Mistress160's Abode: Kinky camping on Moreton Island

Camp Pervert at dusk

A few years back, while sol and I were still suburbia bound (before we became eco kinksters), I used to spend hours checking out the 4WD BDSM Getaway website ... dreaming of escape.

4WD BDSM Getaway! is the brilliant idea of NotExcessive, who writes on the website:

"I thought it would be a good idea to combine two of my "interests": BDSM and four-wheel driving. I've been to many play parties over the years, but they were all in an urban setting. To my knowledge nobody had ever done an outdoors trip of this type before, so I figured, why not? "So in November of 2002, I put together the concept of the 4WD BDSM Getaway! Weekend tours.

"The first trek was held in February of 2003. The idea behind this is that we gather kinksters together who are into 4-wheel driving, and go somewhere to play in the Great Australian Outdoors. Needless to say, the 4WD BDSM Getaway! Weekend tours aren't going to appeal to everybody, and nor are they meant to. You'll need a love of Australia's stunning natural beauty to go on one of these treks, because there will be no motels or swimming pools. The most urbanised you'll get will be the occasional cabin or bed & breakfast, and we do conduct those sorts of trips, so city slickers, don't give up hope.

"The 4WD BDSM Getaway! Weekends aren't just about play, however. You bond with others in the group (pardon the pun) on many levels. Sure, there's the BDSM element that we have in common, but you also form friendships. Being away out in the bush with a small group of people, you get to know them a little bit better than you would in the crowded environment of a suburban play party, especially if you're together for a couple of days rather than just for a few hours".

This all sounded wonderful to me. Their trip reports sounded a lot of fun, and I greatly admired NotExcessive's photography, which really brought his trip reports alive for online readers.

But unfortunately we found the group just before we moved to northern NSW, and as most of their trips at the time appeared further south it made things a bit tricky. "Still", I said to sol, "if they ever schedule another trip to Moreton Island we are definitely going".

They did.

We went.

It was wet and wild and windy ... and utterly, utterly magical.

For those of you reading this who don't know Australian geography, Moreton Island, says Wiki:

"is a large sand island on the eastern side of Moreton Bay, on the coast of south-east Queensland, Australia. Moreton Island lies 58 kilometres northeast of the Queensland capital, Brisbane. The island covers an area of approximately 170 square km, and extends for 38 km from north to south. At its widest it is 8 km across.
"Established in 1966, 98% of the island is contained within the Moreton Island National Park, which has a World Conservation Union (IUCN) category of II. The park is managed by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service. Camping and four wheel driving is permitted and possible in many parts, with the appropriate fee. Motor vehicle access is by ferry, but is for four wheel drive vehicles only, as there are no sealed roads on the island. Camping is permitted, however permits must be obtained on the mainland"

With development restricted to just three small villages and a single resort (Tangalooma Wild Dolphin Resort) the island is a natural playground of crystal-clear creeks and lagoons, tall sand dunes, abundant wildflowers and miles of pristine beaches.

You can read about earlier 4WD BDSM Getaway! trips to Moreton Island here and here. I recommend checking those links out for the photos alone. But if you take the time to read the text you'll see why we wanted to attend ... these people knew how to have FUN. And we certainly enjoyed ourselves, despite the weather. Just before we left we checked BOM's website ... it read:

IDQ10095
Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology
Queensland

Brisbane Forecast
Issued at 4:50 am EST on Sunday 28 February 2010

Warning Summary
Tsunami warning for the marine environment for QUEENSLAND.

Threatened areas extend from Point Danger to St Lawrence, including
Moreton Bay and Hervey Bay

Tsunami???!!!

It was certainly very wet, but thanks to our friends we remained warm and dry and had a really great time. An especially huge thank you to latex lemming, who provided not only transport and accommodation but shared everything from wet weather garments to his cooking equipment. We simply could not have gone without his wonderful help.

Here are some photos:

The first thing we saw when we arrived at the barge departure point was this sign:

"stay and play", indeed *grin*.

Once on the island, the plan was to drive to the far side of the island where previous trips had camped. When we arrived at the other side this is what greeted us:

Seriously wild and wet!

We drove several kilometers down the beach. The former camp site turned out to be the only place with other campers (which proves it was a good site) so we drove a little further and found a great spot where trees provided extra protection. This is how close our tent was to the sea:

Driving around the island each day was always an amazing experience, with so much to see. Below you can see the Tangalooma Wrecks:

Fifteen vessels have been deliberately sunk on the landward side of Moreton Island to form a break wall for small boats and a wreck dive and snorkel site. The wrecks attract an amazing amount of marine life ... and now tourists checking out the marine life! The bird life on the island is also impressive: