There are many different faces to Hervey Bay depending on the time of day and the weather .
1/6/17
Today we venture back to Fraser Island , a place that evokes quite a few memories from our last trip there in 2008 . I have never felt any sicker than I did that day , we did a tour across the island , and we had Franz - the new driver , and Hans - the guide . Franz was on a mission to get us everywhere we had to see in lightning fast time , so we bumped and bashed our way around the island - probably in record time - I turned several different shades of green , and didn't enjoy the bus ride at all !!
Back to present time , we were up at 5am to get ready for the days activities , we had to be at River Heads to catch the 6:45am barge across to Kingfisher Bay , then the tour at 7:45am from the resort .
It was a cold morning , the coldest here this year , so we left our swimming gear behind . Kym & Caroline joined us for the tour as well . We met up with our brother in law Pete at the barge , he catches it across each morning now that he also works at the resort .
After an uneventful barge ride , we headed up to the resort shop where the tour pick up was . As it was still pretty cool , we headed into the shop - there were heaters on in there !!
Our specially converted truck / coach arrived and we set off out of the resort and onto the sand tracks. Due to the tides , we went over to the eastern side and stopped at Stonetool Sand Blow for a look . It was very windy today , so being on the beach and exposed to the wind wasn't going to be pleasant !! This was the view from the lookout .
Down to 75 Mile beach , we headed north up to Eli Creek - a freshwater creek that flows out over the sand into the ocean , it's about 300 to 500mm deep and has a good flow . On warmer days it's quite an attraction to float down the creek , when we were here last there were lot's of people playing on the beach and in the creek . Today it was just our coach and another .
A danish couple on our coach decided to go for a walk down .
There's a walkway that leads back up the creek about 100m to an entry point into the creek . Morning tea was a nice touch , although the wind was blowing the sand everywhere - in you eyes , ears & mouth and anywhere else you'd like to imagine .
The other thing you see as you drive up the beach , are 2 planes - ready and waiting for anyone that would like to do a 20min joy flight over the island for $80 - reasonably cheap really , but we declined. Still made for an interesting photo though .
Next stop was the Pinnacles - a section of coloured sands in the sand cliffs beside the beach .
Back down the beach again , we arrive near the Maheno ship wreck , it was being towed by a Japanese boat back to Japan to be scrapped in 1935 , when it broke it's tow rope in a storm further down the coast - the propellers had been removed previously , so it couldn't be motored away from the danger and just eventually came to rest on the beach at Fraser Island where it has been ever since .
Rust is gradually eating away at the wreck , which is a testament to how they built things back then , that it is still here at all !!
An extra to our tour was a walk up to Karlu Sand Blow , to show us another sand dune gradually moving through the landscape .
Time for lunch at Eurong Resort which is further down the beach . The drive down the beach was interesting as the tide was coming in , several times we drove through water up to 300mm deep - glad it's not our ute !!!
We had a hot & cold buffet lunch before heading off again , our destination was Central Station , so called because of the railway that was here to transport the logs to the pier for transporting to the coast . There used to be 30 odd people living here - timber cutters & their families . Apart from harvesting trees for sale , they also planted over 20,000 hoop pine and other trees . This photo is some hoop pine .
Satinay trees were highly regarded for use as pilings for wharves & piers as they have resistance to marine borers & rot , and were sent all over the world from here !! This is one of the trees here -
There is a boardwalk beside the Wanggoolba Creek , and another walk that takes you along the creek further into the island , Lyn did the boardwalk while I did the other .
The creek is crystal clear and runs on a white sand base - littered with palm frond s from the cyclone earlier this year . There are fish swimming around , seemingly not bothered by us at all .
Some trees have fallen and have been cut to maintain the path access , others have fallen a long time ago and are gradually rotting away . The walk continued alongside the creek , it was like walking in a sea of greenery .
Next stop is one of the highlights - Lake Mackenzie - it's 85m above sea level and is bordered in white sand and forest - just beautiful !! There were about 30 people having a swim , the water temperature was quite pleasant - warmer in the water than with the windchill when you got out !!!
The day was nearly done and we were delivered back to the resort with plenty of time to catch the barge back across . This is the beach beside Kingfisher Resort and the pier .
We watched people fishing off the pier before heading back on the barge . A great day was had , much better than our previous trip !! Our tour guide is a local photographer who has lived on the island for the last 20+ years - Peter Meyer - and he has a gallery at the resort with some spectacular photos on display - he was a great tour guide as well !!
That's it for the day , here's a map link :- https://drive.google.com/open?id=1px3mh8f1oGwrHBiO3NXWSuhLGug&usp=sharing
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