We got the 2pm barge from Fraser Island so we had time to wash the Lestervan in a car wash in Hervey Bay.  After all that beach driving and the inland sand tracks, it needed a good cleaning job for both the sand and the salt water.  Eventually we managed to find an underbody carwash that could fit our 3.1 meter height.  Then we drove to Maryborough for our two night catchup/stockup stay and found a Caravan Park (CP) with an ensuite.  That was a treat after Fraser Island and we also treated ourselves to a belated anniversary dinner at the best restaurant in town.

I was attracted to Maryborough when I read that they have a statute of Mary Poppins in Cherry Tree Lane beside the 135 year old bank building where her creator, PL Travers, was born in 1889.  The bank building is currently covered in scaffolding as it is being renovated to become a Mary Poppins museum.  We were too early for the Mary Poppins Festival, June 23-July 2, which celebrates the art of storytelling.  Maryborough also has a Woolworths and a Bunnings so we had all we needed.

To break the drive to Carnarvon Gorge we stopped at Cania Gorge, thanks to Chris Lowe for the suggestion.  We got in a couple of short walks, late afternoon and in the morning, so got some exercise and enjoyed seeing parts of the gorge and stayed in a nice, quiet CP.  Then we had about a 6 hour drive to Carnarvon Gorge and arrived in time to catch most of the presentation on the gorge given at 5pm every day at Takarakka Bush Resort where we stayed for two nights.  

Carnarvon Gorge has been compared to an oasis in the desert since its rainforest, creeks, cliffs, moss garden, Aboriginal rock art and abundant bird and plant life are in stark contrast to the surrounding dry plains.  With 27 kms of graded walking tracks through the towering cliffs, colored gorges, endemic fan palms and ancient cycads; this place is a walkers paradise and everyone here seems to be doing the walks, and although not all seem well-equipped, all seem to enjoy the scenery.  We followed the general advice given and did the 14 km main gorge walking track to Art Gallery (aboriginal art site), then visited Amphitheatre, and Moss Garden on the way back.  It was a gorgeous sunny day and we enjoyed all that we saw (and photographed!) in the six hours. We then attended an excellant presentation/ slide show on the history and geology of the gorge, as well as info on the walking tracks and tours.

Enjoyed the showers and water at Takarakka but we were reasonably close to our neighbors so we moved for night 3 to the newly opened Sandstone Park, which is located next door and boasts 360 degree views of Carnarvon Gorge and the Great Dividing Range. It only caters for self-sufficient travellers (no water or power), and allows campfires and pets, so is catering for a niche market.

We had another walking day, this time without the sun, and tackled the hardest walk under 20k’s in the gorge – Bolimba Bluff, Class 4, 7.5k’s, 3.5 hours and 200 meters elevation change.  Lots of steps and ladders but we took it slowly and were fine.  Stunning panorama at the top, even on a cloudy day. This area is called ‘The Roof of Queensland’ and ‘The Home of the Rivers’ since many of Australia’s major river systems start here, including the Warrego and the Barcoo which flow into the Murray Darling Basin and Lake Eyre respectively.  After lunch we did the 3k Mickey’s Creek walk so had a reasonable walking day and lucked out as it started raining just when we finished walking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world and it was given world heritage listing in 1992 for its natural diversity.  It sits at the bottom of the Great Barrier Reef and boasts more marine and fish diversity than the reef itself.

After we drove off the barge onto Fraser Island, we charged up the beach for about 40 kms and found a nice camping spot with great beach views. The rain is still with us so we had a relaxing afternoon in the van. We saw a few dingoes on the way along the beach but were in a hurry so didn’t do any photos. In the end those were the only ones we saw. Dingoes are wild, predatory animals and a key wildlife feature of this island. Their conservation is of national significance as they may become one of the purest strains of wild dingo (since they have rarely interbred with domestic or feral dogs). Visitors are encouraged to read an 8 page brochure on how to be dingo-safe and reminded that a 9 yr old boy was killed here by dingoes in 2001. In 2010 a photographer was fined $40,000 and given a 9 month suspended sentence for feeding and attracting dingoes. Those dingoes became aggressive (savaged a child and cornered adults) so they had to be put down. Some campgrounds have dingo proof fences to keep them out. Visitors are advised to never feed them, lock away food and rubbish, walk in groups and carry a stick. Not a good place for a solitary beach jog (or any running). Of course bush walking is a key feature of the Island – should be interesting!

Our time on Fraser Island was intermittently sunny and rainy, lots of rain; but in spite of that we managed some nice walks, mostly on ‘sandblows’ – this means sand blown inland from the coast that engulfs vegetation in its path. The largest is called Knifeblade Sandblow and it stretches 3.5kms inland and advances >1meter each year.  They are interesting and impressive areas. We did a 4 km walk on Kirrar Sandblow and later a 6.5 km walk through Wan’gul Sandblow – it was huge and one could easily imagine being lost in the Simpson or Sahara deserts.

The island features over 100 freshwater lakes and we did some nice walks around a few of them.  Seeing the lakes requires driving inland on what I would call “challenging” 4 WD tracks.  Dick seems to enjoy those drives and does them well.  Even as a passenger I struggled with them!

Managed to find lots of lovely beach campsites and had them to ourselves. Lots of beach driving with our days planned to suit the tide. Some interesting history was learned at the Maheno Wreck – a luxury 420 person passenger liner built in 1905 in Scotland that sailed between NZ & Australia, then became a NZ government hospital ship from 1915-19 (operating in the Med, the English Channel and Australasia caring for >20,000 men), before returning to civilian cross-Tasman passenger services.  It was retired and sold to the Japanese for scrap in 1935.  On the journey to Japan the Maheno broke her tow in a winter cyclone and marooned on Fraser Island.  There is not much left of her now but it is still one of the most popular sights on the island.

Also learned how the island got its name when we visited Central Station, which was once the site of a 16 house village during the timber days, and is now a tourist spot with lots of stories about the history of the island including the story of the shipwreck of the Stirling Castle, which was captained by James Fraser and made famous by his wife, Eliza Fraser, who toured the world telling tales of her survival and his death whilst in the captivity of local aboriginals.

We visited Champagne Pools on a low tide, cloudy day and then on a  high tide, sunny day – looks like two different places.  Enjoyed a nice walk to Indian Head (named by captain Cook because he saw aboriginals there) which features magnificent views up and down the beach.

Some of my impressions from being here are: stunning beach scenery, great walks over the sandblows, and picturesque, private beach camps,  as well as difficult 4 Wheeldriving inland and around some of the beach rocks, and a constant concern about being attacked by dingoes (every toilet door has a new warning sign about dingo-safety).

As we left the island and before we took the barge back to the mainland, we visited Kingfisher Resort which seems to offer a non-camping alternative for people who want to see the island in style.