Noosa turned out to be a nice spot on the east coast. It's laid back and relaxed and immediately seemed to be welcoming to me. Helping to this fact was also the backpacker where I stayed: Noosa Flashpackers. A little bit of advertising here is in order I guess! Although located a little out of town, more in the direction of Sunshine Beach (what a nice name - wouldn't you want to stay there, now?) it's ideally located to visit the national park, just around the corner. The backpacker itself is very modern and has all the facilities you need and more: super clean air-conditioned rooms, 2 pillows ( :-) ), a swimming pool, free breakfast and free Internet (which, for the backpacker, is a real treat seeing as internet costs so much in Australia). They even had rain showers :-). Needless to say I indulged in a little over-pampering myself haha :-).
Obviously I explored the national park, where there are a few walks to be done. Following the advice of a certain someone, I set out for the coastal track. This passed by Alexandria Bay (with a nudist beach), rocky places with well-sounding names like Devil's Kitchen and Hell's Gates and Tea Tree Bay. Once again I bathed in tea tree oil, and loved the effect on my skin!
Of course all the mentioned places had gorgeous views on the ocean and it was a great place to just sit, relax, watch the waves and try to spot dolphins (without luck though). What I did spot in the end, was my first koala! The cheeky bugger was hanging in a tree, sleeping of course, and hiding well out of sight. But some nice people pointed him out to me.
From Noosa I took the Greyhound bus once more to Byron Bay. I stayed here for 2 nights and loved it! The city is Australia's hippy walhalla and you could immediately soak up this atmosphere: everything was much more 'chiiiiilllll, duuuuuude' :-). Not only was it nice to sit back and relax at the beach - just walking around the town had its charm as well.
Of course I had to take a surf lesson here. Can't go to Byron and not surf! So I booked my lesson with 2 familiar faces from Fraser Island (which was a very nice plus) and in the afternoon we set out for Lennox Head. Well, the waves there were - in my humble beginner's opinion - wild! They came crashing from everywhere and were higher than myself. Beat that, North Sea! We got a tiny bit of explanation on the beach as to what a wave actually is, what rips are and what to do if you get caught in one (swim hard!). Then we learned a bit of techniques but since the water is the only place to be, off we went into the waves. It took me a few tries, but in the end I stood up nice'n'right and I was able to catch a few waves into shore. Wahoooo, there I went! And apart from a bit of bumps and bruises, no serious injuries were sustained.
For the rest I walked the walk around Cape Byron, where I spotted dolphins (wheeeee
!) and which had once again spectacular views. Yes, Byron Bay, you were wonderful.
From here on it went to Sydney on an overnight bus, where I arranged some practical stuff for the rest of my trip, and the same night I took another overnighter to Melbourne. Exhausting trip, but I didn't want to waste too much time in Sydney.
Melbourne is a big city as well, but the stories are true: it does feel much more European than Sydney - wider lanes, trees in the streets, wide sidewalks, trams in the middle of the street ... I liked it. I didn't spend a lot of time here though, just enough to soak up the atmosphere and watch some tennis on the big screen on Fed Square.
The next day I went on a three day tour along the Great Ocean Road. The group was small and nice so we moved pretty fast and saw a lot of the road. Again we were treated to beautiful sights, especially around the 12 apostles and Loch Ard Gorge. This is very dryly said, but there are just no words to describe what you feel when you see it in real life. I felt very small, in any case. And happy :-).
The tour brought us to a wildlife park as well. Although I'm opposed to putting animals in confinement, I did get to hold a baby wallaby, a baby koala and a snake :-). Not a poisonous one though, but still, I was scared out of my wits. But we're here to experience new things, right, so I couldn't NOT do it :-). Strange and cold!
The rest of the trip took us along the Grampians national park, which was full of the typical Australian wildlife: koalas, kangaroos, emus, spiders, snakes, lizards ... We also did a nice rock walk with breathtaking views, and walked to a aboriginal rock art centre. Here i sustained my first (minor) injury: yours truly slipped over a twig (!!!) and fell, and pulled her thigh. Luckily there were 2 lovely physiotherapists in the tour group so in the evening they were able to tape me up and give me anti-inflammatory pills. Now I'm still sometimes restricted in some movements but it's not as bad anymore :-).
