My first “official” Monday of work actually ended up being a holiday weekend. Who knew it was the Queen’s Birthday – seemed like a great reason to take a “holiday” up to Brisbane and Fraser Island.
I went to Fraser Island with 3 other people from work. Fraser Island is a large island off the Sunshine Coast about 3 hours from Brisbane. Brisbane is the 3rd biggest city in Australia and the largest in Australia. Despite its size and nickname of "Bris-Vegas", it's pretty unremarkable. The "Bris-Vegas" nickname was actually started as a joke to get people more excited to visit Brisbane. Not sure how effective that campaign was. (Side note: each state in Australia is only allowed to have one casino, so that's not the reason for a nickname either. Even worse, calling the casino ordinary would be a giant compliment).
Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world and was once thought of as the one part of the Australian colony that had the resources that the British could use, namely large trees that could be used to make sailing masts. Despite grand plans, the colony never developed because of the harsh conditions and difficulty in being able to cut down and manufacture the London. It's now best-known as having some of the roughest seas, shark-infested waters, and a large dingo population (and home of where "a dingo ate my baby").
The camping expedition started early Friday morning at a bus-stop in the middle of Brisbane. We had two 4WD vehicles for the week. It was kind of tight on the way there and my butt fell asleep twice on the way, but the road was too bumpy to fall asleep or read at all. It made for a pretty boring trip out there. As soon as we got to the actual island, the trip didn’t start on a high note. Our tour guide, a rookie hippie chick, still was what I would call a ‘novice’ 4WD driver. On our first turn into the interior of the island on the way to the campsite, our 4WD immediately got stuck and we had to push it out.
We eventually got to our camp and set-up the tents. It wasn't "true" camping - they had toilets, hot showers, and a pavilion with picnic tables and some kitchen appliances. We still slept outside though. I went around and traveled with 3 other people from work - David and Denise Schannon (married) and Luis, a transfer from Mexico. We had a good group and ended up playing cards quite a bit at night.
After setting up camp, we started to drive on the interior of the island to some of the lakes. It was a painstaking drive even though it was less than 15 km. The ride took more than an hour, with continuous bumps. We got to a breath-taking lake, but the sun was just going down and the water was absolutely freezing. Needless to say, it wasn’t a great start to the trip.
The next day totally changed my opinion was immediately changed. The shorelines, landscapes, and beaches were incredibly beautiful. I had a great time driving around in the 4WD from beach to beach, and actually learning a little bit more about the history of the island. The island is actually the largest sand island in the world, and the sand mounds have been building up for the last 6-7000 years. The island is home to many habitats, ranging from mangrove marshlands to tropical rainforests, and up to a pine forest at its highest points. We went to everyone of them on Saturday, starting with a long freshwater stream and ending with “champagne”, which was a rock-protected lagoon filled by waves crashing over the side.
That night, I made a point of looking up at the stars since we were in the middle of nowhere. I hadn’t really thought about it up until that point, but I was seeing stars that I have never seen before. For example, the big dipper was upside down. I’m not a stargazer or anything like that, but it was pretty incredible, especially since there was not a natural light around.
The second night also became a bit of a drinking fest of wine, beer, and Jim Beam with the tour guide and a group of exchange students from Washington University in Saint Louis. The reason I mention this isn’t because it was an incredible time - the details are foggy at best. Instead, I mention it because I had a splitting headache and hangover the next day, which is potentially the worst thing to have when you’re riding in a bumpy 4WD through sand the entire next day.
Final verdict: All in all, it was a great trip. I wouldn’t call it a “must-see” if a person is only in Australia for a few weeks, but if you’re here for more than a month it’s definitely worth the trip.
I went to Fraser Island with 3 other people from work. Fraser Island is a large island off the Sunshine Coast about 3 hours from Brisbane. Brisbane is the 3rd biggest city in Australia and the largest in Australia. Despite its size and nickname of "Bris-Vegas", it's pretty unremarkable. The "Bris-Vegas" nickname was actually started as a joke to get people more excited to visit Brisbane. Not sure how effective that campaign was. (Side note: each state in Australia is only allowed to have one casino, so that's not the reason for a nickname either. Even worse, calling the casino ordinary would be a giant compliment).
Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world and was once thought of as the one part of the Australian colony that had the resources that the British could use, namely large trees that could be used to make sailing masts. Despite grand plans, the colony never developed because of the harsh conditions and difficulty in being able to cut down and manufacture the London. It's now best-known as having some of the roughest seas, shark-infested waters, and a large dingo population (and home of where "a dingo ate my baby").
The camping expedition started early Friday morning at a bus-stop in the middle of Brisbane. We had two 4WD vehicles for the week. It was kind of tight on the way there and my butt fell asleep twice on the way, but the road was too bumpy to fall asleep or read at all. It made for a pretty boring trip out there. As soon as we got to the actual island, the trip didn’t start on a high note. Our tour guide, a rookie hippie chick, still was what I would call a ‘novice’ 4WD driver. On our first turn into the interior of the island on the way to the campsite, our 4WD immediately got stuck and we had to push it out.
We eventually got to our camp and set-up the tents. It wasn't "true" camping - they had toilets, hot showers, and a pavilion with picnic tables and some kitchen appliances. We still slept outside though. I went around and traveled with 3 other people from work - David and Denise Schannon (married) and Luis, a transfer from Mexico. We had a good group and ended up playing cards quite a bit at night.
After setting up camp, we started to drive on the interior of the island to some of the lakes. It was a painstaking drive even though it was less than 15 km. The ride took more than an hour, with continuous bumps. We got to a breath-taking lake, but the sun was just going down and the water was absolutely freezing. Needless to say, it wasn’t a great start to the trip.
The next day totally changed my opinion was immediately changed. The shorelines, landscapes, and beaches were incredibly beautiful. I had a great time driving around in the 4WD from beach to beach, and actually learning a little bit more about the history of the island. The island is actually the largest sand island in the world, and the sand mounds have been building up for the last 6-7000 years. The island is home to many habitats, ranging from mangrove marshlands to tropical rainforests, and up to a pine forest at its highest points. We went to everyone of them on Saturday, starting with a long freshwater stream and ending with “champagne”, which was a rock-protected lagoon filled by waves crashing over the side.
That night, I made a point of looking up at the stars since we were in the middle of nowhere. I hadn’t really thought about it up until that point, but I was seeing stars that I have never seen before. For example, the big dipper was upside down. I’m not a stargazer or anything like that, but it was pretty incredible, especially since there was not a natural light around.
The second night also became a bit of a drinking fest of wine, beer, and Jim Beam with the tour guide and a group of exchange students from Washington University in Saint Louis. The reason I mention this isn’t because it was an incredible time - the details are foggy at best. Instead, I mention it because I had a splitting headache and hangover the next day, which is potentially the worst thing to have when you’re riding in a bumpy 4WD through sand the entire next day.
Final verdict: All in all, it was a great trip. I wouldn’t call it a “must-see” if a person is only in Australia for a few weeks, but if you’re here for more than a month it’s definitely worth the trip.
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