K'gari

Landing in Brisbane I jumped on a shuttle bus taking me directly to Noosa a town on the Sunshine Coast for the super rich and the backpackers working there to care for their every need. This would be my staging area the next day and a half before going of to Fraser island. After checking in to a horrific Nomads hostel because everything else was booked due the food festival this weekend, I headed straight to the beach and threw down my travel towel to suck up some rays..

  

Next day I spent wandering the adjacent national park and its beautifull coastal track, taking in the view of massive waves smashing against the rocks, golden sanded bays and lots of surfers. 

Statue raised in memory of Harrold the Koala that was killed by a dog attack in the park. 

The track took me to Hell's Gates, a deep carving into the sandstone rocks by the relentless sea

Past Alexandria Bay, where I turned inland and started walking around like a true tourist with head looking up to try and spot a koala. Unfortunately my effort was only rewarded with a rain shower of biblical proportions forcing me to take out my emergency rain poncho no matter how ridiculous it makes me look..

  Alexandria Bay

So no Koala sighting for me but next morning I was going on the highly recommended 4WD tag along tour by Dropbear Adventures to Fraser island. 

Fraser island is the worlds biggest sand island and has a unique eco system that allows for rainforest and animals to thrive here that would otherwise be impossible because everything is sand and rocks. The island is only accessible by terrain going vehicles and you are ferried onto the island by a barge landing on the beach itself. The main road of the island is the 75 mile long eastern beach that is used even by small aircraft as a landing strip.

We took off from Noosa in a 4 car convoy using back dirt roads through the great sandy national park. Arriving in Rainbow Beach where we drove to a small sand peninsula waiting for the barge. 

As we rolled onto the island and started driving up the beach our guide Dave passionately introduced us to the wonders of this island and at the same time opened our eyes to the rich history and tragedy that had befallen the original Buchella people. 

First stop was lake Wobby. A sacred site for the Buchella people that only males were allowed to go near. This only applies to Buchella people thou and tourists of both sexes has been given permission to come there. To get there you need to walk through a forest area and then a sea of golden sand dunes before arriving at this beautiful fresh water lake completely isolated from anything but rainwater. 

From here it was back to camp and a nicely cooked Australian BBQ. But on the way Dave pulled over and got us all out and showed us these little oval raised spots in the sand. Digging a handfull down revealed a clam burried underneath the sand ready to be cocked up as an entrée. Everyone spread out and began digging up little treasures!

 

Fraser island is home to a specie of wild dogs called dingos. These guys has an excellent sense of smell and will show up within minutes of you opening any food or even just bringing something with a different smell onto the island. This means that everything needs to be stores dingo proof in metal boxes or in vehicles. Anything you leave in a tent will result in a torn apart tent(as dingos do not operate zippers) and a chase through the bush to retrieve your passport or cellphone. If walking around you are obligated to bring a dingo stick to give them a good whack across the snout if within reach. Dingos are not necessarily dangerous but if they learn not to fear humans they will increase their interactions with us and thereby the danger of someone getting bitten because they do not understand the nature of the dingo. A dingo that bites a human must be put down so when our guide Dave were chasing dingos out of the camp with rocks it might seem cruel but in reality it is because he loves these dogs and wants to protect them against humans. 

The next day we continued our drive up the east coast stopping first at Eli Creek. This creek comes from a gigantic underground water ressouir that pumps up 150 year old sand filtered rain water, making it extremely clean and very refreshing! So the trick is to run up the creek and jump in while you let the stream take you out to sea. 

Next stop was a skeleton from a mere 1 year old baby humpback whale. 

The wreck of the old luxury liner Maheno used for bombing practise during WW2

Then the pinnacles a sacred site for the female Buchella, a regular beauty spa with plenty of aloe vera plants at hand and exfoliating vulcanic rocks. 

Daves show and tell about Buchella people beauty products

Then we arrived at the most sacred site of the Buchella people, Indian Head cliff. This site was named by Captain Cook as he sailed past and spottet the Buchella people there. This cliff was a ritual meeting place and according to Buchella people belief the place from which the world was created by among others the spirit K'gari. The spirit K'gari enjoyed the world that she had helped create so much that she wished to stay there, her wish was granted as she was turned into the very island connected to the cliff. The Buchella people therefore named their island after her. The official name "Fraser" came along under tragic circumstances. The rich Fraser family shipwrecked on the island and was taken care of by the Buchello people until rescued. Unfortunately mister Fraser died and misses Fraser was now without a living. So she started to sell her story of living on the island. But as it didn't sell too well she added horrific elements like cannibalism and torture of her husband, which turned into an uproar against the Buchella people, tragically ending with 250 women and children being driven of this very cliff to their deaths below. 

  

Last stop for the day were the Champagne Pools, where you could chill in the shielded pool with the roaring ocean at your back. 

The evening was spend looking at star formations under a clear sky using a laserpointer which was quite cool and watching the moonrise as it came up later. 

The last day we went more inland to hug a very old tree and visit lake Mckensie. The sand there is so fine it is basically silicone and even used by NASA to make lenses for their telescopes or by tourists to clean their teeth or rub their feet.  Besides that the area was covered in tea trees giving the water very healthy properties.

 

From here we only had a stop at an old lumber yard before we were heqdingback  towards the barge landing area. But not before we all had a chance to say goodbye to K'gari. All along the beaches fresh water streams from within the island runs into the ocean. These streams are said to be the lifeforce of K'gari and if you  stand in them with your bare feet you can feel the hearbeat of her, as the streams seems to come in pulses. 

I had a really good time on K'gari and what I expected to be 3 days roaming around in terrain going vehicles were in fact a much deeper experience and appreciation for the life this island has sustained for so many years.