Hervey Bay and Fraser Coast - 7-13 September 2011

Our last big stop was Hervey Bay at the big 4 caravan park, the Fraser Lodge Holiday Park, which was one of the most expensive caravan parks we stayed in.  However, spring had really sprung by the time we got to this part of Queensland. 

Ibis were nesting in the Cassuarina trees

(double click on any photo to enlarge)

Tortoises on the creek

and tortoises in the creek

along with the eels and...

a water hen with a rather large, ungainly and demanding chick in tow.

We booked a day tour out to Fraser Island. The tour picked us up at the caravan park and, after a short tour of the town's Backpacker and hotel accommodation we were dropped at the ferry terminal at River Heads to walk aboard. The tour company keeps its specialized tour buses on the Island, plus a tractor for levelling roads, which is part of their deal with the Parks and Wildlife. The ferry, Fraser Venture, is comfortable and the vehicle stacker/coffee maker/ barman is skilled in all three jobs - no mess and no stress but the vehicles are packed in with millimetres to spare.

From the Fraser Island ferry terminal at Wanggoolba Creek we had a short walk to the bus which is a great big bus body on the back of a truck. We seemed to have time for most things within reach of the lower end of the Island. Going into Central Station was interesting as it is fenced and protected against the dingoes by electric wires across the vehicle ramps at the entrances. On the way back we saw a dingo very close to that entrance.

Dingo on 75 Mile Beach

Our guide was informative and, in addition to a comprehensive history of the island, he had a lot of local experience which made his comments much more live and immediate. His tale, of coming back from the annual fishing competition as the tide came in over the rocks area of the beach and letting his mate go over first because he had the lighter tinny in tow and then watching as the mate's Pajero trailer and tinny got lifted up and floated on a surge of water, was so well told he did not need to produce the video he has of the floating Pajero (which was deposited on the sand as the surge retreated and continued off up the beach).

 

Traffic on 75 Mile Beach

Anne here: From Central Station we travelled out onto 75 Mile Beach where some people took a short aerial tour of the island and we met up with them again at The Pinnacles coloured sands.  We also stopped at Eli Creek, which is a popular fresh water swimming area when weather and tide agree.   On the way back we stopped to examine the Maheno shipwreck and then it was off to a buffet lunch at Eurong Beach Resort.  After our leisurely lunch we travelled to Lake Mckenzie (a perched freshwater lake in the middle of the island’s dune) which had been on my bucket list since I saw a picture of it some years ago.  It did not disappoint.  The water colour progresses through the palest aqua in the shallows to the deepest blue fringed by the whitest quartz sand and rainforest greens of the forest.  Some hardy souls swam, but most of us paddled in the shallows.  At the moment due to unseasonably heavy rains in the early part of the year the waters are high as only evaporation lowers the water level.

The Pinnacles coloured sands

Wreck of the Maheno on 75 Mile Beach

Dingo taking a great interest in a wind surfer

Lake McKenzie, Fraser Island

The usual postcard shot of these 2 trees shows them out of water and lots of sand in the background

Tourists enjoying Lake McKenzie

Ferry docking at River Heads at the end of our Fraser Island tour

All in all the $350 price tag for the tour for two included ferry and park fees, lunch, the ranger guided tour and piece of mind - well worth it.  As we are not fishermen we did not need to stay longer than that.

Tin Can Bay was another destination on our ‘must see on the way back list’ and we shared our morning tea with a butcher bird at Barnacles cafe where wild dolphins come in for a limited feed of fish every morning at 8am.

The bay is almost a fishing village on the edge of the Great Sandy Strait and one can stand at the point and look across to Carlos Sand Blow and Rainbow Beach.  

The weather was rather bleak at this point, but we decided that the area was probably worth a stay in the local caravan park at some warmer point in the future. 

We did some chores, including shopping in Hervey Bay. This was our first chance to get to Aldi for some time as that chain has not penetrated far into Queensland. Among the purchases was a pair of simple chairs for the van to save lugging the more cumbersome comfortable chairs around and to allow us to eat at table more easily when we share a meal - especially on club rallies.  Sighseeing around Harvey Bay beaches was enjoyable and we found fish traps (probably aboriginal) and inspiring sunsets.

Stone walled fish traps on the Hervey Bay coast

A Hervey Bay sunset