Fraser Island

After Byron Bay we headed straight to Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast to spend a night with a relocated Canadian friend, James, who worked with Gen at CityTV Vancouver. Surfers is a highly developed and commercialized area with huge skyscrapers and restaurants and night clubs on the beach. I'd heard the term 'Beach Vegas' and it's fitting. On the surface it looks like the opposite of Byron and I'm sure all the hippies and pseudo hippies probably sit around in drum circles talking about how horrible Surfers is but the reality is they are both selling the exact same thing. I can appreciate that Byron has a more laid back charm, but at this stage that charm is entirely manufactured and I actually appreciate that Surfers is a no bullshit vacation town on the beach with restaurants, condos and clubs. 

James has been here three years and still said he feels like he's on vacation, and I can see why. Waking up to a view overlooking that beach every day is definitely appealing.

After Surfers Paradise we headed to Brisbane to meet up with Maddie and Josh for a long anticipated trip to Fraser Island. Maddie is my friend Catherine's older sister, who I didn't really know in Qualicum but we all properly met when we went to Greece a couple summers ago. They also lived in London at the same time and we met up there as well. Their travels have led them to Brisbane now and they were keen to join us on an adventure. 

Fraser Island was one of the first trips I read about and the more I researched the more appealing it got. Essentially it is an island made entirely of sand (the world's largest) that has very little development, no main roads and is only accessible by 4x4. The entire eastern beach is an 80km highway governed by the tides. 

We rented a Land Cruiser for the trip which was of course a phenomenal vehicle for driving up and down the beach and on rough narrow roads through the middle of the island. Right from the start you drive through deep soft sand onto an unmoored barge beached on the sand and moving with the waves. Then Gen spotted a couple dolphins cruising alongside just feet from the boat. It was a fitting start. 

We spent both nights camping just off the beach along the many kilometres of open camping areas. Despite being a popular tourist destination both spots were quiet and private. The stars were incredible. 

Apart from the experience of driving and camping the island there are also a few must see attractions we checked out. The first was the crystal clear waters and white sand of Lake Mackenzie, easily the nicest beach I've ever seen on a lake. We also checked out Eli Creek, which is a perfect creek through the jungle with a soft sand bottom and clear water that you float along. It's so perfect it looks like a theme park ride. We also hiked down to the massive sand dunes of Lake Wabby, and spotted a minke whale off the lookout of Indian Head. Due to sharks and rips the only safe ocean swimming is the protected Champagne Pools, a decent but crowded little tidal area. There's also the Maheno shipwreck which was cool to see up close. 

The dingos of Fraser Island are quite famous, and the multiple warning signs and camp closures really hammer home that they are to be taken seriously. We spotted a few on the beach each day and both nights we had them patrolling our camps and checking us out. They aren't particularly scary but they have attacked children and you wouldn't want to face a pack of them. 

There is certainly a lot of places in Canada to explore with a 4x4, particularly in BC, but I don't think there is anywhere that comes close to the big boy playground of Fraser. We've been living out of a van for a while now but this was the first real camping I've done in too long and it was just amazing. I absolutely love off roading and this place was some of the most fun I've ever seen. It was really nice to have the freedom and time to see the island at our leisure because some of the tour groups looked like a pain in the ass. It was also great to have good company to share the trip with, Fraser Island was the highlight of the trip so far for me.