For the our 2nd weekend of outreach we headed off to Hervey Bay on Friday June 22nd in order to go to Frasier Island for a weekend trip. We went to Hervey Bay which was 5 hours away from Dalby and got there pretty late and went to Dean's house and stayed the night. We woke up a 4:30 a.m. in the morning to get ready to go to Beaches Backpackers which was the hostel running the 3 day trips to Frasier Island that we booked. So we arrived at the hostel where we were given instructions for the next couple of days in Frasier. We then we split into groups (we had asked if our team could be separated in order to spend more time with the backpackers and not just our team) so we were divided into 3 groups. There was 35 backpackers who showed up for the weekend trip but only 33 were allowed to go so Corina and Luke stayed back at the hostel and went on the day after. So Will and Nate were placed in a group with 9 other girls from all around the world and Me, Susan, and Maegan were in a group with 5 other girls and 3 guys also from everywhere. We then had to plan what kind of food we wanted to eat and for the other backpackers what type of alcohol. Once we got all of that sorted out we got into our 3 separate troopies with our groups and went to the rental place. There we had to pack up our vehicle and get orientated with all of the things we couldn't do to the vehicle. Frasier Island is one of the main tourist attractions in the East coast being the world's largest sand island. So on the island you are driving on the beaches and some sand trails out to the beaches which was very cool. So we got everything ready got on the ferry and went across. On the way we got to meet all of the people in the group; 3 of the girls were high school and college friends from Ireland, 2 of the guys were from England, the other guy travelling alone was from the Netherlands and the other 2 girls were travelling alone; one from Belgium and the other from Columbia. So we went across and our first stop was the Rain forest. So we drove to Central Station and got walk on some cool trails through the rain forest. Then we all met and drove back to the campground after getting stuck in the sand a few times. We set up the tents and camp then ate and hung out for the rest of the night with the girls from our team. It was a party atmosphere and all of the other backpackers were fairly drunk by around 7 a.m. So the rest of the night we just talked at the tables and got to know our team then went to bed. The next morning we got up at 6 a.m. and left to go to some of the sites. The night before we got to really learn about the other people's culture, plans, family lives, etc. So it was nice that we really got to open up to each other. Our team wasn't that close and usually separated because some of them were travelling together but it was still a lot of fun. Susan was our driver and took us to Indian Head which was a big cliff like hill above the ocean. Apparently on clear days you can see all kinds of sharks, dolphins and fish but the weather was pretty cloudy and rainy since we arrived so we didn't get to see any. You weren't allowed to swim in the ocean because there is so many sharks near the island and because the waves and undertow was too powerful. But it was so beautiful. We then went to the Champagne Pools with our group and got to swim in the cold water there. The other groups were also at the same place because we all were working around the same schedule and our vehicles had to be back by 3p.m. because of the tide. We also got to see Ell Creek, S.S. Maheno which was a ship built in 1904 that washed up on shore so it was still there and all rusted out and we also got to see The Pinnacle which was some huge cone shaped hills of orange sand. We then headed back to the campsite. For the afternoons we basically just saw the sites there, the evening was more of our time to really talk and get to know the people. After we arrived at our campsite I got to sit down with the girl from Belgium and the one from Columbia for around a hour. We talked about all sorts of things and the girl from Columbia told me about her culture and invited me to her place. The girl from Belgium has been living in Australia for a couple of years and now has a boyfriend and is planning on staying in Australia and getting married. She has been working as a overseas nanny. For the rest of the night we basically all sat and played cards around the table after cooking dinner. The 3 groups there from the other night left so it was a much quieter night with the new 3 groups so we all went to bed quite early. On Monday we got up around 7 and packed up camp. We loaded the troopie and set off to go to some of the freshwater lakes on the island. We went to a couple of lakes which were so gorgeous. The sand there was amazing, it couldn't get hot because it was made from quartz so it was fantastic. We spent our afternoon on two of the lakes then headed back to the ferry. When we dropped off the vehicle we all exchanged emails then went to the houses we were staying at for the week. The guys were staying at Dean's house and the girls at Glenda's house which we stayed at last time in Hervey Bay except she was in China back then. We then went back to the hostel and ordered Thai food after unpacking with Nate and Will's group. Their group was super close and it was really good to see how the guys had a lot of fun with them and really broke mindsets of how Christian guys are. Then we all said our goodbyes and headed back to the houses. The weekend was such a nice time where we got to just hang out with the backpackers. We felt that our purpose on the 3 day trip was just to have fun and break old mindsets of how Christians are and act. The girls from Ireland had very different opinions because Ireland is very Catholic and they have had a lot of history of war between the Catholics and Protestants so it was good to just talk to them and be real with them showing that we are not in war with other religions and not violent or judgemental. It was also good that we got to just develop these friendships and get each other's email addresses so we can continue our friendships maybe someday see them again because everyone wants to go to Canada. lol. Overall even though I caught a mean cold during the weekend it was so rejuvenating and we all had really great time!
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