Monday, April 12, 2010

Fraser Island

Whilst up on the Sunshine Coast we went to Fraser Island, which is the largest sand island in the world. The only way to get to the island is by ferry and once on the island you must take a 4WD to get anywhere. The kids loved the big truck we went around in, and were thrilled to sit in the back row because it was really bumpy, mom and dad were not nearly as excited. Just like every other day we were up at the Sunshine Coast, it rained the day we went to Fraser Island. We found it ironic that every time we got into the truck the rain would lessen and/or stop completely, but once we stepped out of the vehicle for lunch, our swim at Lake McKenzie or our walk into the Red Canyon the rain would begin again with a vengeance.

These are pictures of our rain forest walk.



This is Lake McKenzie (one of over 100 freshwater lakes on the island). The sand was incredibly white and the water was nice and warm. We have no pictures of ourselves at the lake because the minute we got there the rain started pouring down and we all jumped into the water to warm up. The lake is a ‘perched’ lake which means it is completely supplied by rainwater, no ground water or streams feed into this lake. The natural composition of sand and organic materials at the base of the lake, form a special layer preventing the water from draining away. As you can see from this picture the lake has a shallow edge where we were all able to play, but if you go out past the first 10 meters there is steep 8 meter drop. I chose to include these pictures because this is what it would have looked like had it been sunny and that would have been truly awesome.

photo from davidwallphoto.com

photo from wikipedia.com
We were lucky enough to see a dingo along the 75 mile beach road on our way home. These particular dingos are the purest strain found in Australia. Although very dog like, there were 5 attacks on tourists in 2009, so we made sure that Jared (being the baby stayed away)...we didn't want to tell people that "a Dingo ate my baby!"

Red Canyon was beautiful, it's actually just coloured sand. There is no rock at all, and all of the foliage you see is growing out of sand.

6 comments:

Tami said...

Beautiful pictures again! I love the all rainwater lake. Does anything live in that lake? If not, that would be my kind of lake. :-) Sorry it rained on your trip. Looks beautiful!

Melanie said...

Red Canyon looks a bit like Bryce Canyon (except for the part where it is all sand). Looks like a fun trip!

Kim Chapman said...

Looks like a fun trip. You all are quite the adventurers!

Natalie said...

These pictures look very similar to our Cairns pictures! I hope you guys are having fun over there. We miss it already.

~Jason and Heidi~ said...

So pretty. Still laughing at the Dingo comment. I love all the flowers and bird photos. I love all your adventures.

Terri Kofoed said...

Beautiful Family - Beautiful Country! Hurry back so ya'll can wear a Texan Hat!!