December 10th, 2005 - Camping in the sand blows!

We arrived in Rainbow beach on Tuesday for our preparation seminar which was full of cheesy videos with some usefull tidbits. The next morning we headed out to Fraser Island which is the largest Sand island in the world. Our group of 8, all piled into a huge Toyota Land cruiser customized for arge groups complete with a ladder and roof rack for the gear. We grabbed a barge and headed up the beach on our off roading experience. First stop was Lake MacKenzie - a fresh water lake with no life whatsoever. Having a sand floor its a wonder that the lake even exists! The water was very refreshing and without any algea or fish there was no need for swimming goggles. That afternoon we parked and headed out on a short hike into a rain forest called Pile Valley, which was a little dissappointing. Then it was off to the ocean front again to find a camp site. That night was full of drinking and laughs. The next morning was equally hot and sunny and we woke up from our campsite on the beach feeling rather hot and grosse, hence we packed up and headed for Eli creek a small creek that you walk to the top of and can float down back to the beach. After 2 or 3 go's we headed for Indian head and the champagne pools. High atop the cliff at Indian head you can see schools of fish, sharks and rays and things in the crystal waters below, although we didn't see any sharks because it was the middle of the day and too hot. The pools were small hollows where the waves left water in the rocks and you could lounge under the cliffs. We headed back down the main beach and stopped at the Maheno - a ship wreck before it was back to Ei creek to cool off before finding a campsite for the second night. That night there was a viscous thunder and lightning storm that bew one of our groups tents over and forced a couple of our friends to sleep in the cab. The next morning I had to wake them up early since the monstrous flies the size of a watch face, were eating them alive. These fies only come out at dusk and dawn for a few hours but scarred Laure for life! That day we popped into lake wabby and a huge sanddune before catching a barge back home. All planned very quickly Jeff was nice enough to ooffer to pick us up at 3am - next stop Yappoon.