Thursday. 7am. After an entire night spent on a bus watching random movies, listening to ridiculous amounts of iPod tunes, chatting and trying to sleep but not really succeeding for more than an hour collectively, we were thrown straight into our briefing for the Fraser Island trip – no rest for the wicked! – an off road self drive 3 day tour of Fraser island; a world Heritage listed sub-tropical island, where the beaches are the roads and the combination of rainforest, massive sand blows, pristine lakes and miles of surf beaches make for some pretty impressive scenery!! A little bit of history for you… the island was formed in the ice age due to prevailing winds transporting huge amounts of sand from NSW along the coast of Queensland, it’s 125km long and the crazy thing is that all the amazing natural stuff found on the island is growing in pure sand! Fraser Island is named so after Eliza Fraser; a woman who was shipwrecked there along with her husband.
I have to admit, as well as being excited I was a little nervous about entrusting a group of random strangers in a 4WD vehicle with mine and Kate’s lives… but ah well, we were there now so may as well enjoy the ride eh!
After the briefing we were all assigned our groups, there were 4 separate trips of about 10 people going at the same time, and so Kate and I found ourselves writing out a shopping list with the 7 others we were to spend the next 3 days with… our group was a bit of a mix nationality wise, including French, English, Swedish and another I’m sure I’m forgetting! It was going to make for an interesting time! Once all the bonds had been paid and we’d signed our lives away on the disclaimers, it was off to the garage to pick up our 4WD truck and all the equipment we were going to need to survive the next few days as well as have it drummed into us how to pack the van, safety tips, Dingo safety (Cross your arms and back away, slowly!!!) etc etc – I’m sure all of you that have done this trip yourselves will know what I’m on about!
Once we were all kitted out we set off in convoy to the supermarket and stocked up on way too much food and drink for our adventure… we definitely weren’t going to go short on anything other than space in the van!! We managed to catch the ferry over to Fraser island by the skin of our teeth and Kate and I found ourselves left to deal with adjusting the tyre pressure in preparation for the off road driving we were about to embark upon! What we didn’t realise at the time was that this was the shape of things to come over the next few days; Kate and I being the ‘responsible’ and I hate to say it but ‘mother figures’ of the group!! Aside from one of the French guys, Kate and I raised the average age by a fair few years, thus earning us our ‘mother figure’ roles!!
We’d planned with the other groups that we’d vaguely stick together and camp all together that night, figured it would be fun for us all to be together. We’d been given suggested routes, maps etc and so had a kind of plan for what we’d do on each day – although as you can imagine, 9 personalities and differing opinions can make for a not so easy ride!! A few hours into it and we’d already lost a couple of the other groups – it’s not a massive island though and we all had similar routes planned so we figured we’d bump into them again soon enough.
After navigating our way through the off road forest bits, we made it onto the infamous 75 mile beach and off we went. After a while we decided to stop for lunch so pulled over to the side and after frolicking on the beach, dodging the waves, doing cartwheels, handstands and the like, you know all the usual
childish stuff, we set about making the most of the ridiculous amounts of food we’d bought with us. Once we’d filled our bellies we had our first test at repacking the van and eventually got on our way again… next stop Maheno Shipwreck.
The wreck was awesome; really creepy especially when you look at the pics on the information board of how she looked in her heyday… makes it all so eerie. Just so you know what you’re looking at in the pics… the S.S Maheno was a ship built in 1904 in Scotland, it was impressive and built for comfort and speed. In WWI it was used as a hospital ship then was declared un-seaworthy in 1935 and sold to
a Japanese company for scrap. On July 8th 1935 the ship was caught in an un-seasonal winter cyclone and grounded on the 9th July on Fraser Island. As it had only been sold for scrap it was decided that it wasn’t financially worth reclaiming it and so it was left to decay, as well as being used as target practice by the Royal Australian Air Force in WWII. When you see the pictures of what it used to look like, it’s amazing what it’s become.
After our peak into history, we carried on up the beach to Indian Head; the lookout point over the island and the ocean where we’d heard you often got to see the sharks that prevent you from swimming in the sea here. Unfortunately we didn’t spot any while we were up there but the place was unbelievably beautiful, the island is just gorgeous with miles and miles of sand dunes, forests and the infamous 75 mile beach – most of which is a registered road.
