Since I really wanted to see the blowhole in action we drove back to the blowhole in the morning but it was equally pathetic as the day before. So we headed off and drove to the Illawarra tree top walk. It is a new skywalk in the temperate rainforest of the Southern Highlands. The road which led to it warned that no vehicle over 10 meters should drive on the road. We didn’t know how long we were but I “measured” it with our electrical chord and decided that we were only 9 meters long. We decided it’s a go and Hendrik drove up the mountain as the path got narrower and narrower. At the most sharp, steep bend we had a car behind us and one going the other way towards us so I just held my breath and prayed that we wouldn’t stall because the engine was making gurgling sounds as if it was going to crap out at any second. I don’t know how the engine managed to pull up through the bend, but it did. That was the hardest part of the road and we made it to the treetop walk.

View from the treetop walk

The treetop walk was new and the tracks from the construction of the structure were still very visible so we thought it was pretty ironic that they had signs everywhere saying how they preserve the nature considering they had to rip the nature out. It was nice but it wasn’t worth the money they charged.

We planed to get to Canberra today and had to continue driving. On the way we drove through Gouldburn and saw the big merino which is a type of sheep regarded as having the finest and softest wool. Personally, I thought this was the most impressive big thing we had seen.

big merino

The scenery on the way was beautiful and at one point we drove along this huge valley with sheep and cows grazing in it. We pulled over at the lookout and a sign said it was Lake George. I thought it was funny to see sheep grazing on a lake but apparently it empties and fills on a cyclical basis. It was a very impressive sight, probably more so than it if was filled with water.

Lake George

We found a campsite near Canberra but did not go into the city because it was already evening so we just had a relaxing night.

Our tents in the morning

I was thrilled when I stepped out of the tent to see that it wasn’t raining. I can’t say that it was sunny but at least water wasn’t pelting down. Kirk told us that a few weeks ago it rained for his whole tour and that they got stuck in the sand and everyone had to dig out the bus in the rain, so comparatively we had a much better time.

Our first stop was at the Coloured Sands which were piles of sand with sand that ranged in colour from pale yellow to almost red. It was pretty because at that time we even had some sunshine which lit up the sand. On our way to the next destination we spotted a snake on the middle of the beach. So we all got out to observe it and saw that it had been run over. It was a poisonous water snake which had been washed out to land. We wanted to help it but didn’t know how since we couldn’t touch it. Kirk got a shovel and managed to pick it up and toss it out to sea and the snake swam away, so hopefully it survived.

Captain Kirk rescues snake

We got back on the bus and soon after we saw a dingo, but Kirk wasn’t allowed to let us out of the bus to take pictures because those were the rules. We were glad we at least got to see one wild dingo since Fraser Island is home to the purest breed of dingo in Australia. Our next stop was Lake Wabby which is a lake formed by blown sand that forms a bank which then dams an already existing creek. This is called a barrage lake and Lake Wabby is the only one like it on the island. It has a steep bank which is a sandblow that drops into the lake which we rolled down. It was a cold small lake which I was able to swim across.

Rolling into Lake Wabby

Then it started to rain and we all started the trek back to the bus. At least the rain didn’t last long because we had to walk through a forest. As we were walking a branch of a tree fell a few meters in front of us on the path. Luckily, this time it was not on top of me but it gave me a scare. Inside, the tree was blood red, and bugs crawled all over it.

We had lunch in Central Station which got its name because it was the centre of the logging industry. There was a short boardwalk around the area where there were some neat trees. I thought the trees with holes or ones that were overgrowing with vines were interesting.

Our last activity on the island was Lake Birrabeen and luckily it was sunny.  It is a clear blue lake surrounded by extremely fine white sand. We did not visit Lake Mckenzie which we were a bit sad about, but Kirk assured us that Lake Birrabeen was just as pretty and even more so because it wasn’t overrun by tourists. It was nice being on the beach with only a small group of people and having the whole lake to ourselves. The sand was soft and I polished my earrings until they shined. The water was cold but refreshing and at the end Hendrik and I had to make a run for it and we were the last people on the bus which was not a good thing for the last activity of the tour.

Lake Birrabeen

Then the ferry took us back to the mainland, and we spotted dolphins swimming along the boat and jumping out of the water. Before the bus dropped us off we spotted kangaroos having a feed in the meadow. Kirk pulled over and everyone but a few Aussies, who thought we were silly, got out and started taking pictures. They were the first wild living kangaroos we saw in Australia so we were excited.

I thoroughly enjoyed the tour and I’m glad we didn’t drive because we wouldn’t have gotten any of the commentary which was probably the most interesting part of the tour to learn about the history of the island, the logging, the aboriginals, the animals, and the plants. I would have been really mad if we had spent half a day digging out our vehicle in the rain, though Hendrik still regretted not having a car to speed down the 75 mile beach with.

We were picked up at our campsite in the morning by a huge 4wd green bus and were brought to the ferry which then took us to Fraser Island. It was overcast so we knew it would either be raining shortly or the clouds would break and the sun would shine though, of course we were hoping for the latter. Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world and there is only one very short paved road there so, therefore, you need a 4wd to get around it. The main highway of the island is actually the beach which runs along the whole east coast of the island.

