Fraser Australia. Around Fraser Island in a jeep. Fraser Island Overland Tour

Fraser is owned by the state of Queensland largest in the world sand island, which is nearby east coast Australia. The island's aborigines called this piece of land "K'gari", which literally translates as "paradise".

This amazingly beautiful island Australia was named after the married couple Eliza and James Fraser, whose ship was wrecked off the coast of the island in 1836.

Today, the story of a woman named Eliza, who survived the death of her newborn child and her husband, and was also captured by the aborigines, excites the minds of travelers around the world who go to this island for unforgettable impressions.

For a long time, the Aborigines and Europeans were at enmity, dividing the territory of Fraser. Today the island is a peaceful place, the main focus of which is preservation of pristine nature and tourism.

Flora and fauna

On the eastern Fraser Coast, where the island faces the ocean, its territory is covered white sandy beaches.

In the west of the island there is a mangrove forest, and in the northern part there are preserved virgin equatorial forests.

See all the beauty of flora and fauna The islands can be visited under the guidance of a forester. Tourists have the opportunity to observe electric stingrays and predators while walking.

Fauna of Fraser Island especially interesting. Thus, the wild dog Dingo is found on land, and freshwater turtles live in well-warmed shallow lakes.

Also found on Fraser Island more than 350 species exotic birds, including 18 species of birds of prey. Great spiny owls, ground parrots, sharks, dolphins and other island fauna can be seen while walking along Indian Head.

It is important to know! From August to October, the migration of humpback whales can be seen on Fraser Island.

Also on the island are:

• sugar flying possum;
• flying foxes;
• kangaroo;
• wallaby;
• echidnas;
• the bats;
• exotic bright frogs;
• possums and other animals.

Hanging Lakes

The Fraser Hanging Lakes are an Australian landmark that truly is unique of a kind. Freshwater lakes, which are called “hanging” lakes here, are surrounded by ocean waters on all sides.

It is interesting that these lakes do not receive any nutrition from glaciers or rivers, so they seem to hang above the salty water that surrounds them. Hanging Lakes of Fraser Island today are under significant threat due to pollution caused by the large influx of tourists.

Note to tourists

The peculiarity of Fraser Island is that the history and centuries-old climatic changes of this territory can be traced through wild flowers and huge sand dunes.

Formed by Aboriginal household waste, mounds, cuts and fishing gear in the trees, as well as the sites of the first people impress everyone who are visiting this landmass for the first time.

In the Arched Rocks, tourists have the opportunity to look at a sacred place for women called Lunar patch, where they gave birth to children, as well as the location where the ancient ancestors of the Aboriginal people played the didgeridoo.

The rich history of this island will be enhanced by a visit to the abandoned pier called McKenzie. Initially, this place connected lumberjacks with the continent, and during the Second World War it was used by the famous Zed assault squad.

A must for explorers from all over the world, Fraser Island's Happy Valley will be attracted by the wreckage of the steamer "Makhino", which was built in 1905 and served as a Trans-Tasman passenger ship before becoming a floating hospital and being driven ashore during a cyclone.

After visiting important historical places islands, you can rent a room in an environmentally friendly boarding house, where tourists are offered wellness massages, cocktails and gourmet dishes local cuisine. You can also spend the night in secluded houses overlooking the coast.

In addition to boarding houses and houses, the island offers tourists a number of cottages, hotels and hotels with ocean views. Some travelers spend the night in tents.

Attention! Not everywhere on Feiser Island allows you to pitch a tent. Permitted locations are the territory of Cathedral Beach, parking lots near Lake McKenzie, Bumanjin, Waddy Point, Dundubara, Watoomba, as well as the territory of the village of Dilli and the tourist camp at the Central parking lot.

Fraser Island is really paradise Australian territory, which offers tourists not only to plunge into the atmosphere of unusual unique nature and wildlife, but also to trace the history of not only this place, but also evolution in general. There are traces of the habitation of primitive people here, which anyone can see with their own eyes.

