We're on the road at 7. Around 8, mutiny looks likely to occur if some of us don't get a proper fried breakfast, so we stop at a roadside services, not far from Gimpie. We only really need to do 150 K or so today, which after 2 pretty long days' driving seems fair. Opinions differ on where we should head for; do we go to Rainbow Beach, at the southern end of Fraser Island, or head further north to Hervey Bay? Rainbow Beach (as far as I recall) has better facilities catalogued in the Lonely Planet guide, but it's quite a long way off on a side road, and we'd actually have to travel back south from there to get on to the Bruce Highway again. Continuing to head north seems somehow better, retracing steps doesn't, so we press on to Hervey Bay.
Gosh. It's bigger than we thought. Well, like, duh! We find ourselves in Torquay, and a couple of streets back from the sea front, there's the Happy Wanderer caravan & camping park, in Truro Street. It's got everything we need, and more; it's cheap, it's clean, it's got excellent facilities, it's in a quiet area of town, and the staff are really friendly and helpful. Perfect. Being Sunday, all the camping shops in town are closed, but we do find a Woolworths. Weird. Woolworths in the UK are small, provincial, and sell a whole lot of stuff that you never really want. Woolworths in Oz are massive, and do everything that Tesco/Sainsburys/Safeway do. It's a strange and wondrous land...Pitch camp, do some desperately-needed washing, photo-op on the beach, quick nap, and then it's down to the sea front to find some food. A pizza restaurant on the front does the trick; sadly I don't remember its name, but for some reason I know it costs 21 bucks. Your Australia Food Correspondent has let you down. Mmmm, pizza and beer... Back at the campsite, we book, through those excellent people at reception, a trip to Fraser Island for tomorrow. $99 a head seems a little steep, but what do I know? Mentally, I'm still giving the AU dollar parity with the UK pound. It ain't so.
Monday 26th. Another early start. What fresh hell is this? Whine whine whine whine whine. It's all about me, isn't it? Why, yes it is.
There's a Fraser Venture courtesy bus arrives at 7.50, and takes us down to the harbour, where we get on a big 4WD coach, and meet Patrick. Patrick's a real star, drives the coach the whole day and keeps up a non-stop and absolutely fascinating commentary. There's a thick sea mist, and the ferry trip across is eerie, as the mangroves suddenly loom up out of nowhere. Slowly it clears, and Fraser Island is just astounding, with rainforest, sand dunes and banksia heath perched on the largest pure sand island in the world. 75-Mile Beach does just what it sounds like it should. 
Eli Creek discharges a million gallons of fresh water a (day/minute/hour/can't recall) into the sea. A stonking good (and free) lunch at the Eurong resort. Lake Birrabin is out of this world, quite literally an alien landscape, of the finest kind. In between there's more rainforest, of which perhaps the cutest are the scribbly-bark gums; Wangoolba Creek, 300-million year old ferns, and as the diary du jour describes them, huge fuck-off great big trees. Fraser Island is the coolest place; go there. $99 a head is amazing value.
Half way through the tour, they encourage you to take a 20-minute plane ride, in the little plane that takes off from the beach. It's another 60 bucks. Just do it.
Fraser Island. Just do it.
Back in Torquay that evening, we go to the Peppers Bistro on the sea front. There's a cold wind blowing, and because the place is packed, we end up sat outside. It's not that expensive, I think I pay 13 dollars for a main course. Bad omen. I order red thai curry with beef. Eventually it arrives. It starts off seeming good, but gets worse, to the point where I lose the will to live. The rice is congealed into a solid lump, which defies attempts to split it up. We're tired, and we're pissed off, and none of us has much to say of any value. Think we've hit a low point.