Our bus

We first stopped at the Yidney Rainforest which is the only rainforest on the Island which had not been logged since it was the last one which was supposed to be logged. Logging started in 1863, being initiated by American Jack Piggott and ended in 1991. In 1992 the island became a world heritage site. The rainforest is home to some spectacular plants and trees which our tour guide, Kirk, was excited to talk about. He loved the Island and it seemed that he knew everything about it. He was one of the best tour guides I’ve had on a tour, and he talked non-stop for two days which was impressive. We had a nice walk through a part of the rainforest, but we got eaten by mosquitoes which wasn’t too fun. We were told over and over again to “only leave footprints and only take pictures,” so I didn’t think killing mosquitoes really fell into that motto, but nevertheless I squashed a fair share.

As we rode the bus to the place where we would have lunch the rain started to come down and by the time we were supposed to get out of the bus and have lunch it was pouring. It was the kind of rain that gets you soaked in seconds. We all ran to the restaurant and had a buffet lunch and hoped that this was just a shower, but no such luck, it just kept coming down.  I was really upset because I was really looking forward to relaxing in Eli Creek. Eli Creek is the largest creek on the east coast of the island and you can walk to the top via a boardwalk and then use it as a lazy river to get back. I put my bathing suit on before getting back on the bus just in case.

After lunch we went to 75 mile beach which is the highway and even runway but it’s not good for swimming because of dangerous currents and Tiger sharks. We spent most of our time on Fraser Island driving along this beach. It was still raining and a bit chilly when we got to Eli Creek. I first waded into the clear clean stream with my umbrella and when I reached the top of the boardwalk I really wanted to ride the creek back. My clothes were already damp from the rain so I figured I can either be wet and swim, or I can just be wet, so I went for it. The rest of the group thought I was crazy, but I thought, “Screw you rain, why should you ruin my fun?” One other guy followed as well so there were two of us in the creek. It was very relaxing to lie in the water letting it do with me what it wanted, until I hit a root, which was painful. The water was warm, the surrounding silent, and the pitter patter of the rain on my face didn’t bother me at all. It was one of my favourite moments on the island. The rain was probably a blessing in disguise because our tour guide said that on nice days the creek is jam packed with people, or maybe he was just trying to make me feel better. I was a bit chilly after and moist the whole day, but I would have been moist anyway since I happened to have the seat in the bus under a leak.

Eli Creek

The next stop was the S.S. Maheno wreck which was shipwrecked on the island in 1935 while it was being towed after its retirement. We saw before pictures so we could compare and see the drastic effects of salt water and wind in less than 100 years. We also learned that soon after it became beached a wedding was held on it because it was still a beautiful ship. I thought that was a very original wedding location.

Maheno Wreck

The next site was at the Champagne Pools which on a nice day would be a cool swimming spot and people asked me whether I was going to go for another dip. Because the weather was so bad the waves crashed into the pool and caused too much motion so I thought it looked a bit too dangerous to go swimming since it was really rocky, but I did go for a wade.

Champagne Pools

That night we stayed at a campsite where we had a bbq dinner, played cards, and hoped for a sunny day the next day. We slept in tents but they were permanent tents with wooden floors, double beds, and nightstands so they were comfortable except that I could hear everything outside such as the pop pop pop of the rain on the canvas and worse the loud rainforest birds really early in the morning, so I didn’t sleep too much because of that and because I always have trouble sleeping in new places.

We stopped by Port Douglas in the morning before heading up to Cape Tribulation. Port Douglas is a very cute town with a nice beach and a busy street for shopping. Definitely recommend spending time in Port Douglas rather than Cairns if you’re heading that way and not going SCUBA diving.

Then I had to try driving again since Hendrik was getting scared he’d have to drive the whole way. This time the road was wide and flat and it was a new day so I was less nervous and managed to drive the bus well on the road all the way to the ferry for the crossing to Cape Tribulation. We swapped seats on the ferry since the roads were going to be narrow and windy in Cape Tribulation. It was another scary drive through the northern jungle as we wound our way upwards. As we soon found out there wasn’t too much to do in Cape Tribulation if you don’t feel the need to do lots of hiking and don’t have money to spend on tourist traps such as the 80 dollar zip line through the canopy. Yeah it would be fun but worth it? Probably not.

We went on a few different boardwalks through the rainforest and along the beach. What makes Cape Tribulation such a natural wonder is that the rainforest comes right up to the beach like in movies set on tropical islands. As we walked along the beach heading back to our campsite after doing the mangrove boardwalk (I’ve seen enough mangroves on this trip to last me a lifetime) we saw a man dressed in only what looked like a red diaper. His hair was so wild I couldn’t see his face. We were some distance away because we didn’t want to get too close but this man was throwing sticks at the palm tree in hopes of knocking down a coconut as if he was recreating a scene from “Cast Away.” This was probably the highlight of Cape Tribulation.

Our Britz van compared with others.