Monday 15 January 2007

4x4 in the jungle

On January 9th, 10th, and 11th, I did a camping & 4x4 tour of Fraser Island with my brother Paul and his wife Jacqui. This is the largest sand island in the world (all the forests rest upon sand and the mountains are simply made of sand). It's the jewel of Australia's National Park system, and a World Heritage Site. There are only a couple of tiny villages there (including "Happy Valley", which has streets of...you guessed it: deep sand), and not much else.

4x4 in the jungle, originally uploaded by metajeff.

Here I am at the wheel of our trusty Toyota T100 in the middle of the island. Notice the sand. I still have some in my shorts. The roads were all deeply rutted...sand. It was a blast to bounce through great big holes, grinding through the deep stuff in 2nd gear. It was so rough that we broke a few eggs and a bottle of beer that were in our eskie (that australian for "cooler"). Now that's bumpy. It was so much fun that my brother now wants to trade his sensible grey econobox in for a jeep.

A highly recommended part of the world.

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