allfourfun

Leaving Fraser was mildly stressful. Not because we’d have to reintegrate with society or retrain our bathroom techniques. It was stressful for the recent memory of being bogged in soft, deep sand on our way over to Fraser. The sandy entry point to the barge that departs from Inskip has claimed a few victims over the years. Without boring you with the details, I’ll simply leave you the photo and let you ponder our recovery. Making matters worse, our low ride run up the beach was delayed making for a anxious few hours driving along Fraser as the tide closed in.. I got bogged at Inskip With some skill and a greater degree of luck we actually made it onto bitumen without a hitch (pardon the pun!) and headed straight for the car-spa to wash the sand and salt from our lives, pump the tires up and de-sand as much as possible. We then headed to the hinterland of the Sunshine Coast to stay with my old mate Nicky B and his wife Ado at their beautiful property.  Happy hosts

Glassy waters of Lake Mackenzie A Panorama from our camp Not much prepares you for the sand of Fraser. Its overwhelming. Oh, it’s the biggest sand island in the world you say. Doesn’t help and wont give you the mental fortitude to endure the relentless grains of glass. Inside, underneath and on top of everything you own for the duration of your visit. And for sometime afterwards also. Perhaps that’s why some opt for the resorts that exist on the west side of the island (only for the elderly and soft of course  J ). The weather has been pretty sketchy and we experienced our first night of extreme camping, facing into a few hours of serious terential rain buffeted by gale force winds. Parts of the camper leaked badly and we had to move the kids into the main room to ensure a dry night. As you may have gathered, we have experienced our fair share of rain, and heavy rain at times. Its not until you add strong winds that the water is pushed into the seams and zips. I’d o

Noosa was the sole fixture on the pre-xmas travel schedule where we’d planned to celebrate my good mate Greer’s 40th. We’d booked an Airbnb for the party weekend (thought it might be a stretch asking a baby sitter to ‘meet us at the camp ground’), but had a few days to kill before we checked in. We researched our options on the road north and landed on camping on Noosa North Shore; a 40-mile beach that stretches to Double Island, Rainbow Beach and onto Inskipp - gateway to Fraser Island. Unfortunately we missed the 4.30 check-in. Luckily the party hosts Greer and Dave were kind enough to send us a lifeline and put us up for the night at their awesome home. One night turned into 2 as the heavens opened and the Sunshine Coast got a good soak. Stretches of sunshine allowed for a cracking few days relaxing and paddling in the Noosa River with Greer and the kids, hanging by the pool, watching the cricket and surfing at Tea Tree Bay in Noosa National Park with my great m

On the last morning in Kirra a nice swell arrived and it was great to surf Snapper, even with 300 schoolies and locals. Fortunately the wave is long and can accomodate a large crowd across a huge area so snagging some decent waves was easy enough. Our intention was to extend our stay a few days while the surf was good. We’d done so the previous 2 nights so didn’t foresee a problem with a few additional nights given the number of empty sites in the park. That is until one of the workers lobbed in and informed us that our specific site was booked and ‘long term guests’ (aka more important customers) would be arriving shortly. Great, cheers, hadn’t thought to mention this minor detail the day before. So 2.5 hours later we thanked the staff (!@#$%!) and hit the road on the way to the Sunny Coast.