(To see more of my Fraser Island photos, click here.)
After a sleepless night consumed by endless dreams of being swarmed by bugs and nearly suffocating from the heat, we were ready for day two. We skipped showering out of fear of the spiders running around the bathroom and headed out to the truck for a trip into the rain forest. It may only have been day two, but one of the first skills we had developed was the ability to pack up the truck quickly and scream and jump enough to get just about all the bugs out of the back before quickly slamming the doors. So we were ready to go in no time.
Our first stop in the rain forest was alongside a 2,000-year-old tree, which, as Russ put it, was roughly as old as Jesus. Yes, it was enormous. From there we walked into the rain forest where we stopped to check out the world’s most dangerous spider (it seemed to be napping for the day so instead we just took a quick peak inside its hole), walked through an old aborigine town surrounded by towering trees and admired the endless greenery. As we walked we could hear birds laughing and singing through the trees, a sound we were told signaled a change. In this case it was the constant changing from sun to showers.
As we drove through the forest we watched it change from mostly low trees closer to the ocean to a huge canopy of a rain forest as we headed inland. Our second stop was at the largest perched dune lake in the world, a completely isolated spot surrounded by green mountains and white sand beaches. Russ caught a baby sea turtle that we all got a chance to hold and then he broke off eucalyptus leaves so we could all breathe in their intoxicating scent.
Our third stop was supposed to be a special lake hidden in the forest, but the rough terrain of the driving path had forced the road we were looking for to close. I can’t imagine what the closed path must have been like given how rugged the road we were allowed to drive on was. We were literally driving through a muddy rutted out path between towering trees that went up and dropped down constantly. Riding in the back of the truck we were all bracing ourselves against the roof to try to minimize how much we were thrown about.
From there we headed back up the beach where we drove by the Maheno shipwreck and on to Indian Head. After climbing up the rocks, we had a 360-degree view of the island, beautiful beaches and the endless ocean. During the winter they head up there to whale watch in the clear water below.
On our way back down the beach toward the ferry, we stopped at the cleanest creek in the world to go for a swim. One million liters of water (enough to hydrate all of LA everyday!) bubble out of the ground and flow down to the ocean via the creek each day. We walked up the creek a decent distance before plunging into the ice-cold water and floating our way down to the ocean. Our second stop on our way back to the ferry was at another special creek; this one full of Petri oil, which we were told would help our sunburns and unkempt hair.
Eventually we boarded the ferry and returned to Rainbow Beach where we stayed at the Dingo Backpackers lodge, a thoroughly intriguing experience. All five of us girls stayed in one room with six bunk beds and a bathroom whose only light flickered incessantly. While there we all took our first showers of the trip and had a communal BBQ with the other backpackers. At dinner I learned that, for our French and German speaking companions, my English was the easiest to understand, a point that may seem trivial, but given the amount of grief I receive at home for my “accent,” I considered to be quite a victory.
After dinner Russ busted out his Play Station and we played an international golf video game for a few hours before eventually heading to bed.
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