|
Who Am I? | Site Map | Music | FAQ | Contact Me |
Hervey Bay and Fraser Island I continued my leisurely drive down the eastern coast the next morning and late that afternoon I pulled into Rockhampton, a pleasant inland city with a population of 50,000. After getting a room at the nice Dreamtime Motel on the outskirts of town, I headed into Rocky, as the locals here call Rockhampton, to buy some groceries. I soon learned, though, that since this was Easter Sunday, all the grocery stores in town were closed. In fact, just about everything was closed in Rocky – and just about everywhere else in Australia – except motels and gas stations. As the gas station attendant told me, things would remain closed for the next few days through Tuesday morning, so I stocked up on his "scrumptious" selection of pretzels, Pepsi, and beef jerky. Not exactly gourmet food, I figured, but it was enough to get me through until Tuesday.
I continued heading down the coast the next morning and around 3 p.m. I reached the city of Hervey Bay. The first thing you learn about Hervey Bay is that it's pronounced "Harvey," like that 1950s Jimmy Stewart movie about the invisible rabbit. The second thing you learn about Hervey Bay is that, for better or worse – mostly worse – the city is a continuous strip of restaurants and motels, reminiscent of so many bland American cities. During the past four months, I'd gotten spoiled by the pleasantly compact and pedestrian-friendly layout of Australian and New Zealand cities. Hervey Bay was an unpleasant reminder of what I could expect in a few weeks when I returned to the U.S.
The reason I was in Hervey Bay, though, wasn't to see Hervey Bay or to see Harvey the Rabbit. Instead, I wanted to visit Fraser Island, which lies just offshore and is accessible by an hour-long ferry ride. I'd heard lots of great things about Fraser Island and it's a very popular vacation destination in Australia. At 75 miles in length, Fraser is the world's largest sand island and there are no paved roads on it, only sandy tracks. You absolutely have to have a four-wheel drive vehicle to get around Fraser Island, but if you don't happen to have one, you can rent one for $50 a day. Or you can do what I did and go on a four-wheel drive bus trip.
I had high hopes of my visit, based on everything I'd heard about Fraser Island. Maybe it was because it was Easter weekend and was crowded, or maybe it was because I was on a bus tour with 50 strangers. But whatever it was, I wasn't totally overwhelmed with Fraser Island – at least, not as much as I was expecting to be, given all the hype I'd heard. Frankly, there are similar places in the U.S., like Cumberland Island in Georgia, that are as interesting if not more so, that don't have all the hype. Still, I enjoyed Fraser Island. It's a unique place and is certainly worth a visit if you're heading down the coast.
 Above left: Here's a typical four-wheel drive truck in Australia. Note the "roo bar" on the front end and the snorkel. Above center: The town of Hervey Bay is the jumping-off point for Fraser Island, the world's largest sand island. I took a day-tour over to Fraser to get a sandy taste of it. Above right: The Fraser Island ferry dropping off another group.
Above left: A freshwater lake on Fraser Island. Above right: Heading out to the beach on Fraser Island.
Above left: Our tour bus on the beach. Above center: Cruising on the beach at 50 miles an hour. Nope, no roundabouts here. Above right: This beautiful freshwater creek was fascinating. You can walk upstream in this creek and then float (or walk) all the way down to the beach.
Above left: Downstream, near the beach. Above right: And at the mouth of the creek. Fraser Island is similar to Cumberland Island in Georgia but larger and with lots of cars (and lots of people). It was interesting and I'm glad I spent a day checking it out.
|
