Fraser Island - A family favourite
Keeping it real
We have swapped the luxury yacht for a tent roughing it in the bush, a bush with the tallest palm trees I've ever seen. We are at one with nature, mozzies, March flies, crows, giant lizards and dingoes. Luckily our camp is surrounded by fence so no sign of the Dingo in this cage. We love tenting as much as everything else, it's so cosy being all wrapped up. You feel safe within those canvas walls from the chill, squawking birds and whatever it is rustling through the ground footage outside. It's those damn insects that spoil camping so I can see why is not for everyone. Let me give you the hot tip - we've found the best bug deterrent is Detol - we mix it with suncream to apply it to our skin. You smell like a clinic but no more itching and scratching!
There are resorts on the island if you're not convinced bush camping is for you - and of course we spent a day in their pool, because that's how we roll. We moved to a bug-free beach camp after we'd hiked and explored the centre so don't let that deter adding this place to your bucket list. With the bad comes the magnificent - Fraser Island has stunning lakes and beaches. This is why it was Johnny's favourite place on his lap 20 years ago and the number one must do again.
Amongst the world’s most outstanding
Fraser Island is on on the UNESCO World Heritage list officially recognised as one of Earth's most outstanding natural wonders with it's exceptional beauty, outstanding example of Earth's history, including on-going geological, evolutionary, ecological and biological processes (yeah, I had to write that bit down when I read it at the Discovery Centre). It has a 'great walk' at 90kms, then there's my favourite: a 75 mile beach as it's highway where cars speed along the hard sand at low tide doing 100km/h making way for plane and helicopter landings and take offs. The beach is a highway, I want to ride it all day long. Only, I don't have a good track record of four wheel driving and Johnny is mighty anxious with me behind the wheel when there is no lined bitumen. He makes the worst navigator with his constantly contrasting calls, 'go faster on the flat, slow down over the bumps, go closer to the shore line, stay up high if it's wet'. Why bother? It's no fun. I still love him though.
Everyone's favourite: Lake McKenzie
Being in those pristine waters feels so heavenly. Johnny and I were trying to share a romantic moment kissing in the gorgeous waters when pounced upon by the kids asking why we don't kiss them like that, to which I respond, 'We have a marriage certificate' to which Rio said 'I want a magic certificate!'
Wading in the crystal clear water I explained to Rio 'Look, a shell'. Extraordinary and solitary with nothing else below the toes except pristine, white sand. When I picked it up, it was capsule shape and so I said 'Actually it's a rock', but it was soft plastic feeling so I said 'It's actually a capsule' but then I squished it too hard and yolk splurted all over Rio. It was actually an egg!
School of life
Early morning we set off on a bush hike along the crystal clear creek through the rainforest of Parabeen Palms - the ones I proclaimed were the tallest palms I've ever seen and now learnt they only grow in these unique conditions - a geography lesson, a biography lesson, an integrated literacy lesson, a PE lesson obviously, and after a few more placards we'd covered history, arts and culture and summing up the distance and time taken, maths too. 7 periods all before breakfast: Boom! That's the school of life. What did you learn before your morning coffee?
Schoolies
We didn't know Fraser Island is where all the schoolie rich kids go with their Land Rovers, Cruisers and Hiluxes. Which Maccas did they work at to afford these vehicles? Or are their parents just too blaze' letting their P player kid chop up the tracks in their vehicles? 1800 of them on the island the same time we were. Dramas of boyfriends abandoning girlfriend on sand dunes and loud, profanity-full music blaring as they zoom past in convoy with pink flamingo inflatables ratchet-strapped to their roof racks.
Island fun
The inflatables were for riding down the flowing stream at Eli Creek. It was one of the kids favourite activities on the island. The boys entertain themselves making up games like 'kick the stick', hockey and golf with pine cones, 'tackle-over' in the water, racing leaves and sticks down the streams, they loved fishing and collecting pippis and their ultimate favourite is always sitting on dad's lap and 4 wheel driving. Johnny was trying to teach Massimo how to do a circle - technically not a donut [eye roll].
Take me to island, show me something exciting!
Twenty years on from his first visit, it still remains Johnny's favourite place with it's different landscapes - rainforest, woodlands, bush 'in the guts', as he says, and swimming, surf, fishing beaches on the coast. With it's beautiful stretch of sandy beach, the 4 wheel driving tracks both inland and on the beach, the drives are scenic and beautiful.
You can liken it to going to Rotto, only with different greenery and basins, you 4wd around instead of bike it, and there's dingoes instead of quokkas.
The indigenous name for the island is K'gari, meaning Paradise, is quoted as one of nature's great masterpieces, and as the land owners say, If you have plenty, you must share. We thank you and agree - I feel with our Italian heritage always trying to feed everybody it is is my destiny to embody this philosophy. I'll leave you though with the schoolie philosophy to enhance one's artwork.
