Return to Fraser Island

Before I begin, I demand you travel back in time - all the way to April 2012 - and read about our first trip to Fraser Island.  We went a mere 6 weeks after moving here, and here we are today almost 4 years later, returning for the Australia Day long weekend holiday.

Priority first, this time we saw dingoes!

It seems like everybody who has ever been to Fraser has seen dingoes, so for the past 4 years I have felt defective because we didn't see them the first time.  Well, let me tell you, we more than made up for it this time.

This was not our first dingo sighting in life; we'd seen one in rural Queensland before.

As you can see they were getting real cozy in our presence.  I suspect they were buttering us up hoping to get fed, which we of course did not do because there are warning signs everywhere, but they were dreadfully skinny.  I keep telling myself we've unnaturally fattened up domesticated dogs so much that this is how wild dogs should look.  I hope I'm right and they're not starving.  It's hard to imagine these are wild animals and not cute dogs that should be cuddled!

As a lover of wildlife I think the dingoes were the highlight of the weekend for me.  We saw much more wildlife this time than the first, so yay!  Another highlight was this goanna that was all up in our business:

This little (one meter/3.2 feet) turd took it upon itself to help himself to our garbage.  I know we shouldn't do this, but we fed it eggs for our amusement:

Hey, whatever keeps it out of the bin.  It was so fun to watch it gulp it down whole!

Other wildlife sightings included this crab with gnarly red eyes:

It looks like it's waiting patiently and politely for something, and I think that's adorable.

And a rare sighting, a manta ray!

Not the greatest picture in the world, but they're hard to capture.  You get the idea.  

Though dead, I thought this cracked nautilus shell was really groovy and also worth a mention:

Not to be outdone by fauna, this flora really float my boat:

There was a mango tree in our front yard and this guy was ripe for the pickin'.

My blogging style has really changed over the past 4 years.  I'm sure you were super interested in my talk about my unemployment, love of cookies, etc. in my previous post.  Nowadays I'm more down to business and less chit chat.  So here are the places we visited:

Lake McKenzie

Fraud alert: This picture was taken in 2012 on our first trip.  We visited this lake again this time, but it was cloudy and overcast so the pictures came out looking like absolute shit.  The water in this lake is crystal clear and beautiful...in sunlight.  Only.

Lake Wabby

We didn't go to this lake the first time (there's roughly 50 to choose from) and had to hike in the blazing, blazing sun to get there.  Do you know how sand feels to your flip flop'd foot when it's been baking in the sun all day?  I hope you never have to find out!

Maheno Shipwreck

Allow me to history you for a moment (warning: none of this has been fact checked): The SS Maheno was shipwrecked near Sydney in 1935, so they decided to tow it to Japan.  During the trip it got loose and shipwrecked again, in 1936, on Fraser.  Everybody said "screw it" and left it right where it landed.  The end.

Eli Creek

Still my favorite part of Fraser.  The water is ice cold, and anywhere in Australia I can remain sweat free is tops in my book.

Champagne pools

Still not made of actual champagne.  *sobs quietly in corner*

Now that we own a 4WD and fancy ourselves Queenslanders we drove ourselves this trip, no tour.  It wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting it to be, terrain-wise.  It was a very bumpy, unpleasant ride at times but I am happy to report we didn't get stuck once.  Our compatriots, however, were not so lucky:

Not ten seconds into driving off the beaten track and this Land Rover got stuck.  My prediction has come true: "If you're driving a Patrol chances are...you'll be doing the recovering, not be the one who's stuck".  100% true!  Martin to the rescue to save the day.

Fraser is near the top of the Must Do list for all backpackers and tourists traveling the east coast of Australia.  I think the reason it's so popular is because of the dingoes, though I don't necessarily think it's superior to the other large sand islands nearby, Straddie or Moreton.  Compared to those two, Fraser is ridiculously...busy.  Populated.  We were never out of sight from other humans.

To wrap this up, I offer you a before and after:

2012

2016

Bonus points if you noticed I'm wearing the exact same shorts in both pictures.  Proof positive all my monies go toward traveling, not fa-shun!