Free pancakes for brekkie.
After that we have a briefing on things we have to do, and the checks we have to make before leaving (gear, food, drinks, vehicle, etc.).
We also have a few explanations on 4WD'ing gear boxes.
It's then time to go, and each group has to chose it's first driver.
I'm the one for my group.
We're group C, but we will start in second position, behind the first jeep, driven by the guide (there are 4 jeeps, each of them composed of 8 people, and the first one has a guy from the company as driver, that serves as a guide on the island).
And here it goes, we hit the road to the island.
We first have to drive to the barge, first on normal roads, until we reach a beach.
There we stop to change the driving to 4WD, and as doing so, we realise one of the vehicles has a problem ... (it's starting well)
We wait there for a bit, for another vehicle to come to us, to exchange with the problematic one.
Once done, we start driving on the sand to reach the barge.
There's something like 500m to do on the sand, it's already fun ! (can feel the vehicle sliding in different directions as we go, and it's really fun to control)
The barge takes around 15min to reach the island.
We get back in our vehicles, and start driving.
We're now on Fraser Island, the adventure begins !
We first drive for a while on the beach.
It's really fun, and magnificent ... It's a wide beach, it's really special.
It's the famous 75 Miles Beach, which actually is a highway ... The only one in the world that's on a beach !
Amazing.
Very rapidly, we see a dingo wandering around on the beach, and as we slow down, he comes to us and starts trying to get in the trolley to get some food.
He's not afraid at all, and as we all get out of the vehicles see him from closer, he just stares at us (he even follows Bene that goes for a quick wiz in the bushes, so funny).
We continue driving a bit on the beach (quite fast, around 80km, with sometimes the need to brake to cross some "rivers" created by springs getting into the ocean).
After a while, we take an exit on the highway to go into the forest.
There, it gets extremely fun to drive, as it's still on sand, but not flat at all, and in the forest !
(all the island is only sand, with forest growing on it)
We drive to Lake McKenzie, one of the famous sites of the island.
(and maybe it's best one, it's fantastic !)
The drive to the lake is a lot of fun, I love it !
(and it's really beautiful - I don't have pics as I was driving, but the others have taken some and will send them to me later on)
We stop in a kind of small car park, and have a short walk to the lake (there are toilets in the car park).
(the island is not completely wild, but they try to keep it as much as possible - and some facilities are pretty welcome)
The lake is fabulous ...
The water is cristal clear, it's unbelievable.
The water is quite cold, but not too much (get quite quickly used to it), and it's fantastic to swim in there ...
It's fresh water (strange as you expect salt water when going in the first time), and it's so clear that you can see underwater.
Amazing.
We stay there for a few hours, and have lunch there too.
(sandwiches)
We get to know each other a bit more.
The group is really good, I couldn't expect better (there's just Juliet that is sometimes a bit annoying, and the 2 French girls don't really like her ... Girls ...).
For the meals, each group has it's stuff, and has to manage it for the three days.
(there's still a paper explaining what to eat when, to help us ...)
We then get back in the vehicles, and drive to the camp where we will stay for the 2 nights.
Bene takes my seat as driver, and I go to sit at the rear next to Andy.
It's not as fun as driving, but it's really fun bouncing around in the car.
The drive to the camp is quite long, and once there, we stay there, as the sun sets really early (and it's forbidden - and dangerous - to drive during the night on the island).
The camp is composed of a few set of tents, and a shelter with tables (where we'll cook and eat).
There's also a small building with showers and toilets (but only cold water, and no paper).
We then have to choose our tent. We should be 2 or 3 in each one.
With Tobias, we decide to share one.
(Andy, Bene and Nico will go in another, and Marion and Fanny in the one next to us - Juliet will go in a "special" tent with a mattress, where she has to pay an extra ... Oulala)
Once this done, we decide to walk down to the beach (~200m), with Marion, Fanny and Tobias.
The beach is the same as the highway.
We stay there for the sunset (we don't see it as it's the wrong side, we're facing East).
I don't have my camera (stupidly left it in my bag), but the others take some pictures of the beach, the sky, and us.
Once the sun is set, we go back to the camp to make dinner.
We're having steak and onions with potatoes and salad.
Later on, we go back to the beach, where some others of the group are.
We stay there for a while, talking, drinking, and having fun.
I end up alone with Marion, and we can't find her sister and Tobias anymore. They supposedly went for a walk on the beach, a bit further.
We thus stay together, and after a while decide to go back to the camp (there's almost nobody left on the beach).
On the way back to the camp, we fall in the sand, and before standing up again, we kiss each other.
We go next to the vehicle (to get some munchies - all the food has to be in the vehicle to avoid dingos eating it), and stay there for a while.
We see several dingos coming next to us, looking at us, and continuing their way ...
After a while, as it's really starting to get cold, Marion invites me in her tent.
I spend the night with her.
In the middle of the night, Fanny comes in the tent (she fell asleep on the beach, and woke up with 2 dingos next to her ...).
(we also here a Dutch guy trying to get an Irish guy to fight with him ... "the dick" as our guide called him)
It's really cold during the night.
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