After the tour we were put on a bus towards Adelaide, where the temperature reached about 40°. Pret-ty hot, I must say. The town is nice, seemed very colonial to me, but my time there wasn't much because I flew back to Sydney the day after, to prepare for my next intercontinental flight: the one from Australia to Thailand, which is tomorrow :-).
It was time to say goodbye to the coolest Belgian in Sydney, Frauke, so we went to the beach once more and talked about everything and nothing, you know, the things in life when you're on the other side of the world :-).
And thus, with that ending, I have ended my Australia life the way I started it; I clearly remember me arriving in Sydney with all my bags and Frauke's face would be the one I saw first. And now hers will be the one I see last here.
Australia, we had fun, we had good times. But now it's time to move on.
Goodbye Ozzie, hello Thailand!
Sunday 30 January 2011
Wednesday 19 January 2011
The Great Barrier Reef meets the Rainforest meets the world's largest sand island
When I arrived in Cairns, the tropical heat immediately fell down on me. What a difference with Sydney!
The courtesy bus picked me up and dropped me off at the front door of The Asylum backpackers, a pretty dodgy place but fine enough to sleep. I immediately went to look up my sissy and her crew. We bummed around the small town for a bit and booked a diving trip (or for some: snorkelling) for the day after - eesh, my first diving experience!
So the next day we set out pretty early (too early, it seemed later) and arrived at the boat which would take us to the outer Great Barrier Reef. Checked in and had to go through a whole list of medical conditions, making sure you had none of them. After that, we set out for the big blue ("it's big... And blue!" - "I knew it!").
Us divers got a very quick diving introduction and were then taken down straight into the water. Scary at first, but once you got your breathing right, it was so much fun! The only problem was trying not to hit the coral with flippers - the reef is badly enough damaged as it is, thank you very much. We saw a few little fish (amongst which Nemo and his daddy) and a lot of beautiful coral. And we got to hold a sea cucumber :-).
The rest of the day on the reef was spent snorkelling, which was so gorgeous. The weather was perfect, the water crystal clear and the fish very colourful and beautiful. I even got to chase turtle Crush to try and get him on the photo :-).
After the diving we got treated by sissy to a cocktail in Outback Jack's (thanks again for that, duuuuuude ;-)) and we went to bed pretty early because it had been a long day.
The day after - and my last day with the Belgian crew - we rented a car and set out for the Daintree national park, the place with some of the oldest parts of rainforest in the world. Pretty impressive to see of course. We went all the way up to Cape Tribulation, where we walked around a bit, saw the biggest spider ever and enjoyed some deliciously empty beaches (watch out for the crocs though).
In the middle of the night it was goodbyes here and there to the Belgian crew, who had a very early flight, and when I woke up I was on my own again. Flying solo for the first time eh!
I rented a car (a cute little red Hyundai Getz) and drove around the Atherton Tablelands - west of Cairns - which were nice but not as spectacular as the Daintree. Ah well, it can't all be golden :-).
From Cairns I got the overnight bus to Airlie Beach, where I had planned a sailing trip to the Whitsundays.
This trip (2 days, 2 nights) was awesome! The former racing yacht was called Boomerang, and that soon became a motto rather than the name of the boat :-). I got to know the other people on the boat and they were all amazing and we had such good fun. The crew on the boat were also very cool and the food was delicious.
And then I haven't even spoken of the Whitsundays. This must truly be heaven on earth. Of course we were the lucky bastards with perfect weather throughout, but still - water in all shades of blue, a clear blue sky and burning sun, pearly white beaches, and getting some snorkelling done. When we were up the first morning, we were joined at breakfast by Flipper and his little kid. Beautiful! And at dinner another Crush (I'm guessing it was his father) poked his little head out of the water for us. What do you want more?
Back on land there was a nice party with fellow Boomerang sailers and the crew. Unfortunately time to say goodbye again!
From Airlie Beach, on it went down the east coast to Emu Park, which is close to Rockhampton. For the first time here I got to witness some of the flooding - it makes you go real quiet. The fields next to the highway were nothing less than lakes, and everywhere in Rockhampton I saw water creeping in gardens etc. Spooky!
