We were supposed to leave on Monday morning, bright and early at 0600. Having spent the weekend at our archery club championships, I then spent Sunday evening doing food prep for the camping trip. I took on my sister's mantel of camping organisation and my mother's list making skills, and managed to forget nothing. Every meal was organised to the n'th degree, with a big Esky of cold food (quiche, fajitas, mangoes, sausages, bacon, chocolate, picnic stuff, etc), a storage container of kitchen stuff (utensils, paper towel, pans, salt, coffee, tea, etc), and a second storage container of non-kitchen stuff (rope, first aid kit, matches, etc). Added to that, my backpack of clothes, a camping chair, Lily's life jacket, etc etc etc.
We actually left closer to 0900. J messaged the night before saying he was tired, L agreed, and I grumpily gave in. J brought the hired 4wd so I couldn't really leave without him! He also brought a hired tent and camping stove. L brought an airmattress for us to sleep on, which was invaluable, as was her frying pan.
It took three hours to drive up to Inskip Point, just south of Frazer Island. We chose there because it's dog friendly, which was a must. There were four or five campsite options, so we chose to drive around to check them out before deciding on a campsite.
Unfortunately, the 4wd we hired was more of a city 4wd than anything else, and on the second sandy track we got bogged.
Waiting for Dave
Having tried to dig our way out to no avail, I had to run back to the highway (for phone reception) to call for help. Our rescuer, Dave, arrived in just twenty minutes, and set to work.
Dave getting the winch ready
It didn't take him long, and he recommended the last camp site which had hard packed sand. However, once there, we decided we didn't like it at all as it was packed with caravans! We went back to the very first campsite where, despite the soft sand, we had managed to negotiate the tracks. It was a lot quieter and we got a site right next to the beach.
Unpacking and setting up the site took a couple of hours, after which we headed for a much needed swim. The dogs weren't keen on the water, despite our trying to get them used to it. We had a late lunch, early dinner of quiche, ham and chicken rolls, and chocolate chip cookies, washed down by some cold beer.
After dinner we walked along the beach and watched the sunset, followed by the super moon rising.
Burying Lily
The sunset was glorious
There were butterflies everywhere
Having been 30+ degrees in Brisbane all week, and forecast the same on the coast, I had decided just to bring a sheet instead of my sleeping bag, and didn't have a sweater or anything else warm with me. It was a windy and fairly chilly evening - the campfire definitely helped - but seemed warm enough when we went to bed. It soon began to cool down, however, and the sheets and pillows quickly became damp with dew. I covered myself with the two towels I brought but still shivered my way through the night and was glad when the sun finally came up. J's air mattress also sprung a leak so he had a very uncomfortable night on the uneven ground ! Add to that the fact that Tachi did not want to sleep - at all - and spent half the night jumping on our faces... Made us a fairly tired and grumpy trio by breakfast time!
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