Fraser Island to the Outback

Fraser Island is situated to the far southern extremities of the Great Barrier Reef. In order to gain access to this World Heritage site, you must take an approximate 45 minute ferry ride. This island is the largest sand island in the world. Our accommodations were overlooking an inland lagoon with views of the sea, and seeing the sunset with yet another bottle of wine, was the order of the day. Once again I have been overwhelmed by the different and much varied bird species. We did take a guided bird walk with one of the rangers, but quite frankly we discovered more on our own, as our guide admittedly said, she was not very knowledgeable on the subject of birds and didn’t know what “ornithology” was. On the contrary, the walk along the beach with yet another park ranger was fascinating and his extensive knowledge and enthusiasm was both refreshing and energizing. Our self guided walk up to lookout point and along another secluded beach was intriguing; despite having to be on the constant look for snakes and dingoes. We didn’t see any dingoes but we were constantly reminded by signs to keep our small children close at hand and if approached not to back down, stand your full length, stare them down and not run, but to be prepared to fight for your life.
We have been starting to second guess ourselves on the decision to drive the east coast because of the vast distances and frankly the scenery has been somewhat disappointing due to the fact that the main roads don’t follow the coastline and if we were to take the secondary routes, it would take forever to reach our next destination. Had we changed our method of transport though, we would never have realized the vastness of this country, as we have only sipped a thimble full out of the wine bottle. We would also have never seen the outback and had the wonderful opportunity of being hosted by a 5^th generation female cattle rancher on a 5500 acre farm with over 1200 beef. Our stay in our own little cabin paradise, on a creek (small river really) with thousands of birds and kangaroos to boot, was restful and relaxing with the warm breezes blowing through the doors and windows at night. I was intrigued by the windmills and irrigation systems and our trip into town and the local pub for dinner, with the local gentry in attendance, was very interesting to say the least. The steaks and beer were pretty good too as was the wine. We had some good insight into life on the farm in Australia, with our hostess Niki taking us on a farm tour the following morning. She had left her three month old daughter with one of the woman farm hands, as her husband Ryan, who also works as a environmental consultant, had to leave at three in the morning and wouldn’t be returning till late the following evening. As at home on the farm, in order to survive, everyone has to diversify and adjust, hence their entry into tourism, Ryan working as a consultant two to three days a week and the adoption of government sponsored land management programs.