Fraser Island Day 1

The bus picked us up from the hostel at 7:30 AM and dropped us off at the ferry.  After a half hour boat ride we arrived on Fraser (pronounced Fray-zer) Island around 9 AM.  Our bus was a monstrous 4WD vehicle that could seat something like 40 people, but today there were only 12.  Fraser Island is the world's largest sand island, meaning it is made completely from sand, no rocks or dirt.

Our first stop was Eurong resort to drop off some employees we picked up on the ferry, and pick up some guests who took the ferry from Rainbow Beach. We then drove 30 minutes to Lake Wabby.  This lake is a specific type of lake because of the way it was formed, but I don't remember what it was called (Laura, do you know?).  I think it used to be a smallish river from the rains and then sand blew over it and closed it in to form a lake.  There are catfish in the lake that used to swim out to sea when it was still a river.  It was a cool lake but a little cold and rainy for us.  It looks greenish because there is algae growing in it, in case you were wondering.

We headed back to Eurong resort for a buffet lunch where Andy and I gorged ourselves on food.  Next stop, Lake MacKenzie, which is a perched lake, it is only fed by rainwater and has no outlet.  It was the biggest perched lake on the island and a beautiful clear blue color.  We both sucked it up and jumped in the lake.  I mean, we had paid for this tour so we might as well take advantage of the lake.  The sand around the lake is 90% silica, which means it is great for exfoliating skin and shining jewelry.

Our last stop for the day was a rainforest walk which took about 40 minutes.  At the beginning of the hike the tour guide showed us a web of a funnel spider, one of Australia's deadliest spiders.  He pointed out a species of fern that only grows on Fraser island and has been around for 65 million years.  And lastly, the Satinay trees, which are enormous trees considering they grow out of sand.  The largest one we saw was three and a half meters in diameter, but the largest on the island is five meters in diameter.  It was really impressive to see.

At the end of the hike the tour guide showed us a web for a common trap door spider.  I asked the tour guide if the spiders look like the one slowly crawling towards his foot.  He jumped a foot and a half back before realizing the spider wasn't actually on him.  Common trap door spiders aren't deadly but can cause serious illness if bitten.

Dinner was back at Eurong resort and again a buffet of different foods.  We shared a room at the resort with a couple from Switzerland.  After dinner we hung out at the bar with two canadian girls, two swedish girls, the couple from Switzerland and a guy from Germany.  It rained on and off while we were at the bar and continuously throughout the night.