Ignorance is bliss... in Fraser Island

Our next destination in Australia was Rainbow Beach where young, overexcited backpackers seemed to be crammed into hostels like sticky jellybeans in a jar. Like us, they were probably excited about visiting the nearby Fraser Island: the largest sandy beach island in the world. We personally had no idea what to expect, but knew it was one of the highlights of the East Coast.

With a 2 day excursion already booked, we hopped on to what can only be described as a 4x4, military monster of a machine that took us on a short ferry ride to paradise. We drove around the island watching the transparent tide spilling onto the dough-like sand until it started to look like a video playing on loop. The fact that nobody was in the crystal clear water, owing to sharks having impeccable taste when it comes to choosing where to breed, only added to this sense of paradisiacal monotony. My sleep-deprived eyes feeling heavier by the minute, I was actually grateful for the change of scenery as we drove through the tranquil, subtropical rainforest.

Our first stop was the beautiful Lake Mckenzie, a fresh-water pool surrounded by fine, powdery white sand. The shallow bright turquoise of the lake gradually turns into a deep navy blue, like a huge tye-dye sari laid out on the beach. And the best part is that not only can you swim in the water, but you can actually drink it! And with sand that can be used to exfoliate skin and even brush teeth (before my family of dentists gasp in horror, don’t worry… I didn’t try the latter), it was the kind of place you could spend forever in. It’s a shame we only had an hour before the Wanggoolba Creek boardwalk, a stroll that's worth it for the photos alone.

Rewarded with lunch, which was embarrassingly one of the highlights for us after almost a week of food cooked in a campervan, the guide took us on a trek across Hammerstone Sandblow a huge sand dune. As we walked along the top, I remember thinking ‘this must be what it’s like to walk through a mountain of sherbet’. It’s one of those sensations you long for, long after the event. But the biggest treat of all was the glistening gem at the bottom of the dune: Lake Wabby, this time a deep emerald green basin of fresh-water complete with tiny fish that give you the kind of pedicure that costs money back home. The guide talked extensively about the indigenous people of Fraser Island, the Butchulla, and how the Europeans had slowly taken away their home. We listened intently, thirsty for information about the island’s cruel past... I am sure I would have learned more at school if my history lessons had taken place in a lake.

As the sun went down, the cold crept in, and this was perhaps the only reason we left to go back to the hotel. After a hot shower, warm food and cold drinks we slept like babies in a huge double bed, blissfully unaware that the next day held nothing in store for us but heavy rain and a broken bus. Sometimes it’s better not to know…

Guess what I found out in Fraser Island?

1. The Butchulla people’s original name for what we know today as Fraser Island was K’gari, which means paradise. Colonization by Europeans settlers caused great conflicts between the two, as the Europeans just didn’t understand how to respect the land. Land was cleared and agricultural practices established which in turn disturbed the natural supply of food cycles of the native people. Most of the Butchulla died and the last of the Aboriginals were “relocated” by the Europeans to Cairns and Brisbane. They obviously had a lot of difficulty coping with the change in lifestyle.

2. Fraser Island is now home to the Dingo, a wild dog that is perhaps in danger of becoming extinct. The dingoes on Fraser Island are a pure breed, and "ordinary" dogs are therefore not allowed on the island as cross breeding needs to be prevented.

3. Fraser Island is home to over 100 fresh water lakes, and a lot of them can be seen via a scenic plane ride. The island is one of two places in the world where aircraft can take off from the actual beach.