Moreover, Fraser is an island that popular with travelers who prefer a relaxing holiday. Snow-white beaches, hundreds of freshwater lakes with clear and turquoise water, tropical forests and protected species of Australian fauna attract lovers of exotic holidays every year with different corners land.

We are offering to you watch the video about the unique sandy Fraser Island:

Fraser(English: Fraser Island or Great Sandy Island) is a sandy island off the east coast of Australia.

History of discovery

In 1770, English explorer James Cook discovered the east coast of Australia. About 150 kilometers north of modern city He passed Brisbane big Island With sandy coast, which today is visited by up to 300,000 tourists a year. But then Cook did not pay any attention to him. He and his companions believed that this was not an island, but a peninsula. Finally, several years later, an explorer set foot on this sandy shore. Matthew Flinders. He wrote: "Nothing [could be] more barren than this peninsula".

If Cook and Flinders had ventured a few kilometers of golden beaches and dunes, their opinion of the island would have changed completely. They would discover a world of pristine tropical rainforests and clear lakes, sandy cliffs of every shade and hundreds of species of animals. In 1992, the world's largest sand island, known as Fraser, was inscribed on the World Heritage List.

Geography of the island

Fraser Island stretches 120 kilometers in length, its width is 25 kilometers, and its area is 160,000 hectares. The sand hills rise almost 240 meters above sea level, making it the world's highest sand island. It is believed that the huge masses of sand from which the island was formed were washed out of the Great Dividing Range - mountain system, which stretches along the entire east coast of Australia. For a long time, heavy rains washed away particles of rock from these mountains and carried them into the rivers and then into the sea. Ocean currents turned stones into sand and gradually carried it north. Grains of sand accumulated on rocky areas of the seabed, and over time Fraser Island appeared in the sea. Since then, the Pacific Ocean has continued to wash new sand onto the shore. The winds carry it deep into the island, forming dunes. The dunes, in turn, “creep” further, a meter per year, covering everything in their path.

Freshwater lakes of the island

Surprisingly, there are 40 freshwater lakes on the island in the hollows of the sand dunes. Some of these bodies of water are called "suspended lakes" because they are found in large depressions at the top of high dunes.

Why doesn't water seep through the sand? It is retained by organic deposits, or peat, the remains of rotted leaves, bark and branches. The island also has "window lakes", which form when a depression in the sand falls below the water table. Seeping through loose rocks, water filtered by sand accumulates in transparent lakes. The lakes on the island are replenished by rainfall, which falls up to 1,500 millimeters per year. Water flowing out of the lake or seeping through the sand forms streams that rush into the sea. One of these rivers carries more than 5 million liters of water per hour into the Pacific Ocean.

Forests

Thanks to the abundance of moisture, Fraser Island has a lot of greenery. Tropical rainforests do not typically grow on barren sand. But Fraser Island is one of the few places on earth where lush forests grow among the sand. Indeed, the forest was once so dense that loggers could manage there for 100 years. Eucalyptus, agathis and tallow were the special pride of foresters.

In 1929 one of them said: “Travelers see a living wall of huge trees up to 45 meters in height. The trunks of these forest giants reach 2-3 meters in thickness.”. Some trees, such as syncarpia, were cut down for the construction of the Suez Canal. But these days, logging on Fraser Island has ceased.

The tragic story of Fraser Island paradise

The island received its name in connection with the tragedy that occurred there. In 1836 Captain James Fraser and his wife Eliza were shipwrecked on the brig "Sterling Castle" and landed on the island. Obviously, James was killed by the natives, but Eliza still managed to escape. In memory of this event, the island was renamed from Bolshoy Peschany to Fraser Island.

