Looking forward to head back to civilisation, from 'imperfection' it only took 4 hours to get to Brisbane by air. Yet our shortest flight, Andre still managed to have a couple of drinks before meeting Aman's first cuz, Jatinder awaiting our arrival at the airport. Despite the pair never met before, I can safely say Aman wasn't too amused with Andre's choice of timing for 'alcohol consumption'. Slightly intoxicated from the mile-high club, we arrived to find a smile to greet us in an almost emply terminal! Fearing the worse of excessive baggages, ok shopping baggages, we were lucky enough Jatinder came equipped for us to ram all inside the jeep. As Aman exchanged words with her cousin, Andre and I slowly got used to the change of scenery, driving to their flower farm in the suburbs. Brisbane was vibrant and buzzing that we felt right at home.. We stayed with the Nijjar family for 2 nights before heading to Brisbane Central to make further plans for an itinerary for the East Coast. Sad to miss fluffy beds and especially Jatwinder's delicious curries (Aman's aunt), we indulged ourselves a shopping spree in surf shops we longed for. At Palace Backpackers, we finally booked a package deal we liked for Fraser Island & the Whitsundays Coast with additional bus trip all the way down to Sydney. Andre wanted to head-start his climbing expedition in the Blue Mountains (near Sydney), he left at instant for Fraser Island so we agreed to meet again in Sydney in 2 weeks time. Next day we began our Oz adventure with a bus journey to Hervey Bay with Premier Motor Service, great network to popular spots all the way up to Cairns and as far down as Sydney. Staying ther overnight, we packed our daypacks ready for our 2-night camping trip and took an 'early' night for 6am rise. In the morning, we were allocated with 8 other people at the hostel, after the briefing. We were introduced to 2 Lancaster Uni graduates, 3 Norwegian 'Sundtt' sisters, 2 Dutch girls along with a German brain doctor! Some combination huh?! Anyways after a long morning of packing up camping equipments and lengthy procedures for car breakdowns & insurance, we all then budged in for food shopping (and booze of course) and set off to the docks. Our 4x4 safari groups were shipped over together so it was an opportunity to get know to fellow campers... yet! Upon arrival, we headed to Lake MacKenzie with only two 'eligible' drivers and that's the lads, hmph! At the lake for a cool dip, I was pleasantly surprised to find the water purified, not a single drop of saltwater. We stopped for lunch @ a campsite nearby after stopping at Central station to stock up mossie sprays! Right on the beach, we found a place to camp our first night and have our first BBQ. First challenge, teamwork didn't fail but worked like magic when we all set up all our tents in no time. Having experienced camping at university, this one was a lot more easier with no use of bushcraft skills whatsoever. The sunset on 75 Mile Beach was quite a sight, glowing on the Pacific when we all enjoyed a hearty dinner till dusk. Naturally flowing with booze, we joined other campers and stayed up in the late hours, meeting new people in the dark! 'Oh, I'm sorry I didn't you, by the way where are u from?....' Quite an experience since we had to lip read a lot of people in the dark and having little light, we sometime had to rely on our hearing for benefits! Another was when Charlotte from our group, yelped after claimed to have seen a dingo next to our tent. So dingoes wasn't a myth but for real after all... Comfort is definitely not something we expected, all night of suffocating in sleeping bags, it's finally day 2. We had our own continental breakfast on-site, before packing up to see the Indian Head. I wouldn't recommend this as it wasn't exactly interesting apart from seeing the ocean from a cliff. From the suggestions in our itinerary, we went to see the Champagne Pools, few rockpools accommodated with a mini sandy beach on the N-East of the island. With the sound of waves crashing against the rocks, we took the opportunity to sunbather for an hour or 2. Sights including the Maheno Shipwreck (by a cyclone) and Cathedral Coloured Sands were unmissable, driving along the long stretch of sand on the east side. After a sleepy day of bumpy rides through the island's beaten tracks, we eventually found our second plot for tonight's camp by the beach. We had a Spag Bol speciality for dins, cooked by the Sundtts, the evening then settled in with another group of campers we joined for drinks, sitting around the candles. Bushwhacked from the night before, it took not long for us to hit the sack. For another final night of hard ground! *groans* Final day of camp, perkier day since we were motivated to finish off the camp trip with a fun day-out, so we viisted Eli Creek. Knee-high shallow, we strolled through the creek with green surroundings and cool waters. Eli Creek was a popular spot as it was already filled with people when we arrived and still quite crowded when we left for Lake Wabby before lunchtime. Lake Wabby was the best highlight thankfully, there lies a beautiful secluded lake with golden sand dunes and emerald green surroundings... heaven! We spent a good hour or so, swimming in the lake and feeling liberated on finding our own lake! Apart from the fact it was infested with fellow campers *mutters* Heh. Heading back to the ferry docks, we had leftover pasta salad for lunch nearby @ Kingfisher Bay Resort before other campers returned from the lake. Back on the mainland, the rest of the group planned a night out together in town, with the whole campers in our hostel, Aman and I regret to only accept contact details & miss out in order to catch our bus up to next stop. And that's Airlie Beach, gateway to the one of the world's wonders... yep, you've guessed it, the Great Barrier Reef. (And, can you not blame us?!) More to follow S x