Our last day today. We had booked the 10:00am ferry back to River Heads. We packed our bags and had breakfast then put our bags in the luggage room ready to go on the luggage truck for the ferry.
We went down to the Jetty and had a walk along the beach and waited for the ferry. The tip back to the mainland took 45 minutes and we were shuttled from the barge up to where the car was. We headed home, stopped at Tiaro butcher for some meat and then Gympie for lunch. We were home at around 3:00pm
We unpacked, sorted out the washing and Mick answered the loads of phone calls he had while we were away. Another early night and the holiday is over 🙁
Today we are off on our 4WD adventure with a full day tour called the Beauty Spots tour.
We went to the breakfast buffet for an early breakfast, as we have to meet the 4WD coach at 7:50 in the village square. We packed a small back pack with a change of clothes ( we wore our togs), beach towels and water bottles.
We met our guide Peter Meyer and we were off. Not long into the trip the bus decided it was too hot for the AC and it decided to just blow hot air at us 🙁 NOT GOOD!! Peter arranged to swap the bus over when we got to the eastern side of the island. We got to the eastern beach and Peter gave us the option of going 5 minutes up the beach with him, or to stay where we were and have a paddle in the ocean . We all decided that the water looked great. There were some nice little trees up on the dunes that provided some shade too. I lay my towel out under a tree and had a relax. We also had a paddle in the water up to about knee height. It was lovely and cool without being cold. It was not long, and Peter returned with a bigger 40 seater bus and we headed further up the beach to Eli Creek.
We had a nice morning tea and a good 40 minutes at Eli Creek. Eli Creek is a fresh water creek that runs at about walking speed from the middle of the island to the sea. We walked about 100m on a boardwalk and then down stairs into the FREEZING cold water. You could then float all the way to the sea. I didn’t get right in as it was too cold for me. So I just walked down the creek.
It was nice to have a hot cup of tea after the cold water.
Back on the bus and we traveled further up the beach to see the coloured sands and the wreck of the Maheno.
Travelling south again we were given the option of a 15 min joy flight in a small plane that takes off and lands on the beach. Mick and I decided against that and stayed on the bus, although 6 of our group did the flight and said it was great views.
Our lunch stop was at the Eurong Beach resort and was a full buffet lunch.. After lunch we traveled back through the forest and stopped for a walk through the forest on a boardwalk, while Peter explained the different plants of the forest. Back on the bus and on to a 90 mins stop at the most beautiful Lake Mackenzie. Lake Mackenzie is also fresh water and was crystal clear and beautifully warm. It was lovely just floating around.
We had afternoon tea of tea, coffee and biscuits again and we were delivered back to the resort at 4:30pm.
After a nice warm shower and we decided on an early dinner and watched some TV before turning in after a lovely day.
With absolutely NOTHING planned today we had a super lazy day just hanging about the resort. Breakfast, a swim, a nap, lunch, another dip in the pool, and another nap was about the extent of the day 🙂
Tonight we had our included sunset prawn platter and a bottle of wine at the Jetty hut on the beach. We walked down at 6:40pm and collected our platter and watched as the sun set over the water. Thanks to a slightly cloudy day, we were treated to a pretty magnificent coloured sky.
A bit of TV and we were ready for our full day sightseeing tour tomorrow.
We are off early this morning heading to Hervey Bay to catch a 9:00 ferry to Fraser Island for a long weekend at the Kingfisher Bay Resort. I managed to get a good deal through one of the daily deals sites and we have 3 nights with the ferry transfer and a sunset prawn platter with a bottle of wine included for the reasonable price of $399.
We left home at 4.45 am and made it to River Heads in plenty of time to lock the car in the secure parking area and hop on the shuttle bus down to the ferry barge for the 45 minute trip across the Great Sandy Strait to Fraser Island. Our luggage was loaded onto a small truck and taken on the barge and will be delivered directly to our room shortly after we arrive
Once we were on the Island a shuttle “train” collected us from the jetty and took us to the main reception lobby to check in. We were lucky to have our room ready immediately, so went to get out of the heat and wait for the porter to bring our bags. After unpacking we headed out to explore the resort and found the village square and bought some milk and coke for drinks. Then down to the beach and the Sand Bar for a pizza lunch. After lunch, we walked back to the resort and booked for dinner at the Maheno restaurant and also make our booking for the buffet breakfast in the morning.
As it was so hot we went back to the room and just enjoyed the air conditioning and the view from our balcony across a little pond and out to the ocean.
We had booked dinner for 6:00pm and lovely meals of eye fillet and chicken which we shared. After the early start, we turned in for a good nights sleep.