A difficult fate also befell the indigenous inhabitants of the island. More than 2,000 Aboriginal people used to live here. These were strong, strong people. They called their island Kgeri, or Paradise. As the legend about the creation of this island says, it was the most beautiful place on earth. Unfortunately, many islanders died from diseases introduced by Europeans. In addition, at the beginning of the 20th century, most of the remaining Aborigines were sent to reservations on the mainland.

Fauna of the island

Today the island is a wildlife sanctuary. Its most famous resident is the dingo, an Australian wild dog. Fraser Island dingoes are considered the most purebred in eastern Australia because they do not interbreed with domestic dogs found on the mainland. Dingoes are similar to domestic dogs, but they are not tame at all, and therefore you need to be careful with them.

More than 300 species of birds can be seen on the island. Brahminy kites and white-bellied sea eagles soar over the beaches, and iridescent blue forest kingfishers soar over the lakes. Frequent guests are migratory birds such as Mongolian plovers, which hatch their chicks in Siberia and fly south for the winter. They stop at Fraser Island before continuing their journey. Over 30,000 grey-headed flying foxes - that's what they call bats the size of a crow - they fly to the island during the flowering of eucalyptus to enjoy the flower nectar.

The waters around the island are also teeming with life. Here you can meet humpback whales, sailing from the frozen Antarctic to the Great Barrier Reef for mating and birth of young. Before setting off on their return journey, the whales put on an amazing spectacle: they jump out of the water and fall noisily, raising columns of spray that are visible several kilometers away - as if they were giving a farewell salute to the beautiful island.

Fraser is one of the resort islands of Australia; it consists entirely of sand, and this is its uniqueness.

Located along the east coast across the channel from Hervey Bay.

In the Aboriginal language Fraser is called "Kgari-rai".

This is fair - wide and clean sandy beaches, tropical forests and flowering heather meadows under clear blue skies suggest just such a comparison.

Fraser is considered the largest in the world sandy island. It stretches for more than 110 km in length, up to 23 km in width, and the sand dunes of the island are its attraction. These natural structures reach a height of almost 250 meters. In addition, they are absolutely white and against the green background of the forests covering the island they look almost like snow.

Fraser got its name thanks to a couple of Europeans who were shipwrecked off the shores of this lost island. warm waters Pacific Ocean islands. It must be said that in those days - 1836 - relations between the aborigines and Europeans were quite aggressive, so local tribes were not too happy about such a neighborhood. As a result, the Fraser couple were held captive by the Aborigines for some time. In 1992, Fraser became part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site and received the status nature reserve. Despite this, it is very popular among tourists and travelers.

Surprisingly, this island, washed on all sides by the salty ocean, has quite a lot of fresh lakes. They are called “hanging” because they seem to hang between the salty waters of the Pacific Ocean. There are more than 100 of them. One of them is Lake Mackenzie, located in the forests 100 meters above sea level. This is the most beautiful fresh lake. The water in it is formed only from precipitation. It is almost distilled, so no freshwater organisms can live in it. But around the lake snow-white beach from the purest quartz sand.

And the largest of them is Boemingen, which is approximately 200 hectares in size. The water in the lake is cool and fresh, which is in sharp contrast to the Australian climate, which is mostly hot. This is why Boemingen is so popular among tourists.

Palm trees, mangroves and bamboo, and tropical rain forest also grow on the shore of the lake.

To date indigenous people The island has only 400 people, 11 of whom are descendants of the very tribes that held the Fraser couple captive. It should be noted that a few years after the capture of the shipwrecked Europeans, colonialists from European countries came to Fraser and formed many new settlements. Of course, the natives were against such interference, and a war broke out. The unequal enemy forces simply destroyed the small and weakly armed army of the Australian tribes. Almost everything local population was destroyed. Now Fraser is just a place of entertainment for tourists, where tourist complex: hotel, motel, swimming pool, bar, shop and cafe. You can get to the island by small plane, but it is better to rent a car on the mainland and cross on a barge. Having your own wheels, you can get to know the island much better.

