Fraser island...home to the worlds most venomous spider and snake, breeding ground for tiger sharks. Welcome!!

After a 12 hour overnight bus from Airlie to Hervey bay and minimal sleep we were picked up by a butch Aussie with a love of fishing driving a fushia pink van! This is what we'd be driving for the next 3 days on our Fraser island 4x4 tour! With barely any time to even fill our water bottles we were briefed, met the other people (1 guy and 11 girls!!) we'd be camping with for the next three days, and of course our Michael Palin lookalike guide 'Syd'. As half the group couldn't drive manual and others had no driving licence we were fortunate enough to do most of the driving-Yay!! Matt was told at the end of the trip, much to his satisfaction, that he could have a job any time as his driving was better than some of the other guides!
The group food shop lead to some disagreements but once we'd stocked up on the Goon it was all calm again. Fraser island is the worlds largest sand island home to the purest breed of Dingo along with the funnel web spider, the deadly Taipan snake and extremely irritating March flies (immune to repellant but pretty slow, so by the end of the three days we'd swatted and killed in excess of 100 each). Our 4x4 accommodated both of us and 4 Canadian girls- Ali, Erin, Danielle and Sam. This led to a comical confusion of Sams' (also known as Sam Squared) where Matt was suntan lotioned by the wrong Sam! Ours was by far the best jeep in comparison to the dull silence of the German/Belgian/Dutch jeep driven by our guide. :-)
So during this trip we covered just short if 300 miles including the 75 mile beach (yes it really is that long) and many off-road tracks inland leading
to the most beautiful lake and our favourite place so far, Lake Mckenzie (photo), the pictures just don't do it justice. We saw a few Dingos, one of which took a bath with us in the fresh water Eli Creek. We also saw a Goanna lizard (3 foot long) skulking around after our lunch leftovers, and at night some of the huuuuugest insects and arachnids you have ever seen! Both nights we camped in a quiet little camp site surrounded by Dingo proof fencing. One night we braved it though the creepy crawly infested jungle with head torches to the beach to look at the upside down constellations. After 3 very busy action packed days (and a total of 5 nights without a proper bed) we headed back to the main land for some much needed rest. However we were up early again for the Greyhound to Mooloolaba.