It was up bright and early on the Saturday morning as our tour bus to Fraser Island left at 6.30am. There were 17 of us on the bus - more of a bussed-up 4WD really. And what a great day we had.. it was super windy on the ferry crossing between the mainland and the Island, but once on Fraser we had a really good run. I loved driving at 80kms on the "highway" - what the locals call the highway is known to most people as the beach. Our driver, Tim, knew so much about Fraser Island it made my head spin. We headed up the east coast of the island and then about half-way up we headed inland making our way towards Lake MacKenzie. It was my 2nd trip to the lake, and it never loses it's appeal - crystal clear fresh water and the whitest sand imaginable. Here are a few shots:
The Ferry Crossing to Fraser Island
Me and Georgina braving the wind
The "highway"
This is the first view you get of Lake MacKenzie as you walk down towards it
The girls at the Lake. From left: Myself, Georgina, Theresa, Shelli, Yvonne, Kerri and Kim. Somehow I managed to miss Jacque who was also there.
Me and my friend Kerri
Just me.. how blue is that water?! Just amazing!
On the way back from the Lake we stopped at a place called "Pile Valley" - we went for a bit of a bushwalk and checked out these Satinay trees - they are massive.
And here is our whole Fraser Island group... we had so much fun and it was really a fantastic day! From left at back: Sterling, Shelli, Martin, Yvonne, Kim, Warren, Aaron, Dave, Georgina, Myself, Geoff, Kerri, Jennifer. In front: Gerard, Jacque, Theresa and Paul. I hope I got everyone's names right - sorry if I misspelled anyone.
We crossed back to the mainland and I lost count of the number of dolphins we saw. How wonderful to see so many! Then we stopped at the Coloured sands for afternoon tea. A quick cuppa and some lamingtons, some photo opportunities and then we were on our way again.
We had to be back at the hotel by 3.30pm so we were rushing a bit to get back. But then we had to quickly get ready for our Farewell dinner - it was a big secret, with only the vaguest of hints as to where we might be going. Some of the girls thought they knew where it was (I had made a guess of my own, but I was completely wrong!) We boarded a bus at 4.30pm and rode out to the little town of Cooroy, inland from Noosa. As we rounded the corner to the town's pub, we were greeting by the sight of a fleet of vintage cars waiting to take us to our destination! Such a fantastic surprise. In my car (a Merc) there was Georgina, Sue M, Claire D and myself. Our driver was Scott and he answered all our questions about the car and anything else we cared to ask. We arrived at a place called "The Plantation" (click to see it) and as we entered the gates you could see paper bags lining both sides of the long driveway - in each bag were pebbles and a tea-light candle. So beautiful - especially as the evening got darker. We were helped out of the car by our driver and then shown into the main house - we could wander around and explore the house. There were drinks and fantastic nibblies brought around on trays. Then we were seated for dinner - the tables were covered with red roses and other flowers in beautiful arrangements and at each achiever's place setting was a cream fringed wrap - another gift. Dinner was wonderful. I got to share the evening with Georgina, Tanya, Theresa, Jayne & Gareth and Dave & Jennifer. Great company and such a fitting end to a wonderful few days. Here's a couple of snaps for you:
The Vintage cars lined up outside the hotel.
The tables waiting for us at dinner. So pretty!
I was pretty slack on the final morning... I didnt take any photos at all, except on my morning walk. Truth be told I was stressing just a little about fitting all my stuff into my suitcase - thankfully SU had provided us with a fantastic overnight bag as our gift waiting for us in our hotel rooms on the Saturday night. And also thankfully my roomie Georgina had helped me out with the packing too, and had organized to carry some of my additional baggage as carry-on luggage. Wow! I sure bought or received a LOT of stuff! That would be in part the legacy of all the shopping that I did. Oh well. If you cant shop on holiday, when can you do it?
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