Fraser differs from the rest of Australia in its milder climate, the island's nature is rich and varied thanks to a large number moisture. In the western part of the island there are mangroves and swamps, the east is a string of beautiful sandy beaches, and in the northern part of Fraser is located national park Great Sandy.

Because the vegetable world Fraser is quite diverse, and the animals live there are very different. For example, several species of turtles are found in fresh lakes. In the forest you can see bats and foxes, as well as representatives of classic Australian fauna: possums and wallabies, echidnas and dingoes. To observe animals in natural environment habitats, tourists are offered canoe trips. In addition to the wildlife, it is not difficult to spot electric rays, sharks and dolphins in the waters surrounding the boat. The migration routes of humpback whales swimming in the island also pass by Fraser Island - these animals can be observed from August to October.

The world of birds will also not disappoint ornithology lovers. The Fraser is home to approximately 354 species of birds, 18 of which are considered raptors. You can also see such rare birds as the spiny-legged owl and the ground parrot.

Since the tourism infrastructure of Fraser is quite developed, tourists, in addition to comfortable beach holiday, a variety of sports entertainment is offered, some of which are extreme. For example, surfing or bodyboarding along sand dunes followed by a noisy dive into the lake. To the program active entertainment Also included is a 4WD ride along the coast, where you can admire the Cathedral Rocks - amazing and majestic piles of multi-colored sand. Mini planes fly over miles of beaches, and small boats float tourists down the rushing Ely Creek straight to the ocean. Many travelers come to Fraser Island just to sail and watch sea ​​creatures in their natural environment.

Sightseeing tours on the island usually include Happy Valley, where the wreck of the Makhino ship is located. This hulk was built in 1905 and served first as a transatlantic liner and later, during the First World War, as a floating hospital. The ship was later washed ashore on Fraser Beach during a cyclone.

To preserve the island's ecosystem, the population of Fraser actively promotes wild or green tourism, involving overnight stays and accommodation under open air or in a tent and moving around the island in an off-road jeep. This method of travel allows you to admire the untouched beauty of Fraser's nature without harming the ecology of one of the the most amazing islands in the world.

Rare drops of rain hammer on the roof of our rusty Land Rover, where at night I searched the entire collapsing front panel with a flashlight and discovered a completely rotten cigarette lighter socket.
Well, naturally, connecting the plug of the voltage converter from 12V to 220V gave a negative result: I will not be able to recharge the camera battery.

In accessible pedestrian proximity, the lights of a public toilet are shining (there may be electrical sockets), but I can imagine the picture that will open to a respectable Australian tourist who goes there at 3 a.m. to take a leak (instead of doing it like a normal person - on the nearest tree - it’s still raining) - he will be embarrassed to see a lonely Vinsky sitting on the toilet with a laptop on his knees and entangled in black snakes of wires of all sorts of electrical devices that need to be charged...

Rent a Jeep for a trip to Fraser

The company where we received our Land Rover is located in a group of several other similar sharks of imperialism, who take quite a lot of money: renting jeeps for a trip to Fraser Island in search of adventure is a very profitable enterprise for them. And for us, the tourist consumers, it’s expensive...

Jeeps are equipped with equipment both for overnight stays in equipped campsites and in field, wild conditions.
The day before the appointed date, Borracho and I drove up to this office to look at our car, which had been ordered in advance via the Internet...

Having parked at the entrance, we walked into the backyard of the office and saw the Defender hanging on a lift.
“Apparently this is our device,” said Borracho
Several people in overalls were flashing welds from under the bottom of the car...
-Okay, if I'm wrong...

But Valera was not mistaken.
On the morning of the day scheduled for the start on Fraser Island, we arrived half an hour earlier than the start of the briefing, where they promised to give us very important and interesting information.
There was a lot of information.

I had to watch three videos:
— how not to spoil nature and poop in pre-dug holes
- how to behave when meeting wild dingoes,
— how to behave when meeting whales and sharks
- How to generally behave in life...