From Rockhampton I took the ferry (of hell) to Gladstone. Anyone who has done the
Stewart Island Ferry in New Zealand: that was nothing compared to this one! Luckily yours truly was fine, but I did end up watching a little kid for a while since his parents were hanging over the railing outside, if you get my drift.
After a few more buses and a very boring day in Hervey Bay, where there was nothing to do and where it rained, I arrived in Rainbow Beach early in the morning.
That same afternoon I had a briefing to go on the Fraser Island Trip. This trip was tag-along, which means that if you want you can drive a 4WD yourself, and follow a lead car. On this briefing we received every possible warning about dingos (quite aggressive stray dogs), marsh flies and the ocean ("And remember folks, do not swim in the ocean!"). We were also divided in teams and were en ready to go the next day.
After again a briefing in the morning (with as a highlight the number of ways we could die) we loaded up our Land-cruiser with our camping gear and set out, following the lead car.
Now, when you arrive at the island after a short barge ride, the only thing you see is beach. Of course, it's the world's largest sand island so you get a lot of beach, but the eastern beach being 123 km long, it does something to you. The remoteness of everything was really amazing to see.
Practically all the things we did on the island were accessed from this beach. We went to Lake Wabby, which is known for its high quantity of tea tree oil which makes your skin soft, and which is famous for the catfish nibbling at your feet when you sit still enough. I sat still enough :-).
The next days it was cooking food (and doing the dishes in the ocean), seeing Indian Head (the most eastern point of the island where they threw aboriginals off the cliffs in an act of 'purifying the country', sadly enough), going to Eli Creek and, last but not least, spending some time at Lake McKenzie, the pristine blue lake with white beaches that you see on every postcard of Fraser Island. Heaven!
Now the road goes down again to Noosa Heads and Byron Bay. I will catch you later folks!
The courtesy bus picked me up and dropped me off at the front door of The Asylum backpackers, a pretty dodgy place but fine enough to sleep. I immediately went to look up my sissy and her crew. We bummed around the small town for a bit and booked a diving trip (or for some: snorkelling) for the day after - eesh, my first diving experience!
So the next day we set out pretty early (too early, it seemed later) and arrived at the boat which would take us to the outer Great Barrier Reef. Checked in and had to go through a whole list of medical conditions, making sure you had none of them. After that, we set out for the big blue ("it's big... And blue!" - "I knew it!").
Us divers got a very quick diving introduction and were then taken down straight into the water. Scary at first, but once you got your breathing right, it was so much fun! The only problem was trying not to hit the coral with flippers - the reef is badly enough damaged as it is, thank you very much. We saw a few little fish (amongst which Nemo and his daddy) and a lot of beautiful coral. And we got to hold a sea cucumber :-).
The rest of the day on the reef was spent snorkelling, which was so gorgeous. The weather was perfect, the water crystal clear and the fish very colourful and beautiful. I even got to chase turtle Crush to try and get him on the photo :-).
After the diving we got treated by sissy to a cocktail in Outback Jack's (thanks again for that, duuuuuude ;-)) and we went to bed pretty early because it had been a long day.
The day after - and my last day with the Belgian crew - we rented a car and set out for the Daintree national park, the place with some of the oldest parts of rainforest in the world. Pretty impressive to see of course. We went all the way up to Cape Tribulation, where we walked around a bit, saw the biggest spider ever and enjoyed some deliciously empty beaches (watch out for the crocs though).
In the middle of the night it was goodbyes here and there to the Belgian crew, who had a very early flight, and when I woke up I was on my own again. Flying solo for the first time eh!
I rented a car (a cute little red Hyundai Getz) and drove around the Atherton Tablelands - west of Cairns - which were nice but not as spectacular as the Daintree. Ah well, it can't all be golden :-).
From Cairns I got the overnight bus to Airlie Beach, where I had planned a sailing trip to the Whitsundays.
This trip (2 days, 2 nights) was awesome! The former racing yacht was called Boomerang, and that soon became a motto rather than the name of the boat :-). I got to know the other people on the boat and they were all amazing and we had such good fun. The crew on the boat were also very cool and the food was delicious.