Talking of which, driving on the beach was wicked, obviously all the usual road rules apply plus having to be aware of tidal dangers etc etc but it was brilliant fun and having not driven since our trip to the Great Ocean Road I loved being back behind the wheel – even if it was slightly scary having 8 people you were responsible for. I have to admit though I didn’t drive off road in the end, I would’ve done but there was always someone else happy to do it (not that I was always happy with the choice.. there were several occasions when we wondered if we’d make it out alive!!) so it was easy to sit back and let them! Kate did have a go however and was very good might I add… Go you lady!
Anyway, back to the trip – after we’d checked out the lookout point and had a little walk we hopped back in the van and set off back down the beach to find a place to camp for the night. It was getting near to 5pm and due to the tides coming in, you’re advised not to drive on the beach after about half 5/6pm… there are designated camping areas along the beach and we’d been told which were the best places to go to. Eventually we found a spot we liked in Eli camping area, and got on with setting up camp for the night before sun down. Once tents were up and beers cracked open (or handy cans of vodka & raspberry for me) we got on with making dinner – veggie burgers, salad etc for us veggies among us and stupid amounts of meat for the rest of the gang. The evening basically involved lots of eating,
drinking and merriment. Amidst all this we did have to deal with the ‘essentials’ shall we say – burying all food waste so dingo’s the purest strain of Dingo’s left in Australia are found on Fraser island) wouldn’t come sniffing around and the oh-so-pleasant task of those lovely toilet trips… hiding behind sand dunes, group trips after dark, burying the toilet paper and I think that’s probably all the information you lot need about that (suffice to say, on the second night, Catherine and I shared more than any of my friends would care to share with me, ever! And I can’t say I’d be too upset never having to share that much with anyone, ever again!! No offence Catherine!! :0)
The next morning we had to wait til after 10am to be allowed to drive on the beaches, again due to the tides but as it was so warm in the tents we awoke early and were up having brekkie and lounging in the sun by about 8am. I have to say, despite being grubby campers with no shower or toilet facilities, sitting there with the morning sun over the ocean in such a beautiful setting makes you forget all of that and really appreciate being there.
Our first stop that day was one of the islands famous lakes. The island has more than 42 natural lakes hidden amongst the forests where you can swim and play, they’re beautiful inland oasis’ and we were certainly not disappointed. I can’t actually remember the name of this first lake but it was gorgeous and we were all very grateful to throw ourselves in the water and feel clean again. The weather was a tad temperamental throughout the trip; the temperature was warm but the sun seemed to disappear once you got past a certain point on the island. We did manage a fair bit of sunbathing over the 3 days though so us girlies were kept happy- and some of the lads if they're honest!! After playing in the lake and lazing on the beach for a while it was time for lunch – a bit of a mission with the whole unpacking/repacking of the van thing but hunger prevailed and we got on with it.
After lunch we set of to Lake Wabby; the deepest lake on the island reaching just over 11 metres in places and a ‘barrage’ lake – formed when moving sand dunes block a water course. I loved this lake, it’s settled right by the most amazing dunes and they slope steeply down into the lake, so much so that it’s ideal for flinging yourself with abandon from the top at speed down into the lake… wicked fun (Andy, you’d have adored it, I did think to myself
at the time that you’d be like a kid in a sweet shop there!!) Then when you venture up to the top of the dunes and carry on walking it becomes this amazing mass of sand dunes, totally stunning! We’d left the van a few kilometres from this lake and I have to say it was actually really nice to have to walk to and from the lake for a bit. Much of this trip is about driving and you’re stuck in a van for a fair while. It is good fun, the off road driving and all but it was nice to be out of it and active for a bit.
After we’d finished there it was time to find our resting place for the night – not entirely sure why or how but the decision got made that we’d give one of the proper inland camping sites a go, despite the fact that some of us were aware, but not listened to when we said) that to camp at these sites you had to pre-book – which we hadn’t! The plan inevitably turned into a bit of a shambles and we found ourselves in the middle of the forest, driving off road, in the dark having discovered that guess what – you had to pre-book to stay on a campsite and they were fully booked… now there’s a surprise!
Luckily, at the time we decided to cut our losses and head back to the beach before it got to late to pass on it at all,
we asked a couple that had stopped in the car park we found for directions to the closest place to camp on the beach and thankfully they seemed to be a tad more clued up than us and even more luckily were heading back to their camp in the Eurong area so offered to let us follow them. Phew!!
Once they’d let us safely back to the beach camping area we found ourselves a spot and randomly discovered it was right next to 2 of the other groups that had come over with us. We set up the tents and cooked dinner by the headlights of the car then went over to join the other groups round their fire for another evening of drinking and silliness. It was a beautiful starry night and great fun.
