On the island, we sped along “roads” that had been formed by the tire tracks of tour caravans, bouncing over mounds of sand, whacking our rears on the hard benches, hitting our heads and each other’s knees, occasionally getting-almost stuck in the sand, and spinning our tires out of deep ruts. “What happens if another car is coming the opposite way?” we asked, as we raced through the bush on a narrow path. “It happens!” our tour guide responded. Somewhere along the way, the lid to the Eskie flew off.
We arrived at our “resort” (one of two on the island), to get changed into our bathing suits, while the others settled in at their campsite. In addition to the motel, the resort boasted a cafeteria-style restaurant, coffee shop, gas station, and store. I hear that the island’s other resort is more of a true resort, but ours was a bit of a misnomer by my mother’s standards—the room had tiled floors, bunk beds (we were glad to find the fourth unoccupied), and a shower that drained directly into the floor—but at that point my mother was glad not to be camping with the rest of our group and she chalked the primitive accommodations up as part of the adventure. It was reasonably clean and reasonably comfortable, regardless of the spiders unlike any we’d seen at home.
When the group returned for us, our tour began. We were to cover several of the 100 freshwater lakes on Fraser Island, as well as some of the ancient rainforests. After some more off-roading, The guide parked the vehicle, and explained we’d take a “short bush walk” to Lake Wabby, a barrage lake formed by moving sand dunes blocking a watercourse, where we could take a swim before taking off for the next site. We were not warned that the “short bush walk” included an endless stretch of sand, with steep small-building-height dunes that we conquered only to reach the top and find ahead of us nothing but more sand dunes. We later learned that the dunes are part of an ever-evolving coastal dune system—the longest and most complete age-sequence of coastal dune systems in the world and that the highest on the island reach 240 meters above sea level. (Thankfully, we did not have to climb that one.) It was extremely hot and there was no shade, the glare from the sand blinding us, our skin burning as we watched.
At one point, my mother, whose bag was being carried by one of our fellow tourists, said “I don’t think I’m going to make it. I’ve never been very athletic, you know.” Our flip-flopped feet sunk into the sand as we struggled up every incline. Eventually we (Mom included) arrived—our calves burning—at a steep slope, at the bottom of which was Lake Wabby, a mirage-like body of blue-green water surrounded on the far side by lush trees. We stretched out somewhat-vertically and tried to keep from sliding, watching others sand-sled down that banks and into the water. The deepest of the lakes, at 11.4 meters, Wabby is inhabited by tiny fish that nibbled my toes as I floated. It was truly an oasis.
Next, we stopped for some photos at Lake Boomanjin. The vegetation and the color of the water made it look more lake-like than many of the island’s others, and it was not conducive to swimming or sunbathing, but being the world’s largest perched lake (covering 190 hectares) made it a must-see from an ecological standpoint.
Both Lake Birrabeen and Lake McKenzie (the more crowded of the two, and formed on a sand dune 100 meters above sea level) had beautiful sandy beaches with clear water, which you would mistake for the oceans in the Caribbean if it weren’t for the trees across the way. In both lakes we took a dip, played in the sand, and got more sun than we needed. We finished up the tour with a walk through the rainforest, enjoying the shade of the towering trees and lush vegetation, all of which grow in the sand—a significant feat made possible by a complex relationship between the sand, sea spray, and the fungi that grows in the sand, supplying nutrients to other plants. Lunches had been picnics with the group, while dinners were at the resort’s restaurant with whoever cared to join us.
