AUSTRALIA, Qeensland//Fraser Island 24th July

"Ok guys, don't drive into the ocean and don't feed the dingos. See you in three days"
One minute I am at a punk gig with my 3 uncles and a whole crew of aging rockers, (giggling at the bouncing bald patches of the fans as they bounced up and down in vigorous appreciation of The Saints) the next I am in a bright pink 4x4 with 6 people I've just met bouncing along a sandy track on the world's largest sand dune.
After a couple of weeks of hard core 'family stuff' and the luxury of not having to make any decisions I found myself once again adrift and directionless with only me as a guide. We had a lovely final dinner all together, Kathy cooking up quite a storm for the masses, and everyone began to scatter. My parents to Japan, Tim soon to Beijing, it was time too for me to get back on the road again.

With a few days to kill before I was due back to Sydney I thought I'd follow the enthusiastic recommendations and head over to Fraser Island. Within minutes of my arrival at Hervey Bay I had been recruited to fill the last place in a jeep that was to leave the following morning. Clutching our happy hour 'stubbies' we were all introduced, given a safety briefing, focusing mainly on the disadvantages of damaging the 4x4, and told to wrap up warm because it was going to be freezing.
Bright and early the following morning we elected a driver, piled in and set off for the ferry via a stop at the supermarket to stock up on 3 days worth of food and (yes of course) booze.
3 Koreans, 3 Germans, 2 Irish, 2 Canadians, 1 Italian, 1 American 1 girl from Taiwan and moi. Gears grinding we set off bunny-hopping along the narrow sandy tracks through the woodlanded interior of Fraser Island.
Our first day took us to Lake Wabby. Still, green waters, almost deserted, it was enclosed with forest on one side but had steep sand dunes sweeping down to its banks on the other, down which, if you were not afraid of the cold, could be sprinted to land you with a splash in the otherwise still, crocodile free (I'm promised) water. I was content to take photos and shout encouragement. Tides dictated much of our movements so we set off in good time to reach our camping spot in plenty of time and avoid attempting to erect tents in the sudden darkness that descended at 6.00. The drive to our campsite along the beach was across beautiful wet sands reflecting a sparkling mauve sunset, not surprisingly we set up tents feeling very jovial and a night of festivities commenced...
After a bitterly cold night (thank God I brought 2 sleeping bags) we were up early with the sun in order to pack up and get to the Champagne Pools - large rock pools up the coast - before the tide rose any further and we were stuck for the day. We climbed up Indian Head overlooking the sea and watched dolphins and whales cavorting in the serf. No sharks spotted but we had been assured that plenty were around and the water was very much no-go. So we frolicked (briefly) in the shark-free Champagne Pools and caught some rays before mosying back down the coast stopping to inspect the remains of a 70 year old abandoned ship and multicoloured sand canyons.
We had camping down to a fine art by now and we were set up and fed much more efficiently than the previous night. We were, however, camped in a lonelier spot and our cooking smells attracted some unwelcome guests. I am not proud to reveal that, when it comes to dingos, I am something of a wimp. When the boys were playing football and a hungry female came trotting into camp I am afraid that me and another girl sprang behind the jeep and cowered as the braver girls shooed it away. Throughout the night they became bolder and it took more and more to frighten them off although the camp was then manned by brave boys, happy to demonstrate their heroism.
We spent our final hours on Fraser Island lying on the banks of stunning Lake Mackenzie a huge, glass-like, blue water lake surrounded by fine white sand. Inspired by a tourist brochure we spent an entertaining hour building a cross-dressing sandman called Fred and then spread ourselves on the sand to luxuriate in the sunshine before it was time to catch the ferry back to the mainland.
We returned to our hostel elated and one piece, much relieved to find that we had not done any damage to the 4x4s and delighted to all pile into one rowdy dorm, have the hot showers we'd been fantasising about sleep in real beds under blankets. A wonderful 3 days.