All this time, the office worker was writing something, calling somewhere, and simply scratching the back of his head with concern.

Our time was limited, since before the ferry left for the island, we had to
- return the car we rented from the airport rental car
— buy ice for the refrigerator box
— somehow catch the eleven o'clock ferry to Fraser Island.

Having finally finished with the films, we went out into the fresh air of a beautiful and sunny Australian morning and discovered standing car, which should become ours:
- means of transportation
- family home on the island

Two metal boxes were found in the trunk of this wreck. And that's all...
Looking into one, we found a set from a nearby trash heap: a crumpled tin mug, several plates of different sizes, rusty forks, a Made in China battery of unknown purpose packed in yellowed plastic with traces of leaked electrolyte, a can opener, a frying pan with a broken handle and signs of beating from the face ( or heads) and a couple of pans with the remains of rancid fat.

Another box contained a gas stove that could have been used in the Auschwitz concentration camp to dispose of human corpses.
“No shit,” was all we could say...
I forgot about the rusty sapper's shovel and Raskolnikov's ax, which had been lying on the floor of the jeep since those times.
- Where is the promised table, folding chairs, sleeping bags and a tent for 3 people?
“I almost forgot,” said the office worker and threw two double tents and two neoprene mats...
- Listen, dear! We ordered 3 chairs, a table, a refrigerator... We listed a lot of things... And a gas cylinder for your miracle stove won’t hurt..

On Fraser Island you cannot have an open fire and all cooking is done on gas stoves or bbq: be it kebab or smoked kangaroo tail.

The Australian muttered something, handed over a cylinder and a small plastic box that could fit several bottles of wine and a bag of grapes...
— You will have to pay extra for chairs, a table and sleeping bags...
- You will not get anything from me! We need to move - time is running out...

Borracho got behind the wheel of the car, and I crawled into the seat of the Defender, immediately scratching my leg with some rusty piece of iron sticking out from under the seat.

Cursing and releasing a cloud of black smoke from the exhaust pipe into the atmosphere and at the same time trying not to crash into the sedan in front, I crawled out of the parking lot onto the road.
In the end, we still successfully manage to do everything: return the car, buy ice and catch the barge...

Ferry to Fraser Island

The journey and adventure have begun.
The sun is shining.
Life is getting better.
And it doesn’t matter that the handbrake doesn’t hold and the car almost falls over the side of the ferry, resting against its fence, after it starts moving.
This is all bullshit...
Travel time to the island is about 40 minutes.

Borracho and I are on the upper deck discussing the route, having laid out a map on the bench. The map is pressed against a bottle of wine, which we touch from time to time, catching disapproving glances from those present. Upon arrival on Fraser Island, I let out almost all the air in the tires of our rusty monster (up to 1 atmosphere) so that it can ride well on the sand: there are no paved roads on Fraser Island.

All movement around the island is possible only by jeep along the directions (not roads) made by timber trucks back in the days when logging was carried out on the island. Fraser Island uses 75 miles of beach as its main road. But you can only drive on it at low tide, so the most important paper that you are given when renting a jeep is the low tide schedule for the next 5 days.

We decided to spend the first day on the island exploring forest lakes and moving around inside the island, without going to the beach, since the tide schedule was such that it made no sense otherwise: the rising ocean cuts off the open and hard section of the beach for moving by car and there is a chance to sail away in a jeep to Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean.

What to see on Fraser Island

I described the Fraser Lakes in some detail in my report on my first trip to Australia four years ago.

Lake Mackenzie still popular and crowded.
This is not only due to the snow-white sand of the beach and the blue water.

This lake is the most accessible, which is why there are so many day tourists.
Next was Lake Wabby, my favorite lake with greenish water with the smell of eucalyptus tincture, pressed by a huge sand dune to the opposite wooded shore.

