CAIT AROUND THE WORLD

March 27, 2023 — My alarm went off bright and early at 6:00am and after changing into my swimsuit, shorts, and a t-shirt, I headed to reception to check out, hand off my alcohol, stow my bags, and complete a small amount of extra paperwork.

We separated into car groups and said hello to our 4×4’s, which we would be taking turns driving for the next three days. There were eight people in each car and we had people from Germany, England, Scotland, the Netherlands, Norway, and me, from Canada. We put our stuff in the back of the car and decided I would get to drive first! (I was honestly so glad; I really wanted to try driving on the actual road.) We set up the radio for music and it wasn’t the best — one of the guys in our car brought along a Bluetooth stereo and we used it for the rest of the trip. He DJ’ed for most of the trip and did an awesome job of it.

We had to drive through town and up to the barge that would take us over to the island. I was getting used to the feel of driving on the wrong side of the road and to the differences in the vehicle — did you know that the signal is on the right hand side of the steering wheel instead of the left? I didn’t, but I do now!

Fraser Island (also known as K’gari, its traditional Aboriginal name) is only accessible via 4×4 and the reason for that is that it’s all sand and forest pathways. There are no paved roads. Our first encounter with sand came as we crossed to the barge. It was quite an experience and although I first likened it to driving a boat, it’s actually more akin to driving in snow, as one of the girls in the car said later when she drove. The feeling of driving on sand varies, too. It can be very easy, like when you’re driving on hard sand that has been smoothed by the surf from the ocean, but it can also be difficult, like when you’re driving on that soft sand that’s even hard to walk in.

We drove off the barge and into more of that very soft sand before we finally got to drive over harder, more compact sand. We made our way to Lake Mackenzie, which also meant driving through the forest! It was so incredibly bumpy through here as we drove over tree roots and through ruts in the sand. I had a lot of fun, though. True off-roading!

We made it to Lake Mackenzie a couple hours after leaving Rainbow Beach and spent quite a bit of time there. Lake Mackenzie is a freshwater lake that is so blue and so clear. The water is blue because of the unique composition of the lake, combined with the tea tree oil trees that leach oil into it. The sand is also amazing for your skin, being high in silica content. Rub some on your skin, take a dip in the water, and your skin has never been softer!

After leaving Lake Mackenzie, we headed to Wanggoolba Creek for a short walk and to have some lunch. I had the experience of being a passenger while we drove out of the forest and that was way bumpier than it is as a driver!

When we stopped for lunch, our tour guide told us to bring our cameras and our towels, so I took my phone and my towel and set my towel on one of the picnic tables while we took a walk to see the creek. When we came back, we filled our water bottles at one of the taps and went through the food line to get wraps. I was overjoyed to find that one of the wrap meat options was corned beef, which is so good, especially in wrap form. I sat down at a picnic table across from my towel because the table where my towel was was completely inhabited by that point.

We finished eating and packed up, then headed back to the cars. About fifteen minutes away from Wanggoolba Creek, I realized with a sudden dread that I had left my towel on the table. *face palm*

We made our way to the campsite to get set up and unload the vehicles. Thankfully, the place we were staying was an extension of a much larger public camping area with a store just a few hundred metres from us. And they sold towels. I made my way over there and picked up a beach towel to use until I could get another small travel towel. After unpacking the rest of the way and setting up the tents where we would be sleeping for the next two nights, we all took a walk up to the sand blows. There’s a difference between them and sand dunes, but I have to say that they look pretty much the same. It was a pretty spot to watch the sunset from and you could see the ocean from where we perched up on the highest peak. We tried sliding down the sand on body boards, but it didn’t work.

When we got back from the sand blow, we started on dinner. Car number one helped prep and cook, while car number two (meaning me, unfortunately) was due to clean up afterward. I hung out with our guide while he cooked until car one was also in the kitchen, helping out. Dinner that night was sausages, hamburger patties, potatoes, veggies, bread, and gravy.

After dinner, I sat down and played a few hands of Solitaire while I waited for it to be time to settle down — I didn’t want to go to bed too early and be up early the next morning, since our day didn’t have to start until after seven a.m.

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