Stalked by a Dingo!!!

So when we last left you we were about to go on our trip to Fraser Island!!! So on wednesday morning we met with our guide Tony ( at least we think his name was Tony someone else though it was Stephen???) and guess what? It was raining again!! We finally set off to the island and Amy and I were shoved in the boot of the 4x4 joyous joy!! It ended up being quite a nice place to sit actually as it was one of the very few seats that wasn't covered in sand!! The ferry ended up taking a lot longer that it's meant to as the weather was so abysmal!! We started off our trip with a swim in Lake Birrabeen. The water was green, slightly cold but lovely once you were in. there were fish in the water that liked eating the boys but not us. We still have no idea how the fish got into the lake as it was a rain water lake with absolutely no connection to the sea. according to Tony it was because birds ate the fish, then pooped out the eggs into the lake. my foot that happened. once that discussion was out of the way a sand fight ensued. we stayed well clear. the sand on Fraser was 'pure sand'. which we find weird as sand is made of random rubbish. however, that does mean that you can shine jewelry on it and it works!!!!! sarah now has a very shiny watch but i left all my jewelry on the mainland :(.

we visited Lake Wabby next. we had heard great things about Lake Wabby such as you could climb over a hill and be there in 10 minutes. No, we had to do a 40 minute hike through the rainforest! Barefoot!!!!!!
i was less than impressed. once you emerge from the rainforest there is just lots of sand. it took a very long time for us to find the lake. when we did it was at the bottom of a very steep hill. this provided much temptation so the boys rolled down the hill into the water. apart from Ed you always ended up going sideways. the water was gorgeous but very deep so looked practically black and had giant fish that would swim around everyone. we did a group swim across the lake as team bonding.

by now it was relatively late so we went back to camp. we had the option of tents (that dingoes were known to tear into. they had spent $5,000 on new tents in 6 weeks!!!!!!!!) or we could stay in the rotunda. this was basically a netted room with hundreds of bunkbeds with real mattresses. as sensible people we chose the real mattresses and the less likely chance of dingoes getting in even though they lived under it! that night we saw about 7 dingoes! sometimes you kinda had to chase them off. 2 girls saw some and ran so the dingoes made chase. they nearly got bitten.

the next morning dawned bright and, after a while, actually sunny. we started the day at the Champagne Pools which were basically giant rock pools that were covered in bubbles from the tide. this was fantastic fun until we realised how many jelly fish there were. then ali got stung by one. apparently it really hurt. we sunbathed after that.

we then went and stood on Indian Head. this is one end of a dormant volcano the other being Waddy's Point. the other half now forms a coral reef. Indian Head is therefore the only real rock on the island and we have driven through a volcano. the walk to the top was interesting to say the least. the path was mostly about as wide as your foot with dirt about 2 feet up on either side. at the top you can normally see whales (in whale season which we missed), sharks, sea turtles and dolphins. however, it was so friggin hot we left after about 10 minutes to hide form the sun. hence, we saw nothing.

we went to Eli Creek via the Maheno shipwreck which was mostly sunken into the sand. Eli Creek is the largest river on that side of island pumping out 4.2 million litres of water an hour. in theory you can just float down but the water was so shallow this was nearly impossible. we managed though.

last task of the day was Lake Allom. Tony told us all we would need is swimmers and cameras. when we finally saw the river we were highly skeptical of this: the water was black. not just very deep water style black but actually black. we watched the turtles for a while then Tony mentioned the pedicure fish were in the lake. immediately everyone put their feet in. apparently the reason the lake was the colour it was is because there are loads of nutrients in the water. the water was orange. very, very dark orange. when people got bored we all went for a swim. the water was really deep, really cold and really dark; you could barely see your stomach let alone feet so had no idea what was swimming beneath you. luckily the water was too cold for crocodiles. when we got out our hair and skin was really soft but we didn't half stink!

on the way home we visited a sandblow. in front of us on the path was a dingo which refused to be scared away easily by 13 of us. eventually she ran but hid in the bushes emerging after everyone had gone past. i was at the back of the group so was told i was about to be eaten by the dingo stalking us. i insisted it was fine as she was one of the nice dingoes. not only did i not get eaten Tony recognised her and they were quite friendly. not only did she follow us back to the 4x4s she followed them for a while,  then appeared at camp. lovely dingo. the sandblow was very pretty.

the last day of our tour started with sandboarding. this basically involved climbing up a humungous sand hill that looks alright from the bottom. when you get to the top it looks vertical and really high. you would then lie on a boogie board and surf down. it was terrifying but so much fun. sarah didn't go. Ed and Aileen actually lay on top of each other to go down, apparently first time anyone has ever done that.

we then went on a calming walk though the rainforest before our last item of the trip: Lake Mckenzie. this was the lake everyone had heard about so we were all quite excited and let me tell you, we saved the best for last. we walked quite far but ended up on an empty beach, the sand was white, the water actually blue, it was idealistic. apart form the fact it was quite cold and very windy. after spending as long as possible in the water and washing off all the sand we sunbathed and got covered in sand again by the wind.

the next day we got on the plane in Hervey Bay and had possibly the shortest flight ever (40 minutes) and then another flight of 2 hours to get to Sydney where Dan picked us up. as we got in quite late we just hung out with them.  on sunday we went to Paddy's Market and Darling Harbour. this was a very pleasant day. we then had to wonder up Darling Harbour to find HMAS Vampire!!!!!!!

yesterday we visited Circular Quay and saw the Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge and The Rocks Discovery Museum. this was all a dream come true until it started raining. so we went home.