We had already decided that we wanted to visit Fraser Island, so we had already come across Dropbear Adventures and liked what we saw. The 3 day camping tour was enough time to see all the sights and the option to 4WD on the beach was right up our street, so we jumped at the chance to be part of Team Dropbear when we saw they were looking for a couple to volunteer. It also meant we got to spend a little longer on the island too!
After an exchange of emails with Hana, she asked us to make arrangements to come to the Sunshine coast, and we left four months of suburban Melbourne living behind to live on an island. Hitching a ride with the tour up to Fraser from Noosa, the first part of the journey was epic. There was foam metres deep on Teewah Beach! After navigating the worst rocks early on, we were soon cruising towards Rainbow Beach soundtracked by Jake Bugg and Tame Impala.
We didn’t know what to expect but as soon as we left the barge and made our way up the Seventy-Five Mile Beach, we knew we were going to love Fraser.
Over two and half a weeks we’ve helped set up camp, washed the landcruisers, cleaned, swept, checked camping equipment, answered the phone, helped put solar panels up…plus anything else we could find to help out. As we both have backgrounds in digital marketing we’ve been lending a hand with the website and social media.
It hasn’t all been hard work though. We’ve been extremely lucky to have an extended period on Fraser and got to see some of the best bits – Lake Wabby, Lake McKenzie, Eli Creek, Champagne Pools, Indian Head.
Living on an island has been an amazing experience and totally different to anything we’ve done before. Each day we did something different, learning new skills and finding more out about the island. We also had access to a true island car ‘Suzi’ to get around, but unfortunately she is no longer with us 🙁 Chris was actually the last one to drive her.
We’ve seen many dingoes whilst being here, and even though Drop Bear HQ is within a dingo fence, there’s been wildlife galore! Daily goanna ‘shows’, beautiful large moths, dancing stick insects, and humungous huntsmans. We’ve been filming and taking heaps of photos since we arrived.
It’s been great to be a small part of Drop Bear history, and we will be sad to leave Fraser Island. Drop Bear Adventures do something really special and unique, and we wish them continued success.
Lastly, a huge thank you to Mark and Hana for welcoming us into their home, showing us around the island and being a part of our Australia travels – where ever we go next has got a lot to live up to!
Love
Sarah & Chris x
PS: If you are interested in volunteering on K’gari, fill in this application form 🙂