And then I haven't even spoken of the Whitsundays. This must truly be heaven on earth. Of course we were the lucky bastards with perfect weather throughout, but still - water in all shades of blue, a clear blue sky and burning sun, pearly white beaches, and getting some snorkelling done. When we were up the first morning, we were joined at breakfast by Flipper and his little kid. Beautiful! And at dinner another Crush (I'm guessing it was his father) poked his little head out of the water for us. What do you want more?
Back on land there was a nice party with fellow Boomerang sailers and the crew. Unfortunately time to say goodbye again!
From Airlie Beach, on it went down the east coast to Emu Park, which is close to Rockhampton. For the first time here I got to witness some of the flooding - it makes you go real quiet. The fields next to the highway were nothing less than lakes, and everywhere in Rockhampton I saw water creeping in gardens etc. Spooky!
From Rockhampton I took the ferry (of hell) to Gladstone. Anyone who has done the
Stewart Island Ferry in New Zealand: that was nothing compared to this one! Luckily yours truly was fine, but I did end up watching a little kid for a while since his parents were hanging over the railing outside, if you get my drift.
After a few more buses and a very boring day in Hervey Bay, where there was nothing to do and where it rained, I arrived in Rainbow Beach early in the morning.
That same afternoon I had a briefing to go on the Fraser Island Trip. This trip was tag-along, which means that if you want you can drive a 4WD yourself, and follow a lead car. On this briefing we received every possible warning about dingos (quite aggressive stray dogs), marsh flies and the ocean ("And remember folks, do not swim in the ocean!"). We were also divided in teams and were en ready to go the next day.
After again a briefing in the morning (with as a highlight the number of ways we could die) we loaded up our Land-cruiser with our camping gear and set out, following the lead car.
Now, when you arrive at the island after a short barge ride, the only thing you see is beach. Of course, it's the world's largest sand island so you get a lot of beach, but the eastern beach being 123 km long, it does something to you. The remoteness of everything was really amazing to see.
Practically all the things we did on the island were accessed from this beach. We went to Lake Wabby, which is known for its high quantity of tea tree oil which makes your skin soft, and which is famous for the catfish nibbling at your feet when you sit still enough. I sat still enough :-).
The next days it was cooking food (and doing the dishes in the ocean), seeing Indian Head (the most eastern point of the island where they threw aboriginals off the cliffs in an act of 'purifying the country', sadly enough), going to Eli Creek and, last but not least, spending some time at Lake McKenzie, the pristine blue lake with white beaches that you see on every postcard of Fraser Island. Heaven!
Now the road goes down again to Noosa Heads and Byron Bay. I will catch you later folks!
Sunday 2 January 2011
Happy holidays!
Ow there guys, it has been a while since I got back to you about my doing and don't-ing, so I'm going to try and make this worthwhile!
A lot has happened since the last entry. I got back to Australia after my New Zealand-trip and started working again, but to be honest I didn't get the feel of Sydney anymore - a feeling that was already manifesting itself even before going to NZ. I was wondering more and more what I was actually doing there and tried to sort some priorities out.
- I wasn't 100% happy in Sydney
- I didn't make enough money to cover my expenses anyway
- I had seen most of the city and wasn't too curious about the rest anymore
- I missed Alex like crazy
Suddenly it dawned on me that "Hey, I am a traveler! I have no one to take into account and I have all the freedom in the world to go where I want and to do what I want." So already after a few days the decision was made: let's not waste any more time sitting here and wondering what to do, let's just move on.
So I gave up my apartment (not without any trouble), Alex booked me another flight to NZ and I told the manager in the Belgian Beer Cafe that I wasn't coming back after that week. I finished my shifts, made some more money and off I was again, 20 december, to New Zealand, to be once again greeted by Alex and the Great White Truck. This time the visit would last for 10 days, since I was going to meet up with sister and crew in Sydney for New Year's - a reunion that I couldn't and wouldn't give up.
