Agnes Waters to Fraser Island

The trip south to Agnes Waters, once again via the Bruce Hwy seemed to take no time at all, even with the ubiquitous roadworks. A left turn to the east for about 30k and we were at the village of Agnes Waters and the gateway to 1770. This is the spot where, in 1770 (of course), Captain James Cook along with Joseph Banks anchored the Endeavour. We found our camp for the night, a bush camp in town along a sandy track, under the palm trees with the sound of the crashing surf - a place called Workman's Beach. This is a council park with basic facilities but $6 per night - who could complain? Very peaceful, even if the critters were big.

Bustard Bay

A drive to 1770 to the Cook lookout into Bustard Bay, named after they shot a bustard, ate it and said it was the best since leaving England. A farmer in Charleville some weeks ago told us they tasted bloody awful, so they might be an acquired taste (even though the are now protected). Tea rooms were found for delicious smoothies and cake for the afternoon and then back to 1770 for the sunset. It is one of the few places on the eastern seaboard of Australia where the sun sets over water. Good spot for a drink as well.

1770

An early start after a joke with the local rangers at 7:30 am, there to collect our fees, heading via Bundaberg to capture "bundy bear" on instructions from No. 3 son. The road bypassed the Bruce Hwy, through more cane fields and rural properties, though the road was a little bouncy and narrow. Mission accomplished and bundy on board and we continued south to our destination of Hervey Bay. A large, busy town that seemed to have peak hour traffic all day. Rows and rows of shops selling everything imaginable in a strip about 2k long - all the major retailers in a row. Our main interest in being here is it as the jump,off point for Fraser Island, which is planned for Friday (tomorrow). It is the largest sand island in the world and we have heard so much about it from other travelers - the barge leaves at 8:30, bus from accommodation at 7:20 so another early start.

4WD Island transport

Grey sky's and wind for the day and after an uneventful ferry trip we boarded our big 4WD bus and disappeared along the rough sand tracks into the bush. The island has not been logged since the early 1900's (major industry) so the sub tropical Forrest is lush. Speed is limited on the tracks to 30k max but is really much less as the tracks are in a pretty poor state with deep, soft sand. A car and camper van just off the ferry was bogged within 10 minutes and therefore blocking the road for every one. Time wasted and we were playing catch up for the rest of the day.

The highlight of the day for Julia was seeing two humpback whales frolicking off the beach as we drove along, but no dingoes seen. Seeing it was school holidays,there were many campers set up along the dunes, tents, campers, vans with some very intricate set ups - it looks like whole communities had moved in. We were taken to the main attractions of the island over the day, even though the tour was a little rushed. It just takes so much time to get from point to point in the sand. Beautiful clear streams of fresh water,ship wrecks, tall trees, large lakes. It was a full day- not home until nearly 7:00pm, so dinner at an Irish pub capped off a great day. Chatting with our driver and I could see a job opportunity here for a couple of months in the year , just have to get the bus licence.

Saturday and we head inland towards Toowoomba.