Fraser Island

Fraser Island was one of the more incredible experiences we've had in Australia. The island is an all sand island - the largest in the world - and only four wheel drive vehicles are allowed on it. The perfect opportunity for me to play with a manual transmission four wheel drive vehicles...

We camped on the white sand beach every night, although swimming isn't allowed because it is infested with sharks (so they say). I think a couple people (six of us in all) chanced it and survived. We ended up renting a stove and some odds and end from the car hire place and ate speghetti, peanut butter and jelly, fruit, and oatmeal exclusively for the three days. I love spaghetti so it was not a problem.

Amanda and I both gave the driving a shot and neither of us were all that bad. The roads could be rough, but it was a quiet weekend so we didn't run into a lot of traffic. Never got stuck - although we saw some pretty bad pictures of cars being destroyed by people driving a little too close to the water and getting stuck. I remember the rental guy telling us one car (Land Rover) cost $20,000 to get fixed/removed from the island. I asked how and without hesitation, "I have no idea...I mean, they were French..." Overall, the driving went off without a hitch, even though the bumpy driving cost us a few jars of spaghetti sauce.

The island is a National Heritage site and includes sub-tropical rain forests, wet-sclerophyll forests, perched lakes (lakes that sit on top of an impervious layer above the water layer), and window lakes (where a space is cut into the water table and fills with water). Seeing as our field trips featured a sand island (North Stradbroke), sub-tropical rainforest (Lamington), wet-sclerophyll rainforest (North Stradbroke, Lamington), coral reefs (Heron), and the outback, we could have hit most of these "must sees" in one stop. The trip was worth the money - great time, saw a lot, and got to travel with a few more people (Sarah, Dan, Claire, and Kerry).