It had reached early September and the Queensland days were becoming warmer. It had been a tough few months at work and I was becoming increasingly concerned that I wasn’t actually travelling any more. Aside from a few weekend trips to Surfers or Australia Zoo it had been months since I’d explored a new place. With my tight budget the options were limited, but I knew before I left Queensland that a trip to both Fraser Island and the Whitsundays were essential. If I didn’t do both of those things at the least I’d consider myself as having failed.
I was given a couple of weeks off and so headed to Peter Pans travel and booked a trip taking in both of these things. As it would have it, I’d never actually return to the job … but I think I covered that in the last post.
First up was a long bus ride to Rainbow Beach from Brisbane. I’d spend a couple of nights here, then 2 nights camping on Fraser Island, then a final night back in Rainbow before heading up to The Whitsundays.
There isn’t an awful lot going on at Rainbow Beach. I spent those days wondering up and down the beach. I also visited the Carlo Sandblow for sunset, which the hostel recommended shouldn’t be missed.
Then … Fraser Island.
We were split into groups and allocated a Landcruiser with a map and all the recommended sights listed. The weather was a bit “interesting” … big storms threatened our chances of even being allowed to go, but in the end we made it!
It was a bit strange, I should have felt lonely on this trip but I was so excited to be moving again that I felt ecstatic the entire time. Our group consisted of 3 English guys travelling together, 3 Swedish girls travelling together, another solo English guy, a solo German girl and a solo German guy. It should have worked well, but of course … the 2 groups of 3 paired off quickly. The German girl knew the other English guy from a previous trip .. and they got together leaving just me and the other German chap. He had zero interest in communicating with anyone … so I just pretty much sat on my own talking to myself for 3 days. Nevermind!
Fraser Island is beautiful. We saw dolphins, sting rays and whales from Indian Head. Breakfast on an empty beach is something I’ll never forget. We got stuck in the sand and had to dig ourselves out. The Maheno shipwreck at sunset was spectacular. The famous Lake Mckenzie was stunning (and cold) but my personal favourite was Lake Wabby. Swimming in the cool green water in a rain storm was a personal highlight.
I enjoyed those few days .. but the best was yet to come …