Time with Alex was a blast, as always. After wandering around in Christchurch (and buying Christmas presents) and going running and all that for a few days, we headed up once again to Mt Algidus Station, since we were going to spend Christmas Smiley style.
Unfortunately -ahemmmm- the Wilberforce river, which we have to cross to get to the station, was severely swollen due to a lot of rain in the north, so we couldn't cross it with the Great White ... A helicopter was our only solution. Now, you know me, I try to stay calm but somehow that doesn't always work, so of course I got my camera out so all my homies could witness this uber-cool event :-). I love helicopters, I should seriously think about the pilot exam! The ride was very short but cool, and we landed on the other side to be greeted by Alex' father.
The time on the station consisted of exploring a lot, witnessing a hovercraft being launched (with some slight defects, unfortunately), doing some walks, attempting to get the logs out of the hydrowaters so we could go kayaking once more (but since the water was so high, there was no getting to the logs - again no kayak :-( ), having a delicious Christmas Eve-dinner, and an even more delicious Christmas dinner (courtesy to Alex' mum). And not to forget the presents of course! As you can see, I had a great time again.
Back in Christchurch (after a jetboat ride on the Wilberforce, because too many helicopter rides would get boring I think ... :-) ) we got home to a dirty, dusty floor, open drawers and bottles on the floor - another earthquake! Luckily it wasn't that hard (as we read later) but we did feel some aftershocks in the days following. A pretty bizarre feeling, out of nowhere the house starts to shake, windows rattle and there's a very loud grumbling, and after a few seconds it all passes. Especially when you're falling asleep, the experience is scary!
The days back in Christchurch were filled with a very funny movie in the cinema (Four Lions - wuhahaha), feeding the ducklings who always come back to the lawn, going to Sumner for a run (Alex), a walk (me) and a picnic (both), going to Lyttleton to have dinner (which we didn't have in the end, but ah well), a brunch on the balcony, some runs in Hagley Park (Alex), a gym visit ... and so on and so on. A glorious time! Once again saying goodbye proved very hard, and it is pretty unsure when we will meet again. But that's traveling for you, we try to go with the flow and we see where we go!
Now it's back in Sydney where I spent New Years Eve with my sister and friends. The reunion was very very nice, it had been about 4 months since we had seen each other. We wandered around town and ended up at 5 below Harbour Bridge, where we conquered the crowds and got a good spot to view the fireworks at midnight. The waiting time was long but didn't seem that way, we filled it with eating and playing small games, haha :-). Crazy Belgians on the loose.
At midnight the fireworks started (even though there was no countdown...?!) and these were truly very impressive. Harbour Bridge and the Opera House seemed to be on fire. Whoever said that the Berlin Fireworks were the most impressive in the world - they were wrong!
1st January was spent on Bondi Beach and afterwards Inge, Veerle, Caroline and me went for the Bridge Climb on Harbour Bridge. Yet again a wonderful experience! The walk gives you amazing views over the city, the heat was very doable, the walk was really calm and easy and as a plus we got an amazing sunset. Recommended to everyone!
Now I'm spending my last day in Sydney by going to Coogee Beach for a farewell party, and tomorrow I'm flying to Cairns to rejoin the Belgian crew for a few days. Diving and snorkeling are the main goals. After that we split up once more (I have learned quite quickly that traveling is all about saying hello but more painfully saying goodbye too many times ...) and my road continues down the east coast to Melbourne. Let's see how that turns out!
Happy New Year to everyone, I hope you all had a good time :-). See you later alligator!
ps: of course a lot of pictures have been added of this crazy few weeks, they can be found on Facebook. Cheers mates!
A lot has happened since the last entry. I got back to Australia after my New Zealand-trip and started working again, but to be honest I didn't get the feel of Sydney anymore - a feeling that was already manifesting itself even before going to NZ. I was wondering more and more what I was actually doing there and tried to sort some priorities out.
- I wasn't 100% happy in Sydney
- I didn't make enough money to cover my expenses anyway
- I had seen most of the city and wasn't too curious about the rest anymore
- I missed Alex like crazy
Suddenly it dawned on me that "Hey, I am a traveler! I have no one to take into account and I have all the freedom in the world to go where I want and to do what I want." So already after a few days the decision was made: let's not waste any more time sitting here and wondering what to do, let's just move on.
