Unfortunately (or fortunately) I didn’t keep as detailed notes for June/July and August so these blog entries will be really short.
June started with an adventure down the coast to see Little Penguins (formerly known as fairy penguins). Little Penguins are in St. Kilda but they are also on Phillips Island (which is where I went to see them). They come in at night on the tides and are amazingly camouflaged. They then waddle up the beach to their little dens. They are so cute! Penguin Parade!
In about mid-June, I went on a road trip to Mount Gambier which is the second largest city in South Australia. Spoiler: it is actually not that big. There’s not heaps do in Mount Gambier, but there are some cool sinkholes that you can check out and the City’s library is very very nice.
On the way back from Mount Gambier, we detoured to the Grampians mountain range which were incredible. I wish we had more time there but c’est la vie!
At the end of the month I went on a 2 day tour of Fraser Island. Fraser Island is INCREDIBLE. It is an island made entirely of sand which is highly unusual. I was hoping to do a 3 day small 4WD jeep tour but it was cancelled and so I ended up on a 2 day 4WD bus tour. You have to drive a 4WD on Fraser Island or you will get stuck in the sand. There are no paved roads whatsoever.
Our first big stop of the tour was Rainbow Beach. It is on the mainland and just before the crossing to Fraser Island. The sand on the beach is amazing. A variety of yellows and reds.
We also stopped at Red Canyon which also has some incredible coloured sands.
We then caught the ferry from Inskip Point to 75 mile beach on Fraser Island. 75 mile beach is actually 74 miles but given that it was measured around 1770 using geometry – not so bad. While we were on the beach, a dingo crossed our paths. Fun fact: the dingo was introduced to Australia by Asian seafarers.
We then drove inland to Wangoolba Creek. Wangoolba Creek is near Central Station on Fraser Island. This is an awesome spot and the water is so clear it is almost invisible.
After this we went to one of the freshwater lakes on the island. Fraser Island has some of the cleanest water in the world and the bottoms of the lakes are almost pure silica. The freshwater lakes are totallys safe to swim in (no crocodiles — unlike other places on Queensland). I didn’t see or visit Lake Mackenzie but I imagine it is very similar.
We stayed overnight at the Eurong resort. The next morning we headed north along 75 mile beach. While we were waiting for the tide to go out we drove inland to the sand dunes lookout. It was a very special view.
After the sand dunes, we headed back up the coast to the Maheno Shipwreck. You can’t touch anything because you don’t want the rusted bits to cut you and infect a limb but it was still cool to see! The SS Maheno was being towed to Japan when there was a cyclone that beached the ship on Fraser Island. I read that while there were attempts to re-float the boat and get it off the beach – all attempts were unsuccessful.
The last sight I saw on Fraser Island was Eli Creek! Eli Creek is a constantly moving, changing and a surprisingly deep water channel. Be careful of the depth of the Creek because it is way deeper than it looks!
Seeking Summer 