Fraser Island Part I | Cool Dingo Tours

Fraser Island is the world’s largest sand island and a stop off along Australia’s east coast that shouldn’t be missed.

So Alice and I booked onto the Cool Dingo Tour and were picked up promptly at 7:50am from the Rainbow Beach tourist office.

The coach drove us to the ferry pick-up and after a very quick journey across the sea we reached Fraser Island. Our first stop off was at Eurong Bay Resort for morning tea (something I was looking forward to – I was starving!) but the journey there wasn’t exactly smooth. It makes sense to think that if you’re driving across sand then it’s going to be a bumpy ride, but although Alice and I knew this, we were still surprised to find out just how bumpy it was. We were practically jumping out of our seats!

Morning tea consisted of a selection of hot drinks (your typical choices) along with freshly baked muffins and packets of Arnott’s biscuits. Being a backpacker means that whenever you’re presented with free food, you take full advantage. And that’s exactly what I did. 😳 Two muffins, a cuppa and four packets of biscuits (I took three for the road guys, chill) and we were off again.

Our next stop was Lake McKenzie where Alice and I would be transferred to the bright pink Cool Dingo’s Tour bus.

We had well over two hours to enjoy the lake and it was absolutely beautiful. It’s a natural lake and the water is so pure that it’s actually unsuitable for many species. The sand around it is also pure and made of silica which means it is perfect for exfoliating.

After exfoliating my skin and soaking my hair in the oh-so-pure water, my whole body felt amazing. It’s crazy but I swear my hair was the silkiest it has ever been – where can I get me some pure water from?!

Our bus arrived and we joined the rest of our tour group (they had all been picked up from Hervey Bay). Lunch was filling and tasty: rolls with various meats and salads, chicken wings and orange juice.

We then all piled on to the coach and headed for Basin Lake. What I loved about Cool Dingo was that there was always a healthy supply of chocolate chip cookies, apples and cereal bars as soon as we boarded the vehicle. It’s safe to say that I fully indulged myself (and quite possibly put on a few pounds) during my stay on Fraser Island.

We had a short ten-minute walk through the rainforest to Basin Lake. Basin Lake was another one of Fraser’s prettiest lakes but unfortunately the water had started to kill the animals that lived in it so swimming in there was a definite no-no.

After seeing Basin Lake, we were given the chance to go on a short walk to Central Station. This was the first of two possible walks for the day and Alice and I opted to go on the second one which was supposed to be more scenic. So off a handful of us went while the rest of us (the lazy ones) hopped back on the bus and were driven to Central Station instead.

Central Station was really peaceful and quiet and our guide Tom had a lot of interesting information to tell us. We also learnt a hell of a lot about different types of trees (not sarcasm, I was genuinely interested).

The second, longer walk was through Wanggoolba Creek and Pile Valley which almost all of us went on. It was tranquil and pretty but to be honest I didn’t think much of the creek. Perhaps it’s because of the weather or because I wasn’t that observant but I was kinda expecting a bit more.

The tree below has one of the largest trunks. Our good old tour guide Tom told us that it takes five grown adults to fit around the trunk and hold hands.

Tea and cookies met us after the walk. The cookies were so good and I probably had one too many but hey, it’s only for a couple of days…

Tom then drove us to the beach to watch the sunset before dinner back at our resort. This wasn’t in the tour itinerary so I’m grateful to Tom for taking us.

We walked along the jetty and waited for the sun to set. Though cloudy, it was beautiful.

Dinner was buffet-style and I tried a bit of everything. Though the food wasn’t amazing (or incredibly tasty for that matter), it was such a nice change to not have to cook for ourselves and to actually have a choice.

Accommodation was in lodges with four to a room and about three or four rooms to a lodge. We had our own kitchen area and dining table, including a kettle and a fridge which proved to be handy. The only bad thing about the rooms was that there were only two plug sockets. How ridiculous was that when there were four people in the room?!

Despite these minor issues, the first day of our tour was certainly enjoyable – and I’m not just talking about the food!

Look our for Fraser Island Part II next week!

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