So I gave up my apartment (not without any trouble), Alex booked me another flight to NZ and I told the manager in the Belgian Beer Cafe that I wasn't coming back after that week. I finished my shifts, made some more money and off I was again, 20 december, to New Zealand, to be once again greeted by Alex and the Great White Truck. This time the visit would last for 10 days, since I was going to meet up with sister and crew in Sydney for New Year's - a reunion that I couldn't and wouldn't give up.
Time with Alex was a blast, as always. After wandering around in Christchurch (and buying Christmas presents) and going running and all that for a few days, we headed up once again to Mt Algidus Station, since we were going to spend Christmas Smiley style.
Unfortunately -ahemmmm- the Wilberforce river, which we have to cross to get to the station, was severely swollen due to a lot of rain in the north, so we couldn't cross it with the Great White ... A helicopter was our only solution. Now, you know me, I try to stay calm but somehow that doesn't always work, so of course I got my camera out so all my homies could witness this uber-cool event :-). I love helicopters, I should seriously think about the pilot exam! The ride was very short but cool, and we landed on the other side to be greeted by Alex' father.
The time on the station consisted of exploring a lot, witnessing a hovercraft being launched (with some slight defects, unfortunately), doing some walks, attempting to get the logs out of the hydrowaters so we could go kayaking once more (but since the water was so high, there was no getting to the logs - again no kayak :-( ), having a delicious Christmas Eve-dinner, and an even more delicious Christmas dinner (courtesy to Alex' mum). And not to forget the presents of course! As you can see, I had a great time again.
Back in Christchurch (after a jetboat ride on the Wilberforce, because too many helicopter rides would get boring I think ... :-) ) we got home to a dirty, dusty floor, open drawers and bottles on the floor - another earthquake! Luckily it wasn't that hard (as we read later) but we did feel some aftershocks in the days following. A pretty bizarre feeling, out of nowhere the house starts to shake, windows rattle and there's a very loud grumbling, and after a few seconds it all passes. Especially when you're falling asleep, the experience is scary!
The days back in Christchurch were filled with a very funny movie in the cinema (Four Lions - wuhahaha), feeding the ducklings who always come back to the lawn, going to Sumner for a run (Alex), a walk (me) and a picnic (both), going to Lyttleton to have dinner (which we didn't have in the end, but ah well), a brunch on the balcony, some runs in Hagley Park (Alex), a gym visit ... and so on and so on. A glorious time! Once again saying goodbye proved very hard, and it is pretty unsure when we will meet again. But that's traveling for you, we try to go with the flow and we see where we go!
Now it's back in Sydney where I spent New Years Eve with my sister and friends. The reunion was very very nice, it had been about 4 months since we had seen each other. We wandered around town and ended up at 5 below Harbour Bridge, where we conquered the crowds and got a good spot to view the fireworks at midnight. The waiting time was long but didn't seem that way, we filled it with eating and playing small games, haha :-). Crazy Belgians on the loose.
At midnight the fireworks started (even though there was no countdown...?!) and these were truly very impressive. Harbour Bridge and the Opera House seemed to be on fire. Whoever said that the Berlin Fireworks were the most impressive in the world - they were wrong!
1st January was spent on Bondi Beach and afterwards Inge, Veerle, Caroline and me went for the Bridge Climb on Harbour Bridge. Yet again a wonderful experience! The walk gives you amazing views over the city, the heat was very doable, the walk was really calm and easy and as a plus we got an amazing sunset. Recommended to everyone!
Now I'm spending my last day in Sydney by going to Coogee Beach for a farewell party, and tomorrow I'm flying to Cairns to rejoin the Belgian crew for a few days. Diving and snorkeling are the main goals. After that we split up once more (I have learned quite quickly that traveling is all about saying hello but more painfully saying goodbye too many times ...) and my road continues down the east coast to Melbourne. Let's see how that turns out!
Happy New Year to everyone, I hope you all had a good time :-). See you later alligator!
ps: of course a lot of pictures have been added of this crazy few weeks, they can be found on Facebook. Cheers mates!
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