Dingo Alert

After waiting three hours in a pitch black bus stop at Airlie Beach, we were really pleased that we'd saved ourselves $30 by travelling with Premier buses instead of Greyhound. We eventually got to Rainbow Beach where there is really not a lot going on except vast quantities of sand.

The sun shines out of Tay's arse

Following this theme we visited a sandblow (a massive amount of sand blown up from the beach into the forest) where we watched the sun set and got arty with some photography. Enjoy.
Next day we began 'operation fun boys' to ensure we avoided a repeat of the lesbian cruise on our Fraser Island trip. We recruited Aussie Penny Crocker to our mission and scoured the hostel from top to bottom. Things went well when Murph and Tay bravely approached two lovely English boys, Andy and Paul, and asked them to be in our gang. They readily agreed. By the luck of the draw we were also teamed up with two buff young men from Canada, Kurt and Adrian. There were also two German girls. Our first group bonding experience as the 'A-Team' was a trip to the bottle shop to buy a large supply of alcohol for the weekend. Next morning we were up bright and early for pancakes and packing our 4x4, Frank the Tank. Luckily for us, the boys in our group all had get up and go and so we sat down and did what we would do best for the next three days... spectated/perved (also a major theme of the trip).

An inferior group's truck stuck in the sand

After a quick lesson on how to drive the truck we hit the road jack and set off with a shrill chorus of 'awhoooooooooooooooo' with everyone enjoying our quite frankly incredible Britpop playlist (Adrian we saw you taking notes). We drove off the ferry and embarked on our first experience of off-roading as we were thrashed around in the back of the truck on the track to Lake McKenzie, which is incredibly beautiful with pure white sands and crystal clear waters, perfect for a game of frisbee.

The smug adventurers pensing it up

Murph and the boys set off on a swimming adventure across the lake and she put them all to shame by swimming back again while they walked. We got to our camping ground as the sun set and we slipped nicely into our gender stereotypes as the boys put up the tents and the girls (Erin)cooked dinner. Colly would like it to be known that she chopped two whole tomatoes. After being told that fires were illegal, we lit one and our camp quickly became the hotspot. Drinking games commenced as night fell and very soon there were drunken slurs of 'I have never seen such heart-stopping stars in all my life', as we cheesed it up with group star gazing admiring the Southern Cross and shooting stars. We were rudely awoken at silly o'clock by over eager campers ready to embrace the day. We were not. We cruised along the beach up to Indian Head and climbed the rocks for ocean views where we spied stingrays and turtles in the waters below. While Colly and Penny enjoyed a shady nap under the truck, the rest of us embarked on a billion mile hike to the Champagne Pools where we played in the water as the waves crashed around us.

"Awhooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo"

Andy had raved to us about how good Eli Creek was to swim in, however when we got there it was only knee deep and seething with eels (one small one was spotted at any rate). On our way to the next camp ground we stopped for a nosey round the Maheno ship wreck. As we set up camp once more, a park ranger soon arrived to warn us that we were residing in a dingo den and therefore not to leave a single scrap of rubbish out overnight. It was not long until the dingos started appearing which resulted in continual screeching of 'Dingo Alert! Dingo Alert! Dingo Alert!' It was after our first sighting that we introduced the 'no solo toilet trip' rule which led to mass group wee-wee breaks. Our efforts to keep the camp clean and tidy went to pot after we had consumed our alcohol supply. This led to Andy waking up in the middle of the night to find a dingo with its head in a Doritos packet inches from our tents. Unfortunately the only way to view Lake Wabby was to hike across a sand dune not unlike the Sahara Desert. Exposed to the elements this quickly became known as the 'Walk of Death', it was touch and go for a while as to whether we were going to make it. We went for a little paddle in the lake whilst observing Paul and Kurt rolling themselves down the dune and plopping into the water. After doing the girls proud and impressing the boys with our driving skills, it was Colly's turn to take the wheel. Initially this led to mass panic in the back as we were thrust over sand dunes like ragdolls and our lives flashed before our eyes.

Group shot at Lake Wabby

After we managed to get her to slow down, we all thought she was doing pretty well when apparently, out of nowhere, one of the German girls screamed, 'Please can we change the driver, otherwise I'm getting out of this vehicle!' Good effort Colly.
Sadly the trip had to come to an end but just for the record we literally had the best three days ever and would like to thank our amazing group for making it so special. Clicks for the A-Team.

Noosa Heads, Australia