4WD Training Course

Driving a 4WD is not easy at all there are a lot of things you have to be aware of if you go 4WDing.

Hema Maps MapPatrol

We had the chance to get a 4WD Traing Course from Hema Maps.
We took one of the Map Patrols for the training which took place near Beaudesert about an hour to drive southwest of Brisbane. The MapPatrol is a little different from most other 4WDs, this is because of the data recording equipment and the complete recovery gear on board. This makes the car pretty heavy and sometimes difficult to handle. It takes a little while to get used to it.
However we drove that 'beast' through lots of obstacles and also had the chance to use the snatch strap if there is the need to get somebody out of a bog. We also were taught how to use the winch in case we need to get out of a bog ourselves.
We had a lot of fun and got more experiences in driving a 4WD and hopefully one day we will also have the chance to get out and do some fieldwork with one of the Hema Maps Map Patrols.

Fraser Island

Fraser Island

Just a three hours drive north of Brisbane along the south east coast of Queensland you will find Fraser Island. Fraser Island is the biggest sand island in the world with a length of about 100km and a width of 50km. You can get there by barge with a four wheel drive or you are a keen bushwalker and decide to tackle the island by foot. There are two locations were you can catch a barge. If you take the barge from Inskip Point you will get to the most southern point of the Island or you take the barge from River Heads and you will arrive at the west side of the island at Kingfisher Bay.

Camp Central Station

Fraser has got a lot on offer for nature lovers heaps of different types of landscapes and vegetation types. For example dry sandy and bushy landscapes, lush and green rainforest, wetlands or mangroves.

This time we stayed on Fraser for four days. Fortunately it was off peak season so there were not so many people around and it was easy to get a camp spot where ever we wanted. Every now and then we bumped into one of those huge tour coaches with a bunch of tourists driving around but that didn't bother us.

Lake Birrabeen

The first day took us straight to the sort of middle of the island. We pitched our camp at Central Station campground and decided to stay there for two days because we expected a little bit of rain and wanted to avoid packing and unpacking our stuff in rainy conditions. This campground is in the middle of the rainforest with lots of secluded places to pitch up a tent and enjoy the sounds and beauty of nature.

On the first day we explored Lake Birrabeen which was just about an hour to drive. It has crystal clear water and white sand almost like Lake McKenzie. It was only some kilometres away but because of the sandy tracks it took us that long. It was a lot of bouncing in the car because of the holes in the track. Fortunately our 4WD was in good condition. It had some big tires (also the tire pressure was down to 21psi) and it also had an extra lift kit which made it in some cases quite easy to get over obstacles.

A Welcome Swallow

The next morning we did a walk to Lake Basin. That was just an alternative walk. Originally we wanted to walk to Lake McKenzie but unfortunately the campground as well as the access was closed due to maintenance. We were quite surprised about the beauty of Lake Basin, but no equation to Lake McKenzie.

After a refresh we drove further north along the beach and had a stop at Eli Creek. A crystal clear freshwater creek with a board-walk. When we came back from the walk we were very lucky to spot a humpback whale in the distance jumping out of the water. This time of the year the whales travel from the warmer waters in the north to the south with their calves. That was just great watching them jumping out of the water and splashing back in again.

Shortly after that, just a couple of kilometres further north is the landmark of the shipwreck S.S. Maheno. The luxury passenger ship for Trans-Tasman crossings was being towed from Melbourne when it was caught in a cyclone an drifted ashore and was beached on Fraser Island.

Dingoes

We also saw some Dingoes along the beach. Dingoes were quite common on the island but due to some incidents on the island the government shot quite a few of their population.

Our day trip finished at the amazing rock formation The Pinnacles. Especially in the sun those rocks look like gold. After enjoying the last few sun beams on the beach we headed back to our camp spot at Central Station.

On the next day we packed up and moved further north. We had a look at the Champagne Pools. Those are a formation of rocks washed out of water and the waves are crashing over them. This is the only point you can have a bath along the eastern beach save from the open sea or just stroll around and look out for colourful fish trapped in these natural pools.

Our last campground was in Waddy Point. There were also just a handful of people and it was easy for us to find a free and beautiful camp spot again. We also were allowed to have a camp fire as well and had great warm night near a fireplace and recalled the last few days we had on Fraser Island.

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