Fraser Island

Hello all,
Yesterday I spent the afternoon with my 2 cousins I hadn't seen for 30 years, both avid nomads, so there was lots to talk about.
Today I spent the day over on Fraser Island after a very wet night and morning, we had about 30mm of rain from about 4pm Saturday until this Morning. there was still some showers hanging around mid morning over on Fraser but cleared this afternoon.

offloading vehicles off the barge at Fraser Island

the  tour bus at Central Station

 Central Station was an old forestry camp but is now used as a campground amongst Kauri and Hoop pines and massive Satinay trees all growing in sand.

Central station

Wanggoolba Creek flows nearby with crystal clear water surrounded by giant king ferns and forest.

Strangler Fig

Wanggoolba Creek the water is about half a metre deep but crystal clear

Heading over to the Eastern Beach the weather was still a bit wild.

Arriving at the surf beach

It was up the 75 mile beach to the Maheno shipwreck.

Maheno

The Maheno was a luxury cruise liner, built in Scotland in 1905. She was one the fastest turbine ship of her time setting a record of the quickest crossing of the Tasman sea in 1907.
In 1935 while being towed to Japan for scrap she broke free during a cyclone and washed ashore.

 

While we were there a G8 Airvan made in Latrobe Valley in Victoria landed on the beach. Vehicle have to give way to Aircraft at certain locations along the beach.

The Pinnacles coloured sands

The Great Sandy highway speed limit 80 kph

Eli Creek

Eli Creek

Eli Creek flows at a rate of 4.2 million litres per hour, remembering that this is a sand island......
After heading back to Eurong beach Resort for a buffet lunch is was off to Lake McKenzie.
Lake McKenzie is a perched lake, meaning it is about 80 metres above sea level, and the island being sand absorbs water. Over hundreds of years leaf litter has accumulated in a large depression an formed what can loosely be called a pool liner allowing the water to gather and not just soak into the sand.

Lake McKenzie

After Lake McKenzie it was back to the barge landing for the trip back to Hervey Bay.

The Fraser Venture coming to collect us

Tomorrow morning I will try to work out how the camper goes back on the ute, if successful I will be leaving the bay and starting a leisurely journey south towards the Glasshouse Mountains for a bit of a look.
Bye for now...