Fraser day 2

Our tent buddy Daniella woke us at half 5 as she wanted to see the sunrise. We slowly got up and went to sit on the beach for an hour, watching the sun slowly appear. It was rather lovely. We wandered back to the tents at nearly 7am and sat down to have breakfast. Tony, the guide, put on some tunes loud enough to wake everyone else up so by the time we'd finished our bowl of muesli the rest of the group had appeared. We made some sandwiches (salami and ham and lettuce and tomato and mayo) for our lunch before washing up our stuff in the disgusting bowl of washing up water. We filed into the cars and set off for a resort called Happy Valley, five minutes along the beach, to fill up our water bottles as the water had just run out. A few people bought a stupidly expensive coffee from a shop before we all convoyed on to Eli Creek, also known as hangover creek. Tony told us all to bring nothing with us and wear nothing but our swimmers (Aussie language there). We walked along a raised walkway beside the creek for a good 70 metres or more until we walked down some steps and got into the chilly water. It came up to my knees so I lay down and floated along like it was a lazy river. It was shallower at some points so I used my hands to push myself but it was great fun! 

After a couple of goes along the creek Matt and I threw a ball for a bit and I even did some headers (the ball was very light and soft) until it was time to go onto our next destination. There was going to be a stop at the ship wreck but when we drove past it there were at least three buses of tourists so Tony decided to leave that until later. This meant that we stopped for lunch very early (11am). It was at another little resort place with picnic benches where we sat and ate our sarnies.

Before getting back in the cars our car did a swap so that a few of us could drive today. Our German friend Yonas (that's how his name sounded) drove first along the beach on hard sand meaning it wasn't too difficult. We stopped near the very north of the island at the champagne pools which are little pools formed when waves crash over rocks. We parked on the beach and walked up to a viewpoint overlooking the beach before heading down to the pools. I chose to swim in the biggest pool first which happened to be the coldest. There were quite a few fish though. As it was the coldest it meant that the other pool felt very warm when I sat in it. They weren't too deep (I could stand) but were beautifully clear. We had quite a bit of time here so when I felt a little cold I decided to dry off on my towel for half an hour or so. 

Back in the cars it was Matt's turn to drive. He seemed a little nervous but set off okay until we left the beach and went on a soft sand track to reach a beach on the other side of the island. He couldn't get in the track lines quickly enough and therefore ended up being quite far back from the other cars in front. It was only a five minute drive to our next stop but he got warned by Tony that if he can't keep up he can't drive. I felt bad for him as it didn't look easy but other people seemed to be able to do it. 

Where we'd stopped was a place called Indian Head. You walk up to the cliff and look down into the magically clear water. We saw some sharks and eagle rays and dolphins from around 40 metres up. Everyone got rather excited and it was so lovely to see that our group weren't just interested in getting drunk but found all the wildlife incredible (the average age was probably about 20). 

We walked back down to the cars after only around ten minutes. It was still Matt's turn to drive so we climbed back in the cars and set off. We drove along the beach this time so the first bit was okay. After a few minutes we stopped to watch a whale out in the sea. However, after seeing the whale we hit constant soft sand which meant Matt had very little control of the car. He kept automatically going into third gear at points when he needed lots of revs so we all shouted at him in a helpful way. I figured that it's not our car and we're not paying for the fuel so rev as much as you want to. We had to keep up some speed in the soft sand as well so we wouldn't get stuck. It was probably the hardest bit of driving that had been done so far so when we arrived at the ship wreck Matt got a deserved well done from Tony. He also decided he didn't fancy driving again. 

We'd made it to the ship wreck! It was pretty spectacular. Apparently around 65 feet of it is still under the sand and the bit that's still there is only a small part of the front of it. There weren't any casualties with this ship. After it was used as a cruise liner in the early 20th century and then to ferry soldiers in the wars the Aussies used it to test weapons. The reason for this was that the Americans had thrown around a hundred bombs at this ship but it was only hit twice. Either the Americans have bad aim or the ship was decent. So when the Aussies had blown it up the ship washed up on shore and has stayed there for a good many years. The whole group got an nice picture together before it was back in the cars and my turn to drive. I'd learnt from watching Matt so I stayed in second gear most of the time and I actually loved it! It was so much fun and not as hard as I thought it would be. I didn't have much control but just tried to keep the wheels straight and managed fine. Everyone in the car in front said I was better than the boys so I felt quite chuffed. 

We had a quick stop at Eli Creek again on the way back so people could wash off the sea water before it was back in the cars and I was given strict instructions. We were about to drive through some deep water (the tide was quite high) so I had to keep very close to Tony's car and go as soon as he did, not leave it ten seconds because he would go when the waves were out. I did as he said and got across fine but the two cars behind didn't move. Someone had left something so ran back for it making Tony a little pissed off. He then had to get out of his car and tell them when to cross so it was safe. I secretly felt a little smug. 

I drove to the Happy Valley resort again so we could get some more water but I realised when we stopped that I must have been nervous because I was a little shaky. Matt noticed that I was nervous when I was driving because I wouldn't stop talking. Verbal diarrhoea as my mummy would say. I'd done a good bit of driving now and I wanted Yonas to drive in the soft sand so I let him drive back to the campsite. 

For tea tonight it was herb, garlic and beef sausages with potatoes and red onions all cooked on the barbie finished off with some ice berg lettuce and spicy mayo. Delicious! We didn't eat all of our sausages so saved some for sandwiches tomorrow. When I'd been barbecuing I'd spoken to a girl that felt very homesick. She'd only been away two weeks but she had a year still to go which was probably the daunting thing. I noticed that she'd disappeared when I'd finished eating so Daniella and I went to find her. She was sat on the beach crying. After a hug I started talking about random shit to take her mind off home and it worked! She was laughing after a few minutes. We spoke about TV programs (she was English) and where we'd been so far. After a while Matt joined in and brought some alcohol with him. We had different people join in conversations at different points which was rather lovely. When it got to 9pm I decided it was time for bed as I'd been up early so said goodnight.