Camping Down Under

For weeks Tara had been talking about bringing me camping. We finally planned it for one weekend when it fit our schedule, we decided to go the weekend after the last week of classes. Here in Australia we get a week of after classes end and before finals begin, it is called a “study break” (not that anyone actually studies). We were planning on going to Inskip point to camp, which was apparently located right on the coast near Rainbow Beach. I was pretty excited to spend a few relaxing days doing absolutely nothing with a great view of the ocean. Because I would be going back home to Wisconsin in a few weeks, it was also nice to get to spend some quality time with Tara. 

All week we were planning our menu and our packing list since Inskip provided nothing but a campsite and a great view. Tara also thought it would be a good idea for there to be a second driver just in case, so I needed to practice beforehand. One night after spending the day at Tara’s place, she thought it would be a good idea to drive us back to my place. So I got in the car (on the opposite side) and drove for the first time while over here. It was quite an experience! I have to say that I thought the most difficult thing would be sitting on the opposite side in the car or driving on the other side of the road…but the weirdest thing for me was having the gear shifter on the left side and the blinker on the right side of the steering wheel (let’s just say it took a few ‘turning on the windshield wipers before every turn’ before getting used to it).We practiced a couple more times that week, and that was all I really needed.

Our plan was to leave on Saturday morning, stop at her parents’ place to get some of the camping gear, and head to Inskip point so we could set up camp before it got dark. Because of a few delays that were bound to happen, we didn’t get to leave town until 11:30am, plus we had to make our stops and drop off Tara’s friend Nadine along the way…we most likely weren’t going to make it to camp before sunset (5:30pm). Tara drove the way there…we stopped to get some Hungry Jacks for lunch and we also had to do our grocery shopping for the weekend We also had to bu a couple bags of firewood ($17.50AUD each) because it was apparently huge fines to collect firewood in the woods/bush for burning—which kind of bothered me.  We finally got to the campsite and found the most perfect spot to camp. It was beneath some trees, but there was an open area that revealed the vast ocean. I knew I would be enjoying every moment of that view.  We set up camp and made a fire in the dark…but because we were still full from Hungry Jacks, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for s’mores! One flaw that Australians have is that they have never heard of s’mores…what is that?? For once an American gets to take the reins and share something amazing as crafting the perfect s’more (which is, in my opinion, a necessary life skill). She loved it!!...which I knew she would  It had been a long day, so it was an early night for us. 

The following morning we made scrambled eggs, but went classy and added some zucchini and cheese…it was delicious! We also had a huge case of sausages to last us the weekend, so we fried up a couple of those. We drove into town to get some more ice just about every morning, and was also a good excuse to use an actual bathroom once a day :P The rest of the day we pretty much just sat around, enjoyed the view and the campfire, and talked. It was just as relaxing as we intended…apart from the fact that Tara was still not accustomed to the idea of being lazy and sitting still—she of course decided to tidy up the camp (by that I mean picking up sticks and vines and putting them into a pile). I told her to sit down and relax. So far there was no sign of any treacherous Aussie insects/deadly creatures…and I was happy with it staying that way. We took a nice nap in the evening, but when we got up Tara seemed to have come in contact with our first visiting creature while trying to move her chair. It was the biggest spider I had ever come across (apart from the ones behind glass)…we both screamed and I stood there quaking and staring at her attempt to smash it then throw it in the fire (I was such a big help—I will always stick to the cheerleading when it comes to killing spiders) For dinner we made a chicken and cheese pasta bake….sounds like luxury camping food but it was actually really simple to make, and tasty.  We enjoyed the campfire a litter longer that night and we had a great time just kicking back, getting a little crazy, and occasionally dancing :P I even shared a few traditional camp songs with Tara, something else she had never heard of! (how do these people camp??) 

The next day we had the best pancakes ever! They were the $2 shake and pour pancakes, but they already had syrup in the batter…yum, they hit the spot! We found a second spider in the firewood bag that morning, and the third spider near our garbage bag—both which were removed by Tara. We were also becoming shower deprived by this point, so we both decided to wash our hair and get refreshed with the help of a bucket of cold water—it was better than nothing. I learned quickly that when camping on the beach, one has to expect that almost anything will come with a side of sand. Whether you have a little crunch in your pancakes, have an extra exfoliate in your shampoo, or it becomes routine to shake out your clothes and empty your shoes before bed...a forced friendship is formed with the sand.  It was a gorgeous day so we decided to lay out on the beach and get some sun. It was pretty warm, so my ‘Wisconsin-ness’ didn’t last long before I had to jump in the ocean. The rest of the day was spent reading, cooking lunch, reading, napping, munching on snacks, and reading some more…talk about the life. That afternoon, three wild horses walked up on the beach! I got really excited and took tons of pictures because I had never seen horses in the wild before, plus they were beautiful with the ocean in the background. I also got to see a Goanna, which was a sly lizard that circled our campsite in the hopes of stealing our food. All I could think of was the rescuers down under and the quote “Those are NOT Joanna eggs!” haha

Tuesday was our last day camping, so we spent the morning cleaning up and packing stuff. We made some lunch and relaxed for the last couple hours we had. I decided to teach Tara how to play Rummy 500, a skill to have if she was planning on coming to America to visit. I have a feeling she hustled me though, because she totally beat me at my own game…all I said was that she was now prepared to face my father in a game…I couldn’t wait for that day! We packed everything in the car and left camp around 1pm. I was going to drive a good portion of the way home, I was excited! We drove back eager to take a real shower and sleep in a bed, but we had so much fun we planned to possibly do it again the next weekend (but with more people and at a different location). Tara enjoyed being the passenger in the car for once, and I was happy driving. We got back home and couldn’t believe that the weekend had already come and gone.

Spending the weekend with Tara was amazing! Our camping skills were, dare I say, superb. People were impressed that two girls would be able to camp on their own….but did them one better. We had the best campfire in our area, so good in fact other people came to join ours.   We had plenty of food, and we made every meal seem like restaurant quality. We took care of anything and everything we needed to, and we had the best time. The weekend with Tara is something I would never give back! I was already aware of how much we have in common, and we have grown really close over the last few months…but camping made me truly realize that she was most definitely my best friend.  She is a best friend that I didn’t grow up with, one that I found on my own…and I went all the way across the world to find her.  It is the most special friendship I have ever had, and I hope to never lose it!