I arrived very early in Airlie Beach after bus departed from Agnes Water. My cruise will be the next day, so I have a free day to explore the city.
Airlie Beach is a coastal city wedged between the sea and the mountains covered with rainforest. The city is quite small (about 3000 inhabitants) and serves mainly as the marina to visit the famous neighboring islands: the archipelago of the Whitsunday Islands, one of the main tourist destinations in Australia. The archipelago consists of 74 islands and forms part of the Great Barrier Reef.

Airlie Beach

A small part of the Marina

First thing to do for the day, find my backpacker. Relatively easy, since all the backpackers are located on the same street. The Magnum Backpacker is made up of lots of little houses scattered among the trees that give the impression of living inside in the forest.

Magnum Backpacker

Airlie Beach, like most touristic Australian cities also has its lagoon (artificial pool/beach), highly enjoyable when the sun is shining.

Airlie Beach lagoon

After Fraser Island, the next destination was Airlie Beach, the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands archipelago. Since Airlie Beach is 1000 kilometers away (roughly the same distance as Marseille-Lille), and it is not possible to do the whole trip at once, the journey will be divided into a day plus a night bus with a day break in-between at Agnes Water – Town of 1770. The name of the village (1770) is a tribute to Captain Cook who landed the second time on the mainland Australia at this point (his first landing was at Sydney).

The road in front of the backpacker

Once arrived, the local backpackers sent a local minibus to the bus stop to bring us to our respective accommodations and I had the luxury of sleeping alone in a large room for 10 people at 1770 Backpackers.
Agnes Water is a pretty quiet coastal town where there is not much to do. The two main activities are surf lessons (Agnes Water is the most northernly point where you can go surfing on the East Coast, then after, there are crocodiles and dangerous jellyfish) and the “Scooteroos”, a motorbike ride with motorbikes looking like Harley Davidson. The same company also offers a free guided tour in the morning.

View from 1770

I took the guided tour that explains the history of the village and particularly the history of 1770, a village a few kilometers away from Agnes Water. I left the tour just before it ended to enjoy my quiet long stroll along the beach back to Agnes Water.

Beach between 1770 and Agnes Water

Funny vehicle seen during the guided tour

Motivated, I got up early to see the sunrise on the beach, saw some men taking out their rods to fish in such quiet environment.

Sunrise on the beach

After breakfast, we traveled about twenty kilometers to our final destination, Lake Wabb – a lake with very green water and a huge sand dune (very convenient for running and jumping into the lake).

Lake Wabby

After lake Wabby, we had to do a lot of kilometers to get back to the continent. Refilling the tank we realize that a 4×4 consumes a lot of fuel indeed.

Back of the car after 3 days of camping

Fraser Island was the first organized tour of my holiday month around Australia. I did not really know what to expect at the beginning and came pleasantly surprised towards the end of this trip. A lot of young people (mainly European) full of good moods in such great place… What a bliss!

It’s been awhile since the last time I slept in a tent! On one hand is quieter than a backpacker but on the other hand it is less comfortable (especially when you have no mat). I was the first to get up, I went to make a short walk outside when I saw a wild dingo quietly marking its territory around our camp but he went away too fast to take a good photo when he heard me approaching.

Wild Dingo

After a good breakfast, we are back in the 4 × 4, heading towards the first destination of the day which was a small stream of water with an exceptional transparency. Although it was winter, the entire group went swimming, and it was really refreshing ( the best word to describe the place.)

The refreshing stream

Then we spent the rest of the morning heading north to reach the most northernly point, Indian Head. From there, we have a magnificent view of the island and its huge sand dunes. We had also the chance to see a small group of dolphins from a distance.

Looking toward the south from Indian Head

Looking North-West from Indian Head

After Indian Head, we returned back on our tracks and pitched our camps under the mid-afternoon sun near the wreck of the Maheno, a rusty old ship, stranded on the beach. We stayed at the same place for both (late) lunch and dinner.

Cars on the beach

The camp

Maheno wreck

From the camp, going slightly north along the beach, I came to some interesting formations of sand and I also got a glimpse of the vastness of the forest of this island.

Sand formations

Fraser Island forest

After breakfast, we went behind the inn to follow the basic explanations on how to use the 4 wheel drive, and after that, we had to fill our car with all the equipment, personal belongings and food for 8 people for 3 days. It’s amazing how many things you can fit into a 4 × 4 in addition to 8 passengers. Bad luck for those at the back for there was not much room for the. Around 11 am, we departed with four 4 × 4 fully packed rushing for the ferry!

Just before reaching the island, we stopped at a checkpoint where the rangers checked to ensure that everything was in order and that we have the permit to go on the island. They also showed us a big snake lying around ( and which can be quite violent in Australia).

The snake

Our car in the ferry

After 30 minutes of ferry ride, we arrived on Fraser Island, an island formed primarily of sand, 124 km long and 24 kilometers wide, containing several freshwater lakes and covered by tropical forest.
The first to make it onto the sand with the 4 × 4 driving is the Dutch. Fortunately for him, the sand is hard and he can drive fast enough. The first stop after forty kilometers was Lake McKenzie, one of the most famous lakes of the island. The water has an impressive clarity, partly due the fine white sand from the beach and although it is in the middle of winter, the water temperature is relatively pleasant. Then, as you swim in the lake, the very clear water at the beginning becomes suddenly very dark, as the bed became at once very deep. It’s quite impressive yet unsettling at the same time.

Lake McKenzie

After the lake, we spent the rest of the afternoon going north before setting the camp when the sun began to set. As it is wild camping we have to manage with what is in the 4 × 4, everything is present to make a nice dinner in a small clearing about twenty meters from the beach.

Dingo's prints

Tour: http://www.peterpans.com.au/backpacking-holidays-australia/3-day-fraser-island-tag-along-road-trip
Map of the island