Don’t drop the dingo stick

Like the Whitsundays there are billions of different options when it comes to tours for Fraser Island. After picking through a forest’s worth of leaflets we settled on one that was easily accessible to us by train and included a nights’ accommodation in Hervey Bay either side of the tour.

And so here we are, sat in our camp in the sand dunes on Fraser Island on our first of the two night three day tour. We arrived in Hervey Bay yesterday after a truly terrible night’s sleep on the overnight train. We had a long wait around for transport to our hostel in the Woolshed. Thankfully it was a brilliant hostel and time flew before we had to head to our tour briefing. Brief it was and two minutes later we were on our way to get our food for the next few days. They advised us that it would be cheaper and easier to buy in groups so we teamed up with a Dutch couple and a French guy and loaded up our trolley with pasta, bread and meat. The liquor store next door must have loved us as everyone poured in to grab as many bags of goon as we could. Then it was an early night for everyone as we were told to check out at 6am!

At 6.30 it was compulsory for everyone to watch a dvd on driving safety on the island and warnings about dingoes. It took about an hour to explain what could’ve been said in five minutes. We then loaded up the massive Toyota Land cruisers before climbing aboard and heading for the ferry.

After a fairly uneventful crossing (oh yeah dolphins and whales) we drove off the ferry, let some air out of the tyres and headed straight for the road. Road is used here in the loosest sense possible and soon we were being thrown around like ragdolls. It wasn’t long until we stopped and, after our brains had settled back into place; our guide Mick took us for a short rainforest tour that was actually pretty interesting (that is if you are slightly nerdy like the two of us). After we’d soaked up the feel of the rainforest we were off again, with our bums barely touching the seats. Alex had a go at driving at this point and even though he tried to take it as smoothly as possible he still left everyone’s spines a mess.

After a relatively long drive we stopped on the beachside. The beachside is a little bit of a misnomer on Fraser though, most of the island being sand. We piled out of the 4x4s and headed up a wooded path to Lake Wabby. As we crested a hill the lake was laid out in front of us missing one key ingredient, water. Lakes are formed on Fraser when silica gathers in a basin, creating an impermeable layer allowing rainwater to collect. However much of the lake had drained leaving an incredible beauty.

Once we’d collected our jaws from the sand at our feet we headed off to explore and eventually came across the remainder of the water in the lake. Although the wind was blowing we both made it into the water for a swim. Rach being the only girl to do so. She didn’t regret it though as it was truly refreshing. Towelled off we headed back with the rest of the group to the cruisers and set off racing the tides to camp. It was exciting driving along the beach avoiding the incoming waves. We arrived at camp with about ten minutes to spare and after Mick talked us through some basics we got set up and started cooking.

So here we are sat looking at a brilliant star-filled sky and bellies full and about to make a start on the goon. The camp is pretty cosy and the only downside is the loo- a shovel, a torch and a dingo stick. Always remember the last one- always!

Rex’s rules of the road

• Shop for food as a group. It’s a lot cheaper and starts off the convo.

• If you drink, go for goon. It’s cheap and effective and the bags make great pillows.

• You’ve paid $400+ to experience Fraser, try not to just sit back and sunbathe- you can do that anywhere.

• Dingoes are dangerous, carry your stick if ever you go off alone but always try and go in a pair.

• Read Rach's reviews of the Woolshed hostel and Lake Wabby.