Moreton Island

There is something about going away camping that makes me feel better. Going away this time was different than New Zealand, in a way it was like going from one extreme to another. We had an early departure from Brisbane, in order to make it to the ferry landing at 7 am and to beat the morning traffic. I was getting more excited by the minute - I love camping :) When we arrived at Moreton it was absolutely stinking hot, perfect conditions to get sun burnt. My shoulders got a nice tan from setting up the tents and my abs got a work out from laughing at Claudia's dad who got bogged in like 2 minutes after driving off the barge. When we reached the camp grounds, I wasn't really sure if it was what I was expecting or not. Last year's polish camping trip I was expecting a total cut off from civilization but there were normal facilities and the area was well populated, so I was expecting that again, but this time there were limited facilities and we were in a remote location, in a way I was pretty surprised. We went and checked out the facilities straight away, there were hybrid toilets and wasp infested, outdoor, cube showers without and doors. Showering was a whole heap of fun. After we set up our campground, our home for the next four days, we checked out the water, it was simply beautiful. It was clear, cold and we had a great view of the ship wrecks. It had to be our second day at Moreton Island that will be remembered for a long time, we planned on going for a short walk, take a few photos maybe find some bait to go fishing. Those plans totally failed. Basically, the whole crew minus Claud, Ania and the parents went on a walk, which turned into playing soccer on the sand dunes, finding a starfish, seeing a cool tree whilst making our way further and further away from camp. We decided that we might as well keep walking and located the heated showers that Claudia's friend had told us about. We thought that they might be up a 4WD track. We also thought that if worst come worst we can always walk the 7 kms to the Eastern Beach on the opposite side of the Island. After what we thought had been a very long walk (but turns out it was only 1.5 kms) we decided to take the Tangalooma bypass - normally associating the word bypass with shortcut. We kept walking through the hot sun without proper shoes, sunscreen, water or a phone. I can honestly say that going on this walk would have to be the stupidest choice I have made in my life. We kept walking and finally worked up the courage to pull a car over and ask for help. They gave us a bottle of water and wold us that we were going the wrong way, taking this path wouldn't lead us to our destination. So with this in mind, we turned around. We ran to the shady spots, swearing loudly, because the sun was burning our feet. We were dehydrated, even though we had finally gotten some water. However, this blessing from God didn't last very long, seeing at it was small and there were 6 of us. Once we reached the top of a hill, we decided to sit down in the shade and regain our energy. We were more relaxed now that we had water and were going back the same way as we came as it was more familiar and we didn't have the constant false hope that we were nearly there. Whilst we were sitting down, we heard a car. The group simultaneously told me to stop it, which I did. I asked for water and sunscreen, explaining that we were kind of lost. They laughed at my request, offered us beer but they actually did have supplies and gave us a large bottle of water. The car was full of 6 hot guys, who kindly offered us a lift. We hastily accepted and all crammed into the boot, except for Dom, who climbed in the back seat. They took us to the resort, we were so grateful that we gave them $20. Those guys seriously saved our lived, we could easily make our way back to the campsite from there. We were relieved when we sore the ocean, the cold water felt like an orgasm for our blistered feet. But we survived and can tell the tale :) It was a great experience in a way, getting lost in the desert. That night Kamil disrupted our sleeping as he fell asleep in our tent and squashed everyone. Due to us being sleep deprived our third day at Moreton was bland, we lazed around in the tent and played games such as in my shopping bag. In our shopping bag we had a cheese stringer, a compass, a tent, a pretzel, a pony, a condom, a dildo, moonshine, a tree, a bra, green tea, earl grey, pegs, a Russian soldier named Yuri, an African kid with HIV, a laundry, a dictionary, a noose, a sleeping bag, hair dye, a coconut, a bikini, a ship wreck and a nervous breakdown. After that we just gave up and headed to the beach to go swimming or play beach soccer. Kamil said that he will sleep in our tent tonight, so it's going to be squishy once more. The night actually wasn't too bad, worst thing that happened was that Kamil thought my head was a pillow and bashed into me, but it's ok, I have a pretty thick head. Our last day at Moreton was sad, we packed up, knowing that we have to go back to Brisbane soon. Once we finished out duties,m we strayed along the beach and buried Claud's dad in the sand. We helped some people unbog their car, they got themselves bogged in the exact same spot as us, so we thought it would be bad karma if we didn't help them out. I don't really miss Moreton due to all the sand everywhere, horse flies and proper facilities, but I miss the people, the camping atmosphere and living by the sun.