After journeying to Sydney and canyoning in the Blue Mountains, Katie, Julie, Lyle, and I ventured up the west coast to a small town called Hervey Bay. We only had a few days left in Australia at this point, and our plan was to visit Fraser Island nearby. Fraser Island is the largest island on the east coast of Australia and a popular tourist destination for locals. It has over 100 miles of beach and it is best explored by 4wd, so we rented our Land Rover in Hervey Bay and took an afternoon ferry to the island.
![Lyle admiring the wreckage of the S.S. Maheno](http://jpopek.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/DSC03008-300x199.jpg)
We spent two days driving along the coast and stopping at whatever looked interesting. On the north side of the island, we found a nice lookout where we could see sharks, stingrays, turtles, and other ocean wildlife.
![Justin on Indian Head lookout, Fraser Island](http://jpopek.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/DSC03022-300x199.jpg)
Since the surf was too treacherous for casual swimming we swam at some natural pools along the beach a couple inland lakes.
![Champagne pools on the north side of Fraser Island](http://jpopek.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/DSC03066-300x199.jpg)
![Julie and Katie at one of the many swimming lakes](http://jpopek.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/DSC03160-300x199.jpg)
![Dingo on the beach/road](http://jpopek.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/DSC03072-300x199.jpg)