In true Kate and Flee style though, trouble was ahead… despite being particularly careful about making sure we didn’t run the van battery flats by keeping the headlights on, morning arrived and yep, you guessed it… the van hadn’t made it through the night!!
My speculation is that after we’d retired to our tents for the night a couple of drunken gang – I’ll mention no names – up to some shenanigans, left the interior light on in the van!! Oops! We tried everything we could, the other groups along with some Aussie’s camping nearby all got involved and tried their best to help but to no avail.. we were going nowhere! The Aussies offered us a lift to the main ‘town’ on the island where there was a mechanic and everyone else seemed to volunteer Kate and I to go with – their reasoning being we were the eldest and our native tongue was English… suddenly all the fluency the rest of the group had in
English had vanished. Strange that – at the prospect of spending a fair chunk of time in a car off road just to get to a mechanic! It seemed however to make far more sense to me – and to be far less hassle to the kind Aussie’s – for us to call the mechanic and get him to advise us or come out to us. Signal is no the best on Fraser Island and I didn’t get one at all so convincing those that did to actually let us use their phones was a mission in itself. We got there eventually though but unfortunately what the mechanic told us to do didn’t work so we had to sit tight and wait for him to reach us!
After packing up the van (another mission with Flee as the bad guy to one group member in particular.. ha ha, comedy really.. a bit of ‘putting my foot down’ was involved!!) we decided to just make the most of the time we were waiting for and lazed in the sun, played on the beach and chilled out. The mechanic turned up after an hour or so and comically (although he didn’t find it very amusing) fixed it by doing exactly what he’d told us to do – oops! It was a tad frustrating to have been stuck there for so long on our final day but hey, we were still in a gorgeous place so it could’ve been a whole lot worse!
Anyway, back on the road and it was off to Lake McKenzie – the islands largest and most popular lake. As this was the Easter Weekend the place was packed and we had a near miss moment when in attempting to park the van – miles away from the lake being the only place we could find a spot – we nearly toppled it (Ma, you’ll be glad to know Kate and I weren’t the ones driving at this point and we’d had the
sense to get out and help direct from a safe distance!!) Luckily disaster was averted and we managed to park up safely, and I have to admit I don’t think it was a totally bad thing having given the young scamps among us a bit of a scare about being a bit too cocky in their abilities in off road driving! Bless ‘em!
Lake McKenzie, despite it being totally packed, was wicked too, this one’s a ‘window’ lake which occur when the ground drops below the water table; it’s stunning, is about 5 metres deep and at times is completely encircled by white sands. We spent a cool few hours lazing on the beach and having the odd dip before making our way back to the port in preparation for our return ferry back to reality. We sorted the types again, myself and Seb this time – then parked up near the ferry and set about filling our bellies with the stupid amounts of food we had left. I somehow found myself behind the wheel tentatively driving the van across the precariously little bridge over to the ferry… ooer!
We made it back safe and sound and Kate and I had used our accommodation vouchers that we’d got with the tour package to have our own room that night, we’d assumed we’d be in dire need of a private room and a decent nights sleep on our return and we were very grateful for it I can tell you. It was so nice to get there and have a long hot shower and relax for a bit and the hostel had really nice little dorms, like little houses with communal kitchen and lounge areas in each – I felt like I was back in Grindon Lodge at Lonsdale! (my Uni halls for those of you that are wondering what I’m on about)
The hostel had a pizza night on that night and as none of us had the energy to be catering for ourselves we all met up and ate lots of pizza and finished of the leftover cans of beer, vodka and wine that we had left from our island supplies. Kate and I were leaving early the next morning so it wasn’t a late one… plus our beds were calling and who were we to deny them!!
It had been an exhausting few days but definitely a fun few, despite our tempers fraying occasionally (inevitable with 9 strangers camping together for 3 days) everyone in our little gang was lovely and good fun and I’m glad to have met you all! We survived the hairy driving and toilet capers and I hope the rest of you had as much fun as Kate and I did. Definitely a trip worth doing for those of you who haven’t done it yet!