While posing for Borracho on one of the dunes, I rolled off it and fell backwards, landing my ear on the hard sandy cover. Tapping with the pads of my fingers and arms outstretched in a cross, I felt a clear ringing sound, as if a huge crystal ball was hidden under the thickness of the sand...
This place is amazing. I highly recommend it and add it to my top beaches

When tens of kilometers domestic destinations was passed.
When it was jumped over hundreds of roots and holes...
….it began to get dark….

Accommodation on Fraser Island

It was necessary to decide on an overnight stay.
For some reason I didn’t want to put up tents and we went to Eurong, where there were several civilized places like a hotel-resort.

After haggling and getting a room for $126 (Australian), we tied up our iron horse in the parking lot and carried the most expensive thing we had from Borracho to our room: the red box.

In the red box, under a layer of purchased ice, there was meat. Mutton…
Freshest Australian lamb
I really wanted to eat.

Not far from our house there was a barbecue area: a cube made of brick, the top was a metal cavity with a hole in the middle for draining melted fat, heated from below by the flame of a gas burner, launched in three minutes by pressing a button.

First dinner on Fraser Island

For dinner there was:
— tomato and onion salad, dressed with Italian sauce based on balsamic, olive oil and aromatic herbs
- squid rings marinated in sweet and sour sauce
- iceberg lettuce leaves
- pieces of lamb on the bone marinated with onions and garlic (pistolettes)

Dinner took place under the stars burning in the sky (the night sky of Australia is a black blanket on the head, through which a charge of small shot was once fired) and conversations about parallel worlds and the afterlife. With this we went to bed.

I had nightmares and, in my opinion, I swore in my sleep.
The morning was no less joyful: the reflections reflected from the water surface of the pool shimmered on the ceiling of the balcony; the taste of sweet Australian yoghurt could not spoil the aroma of tea with lime.

A quick scrambled egg with bacon and sautéed onions set us up for a day of adventure that began as soon as we hit the beach.

For me, driving along the long beach of Fraser Island was not new, but nevertheless, I was amazed again by driving over the stone tongues.

At this moment, it seems that the car is either going to overturn or, at best, part of the rocky rock from the bottom of the props will end up in the car's interior, right between the legs...

Photos, photographs, ocean dust from the surf.
The tide has just begun, so part of the path passes through loose sand spewing salty spray.

rusty skeleton Moheno- a cargo ship washed ashore by a storm somewhere in the late thirties - became even more broken down.

Since the first time I was on Fraser (5 years ago) salty ocean water, wind, sun - did their job.
Training bombing missions by the Australian Air Force completed the picture:

At the northern end of the beach it is cut off big rock"Indian Head"
It is quite difficult to drive through this place - the detour is on loose sand and many cars sit on the bottom.

Therefore, this place was chosen by those for whom this is a kind of finish line and just a platform for landscape photography.
From here they open beautiful views on the ocean surf and the sandy path of cars.

But those who passed the test with honor and won quicksand- they receive as a reward - Champagne baths.
In the place where the rocks come close to the ocean, natural baths have formed - large depressions in the rock with a smooth bottom. Size - you can bathe a truck.
And when an ocean wave hits the wall of the bathtub, it turns into foam, which overflows into the bathtub.

Feeling. when you bathe in it, it’s like bathing in champagne: water with bubbles...
I fell there in flip-flops and swam to the border, where the ocean surf beat and the strongest waves rolled, creating a foamy, effervescent effect, took on the streams of foam and shouted:
- More champagne! More champagne!

Robinsons on Fraser Island

After three hours the question arose: Where will we spend the night?
We decided to put up tents on the ocean shore and pack our boots.
There are places along the entire 75-mile beach where you can stop for a wild night.
You cannot stop in places that are flooded by the tide, where there are natural attractions: Red Canyon, Ely Creek.
We drove back from Indian Head and peered at the coastline.

