The Granny Bashers
- Oct 1, 2016
- 6 min read
Location:
Fraser Island, QLD, Australia
One of the places we have been looking forward to seeing is Fraser Island. It just looks amazing. When we stayed in Rainbow Beach two years ago, as much as we wanted to visit the island we chose against it, purely based on money and the fact that we wanted to wait until we were doing the East Coast properly. I’m glad we waited because now we have this beautiful island to look forward to! How exciting!
Before we could head off, we had to get all our stuff together. We had to load our car with our bags and the main trailer with food and all of our drink for the next few nights. Our group alone had the most alcohol compared with any of the others. Crazy Irish! I’m not sure how the girls would feel if they forget their esky filled with booze! Once everything was loaded, we could then jump into our 4WD and head off. We drove a short distance down to the beach where we had to drive along the sand to the car ferry which was a really cool experience. The ferry only took maybe ten-fifteen minutes which is not that long at all. On the way over we all went up to the viewing deck to see if we could spot some whales. We got to see a few in the distance, which was really cool.
Arriving on the island, I completely underestimated its size. It is huge! Over the course of the next few days, we covered a lot of mileage, as everybody took their turn behind the wheel! Unfortunately for me, I had to just sit back, relax and trust that person to get us to next the place safely as driving in sand is a lot more challenging than the normal road. As I’m sure you can imagine, our vehicle was filled with a lot of crazy Irish and with each of us given the role of ‘Head DJ,’ entertained we were! Between sing-alongs, group photos, the odd whale jumping out of the water and beautiful scenery, there was plenty for us to enjoy.
Our first major attraction of the tour was ‘Lake Wabby’ which involved a bit of a trek up to it. When we eventually spotted the sand dunes your jaw drops as it is stunning. Just a little bit further and we were at our first lake! You can’t help but look around at where you are and go, ‘WOW!’ When I’m in the water, I am at my happiest. The inner kid in me always comes out as I can be a bit of a messer. The guys nicknamed me the ‘Water baby!’ Quite a fitting name!
After our little adventure, we went straight to our campsite which would be our base for the next few days. While we would be sleeping in shared tents, at least we had proper facilities like showers and a fully functional kitchen. The showers however, were a bit of a disaster. They cost $2 for a couple of minutes which is fine, but not when you are in the middle of washing yourself, and then the shower suddenly cuts out. Luckily I had a bottle of water to rinse myself off with. It’s all part of the experience. Later on, we all gathered around the campfire with a couple of drinks, chatting to each other.
After our first night camping, we left later than planned as some of our camp mates were a little bit late getting out of the old bed. To be fair, we weren’t too late leaving as it would have meant missing out on stuff, which wouldn’t have been cool. Our first stop of the day were the ‘Champagne Pools’ which is right beside the sea. Even though the sea looks like it would be amazing to swim in, unfortunately there are too many creatures in it that simply want to either harm you or just kill you. The good thing is, Champagne Pools is like swimming in the sea, but without all the bad stuff, except for the low water level. I guess you can’t have everything.
One of the cruellest places I have visited so far is ‘Indian Head.’ To get to it, you have to climb up a mountain jumping from rock to rock before you get on to solid land. When you make it to the top, after a short walk, you are rewarded by stunning views overlooking the cliff edge on one side and ‘Seventy-Five Mile Beach’ on the other. From a height, you can really appreciate the sheer beauty of the world’s largest sand island which has baffled geologists for going against the rules by being home to a rainforest. All is not want it seems, for this site has a very dark past. When Australia was discovered by the English Crown, their treatment of the Aboriginals was horrific. On one very dark day at this site, women were given the choice of either jumping over the edge or being pushed. A punishment for not revealing the exact location of a wanted fugitive. That just gives you a little insight into how cruel the Brits were! How these poor innocent women must have felt. The fear in their eyes. The pain in their hearts forced to leave their loved ones forever. No one should have to go through anything like that ever again. Unfortunately, we live in a not so perfect world with so many people that take pleasure in the suffering of others.
While our next site has somewhat of a dark past, it is nowhere as tragic as our last destination. One of the main sites to visit on the island is the old ‘Maheno Shipwreck’ which was a New Zealand ocean liner that operated in the ‘Tasman Sea,’ serving both New Zealand and Australia. In 1935, during a major cyclone, she was washed to shore on Fraser Island where she has remained ever since. Even to this day, she remains a major attraction of the island despite her level of disintegration. It is pretty cool seeing a big, rusty old ship just sitting at the edge of the beach. Due to the level of decay, climbing onto the boat can result in a large fine due to the danger that can be present. I didn’t really take much notice and walked through the ship to the other side. I didn’t climb on to it, so I thought that would be ok. One of the girls who followed me was caught by one of the rangers who gave her a warning. She was not impressed with me! How they didn’t see me considering my height and they spot the girl who would make even Jason feel tall! Very strange! I guess I am a lucky kinda guy!
The night after the mad session where some of the gang decided to pull an all-nighter and not get any sleep in favour of a boozy, messy night. Myself and Jason were very sensible. We retired to our tent at around 1AM as we knew we had an early start. Given how much alcohol everybody had drunk; it was difficult finding drivers who were not intoxicated. The group nominated Jason to be the first driver of the day. I wasn’t happy with him taking such a risk and I asked him if he would be ok if he were to be pulled over and breathalysed. He told me no, so Anthony stepped in. It was clear that he was in no fit state to drive, but he was our best driver, who was willing to take the risk. As the drive to ‘McKenzie Lake’ was quite long and extremely challenging, I don’t think anyone else would have gotten us their safely. The drive seemed endless. It felt like an eternity by the time we reached our destination, but, ‘Oh My God,’ it was worth it. The lake was stunning. Pure white sand and crystal clear water. The further out you went, the deeper the water became which meant you couldn’t see the bottom of the lake, but you could still see all your limbs dangling in the water which looked pretty cool! For me, this was definitely the highlight of our Fraser Island adventure.
Before embarking on the barge, we made one more stop, this time to ‘Eli Creek’ which is a natural lazy river where you enter a little bit further up with an inflatable tube that you sit in while letting the current take you, as you simply make yourself comfortable. If your thirsty, you can dink some of the pure river water. It is definitely a nice way to kill a bit of time. Going back to the vehicles, we bumped into a load of guys on a stag do who insisted on a photo with all of us and the groom to be, who was dressed in a little tutu! It was very random, but they did make us laugh!
Even though Fraser Island is absolutely stunning, the best part for me was the group. It was brilliant being surrounded by your own. We had such an incredible time together. The laugh we had in the car was something else. While sleeping in a tent was doable, the one thing I really missed was a pillow. It was so uncomfortable without one. I found myself waking nearly every hour as I tried to make myself comfortable as best I could. Honestly, I am so happy I had the opportunity to visit this amazing island and enjoy its natural beauty that you can’t help but marvel at! Of course, most importantly, Granny, sorry Ethel, had a lovely time!
By Andrew
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