After a lovely, warm comfy nights sleep, we were up bright and early to get ourselves back on the trusty Greyhound for the last leg of Kate and Flee on Tour! We were off to Brisbane. Kate was flying out of Brisbane on Monday so we only had one day and one night before she was leaving me! Boo! The bus journey was shaping up to be the usual uneventful few hours until we stopped at one of the service stations… just sitting down to munch some food when a voice called my name… a familiar, American accent should I say… yep, that’s right, the Misfits were reunited, it was Cicely. She was heading in the same direction and despite crossing over in Hervey Bay for one night we’d not managed to meet up so it was so great to bump into her. Unfortunately we only had half an hour or so catching up with her before our respective buses departed and we again tried in vain to get her to sneak on to our bus and come with. It was fab to see her again albeit briefly and promises of a proper english cream tea were reiterated. Cicely, we will be there with you to sample your debut Cream tea, it's a given!! (Mind you, I hear she’s hopped off to Costa Rica now… apparently on a school trip – that teaching malarkey sounds tough young lady!! :0)
We arrived in Brisbane early afternoon and found ourselves at Tinbillys Hostel. A central hostel that looked pretty decent. Kate, being the lovely friend that she is, decided to treat us to our own room for her last night so we were spoilt with en-suite bathroom, tea-making facilities, fresh towels and a TV – backpackers my a*se!!! It was going to be a bit of a reality check for me after Kate spoiling me like this!!
Our afternoon, yet again in true Kate and Flee style, turned into a bit of a shambles – the plan being to get our photo’s from the past month put on CD’s then explore the town before heading out for an evening of dancing and silliness. Best laid plans and all that… the photo thing turned into a huge task – the place we took it to took forever, then stuffed half of it us. It’s really not difficult, I’ve no idea what their problem was! Anyway, saga over we headed to town for a look round. I have to be honest, Brisbane wasn’t really grabbing me and I think Kate felt the same. We made the most of it though and headed back to our room to get ourselves glammed up for our last night together. Suitably glam and off we went, in search of a nice place to eat and a few bars – we headed to The Valley; apparently the place to be for Brisbane’s nightlife. Whether it was because it was a Sunday 
(although it was Easter Monday the following day so that shouldn’t have mattered) or we just didn’t know where to look, but the nightlife and restaurants we came across on our search weren’t all that! Still, we did have fun and it's whom you’re with not where you are after all! We also managed to get ourselves a little lost on the way back to the hostel too – comedy! We stayed up late chatting and watching rubbish late night TV, knowing it would be the last night we’d be able to gossip properly for free until I get home. I seem to remember when we arrived back that night we got offered jobs at the hostel bar. As nice as the hostel was I can’t imagine wanting to stay in Brisbane long enough to work. Maybe I’m being a bit harsh and didn’t give it a proper chance but it wasn’t working its magic on me so that’s my opinion I’m afraid! Pic of Kate and I shown here was actually taken in Sydney (you can just about spot the Opera House behind us) but I don't have any pics from our evening out in Brisbane so thought i'd just put this one on.
Kate had to leave for the airport about 10am so we headed over to the train station, along with some chaps we’d met when checking out of the hostel and this time managed to work the lockers properly and not lock our bags in the wrong ones!! It was horrid saying goodbye to her and the train came all too quickly to take her away. I’d got so used to having her with me, it’s been so lovely and fun and it’s kind of scary to be on my own again. It’s been a while. I knew I’d be fine but I knew I was going to miss her loads. I already did and she’d only just left. (Pic here was taken on our Day of Fun on Great Ocean Road so not in keeping with this entry but as I'm talking about Kate I thought i'd pic a little pic of her in.. she probably hates it but I think it's cool!)
I was going to stay an extra day or 2 and I probably should have, I’d have liked to have gone to Australia Zoo and held a Koala but as I wasn’t really loving the place I figured I’d like it even less once I’d waved goodbye to Kate so I decided to cut my losses and booked myself on the afternoon bus to Surfers Paradise. I had a few hours to kill before it was time for my bus so I headed into town to have something to eat and a wander round the shops. I ended up bumping into Antoine, one of the French guys from our Fraser Island trip who had been on the bus down to Brisbane with us, so had a yummy breakfast with him before killing the rest of the time shopping (well, it’d been a while!)
That’s really all there is to say about my time in Brisbane, the only thing left to say is to Kate…Hun, thank you so much for coming over. I’ve had such a wicked time with you and I miss you loads, even now, writing this 3 months after you flew off to Greece. I’m so glad you came and I hope you had as much fun with me as I did with you. There are far too many anecdotes to recall on here – and some that we’ll keep to ourselves eh chick! – What goes on tour, stays on tour as the saying goes!!!!!!!!!! Ha ha! Needless to say, it was ‘awesome’ to have you here with me and I love you lots and lots! xxxx