I wanted to find a place with a view of the ocean and fresh water to wash myself after swimming in the champagne baths.
After 4-5 attempts, such a place was found: when you have a choice, there is always room for doubt and you find fault with an ugly bush or dry grass...

In a pine grove on the ocean shore, surrounded by strange palm trees with pineapples growing on them, we parked. I positioned the car so that one side protected us from side winds and did not block the view of the raging ocean - the tide had begun. At this time, the sky, which had been gloomy for a couple of hours, burst into rain. What to do? Don't sit in the car...

For non-camping professionals, everything was done correctly: one end of the tent was tied to the windows of the car, and on the other side we attached it to the trees.
It turned out like a visor stretching from the roof of the car to the side. This created a temporary protection of 3 square meters from the water pouring from the sky.
Streams of water flowed down his face from his head, his shorts were completely wet, as if they had just come from the pool.

I didn’t think about comfort at all at that moment. Or rather, I thought of it as a goal, as a perspective. Therefore, not paying attention to the downpour, to periodic waterfalls from our temporary canopy, Valera and I continued to harmoniously secure various options for our protection from water and wind:

— we used the awning of one tent as frontal protection, tying it to the canopy visor from above, and pressing it down with stakes from below.
— we set up one tent, having difficulty understanding its design and spending some time arguing about where to attach what.

They took it outside so as not to interfere with the main process: the process of preparing dinner.
They took everything out of the trunk: a box of wine, a box of food. And finally, the queen of the fields - the gas stove.
We began to attach a gas cylinder to it and discovered that we were not given an adapter... Hello ass New Year!

Everything for which this overnight stay was started - this romance of a wild camp and spending the night - it was all in vain. You can’t light a fire on the island, and even if it were possible: where can you get dry firewood during a tropical downpour? There is nothing to eat except raw lamb. What to do?

The answer was obvious - go to a nearby civilized campsite, and it was nearby, a few kilometers away along the beach. Visual memory even reproduced its name - Dundubara

High tide on Fraser Island

Everything was fine: it’s a pity for the time spent installing rain protection, storing things... And we were already ready to admire the ocean at night and fight with wild dingoes...

But the main thing was that the rising ocean was every minute devouring the solid expanse of beach sand, which serves as dear life here.
A few more minutes and we may remain cut off from the civilized world. Without electricity, cellular communications and gas...

Getting ready took 5-10 minutes. They worked silently, harmoniously and without unnecessary conversations - the specificity of the situation affected.

Throwing everything into luggage compartment, we drove in downshift to the beach, where the ocean waves were already in full control, rolling to sand dune which we stood behind. The way back did not have. We were sandwiched on one side by the roaring ocean surf, and on the other by a steep shore... The road back caused me to have multiple gray hairs on my head and more.

When the waves hit the side of the car, and the reverse flow of water washed away the wheels of our Conqueror of the Dunes, it tilted and it seemed that it was about to fall on its side along with us.

Just in case, we put our money and passports in a waterproof bag. The rest... Well, if it happens, the kids on the islands of Micronesia will take it as souvenirs...

And then the engine of our Land Rover stalls... Damn, we said in unison. But we were probably lucky. A few more seconds and we would have been washed away into the open ocean...

The car started up and, pressing the gas pedal to the floor, I drove towards the receding water. Having picked up speed, he began to turn the wheels towards the shore.
The water receded and made it possible to gain additional speed, which allowed us to drive into the bed of a stream, which by chance and luckily happened to be on our way...

After driving along the hard bottom of the stream for several tens of meters, I stopped.
The waves were hitting us here too, but at least we weren’t standing sideways and were quite far from the watershed line.
Over the hill we could see a waving flag - this was the campsite where we were going.

I turned around carefully - it was good that the bottom of the stream was slightly rocky. And he began to wait for the arrival of a big wave. As soon as she hit the front bumper, I turned on second gear and
in low gear with all the blockages rushed towards the sea. Having already reached the beach, I turned left and after 50 meters I saw the desired goal: a path among two dunes leading
up to the campsite...

