Australia Zoo – Fraser Island
Bingo - then there's Dingo and Big Peter Spider crawled into the car.
Since we started to take an interest in Australia, it has been Su's great wish to see Steve Irwin's Zoo, Australia Zoo.
The crocodile hunter's son, Robert Irwin has taken over the crocodile show from his father.
Inside the Zoo, a large arena has been created, with a pool for the crocodiles. They live outside the arena, but have a waterway to the showground. It is reminiscent of the colosseum, with glattdiator combat. There is a camera that follows the crocodile all the way into the arena.
We would prefer to only have pictures of animals on the blog that we have found out in the wild. So that's why not so many are from the Zoo. But a little - we would like to make room for it.
It is a nice Zoo with lots of space for the animals - we really appreciate that. The main theme is the Australian animals, but other continents are also represented.
We drive towards Rainbow Beach where we have to prepare the car for Fraser Island. With Christmas lights in his eyes, Johnny buys some MaxTrax for the car. So now we are a real four-wheel drive that is self-supporting if we get stuck in the sand. (Also has front game and a DeadMan to bury)
Fraser Island- K'gari is the world's largest sand island. There are no asphalt roads, so there is only access with 4-wheel drive. Every boy's dream.
In the parking lot before the ferry, the cars line up and let air out of the tires. When the tire has lower pressure, the contact patch becomes longer and thus does not sink down to get stuck.
The tide table is studied carefully so that we come across when it is low tide.
We will be sailed over with a landing boat, which sets its flap down on the edge of the beach, then you can drive on to the beach from there. We have to reach around the decoration - before the water comes in again. Otherwise, it is not possible to pass. It goes quite well and we reach the east side of the island before the tide really turns.
On the beach you are allowed to drive 80 km/h, so it is a good drive. However, we are not that brave to start with. We'll just have to practice a bit and see what we're up to.
We find a way out to Lake McKenzie - a scenic area. But we are not the only ones with that idea. When we arrive - there is a rush of cars. It is impossible to find a place to park, unfortunately we have to drive on. Then the trip goes along winding uneven roads to Lake Wabby.
Here, on the other hand, there are fewer, so we easily find a parking space.
First stop is the lookout point. Here is really nice.
The sun burns mercilessly, so it seems tempting to go into the shade of the forest and follow the path down to the lake. We have thus reached the warmer climes
After a kilometer through the forest, we come down to the lake. We quickly find out that a sunburn is on its way - if we don't get back in the shade again. However, it shouldn't be that easy...
A Slovak comes over and talks to us. He lives in Sydney and first has to complain about the parliament, the politicians, the politics, the war in Ukraine, Europe, China, etc., etc.. etc... We just stand and smile - while we get more and more brittle in the skin.
We rack our brains to find a way out. How do we get him to stop though? In the end, however, he has caught his breath and we say thank you nicely for the conversation and with our ears ringing with negative words - rush into the shadows.
In the deep quiet of the forest - we find a Goanna. There is just something very special about them.
The trip towards Happy Valley goes along the beach to the north. Out of the corner of our eye we are lucky enough to see a Dingo. First it sniffs around a bit and then gets the movement of a mother and her daughter standing at the water's edge, with their fish feed.
That fish bait looks like a light meal, so it trots briskly across the beach and down towards the two. We can see that they are not completely comfortable with the situation. They go into the water and the dingo follows. We drive over to them and push to scare the dingo away.
Mother and daughter take shelter by our car and thank us for stopping. After sniffing out a larger camp, the dingo is scared away. After this round of "dush with the animals", lunch is eaten on the beach, where we can sit and watch jumping humpback whales in the distance.
The last day on Fraser Island we will spend driving the large scenic route from Eurong to Dilli Valley. It goes 30 km through rainforest, past some lakes and even more rainforest. We stop at Central Station where Johnny is just about to fix the camera. The back door is open and he is standing inside the car.
Um... Johnny... there's a big spider looking at you, says Sus.
And then the panic began to spread. Fortunately in the quiet fun way. The less funny thing is that it sits on the inside of the door, so we can't just close it. Sus asks for his walking stick to bash it down with, but Johnny just wants to get a picture of the monster first. A South African Australian is so nice to come over to us, as he can sense that there is something mysterious brewing.
Well, it's just a Huntsman, he says. They're just big, not dangerous. It's the little ones you should be afraid of, he says with a laugh, and slaps it away with his hands.
We roll on and look at the beautiful forest. Suddenly we see a branch on the road, but it is actually alive. It turns out to be a 1.5 meter python that will cross the road. It's not in a hurry, and we stay there and can't get around it. We drive a little closer and it then decides to put its legs on its neck. Moral of the day: Watch out for the low-flying pedestrians.
Back at our camp, we are preparing dinner - when a dingo comes by and wants to see what is going on in its territory. It is completely relaxed, yawns – and sneaks on when it finds out that we don't serve dinner for the wild animals.
There are heavy fines for feeding dingoes. The authorities just don't want that. Although they look cute, they are predators and a few years ago a pack of dingoes killed a 9-year-old boy, so they should not be used to humans. Protect the animals and look after them - by keeping them wild.
