Next stop Fraser Island. Dogs are not allowed on the island so we left Monty with a permanent resident on our campsite who dog sits and set of for our pick up point at Rainbow Beach. 

We had decided to go on one of the organised tours we were able to book at our site and it was certainly the right choice if, like us, you are restricted to one day. It is possible to camp on Fraser Island but that would have involved kennels, permits and so on. It was also sensible from a financial point of view because the tour cost $137 each which included ferry, lunch, coffee and all sightseeing whereas if we had visited independently the ferry alone would have been $160.

 John picked us up in the 4WD bus which held about 40 people and told us he was our guide for the day and gave us a bit of a run down on the structure of our day then we were on the barge for the 20 minute crossing.
It was a bit of a grey day which was not great for photos but good for trooping around as we did not have to worry too much about hats and other paraphernalia required on a sunny day in Australia.  

The bus drove quite quickly over 20km of golden beach as we all kept a keen eye out for dingoes, then took a track inland to the resort where we were to start with coffee and muffins. John was strict with the timing with forfeits in place for anyone late back to the bus and it became apparent how important it was for everyone to stick to the schedule as the day unfolded. So, 20 minute coffee break then back on the bus over bumpy sand tracks through the tall trees on the outer edges of the island. These trees were used for logging unbelievably right up until 1991 when Fraser Island became World Heritage listed. The best trees for the industry were the huge Satinay trees, luckily they were only chopped down if they were perfectly straight so they are still some huge ones left that were a bit too bent or twisted to be of any use to the loggers. I cannot imagine how these enormous trees were cut down in the early days with only hand saws available then dragged through the bumpy tracks and along the beach to be loaded onto rafts headed for the mainland. I can only assume each tree fetched a large amount of money!

 The bus stopped at Lake McKenzie, which was glorious, turquoise water and pure white sand. Lake McKenzie is a perched lake, formed when organic matter has settled in a sand crater and formed a seal which prevents the water from disappearing through the sand. The water is crystal clear and feels soft somehow and your skin feels soft too when you have swum in it. We were allocated 50 minutes here then back to the bus stopping only to marvel at the huge dingo proof fence around the eating area for the little camping spots dotted around (also fenced). The fencing disappointed Ian who has camped here in the past before Health and Safety reared its head but I think I would be happier knowing I wasn't going to be sharing my sleeping bag with a dingo.

 Back on the bus over really bumpy terrain this time, the trees changed as we approached Central Station and the sub tropical rain forest. The changing botany of the island is incredible, it is only a small sand island but the trees differ markedly as you head towards the centre. There are over 40 lakes on the island and it is home to over half the world's perched lakes and there are also numerous creeks which flow out into the sea.
The walk through the rainforest was my favourite part of the day. It was beautiful and so green it made your eyes hurt, the staghorn ferns were the biggest I have ever seen but oddly we did not see any birds, quite a few funnel web spider holes but no birds. 
The whistle stop tour continued with lunch back at the resort, John announced this with, "it is an all you can eat buffet so you backpackers on a budget who have been living on noodles for months take note I said ALL YOU CAN EAT".

 They certainly took him seriously, one slender girl was finishing her third plateful when it was time to get back on the bus and climbed aboard munching a fistful of bread rolls!
We took in the coloured sands, the wreck of the SS Meheno beached in 1935 and drifted down a creek to the sea then back along the 20kms of beach looking for dingoes (we didn't see a single one) and onto the barge for home. A fantastic day out, I would highly recommend it.