Speaking of fun, we had a fun-filled day yesterday on Fraser Island. If you know us well, you know we are NOT tour people, but to see Fraser Island you really must be on some sort of tour~hard to explain why...just take my word for it. Unable to handle even the thought of a bus filled to capacity with 48 folks~schlepping us around, we hired a Hummer complete with an adorable Aussie named Neil for the day.
Here I am with "our" Hummer and Neil:
But I am ahead of myself...We caught the 8:00 a.m. BARGE across Hervey Bay to Fraser Island with Neil and two other people~an adorable young couple, Jenn~a Brit, and Stewart~an Irishman, from England on their honeymoon. Their TEN-month-long honeymoon. You read it right! Sounds dreamy, doesn't it?
The barge was just that. A basic barge filled with dozens of extremely excited schoolchildren on a field trip. We crouched in a corner and wondered what we had gotten ourselves into. Neil (notice the first name basis?) drove us off the barge and into the rainforest where he instructed us to take the path by foot through the rainforest and he would meet us at the other end (a 40-minute walk) with a surprise. It was glorious. Both the walk and the surprise. We were met at the other end by a beautifully set picnic table with coffee, tea, a generous slice of divine chocolate cake, and cookies. We took off again and to our surprise, Neil drove right off the "tracks" (for that's what they were~no real roads on the island) and kept going onto the wide expanse of beach where we rocketed down the sand for many miles~all the while being entertained by Neil and his storytelling: The history of the island is fascinating, as is the ride down the beach; seaplanes landing in front of us, posted mileage-per-hour signs, and dingo warnings.
We stopped and saw the sights along the way~a freshwater creek, Lake McKenzie where the sand is rumored to cure-all, and colored sand dunes. Lunchtime found us in another camp-type setting, where we drove right past a passive dingo sitting under a tree near some folks. He didn't look anything like the picture at left. More like a mild-mannered golden retriever. But apparently, you are not to be lulled into complacency with these wild creatures. There are warnings everywhere on the island.
We poured out of the Hummer and Jenn took off first to use the restroom. SCREAM. COMING FROM JENN. She came running, doing the dance of the terrified, unable to speak. Finally...snake...snake...snake...was all she could manage. Earlier in the day, Jenn and I had bonded over our shared phobia of snakes and although I felt so bad for her now, I secretly felt validated/vindicated when I saw this sophisticated English woman hopping up and down in terror. Apparently, a rather LARGE python was sunning itself at the entrance to the ladies room. I said a little prayer that I had decided to eat first and then use the facilities later. And I shared all these feelings with Jenn later. Because. Well, just because. That is me.
Neil went to investigate and came back to report that it was "just" a carpet python. Oh, that made us feel SO much better. They aren't poisonous, they just SQUEEZE you to death. Lovely.
On that note, Neil cracked open the Australian wine and we all agreed that Jenn needed to be served first. She downed two glasses and by the end of our lovely lunch in individual wicker baskets filled with sandwiches, fruits, more sweets, and beer, red and white wine, we were laughing and exchanging stories about drinking games. Okay. Mike and I were just listening. Apparently, this is a shared Aussie/British/Irish thing. Proper behavior be damned when one of you has almost stepped on a python the size of a Buick.
We made our way back to the barge at the end of the day, and as it was lightly raining and we couldn't face the raucous students all the way back on the barge trip, Neil served us Champagne with strawberries and chocolate in the Hummer on the barge trip, and we toasted and laughed our way back to the mainland. Jenn confessed that their families thought they were "mad" to be on this long around-the-world trip right after their wedding with no jobs on the horizon. I told them I thought it was the perfect thing to be doing. I hope Jenn and Stewart have a wonderful life!
