Whales & sand...lots of sand.
We've done quite a bit since we last posted. We've been whale watching and on a safari to Fraser Island! We decided to wait a few days to go to Fraser Island so that we could go on the better tour that didn't leave until Tuesday. So while waiting in Hervey Bay we spent one day on a sail boat whale watching. The boat was called "On the Edge" and was a super fast catamaran. We got up to 18 knots in 18 knots of wind on the way out there! It was the second boat that we've been on that had a Canadian deck hand, this time it was Vincent from Quebec. Anyway, humpback whales rest in the bay between Fraser Island and the mainland on their way down to Antarctica for the summer. We saw lots of whales, but unfortunately for us they really were resting. We have lots of pictures of a whale's back, but none of them breeching. Oh well, it was still a fun day on the boat.
We spent the next day on the beach relaxing since there's not a whole lot to do in Hervey Bay, but the next day we were off to Fraser Island. We had decided on a two day guided tour with the Fraser Island Company. Fraser Island is the world's largest sand island and is about 120 km long. All of the "roads" are just sand where the trees have been cleared and the main "highway" is the eastern beach. We got picked up in the morning and took a barge across to Moon Point. We met our bus there, a 24 seater (there were only 16 in our group) with huge tires. We made our way across to the east side of the island stopping for a quick walk through the rain forest. Once on the east side, we stopped in Happy Valley for buffet brunch and then were off to explore the beach. We stopped at Eli Creek which is a fresh water creek that you can float down, so we walked up the boardwalk and jumped right in. We then drove further north up the beach to the Maheno shipwreck. The SS Maheno is an old steam ship that was being towed to Japan for scrap metal in 1935 when it was caught in a freak cyclone, broke away from the ship that was towing it, and was beached on Fraser Island. After the shipwreck we continued on to Indian Head which is one of only three rock masses (they're all volcanic, but extinct now) on the island. It's a short walk up to the top but the views are spectacular! It's a straight drop down to the ocean from the top and you can see sharks, turtles and rays swimming around before. The views up and down the beaches were amazing! After walking down back to our bus, we drove up to the Champagne Pools which are on another small rock mass with two pools right by the ocean. When the waves come in they break on the rocks between the pools and the ocean and cover the pools in foamy water. The bottoms of the pools are filled with sand and it's a great place to sit and relax. After a while at the Champagne Pools, we drove back down the island with a quick stop at some coloured sands to our camp site for the night. We use the word "camp" lightly since our tent had a queen sized bed inside! Our driver cooked us a steak dinner and we sat around drinking wine and chatting with the other passengers.
The next morning started off with a drive down the island and a walk into Lake Wabby. It is a lake that has been created by a moving sand dune that cut off a creek. So to get to it you walk over a sand dune and then the lake appears below you. It was a great place for a swim, especially after walking for 2km over sand! We stayed there for about an hour and then walked out a different way through ecalipt forest. Once we got to the beach the driver said that some dingos had walked by a little earlier, so we got on the bus and found them just a short way down the beach. You're not supposed to interact with the dingos so that they don't get too used to humans, so we got off the bus but stayed right beside it. Then it was off to an old logging camp for lunch. To get there we walked through another part of rainforest and along a creek that is so clear that it's often hard to tell that there is even water in it! We didn't believe it when we were told until we saw the creek and it's true! Maybe we'll be able to fool some of you with pictures. :-) After lunch we made our way to Lake Birrabeen which is another fresh water lake, but it was made by the moving sand dunes creating a bowl shape and catching all the rain water. Since there is no water coming into the lake, it has become a little acidic and can't support much life. There are no fish in the lake and vegitation doesn't last long around it. The sand is white silica sand (like on Whitehaven Beach) and the water is crystal clear. We got some amazing pictures of this lake! Unfortunately that was the last stop on our tour and we loaded back onto the bus and headed for the barge. We took a different barge back which allowed us to see more of the island on the tour.
We wanted to get the bus to Brisbane today, but our schedule was wrong and the bus doesn't leave until tomorrow. So today is another lazy day at the beach, on the internet and doing some laundry. We'll only have a short time in Brisbane before we leave for Sydney on Sunday. We're not sure when we'll be able to post again, hopefully one more time in Sydney!
We spent the next day on the beach relaxing since there's not a whole lot to do in Hervey Bay, but the next day we were off to Fraser Island. We had decided on a two day guided tour with the Fraser Island Company. Fraser Island is the world's largest sand island and is about 120 km long. All of the "roads" are just sand where the trees have been cleared and the main "highway" is the eastern beach. We got picked up in the morning and took a barge across to Moon Point. We met our bus there, a 24 seater (there were only 16 in our group) with huge tires. We made our way across to the east side of the island stopping for a quick walk through the rain forest. Once on the east side, we stopped in Happy Valley for buffet brunch and then were off to explore the beach. We stopped at Eli Creek which is a fresh water creek that you can float down, so we walked up the boardwalk and jumped right in. We then drove further north up the beach to the Maheno shipwreck. The SS Maheno is an old steam ship that was being towed to Japan for scrap metal in 1935 when it was caught in a freak cyclone, broke away from the ship that was towing it, and was beached on Fraser Island. After the shipwreck we continued on to Indian Head which is one of only three rock masses (they're all volcanic, but extinct now) on the island. It's a short walk up to the top but the views are spectacular! It's a straight drop down to the ocean from the top and you can see sharks, turtles and rays swimming around before. The views up and down the beaches were amazing! After walking down back to our bus, we drove up to the Champagne Pools which are on another small rock mass with two pools right by the ocean. When the waves come in they break on the rocks between the pools and the ocean and cover the pools in foamy water. The bottoms of the pools are filled with sand and it's a great place to sit and relax. After a while at the Champagne Pools, we drove back down the island with a quick stop at some coloured sands to our camp site for the night. We use the word "camp" lightly since our tent had a queen sized bed inside! Our driver cooked us a steak dinner and we sat around drinking wine and chatting with the other passengers.
The next morning started off with a drive down the island and a walk into Lake Wabby. It is a lake that has been created by a moving sand dune that cut off a creek. So to get to it you walk over a sand dune and then the lake appears below you. It was a great place for a swim, especially after walking for 2km over sand! We stayed there for about an hour and then walked out a different way through ecalipt forest. Once we got to the beach the driver said that some dingos had walked by a little earlier, so we got on the bus and found them just a short way down the beach. You're not supposed to interact with the dingos so that they don't get too used to humans, so we got off the bus but stayed right beside it. Then it was off to an old logging camp for lunch. To get there we walked through another part of rainforest and along a creek that is so clear that it's often hard to tell that there is even water in it! We didn't believe it when we were told until we saw the creek and it's true! Maybe we'll be able to fool some of you with pictures. :-) After lunch we made our way to Lake Birrabeen which is another fresh water lake, but it was made by the moving sand dunes creating a bowl shape and catching all the rain water. Since there is no water coming into the lake, it has become a little acidic and can't support much life. There are no fish in the lake and vegitation doesn't last long around it. The sand is white silica sand (like on Whitehaven Beach) and the water is crystal clear. We got some amazing pictures of this lake! Unfortunately that was the last stop on our tour and we loaded back onto the bus and headed for the barge. We took a different barge back which allowed us to see more of the island on the tour.
We wanted to get the bus to Brisbane today, but our schedule was wrong and the bus doesn't leave until tomorrow. So today is another lazy day at the beach, on the internet and doing some laundry. We'll only have a short time in Brisbane before we leave for Sydney on Sunday. We're not sure when we'll be able to post again, hopefully one more time in Sydney!
posted by Stefan Moser at
9:10 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home