This is Fraser Island, three hours north of Brisbane, and the world's largest sand island. Rene and I spent two nights in Hervey Bay for my real 60th birthday. It is most impressive, and now preserved and protected after a century of being plundered for its sand and timber. Rene is wading along a creek. Even though just on winter, it is really quite mild and the water around 20C.

An aircraft lands on the beach, providing visitors a birds eye view of the lakes and forest.

This is all that's left of the 'Mahindra', a large cruise ship, that was sold for scrap in 1935 and foundered on the beach whilst being towed to Japan during a storm.

We had a one day tour with 37 other people, so we couldn't really escape folk - but it was really very pretty and spectacular.

Rene walking along the edge of an enormous fresh water lake in the middle of the island.

Fraser Island supplied all the timber for the building of the Suez Canal plus Tilbury Docks in London. A hard wood tree that was impervious to borers made it popular for use in water. There are some preserved, but not many.