Travelling Around Australia: Queensland - Cooloola-Tiaro-Fraser Island

14^th June 2011 to 5^th July 2011

It is very hard to describe how stunning the Cooloola Recreation Area is. We arrived at our campsite on Teewah beach on Tuesday 14^th June around noon, after traversing 16 kms on Freshwater Rd which is a sandy track, with long stretches of deep loose sand suitable only for 4WD vehicles. That part of the journey took 40 minutes. The camper trailer survived the journey in fine style. When we got to the beach we travelled another 8 kms to get to the start of the Teewah beach camping area which stretches for 16 kms. We found our perfect site about 8 kms south, right on the beach and only 6 metres from the high tide mark. The weather was divine and stayed that way for whole week we were there with temperatures around 22 degrees everyday and the sun shining brightly.

Teewah beach is a very popular camping area and of course extremely popular for 4WD enthusiasts and fisherman. We were delighted once again to be able to camp on the beach, next to the Pacific Ocean and to witness some stunning sunrises over the ocean, a beautiful full moon rising over the ocean and some of the most stunning starry nights. We were very lucky to spot a pod of dolphins swimming in the ocean and a pod of whales making their way north for the winter. What an amazing site. We also found a sea turtle peeking at us over the rolling surf as we were taking one of our many walks along the beach.

Rainbow Beach which is 24 kms via the road and 32 kms via the beach north of Teewah is a really beautiful seaside destination. It is home to the amazing Carlo Sandblow, the Coloured Sands and the most amazing beach. The sandblow has been formed over thousands of years, covers fifteen hectares and overlooks the stunning coloured sand cliffs. It is a truly beautiful giant sand dune. The Coloured Sands tower over the beach and are sand cliffs with an array of hues and tones. We felt really fortunate to be able to drive along the beach to be able to view these majestic sand cliffs.

The drive along the beach is in itself fascinating. It can only be tackled 2 hours either side of the low tide and many vehicles have met their demise on this journey. One particularly bad spot is the Mudlo Rocks. Even at low tide it can be difficult to traverse. The waves push in over the rocks and you lose sight of them so quickly. We did it at the lowest point of the tide, so weren’t in any trouble, but the local pub at Rainbow Beach has a Rock Toll. Since 2001 they have kept a toll of all vehicles that have been wasted at this point. They also have a pictorial journal of these accidents. It was interesting to look at and a reminder to always take care.

We took the beach route when we went to Rainbow Beach. It is impossible to get all the way around Double Point Island, so we had to take Leisha Track. This track is only about 1km long and when you get to the end it is truly a beautiful sight. The south end of Rainbow Beach has a stunning natural lagoon, with beautiful blue water and soft white sand. We spent a fantastic day here with a picnic, a wine and the Kayak and the boat. We didn’t want to leave.

Near where we camped was Poona Lake, described in the pamphlets as a tea coloured freshwater lake with a white sandy beach. The walk was a 4 km round trip through natural rainforests which was very beautiful and refreshing. But when we got to the lake, we were very disappointed. There was no access to it except via dense scrub and there was certainly no white sand beach. We felt a bit cheated, but the walk was nice and I did get a couple of reflection shots.

After a divine week in the Cooloola area, it was time to move on. Our next destination was Tiaro. This is a quaint country town with a really lovely free camping spot on the Mary River just 25 kms south of Maryborough. Again this area was severely affected by the floods and has only recently recovered. There is limited space here and we were lucky to find a nice flat spot not far from the river. We could see where the floods had been because of the debris in the trees which would have covered the top of our camper trailer and we were probably 3 metres above the river.

We had some fantastic neighbours at this spot. Particularly the Irish couple Bobby and Mary. You probably don’t need me to tell you that when you start having a drink with an Irishman, don’t expect to stop anytime soon. He really was great company, but my head didn’t thank him the next day. Tiaro hasn’t really got any points of interest except for the Historic Hideaway Hotel, which of course we had to visit.

The point of us being in Tiaro was to get all the information, permits etc, we needed in preparation for our 10 day stay on Fraser Island. We also finally found an old wringer at a second-hand dealer, which we really needed to assist us with our washing. These are very hard to come by and we have been searching for months. Luckily for us we only had to pay $40 instead of the $220 asking price in Geelong and we bought a fantastic little camp washing machine for a bargain price of $80 at the local camping store. Our other purchase from the information centre, was a little fire pot made from an old 4kg gas bottle. It is a little gem and means we can have a fire no matter where we stay, using either firewood or heat beads. Perfect for the camp oven or to keep warm at night.

We stayed for 4 nights in Tiaro because it was an ideal spot, and the weather once again was perfect.

FRASER ISLAND. This island is a must see for anyone travelling around Australia. Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world and you must have a 4WD to drive on or around it. There are no sealed roads; only deep sandy, boggy broken up tracks and therefore is a top destination for 4WD vehicles. It is 174 kms long and only 24 kms wide at its widest section. Fraser Island has 250kms of sandy beaches with long uninterrupted sweeps of ocean beach and it offers many challenging spots, some extreme soft tracks and tricky rock negotiations along the beach. We had the Cruiser well prepared for this journey and were never troubled on the beach or on any of the tracks. Although we did have to cross a part of the beach as the tide was coming in. Greg handled the situation well and we were able to enjoy this 4WD experience. One of the scenic drives we took, which takes in a lot of the attractions, including the perched lakes and many of the sand blows, was only 28 kms long, but took us 3 ½ hours to negotiate.

