Day 12 Of The East Coast

Day 12 Of The East Coast

Location: Waddy Point - Fraser Island

Uh oh more rain ... although it had stopped by the time we got up.
After breakfast we drove to Champagne Pools located north of Indian head.

From Waddy Point it was only a 20 minute drive, we were both pleased that the car seemed to be fine.

The Champagne Pools are a collection of recreational pools formed by volcanic rocks. It was the only place on Fraser Island where saltwater swimming was allowed. 

As you can see from the pictures the pools were stunning, unlike anything either of us had ever seen before.

After a lovely walk we decided to drive to the lighthouse at Sandy Cape (or should I say attempt).

We both knew instantly that something wasn't quite right, so we decided to pull over and let the engine cool down at Ocean Lake.

Whilst the engine cooled down Marcus and I went off exploring.

It was here I learned about the sexual suicide of the redback spider. The males not only die during or soon after doing the deed, but their mate often dines on their lifeless! You have to feel sorry for these deadly creatures (well the males).

Thankfully the car had cooled down and we stupidly continued our journey to Sandy Cape.

The 4wd drive track was atrocious and Jerry did not appreciate the tough terrain. We pulled over immediately when we both smelt burnt coolant. Once again Jerry had overheated and this time it was very serious.

To make matters worse we were stuck on the beach with no one around and the tide was gradually creeping in.

Half an hour went by and after adding more water to the coolant, we had no option but to try and drive back.

We managed to get the car to Orchard town before we had to stop and open the bonnet.
Neither of us wanted to attract attention to the situation, but when steam and coolant was pouring out it was difficult not to!

Of course all the Aussies came over, and to make matters worse they decided to diagnose the problem - the verdict a blown head gasket (v.expensive).

Thankfully we were lucky to bump into Mick and Dave here who were just on there way back from fishing. They offered to tow us back but Marcus and I were convinced that we could make it on our own. 

Annoyingly all the tracks leading back to Waddy Point looked the same. The journey seemed to go on forever and the car was struggling. It wasn't until we reached Champagne Pools that we realised we had missed the minuscule sign.

Gutted isn't the word to describe how Marcus and I felt ... we were once again stuck and Jerry was 100 times worse, there was absolutely no way we could drive back to camp.




Amazingly Mick and Dave being the champs they are suspected that something was up, and it wasn't long before they came to our rescue. We were saved!!
Kindly they towed us all the way back to camp which was an experience! 
As a passenger it was slightly daunting being towed down a hill with nothing but a crap hand brake, nevertheless Mick was an expert and Marcus coped brilliantly.

After an eventful day it was now clear that Jerry was well and truly broken. We were now stuck at the top of the worlds largest sand island, with only enough wine to last us 3 days.

Despite our day Mick and Dave  were great and cheered us up with drinks and food at there camp.

Please click here for more photos