Fraser Island - Colored Sands, Champagne Pools, Riding in a Snake's Tail

Sunday, 11 July, 2004 by Cheryl W. Colan

Our day began with breakfast over the campfire. Mom and Linda got the fire going, their priority being hot water for coffee. I ran off and showered. Blessing of blessings, it’s warm enough on the Island for me to wear shorts today! When I returned from the showers there was enough fire to start breakfast preparations. I cut some of our bacon into managable length pieces, Andrew prepared scrambled eggs, Maria made toast, and Roger cooked the bacon and sausage. Chris and Malcolm, who is also known as Mackie, came down later and Jessica cooked some breakfast for them. We got underway at 9:30 a.m., over an hour after we meant to leave.

The Cathedrals

As we headed down the beach we were all in good spirits, and stayed that way throughout the day. We stopped at “The Cathedrals,” which are beautiful cliffs of colored sand. Aborigines consider the area sacred, and a space for women only, so the men stayed by the car as we went up to see the cliffs. They are stunningly beautiful, with unbelievable pastel shading in the sand. They remind me a little of the Rainbow Bridge and the sandstone caves under Lake Powell back home in Arizona. Cliffs carved and shaped by the wind and water, colored a thousand hues by oxidization. No photos were allowed, but I did try to make note of the Aboriginal story about why the sands are colored, though I don’t remember all the characters’ names.

Wuru, an Aboriginal girl, was promised to a young man but fell in love with the Rainbow. she visited the Rainbow every day at the beach, and refused to marry the young man. The young man decided to take revenge on Wuru, and went to the beach to find her. When he found her he threw his boomerang at her in order to strike her a fatal blow. Wuru ran to avoid being hit and cried out for help. The Rainbow heard her and placed himself between Wuru and the boomerang. When the young man’s boomerang struck the Rainbow, the Rainbow shattered and fell to the ground. Wuru escaped unharmed. The Aboriginal women believe the colored sands bring them good luck to this day.

From the Colored Sands, we moved on to Indian Head, the easternmost point on the island. Mackie suggested it may have been a site where Aborigines were massacred, but wasn’t certain. It’s a rocky peak with a sheer drop past cliffs to sharp rocks below. To leap from the edge would surely bring death.

Mackie is fun, and funny. He rested under a shady tree at Indian Head while the rest of us explored. On Fraser Island, there are about 30 “sand blows,” or sand dunes, that are large and permanent enough to rate names. Looking out from Indian Head, a pretty sizable dune is visible. Linda saw it, turned to Mackie and asked, “What’s that dune called?” Mackie paused only slightly before deadpanning, “Sand,” in his Aussie accent. Everyone in earshot cracked up.

Champagne Pools

After exploring Indian Head, we moved on to the Champagne Pools, a rocky area on the beach where tidal pools are left at low tide. Little fish can be seen swimming in the clear pools of sea water. Roger, Susie and I swam with the fishes, and were very refreshed. The water was cold when we first got in but quickly felt fabulous. We were called out after about 20 minutes. We had to leave the pools in a hurry because the tide was beginning to come in again. In addition to making the pools and their sharp rocks more dangerous, we now had to race the tide to drive back to our lunch site, and then back to camp.

The Snake’s Tail

When the tide is out, the beach is like a six lane freeway, smooth and hard-packed. as the day wears on, the constant back and forth traffic of vehicles and the drying sand form loose, deep ruts farther up the shore, and the easiest place to drive is on the hard-packed sand near the surf. When the tides come back in, traffic is reduced to something more like a two-lane highway on a remote part of Route 66 (if Route 66 were unpaved sand). The freshwater creeks form deep ravines you must ford as you advance along the beach. It really gets to be a rough ride! Maria described our four-wheeling slide through the soft sand best when she said, “It’s like riding in a snake’s tail.”