Yessss..... I could take a breath...
We entered here illegally, but we didn't give a damn. We experienced the elements... Although it rather tested us...

Camping on Fraser Island

The campground gate was closed, but not locked.
We stopped in front of a booth that had a sign explaining that we were on the campsite illegally because we didn't have a reservation.

And for everything to be done according to the law, you need to call and make a reservation. There was also a prehistoric telephone set that ate 50-cent coins.

We had one of these (mostly the money was in 20 and 50 dollar bills.
So, as soon as we waited for an answer at the other end of the line, the person asked to dictate the number to him credit card to withdraw 15 dollars for our legal stay here - the payphone ate the coin and turned off.

We did not grieve and leave here. We parked the car. We set up a wet tent and went to fry meat at a public barbecue.

The lamb was magical as always. After experiencing the elements, wine and a delicious dinner, we fell into our wet sleeping bags like dead men.

The next morning, when we were about to leave - the ocean began to recede and we could go to the beach - a ranger passed us (I was just sitting and watching the 11th episode of Lost, which I downloaded on mainland) and waved his hand welcomingly.

I also saluted him with a bottle of Shiraz. He showed his thumb - like everything is fine and left, without even looking at our permit to Fraser’s campsites, which was tied to the tent...

The whole next day we drove through holes, ruts and tree roots in the depths of the island, getting back to the lakes.
Well, in the afternoon we stopped at a place called Eurong Village where we stopped in advance, without waiting until it got dark.
For overnight accommodation there were already set up tents in the army style, in which there were fixed beds with normal bed linen, a table and chairs.
There was also a toilet and a hot shower, which was very useful. All the fun cost $25 per person.

The next morning we had breakfast with leftover bacon and cheese, melting it all in a frying pan in the public kitchen (the kitchen, refrigerators, cutlery and other utensils are public and are included in the price of the stay).

All other products (sausages, chicken, etc.) looked unappetizing when mixed with melted ice in a large coolbox and were thrown out in the evening.
We took all our junk out of the trunk. They washed it with a hose and stuffed it back into its original place.

Dumps on Fraser Island

The bag of garbage was taken to a specially designated place. It’s worth telling more about this place:

The dump on Fraser Island is a large clearing fenced off by wild Dingo dogs.

To prevent dogs from entering the territory of the garbage dump and, God forbid, from eating something, the only gate is equipped with a system of conductive plates on the ground through which a small, but noticeable current for dogs passes (nothing is done to the machine, but Dingo gives an electric shock, so they don't climb there).

There are a lot of garbage containers in the clearing and that’s it, literally everyone comes and carefully puts it away: metal in one group, glass in another, organics in a third group of containers.
All that remains is to applaud the people who do not litter the place where they rest. I respect local tourists for this, remembering my dacha in Zhostovo, where savages come in cars for the weekend and we, local residents, then you have to collect garbage for them in the forest.

Dingo dogs

After that, as the sun began to appear, we went to sunbathe on Lake Mackenzie.
And there I saw a curious picture: I have Dingo dogs Free access to the beach - it is not fenced.
And then one of the young dogs busily ran along the beach past us. Of course, everyone began to grab their cameras, mothers lined up their children next to them...
But Dingo, not paying attention to the movements of the tourists, began to busily sniff the bags standing on the sand.

She smelled something in one pile and stuck her muzzle into the bag. A woman sitting on a blanket nearby jumped to her feet and began waving a towel at the dog, but Dingo, not paying attention to her, pulled breakfast out of the bag and swallowed it. Then she grabbed a leather handbag lying nearby and ran away with it in her teeth. The woman ran after her along the beach and disappeared from view. About 10 minutes later she arrived upset and without her purse. From which I concluded that everything was gone (as I understood the money and documents) completely.