberg Rum Distillery in the heart of sugar cane country. This is the height of cane harvesting season and the fields are busy with giant harvesters while the cane trains trundle along the roadside. By night we see the fantastic cane fires that are lit BEFORE harvesting to burn off and dried leaves and scare away the snakes. These fires flare up and die down in minutes; at one stage we stop to catch an inferno on film, but the flames have disappeared before we get out of the car.

Where the sugar and rum come from.

We stop for the night in the industrial town of Gladstone, where we narrowly miss a concert by Australian country music legend Slim Dusty; Alan is quite relieved at this close escape :-)

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