(Can you find the 6 Christmas trees in the pictures on the right ?)
Being the southern hemisphere we decided to do something for Christmas that you can't do in Canada - camp on the beach ! So Christmas Eve the 4 A's (Andrea Annika Al and Andy) hired a 4x4 and caught the ferry over to Fraser Island - the largest sand island in the world.
We spent the first day on the lumpy inland tracks through the rainforests on the island. At an old logging area called Central Station we took a short walk along Wangoolba creek where the sand- filtered water is so clear that at first you think the sand on the bottom is actually floating on top.
On Christmas Eve, we camped in a little campground near Lake Mackenzie (a "perched" lake) and had a lovely evening around the camp fire singing and making up Aussie Christmas carols and sipping Glugg - "a yummy in your tummy" mulled wine which Annika brought from over from Sweden.
We woke to the sounds of the laughing kookaburra in the morning and an international assortment
of presents under our little inflatable christmas tree !
We brought the tree everywhere with us that day - floating down streams, swimming at the lake
and waving to people passing by. As we drove about the island we would occasionally
come across other 4x4's that were either decorated with garland or full of santa hats. It was very festive.
After a quick dip into the cool waters of Lake Mackenzie on Christmas morning, we climbed into
the jeep and headed for Lake Wabby where we hiked across the expansive dunes that are slowly
engulfing it. We had lots of fun running and jumping off the edge of the dunes and making sand
angels. The making of sand angels is not as pleasant as snow angels but is still fun. Luckily we
were able to take clean off and take a dip into the clear waters of Lake Wabby for a refreshing swim.
We then hit 75-mile beach for a smoother and long drive between sand cliffs and roaring
surf up to the northern portions of the island. Some of the tracks around the headlands were
really soft and we saw some people get "bogged". (One vehicle had to be towed off the island -
an exercise that could cost in the thousands of dollars !)
For our second night we found a spot in the trees right on the beach. With the tides, however,
that meant that in the morning we had to wait until noon before there was enough beach to
drive on. This forced relaxation time was quietly spent reading, snoozing, sketching, hiking up the
nearby dunes and "skiing" down them, and watching the waves roll in and the occasional dingos pass by.
Our third day we slowly made our way back down and across the island to catch the late
afternoon ferry back to the mainland and smooth roads! It was a wonderful way to spend a traditional Aussie Christmas - on the beach!
(Some of these pictures were taken by Annika and Al, some by us.)
