Fraser Ventures
Kevin’s pack and boots
Grebe
Sunday 1:35 PM
Waiting on the aforementioned Fraser Ventures. They are to pick me up here — in an hour and a half. Not much to do around here. I could maybe check out some of the displays and trails, but I’m tired of lugging this pack around. Today was a much easier hike; had nearly a full day’s rest, it was only two hours long, and I think I packed the bag much better. I put the tent inside again. I need to find a way to keep it out but balanced. Anyhow, I made a late start today. I wasn’t in a hurry. Adrian & Mess were leaving before I even got out of the sack. I made my way
“He came out of the bush!”
down to Basin Lake. It was 9:30 or so, and there were only two other people there. I made my way to the beach on the far side. Saw some turtles, watched the grebes. The birds diving in the quiet lake reminded me of the loon on Walden Pond. It was very nice … until the tourists came.
They came in yelling and splashing around, so I put my boots back on and made my way back. As I came to the trailhead and made my way through a group, a girl said, “He came out of the bush!” I guess I must have been a sight. And I headed right back into the bush, and away from all of them. Ah, tourist campers with their girl scout water, rolling around on their tents to get the air out. Funny folks.
Fraser 4×4 Bus
So what about Fraser Ventures? I guess it was worth it. I did get to see the highlights (for about 5 minutes each), I did get a decent lunch, and I am being picked up to go back. So I guess it was worth it. We went to Lake Jennings (or something), came here, had lunch at the Eurong Resort, went up to the Colored Sands, the Maheno, and Eli Creek. I kind of felt like I was selling out, … a 4 wheel drive bus, lunch at a resort, and all. But hey, I got to bushwalk the island with relative ease and at a low cost. Decent enough, I suppose. Our driver/guide was pretty good: informative, enthusiastic, tried to keep us to a schedule. He knew a lot about the trees, their “uses”, logging in general. He made at least one comment about it being a shame the island is now a National Park (since 1991). I got the impression he used to work in the logging industry. Not that it was a bad thing; it was just a different perspective, I suppose.
Damn, as soon as that bus left the picnic shelter, the dingos moved in. Sad.