A lot of people visit the island via plane or bus tours or with their 4WD. Fraser offers a variety of accommodation including beach resorts, flats, apartments, cabins, private houses, fenced camping areas and camping on the beach (our elective). There are only 90 permanent residents on the island, but around 250 workers who stay on the island but are not classed as residents.

We camped not far from the Maheno Wreck on the seventy five mile beach which is the quickest route for travelling the length of the island and has lots of attractions along the way. The Maheno was built in 1905 and was first used as a luxury passenger liner and also a hospital during WW1. It was sold as scrap metal to Japan, but when it was being towed northwards in 1935 it was struck by a cyclone. It was irrecoverable and was used as bombing practice during WW11. Three storeys of the original structure are buried beneath the sand. It is still sinking and is in a deteriorating condition, but it makes a great photo opportunity.

This stretch of beach on the Eastern side offers a lot of attractions, including a number of coloured sand formations. They have spectacular colours and look really beautiful particularly as the sun is rising. The Pinnacles, Red Canyon and Cathedral Beach all have these beautiful sand formations. Eli Creek is the largest creek on the Eastern side of Fraser and pours millions of litres of clear freshwater into the ocean every hour. It is a really beautiful spot which has a boardwalk following the creek inland. We took the opportunity to give the Cruiser a bath in this freshwater to get all the salt and sand off it. There are 43 sand blows on Fraser Island in different stages of progression. The Hammerstone Sandblow at Lake Wabby is slowly advancing on the lake. Lake Wabby is the islands deepest lake. Lake McKenzie is the most beautiful, with its blue clear water and white sand. The perched lakes on Fraser are all popular tourist destinations.

The part of Seventy Mile Beach where we camped, near the Maheno Wreck provided us with lots of entertainment as visitors made their way to all the attractions along this part of the island. We saw busloads of tourists, 4WD tourists and plenty of sightseeing planes take off and land right in front of our campsite. And as Fraser is home to the purest strain of Dingo in Australia, we also saw a few of those. We elected not to camp in the fenced off camping areas provided, but instead we camped on the beach. They give you lots of warnings and of course worse case scenarios about the dingoes. A few wandered past our tent during our 10 days here, but we were never bothered by them. We made sure all food scraps were put away, didn’t leave any temptation for them. Pretty much they are naturally frightened of human beings; it is only the people who attempt to feed them or attract their attention who get into trouble. We also found that when fishermen were around on the beach, more dingoes wandered around looking for a feed.

Our last morning, we were entertained by 4 whales heading north. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny and calm day. The sight was magnificent.

Our 10 days on Fraser was fantastic, although the weather wasn’t kind at times; we had really strong South Easterly winds pummelling our camper for a few days, the rest of the time it was warm and sunny. This really was a worthwhile place to visit and we would love to come back another time. Due to the vastness of the camping areas on the beach, we really didn’t meet anyone, but as we were waiting for the barge to get off the island, we talked to plenty of people who had been camping and they all enjoyed their experience as much as we did. Some were back for their second or third visit and others were locals from Hervey Bay who just love visiting the island.

For the last couple of nights we have stayed at Childersto restock food, grog etc. and to wash the Cruiser and camper. It is way too expensive to buy supplies on Fraser; $64.99 for a slab of beer and $2.06 a litre for Diesel. Childers is the site of the very tragic Backpackers Hotel fire; the locals still sadly reflect sadly on this event which took the life of so many young people. They have a memorial site which is visited by the families of those taken. They come from all over to have a reunion, to remember and get comfort from their shared grief.

We are not too sure where to after that but will keep you posted.

Hope you enjoy this small selection of photos. It is so hard to choose which ones to post of the hundreds we take

Cheers till next time.

Carlo Sandblow

Our campsite at Teewah looking towards the beach

Carlo Sandlbow

Our Campsite at Teewah looking from the beach

Coloured Sands at Rainbow Beach

Me Kayaking at Rainbow Beach

Greg Kayaking at Rainbow Beach

The Beautiful sunrise at Teewah beach

The beautiful full moon rising on Teewah Beach

Moon rise again

Reflections on Poon Lake

Our first glimpse of Rainbow Beach after coming off Leisha Track

The remains of a 4WD after coming to grief at Mudlo rocks

Mudlo Rocks on Rainbow Beach

The south end of Rainbow Beach

The next three photos ara an amazing example of natural sand art. I took these photos on the beach in front
of our camp, where a little freshwater creek runs out from the rainforests. These patterns are formed when the high tides reach
the creek and then start running back out with the freshwater. I was mesmerised by these patterns. I took too many of
these photos and have chosen 3 for you. The patterns appear raised, but they are in fact indentations.