Fraser Island, Hervey Bay and Australia Zoo

The trailer is fixed, my phone is fixed and I haven't dropped my toiletries bag into anymore dumpsters...but I did lose ALL OF MY KEYS. Yes, every single key to every lock I have.

Luckily I was "smart" enough to give a copy of most of the keys to the missus, oh and thankfully everything was unlocked when it happened.

So, note to self, after going jetskiing, don't leave your keys in the tray of the ute and ask the missus to go get dinner. Oh, and am I wrong in blaming her for some small part, I mean surely she needs to take some responsibility and check the tray for my stuff before she drives off???

But enough of my mishaps, this is the 2manyjaunts blog not the 2manystuffups blog... well for now anyway.

So what am I going to do for four days without a jetski, while the trailer is repaired. I know, be a good husband and dad and take the girls to Australia Zoo. Surely nothing can go wrong while spending a day around some Crocodiles.... can it?

Nope, I didn't get eaten, or embarrass myself. However, that couldn't be said for my missus. There was a woman that was wearing the exact same clothes as my missus. I thought it was funny to follow her around and sit near her. Apparently that wasn't funny!?!? It seems funny when you do that with your mates at the cricket though. Must be a guy thing.

Talking about guys things, the next guy isn't really a dude. He is the guy that get's his missus to kill spiders and cockroaches at home. He almost jumped half way across the enclosure when a baby croc made its way out of the water. Just wrong. dude, please, grow a pair.

But enough of the family stuff, I've got my trailer back and we're heading to Hervey Bay!

First stop, catching the barge to Fraser Island

Let me just say, the F250 does go a lot better when you remember to put it into 4WD mode though!

We finally made it to our first stop; The Maheno Shipwreck. Built in 1905, the SS Maheno had a regular route between Sydney and Auckland until she was commissioned as a hospital ship in Europe during World War 1. She also served in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. In 1935, she was sold to Japan for scrap. They were being towed to Japan when a cyclonic storm snapped the tow chain and the Maheno drifted helplessly onto Fraser Island's ocean beach. They obviously said screw the ship, let's catch us some whales in Hervey Bay!

We wandered around and in the ship for probably 20 minutes until we come to a sign at the stern end saying "Warning, ship is unstable, stay at least 1.5 metres from the ship at all times". Whoops, with my luck I have no idea how it didn't collapse right on top of me.

Next stop Eli Creek. This is an amazing fresh water crystal clear creek that runs out to sea. It's a must stop place if you're going to Fraser Island. You can walk up this amazing creek while ducking under and climbing over low hanging trees. The following pic simply doesn't do it justice. Think of the water flowing from some imaginary fountain of youth and that's Eli Creek. You've got to see it and walk up it.

With the tide rising fast it was a race to Eurong. We just made it past the rocks on the eastern side as the water was lapping the edge of our tyres. Finally civilization. Coffee! Hot Chips! Wow!

Now heading to Lake Mckenzie, our final stop before we had to get the barge back to the mainland. Time for a swim and relax a bit. Much smaller than the pictures make out, Lake Mckenzie is a small white sand beach on a fresh water lake. Although stained with Tea Trees, looking more like Myall Lake, it was still a refreshing change from "monstering" around the island Griswold style.

Back on the mainland, I had that burning desire to get the jetski out on the bay. It was rough and windy, but hell, I'm on a Kawasaki Ultra 300x!

After a run to Moon Point, we come across a boat a little too far up the sand. I motored over thinking I can hook it up to the back of the 300x and drag him out. But the owner was no where to be found... maybe taken by a Dingo? In any case, I might have needed a couple more 300x's to get this out.

Back "home" and start packing up to head to our next destination tomorrow morning... Yeppoon... Not to be confused with Yep Poo'in, because I normally head there each morning too, along with my other camper friends, but let's not go there.