We picked up our camper van in Brisbane 11th June and headed south towards Byron Bay. We were a little cheesed off with the camper company (Hippie Campers/Apollo) as when we booked it we hadn’t realised that unlike in New Zealand they insisted on taking the full excess on the insurance ($2500!) as a deposit, and it had to be on credit card. We couldn’t afford to do that on card of course so we were forced into upgrading the insurance to reduce the excess which was really extortionate. It meant paying less money on the day to have more insurance. The van isn’t as big as the previous one either which makes it a bit more cramped and more difficult to cook!

We drove straight past the built up Gold Coast, staying in a rest area our first night. The next day we arrived in Byron fairly early and had an explore of the beach and town. The following day the rain began again so we didn’t really get up to much, having a quick look at another beach and reading a lot of our books!

The next day we drove inland (they call it the hinterland) towards the village of Nimbin. The place has a bit of a reputation for hippies but we mostly went that direction to see some of the national parks in the area. After a detour due to a closed road we went to Minion Falls, a fairly impressively sized waterfall, then on to Nimbin. Neither of us really liked the place - it was full of people that seemed to have consumed far too many drugs over the course of their life leaving them totally spaced out and a bit weird. One encounter in their “museum” sent us back to the van and north towards some other sights in the national park.

From there we drove further north. Our next stop was Australia Zoo - home of the Crocodile Hunter! - as their advertising material helpfully informed us. The zoo did have a good range of wildlife but for the cost of it we enjoyed the koala sanctuary more - it seemed like we got to see the animals more up close there. The zoo was much more commercial and the number of things named after Steve Irwin’s daughter “Bindi” was scary! However we did both enjoy watching the tiger play time when the keepers were rolling about with them.

The day after we stayed in the same area and climbed Mount Ngungun, one of the Glass House Mountains. The mountains stick out from a relatively flat plain so the views from the top were very spectacular. There were lots of names engraved in the rock at the top too, and right on the path I happened to notice that someone had precarved my full name for me! Pretty odd!

We drove north, staying inland to the Blackall Range to have a look around at some of the sights there, with some good ones back south over the Glass House Mountains. We drove to Yandina the next day, home of The Ginger Factory, where we did a tour and ate a lot of ginger sweets. There were some really tasty savoury bites that we tried as part of the tour too. The rest of the place was made up of pretty tacky tourist shops.

The village of Eumundi holds weekly markets that draw in crowds from all around. We spent the next morning wandering around it, the stalls had a massive variety of products from roasted macadamia nuts to clothes and crisps on sticks. We also really enjoyed listening to a live band (called Jambezi) playing music on what looked like massive glockenspiels.

The coastal resort of Noosa was our next destination. It had a nice beach and was absolutely full of surfers! We spent some time on the beach since for once it was nice and sunny, and did a nice coastal walk round to a much quieter beach. That evening we also went out for dinner for my birthday!

When we left Noosa the weather went back to rain so we decided to skip some coastal bits - not much fun being on the beach in the rain. Instead we headed to Hervey Bay, where you can get trips over to Fraser Island. Fraser Island is totally made out of sand - it’s the worlds biggest sand island.

After seeing the cost of the self drive options we booked onto a tour, which left the following morning. We were forecast for more rain but we didn’t really have time to just sit and wait it out, so we crossed our fingers that it wouldn’t ruin the trip!

After taking the barge over to the island we met our guide, Woody, who took us across the island in a 4x4 bus. After seeing some of the tracks we were glad we didn’t try and do the self drive! Our first stop, after picking up some other guests, was Central Station, where we did a short walk beside the Wanggoolba Creek. Despite being made of sand, the island is mostly covered in rainforest so the walk was really enjoyable, seeing a variety of flora and fauna that there is on the island.

After taking us to Eurong Resort for lunch we went back over the island to Lake Mackenzie. On the way there we had to stop the bus as there was a large carpet python blocking the track! We all got out to have a look, luckily Woody just happened to be a snake enthusiast and expert so we were assured it was not venomous!

Lake Mackenzie is perched, meaning that it is above the water table, but in sand. This means the water is really clear, which combined with the pure white sand around the lake makes it really stunning. Unfortunately when we got there it was pouring with rain again! Fortunately, shortly after it turned brilliantly sunny for the whole time we were there, and only started raining again when we were back on the bus! We both had a swim in the lake before we headed back to the resort to check into our room. We had dinner there which was a pretty good buffet.

The next day we drove up the beach - literally. The eastern beach on the island is a public highway with a speed limit of 80 km/h and there’s even some police stationed on the island to check you obey normal road rules. Our first stop was Lake Wabby, where it promptly started to rain again! Fortunately it stopped pretty soon after then held off for the rest of the day. We did a short walk to get to it over a sand blow - where the wind has carried sand off the beach, completely enveloping the rainforest. After descending a steep slope to the lake I went for a swim, but Bex left this one out. The lake isn’t formed in the same way as Lake Mackenzie so has a lot more life in it and so isn’t as clear, but still really beautiful.

After lunch we drove up the beach where we met up with Air Fraser. Not only is the beach a highway, it’s also a runway! We went for a scenic flight over the island which took in all the main sights and was really quite good. Well worth it on a clear day. We met up with the bus again at the Pinnacles, a cliff of coloured sand which is a bit like Alum Bay! From there we drove up to Indian Head, a rocky outcrop which gives stunning views north and south along the beach, back over the island and also out to sea.

On a still day from Indian Head you can often see a lot of marine life, but the water was choppy so we didn’t see much. However Becky was lucky to spot a humpback whale breaching way out to sea, and when we looked we saw a baby one copying!

Heading back south along the beach again we stopped at the Maheno, a large ship which was shipwrecked in the 1930s as it was under tug on its way to be scrapped in Japan. When we were there not much was over the sand, and the level of sand varies a lot. Apparently there were another 5 decks below the sand! It was still really impressive to look at and makes for good photos. The rear of the ship is really badly damaged where it was used as a target for bombing practice in World War II.

After the Maheno we were running a bit late so we had a quick stop at Eli Creek, the largest freshwater creek on that side of the island. I went for a swim down it but again Bex didn’t fancy it! When we were done splashing about we went back to the resort, the back over the island to meet up with the barge back to the mainland.

Overall the Fraser Island trip has been one of our highlights. Despite the poor weather forecast it mostly held off and the island is just so unlike anything you usually see that the experience was brilliant. The tour was good too - the guide was great and we didn’t feel like it was too busy, probably due to the time of year!

Next stop - sailing the Whitsundays!