Took me about ten goes as it seems I had to go through the desert something like seven times.Not that it's much of an issue, if you have spares they're a good way to get some fast candies if you're looking to beat the dragon.
I have about 50 or so spare last I checked, but that's just because I felt like making tonnes of potions.
Oh, and I gave up on getting the L8 bug yesterday. Finished with the game now. Yay.