High on the bucket list for my Aus adventure was a trip to Fraser Island. At 75 miles long it’s the largest sand island in the world, and I couldn’t wait to get over there and see it for myself. I didn’t know quite what to expect, only knowing that the island’s native aboriginal name is ‘K’gari’, meaning ‘paradise’

But how to get over there without a 4wd? I had 2 options; either renting, or going on an organised tour. Chris and I quickly crossed off the renting option. We had no off road driving experience, knew very little about cars, and had heard plenty of stories about people breaking down in their crappy rentals. However, I’ve never really done the whole organised tour thing either and wasn’t sure if I wanted to.

Anyways, somehow during the researching stage, Wicked Travel managed to rope me into a package deal. I’d be going to Fraser with Palace Adventures on a self-drive 4WD tour with 2 nights camping.

We set off from Next hostel in Hervey Bay with 7 or 8 people to a car (it was pretty cramped), 4 cars in total. You had to be over 21 to drive, which meant there were only about 3 or 4 drivers in each car, I wasn’t complaining!

We got the ferry and within 45 minutes we were on the island!

Straight off we were driving along inland tracks through the rainforest. They were narrow and windy with bumps everywhere. And the guide up front wasn’t holding back which was awesome.

But when it came to my turn I didn’t really grasp how to apply the brakes before the bigger bumps. On one of the worst ones I managed to get the front wheels of the car right up in the air. I think everyone was a bit shaken but the main thing was the ice stayed in the esky and our booze was in one piece.

Paradise

Over 3 days we drove through inland tracks and along 75 mile beach, stopping at points of interest along the way. And as it turns out, Fraser Island was called paradise for a reason. Continue reading →