Fraser Island Day 2

After being awoken by the rain a few times throughout the night, the second day on Fraser Island started nice and early at 7:30AM. We once again ate at the resort and had an all-you-can-eat breakfast with fruit, cereals, eggs, hash browns and meats. At 8:30 we all hopped on the bus and headed up the east beach.

Our first stop was the shipwreck T.S. Maheno. The ship was originally built in New Zealand and used by their navy. In it's time it was a really fast steamer that eventually became a passenger ferry when it was outstripped in speed by more modern vessels. At the end of it's life in the 1930s the ship was sold to the Japanese for spare parts and metal. When the Japanese were towing it up the coast to Japan a storm hit and the Maheno got stuck on Fraser island. No one was hurt or injured during the wreck and they never managed to get the ship unstuck. Fortunately the shipwreck became a major tourist attraction on Fraser Island.

Continuing up the beach we came to The Pinnacles. This was simply a multi-colored sand formation that has spiritual significance for the Aborigines. Not much farther up the beach we stopped at Indian Head which are the only rocks on the island. Indian Head is also the second easternmost point in Australia.
Our last stop before lunch was the Champagne Pools which were a lot like the lava pools we saw in Hawaii. These are lava tubes close to the ocean that have been carved out by erosion and get filled with sea water. We then headed back down the beach and had lunch at the base of Indian Head (filled rolls and orange juice box).

After lunch we went to Eli Creek. This was an interesting place because it was a freshwater creek with sand at the bottom. There was a boardwalk that went along the creek and you could walk upstream a ways and then walk or float back down the creek out to the ocean. Once again it was cold, but Katie and I sucked it up and waded down the creek through the sand and back out toward the ocean.

Back on the bus, back to the ferry and off to Brisbane the next day.