Cruising around the Yasawa Islands – Bula continued

Korovou

After my last night at Mantaray, I boarded the small boat that brought me and my luggage to the bigger catamaran in the deeper water. Every time the Fiji guys carried our heavy suitcases onto these small shaky boats and every time I was afraid they’d drop it in the water (they do get slightly wet on the boats and once they dropped another suitcase into the shallow water, so it’s probably smart not to leave the electronics in the suitcase). I already found it difficult getting on the boat with just my small backpack and they were carrying several suitcases and backpacks at once. 15min later, I and a group of British people, who would do the same journey as me hopped onto a smaller boat again and then waded the last meters through the shallow water to Korovou. We received a Bula welcome song and after checking in, were ready for lunch. Here, there was no meal selection. Everybody had to eat the same and no drinking water was provided either. With 6$ for 1.5l of water, this stay could become quite expensive…

After lunch, I attended a cooking lesson with some other familiar faces who had left Mantaray the day before me. Hopefully, I’ll be able to cook Kokonda at home too!

Bob the reef shark of the Mantaray house reef

Before sunset, we walked to the private Honeymoon Beach. You’d have had to pay (they try to make money of everything here) but since my friends had already paid the day before, they let us pass. On this side, it was less windy and not so many corals right at the beginning of the water, so it was possible to swim.

The sunset was pretty and much warmer than from the tubes the other day. It was definitely worth to come over here.

After dinner, we walked to the neighbor resort. They had a bonfire at the beach and an open-air disco.

The next day, we hiked up to a hill, from where we had a beautiful view over the bay. After that, my friends boarded the boat to the next island and I spent the rest of the day reading, sleeping and drinking tea, since my stomach didn’t completely agree with something I had drunk or eaten. I wasn’t the only one… I guess that’s something you have to put up with if you visit remote places.

Luckily, I was fit enough to go on the 30min boat ride at 7am (before breakfast) the next morning to go snorkel with the manta rays. There was a chance that they weren’t even there since they’ve only been sighted again two days ago, after a weekly absence. But there they were! When they swam on the water surface, it looked as if two sharks were swimming next to each other. We were able to swim really close to them but it was impossible to keep up, since they were swimming in a channel against a current. I thought I was a good swimmer but no matter how much effort I made, I floated down stream. Luckily, the boat collected us again, dropped us off a little up the channel and we floated down, past the manta rays again.

The rest of the morning, I spent relaxing until it was time to board the boat to Safe Landing, my last island.

I thought it would be a two hour ride, so I was surprised when after about 1 hour they already said ‘passengers for Safe Landing, please identify your luggage and get ready for disembarking.’

We jumped into the small boat and were shipped to yet another beach. Here it really looked like in paradise with a watercolor of at least three different shades of blue.

Lunch was very small but at least they had table water again.

Afterwards, I did a boat and snorkel trip to the Blue Lagoon. The beach was nice and there were a lot of fish but the Mantaray house reef was prettier and somehow the water felt colder up here.

Manta ray

In the evening, we played a few social games with all the island guests but soon everybody retired to their Bure. Here the dorms were split up into several small houses, which was nice for a change.

The next morning, I hopped on Joe’s water taxi. It was a beautiful 45min ride past paradise beaches, to get to the Sawa i-lau caves.

We received diving googles and then climbed up the steps to the entrance of the caves. The first cave was a huge open dome that was filled with water. We jumped into the clear liquid. It felt a bit warmer than the ocean and was salty too. To get to the second cave, we had to dive through an underwater hole at the end of the first cave. This was a bit scary since we didn’t know where we would land and didn’t see anything because it was completely dark in the second cave. The guide went ahead and pointed a flash light towards us under water. So, we just had to dive towards the light and then surface. This was actually quite easy but once we were in the second cave, we were swimming in pitch black darkness, since the flash light was still under water. No idea how big the cave was and whether there might be any bats or spiders inside. Slowly, my eyes got used to the darkness and I at least could make out the walls. There even was a floating device, everybody was now holding on to, like in Titanic. Once everybody had reached the second cave, the guide swam ahead and we passed through a tunnel into another hall with an open chimney, where you could see the daylight at the top. Afterwards we swam back and dived back into the first cave. This was much easier, since the water was naturally lit up from the daylight and we saw where we had to go.

Cave

When the boys had enough of climbing and jumping off the walls, we climbed back into the warm sun light. It was kind of mandatory to look at the small market with self-made jewelry. After that, we enjoyed our return boat trip. There was a 5min delay due to the motor that suddenly stopped working and we were just sitting in a tin can in the middle of the ocean. Luckily, the driver could fix it right away.

During the remaining time in Safe Landing, I walked to two more lookouts. This is quite romantic between the high grass and all the palm trees. A lot of the time, I just spent reading in a hammock, enjoying the view. I had to make sure I finished my book, because I had seen the next one I wanted in the book exchange at the reception.

The food here was good but I was surprised about how many times we had Indian food on these islands.

My last evening finished with another Fiji buffet. They had an underground dirt oven in which they had cooked food all afternoon. The self-made bread was delicious!!!

After dinner, there was more Bula dancing and we participated in a Kava ceremony. The mud brown water tasted like soap and made my tongue feel numb. But I didn’t want to leave Fiji without having tried that, since everybody had been talking about it.

I don’t know whether it was due to that or something with the food but the next morning there were a lot of white faces walking around on the island, who have spent most of their night in the bathroom. I was ok but I was definitely glad to go back to the mainland today, where I at least would have a choice of different dishes and soon I’d be in the US, where I could find some kind of shop at every corner. I’m really not used to not being able to just go buy something when I’m hungry or thirsty or need something. Island life forces you to spend time with yourself and nature and the other people. It’s good to see that nobody cared about facebook for once 🙂

The boat trip back to Nadi was about 5 or 6 hours. It felt quite long and I’d have liked to jump out and spend a few more days on Mantaray Island.

Island life did have its charm, above all thanks to the nice Fijian people. Music and singing is a constant companion during the days and evenings and they all seem so happy and convinced of the dances and songs they do. Although they pretty much spend 24/7 together and go through the same routine week after week, they all seemed like very happy island families who gave their warmth to the tourists.

Back on the mainland, I realized that this was the first time I saw a car in 8 days and the only transport I had used during the past days was walking, swimming or a boat. For the last time, I had a really delicious fish dish for dinner at the beach and before going to bed, I almost cried in the shower because it was so nice to finally have a hot shower again.

The next day was beautiful but since I had to leave for the airport at noon, I didn’t go swimming anymore. My shuttle even arrived a little ahead of time!! Very much unlike Fiji time 🙂

The 10 hour flight felt long but at least we had tv screens in the back seat this time and the food was good too. Plus, something amazing happened! I travelled back in time and gained a whole day! I left Fiji at 3pm on 31. July and landed at LAX at 6.30am on 31. July. Possible with 19 hours of time difference and crossing the international date line.

I don’t know how it happened but somehow Oceania really came to an end. The next month I will spend exploring the North American west coast some more.

Safe Landing

 

Bula bula in Fiji time

Dandenong Ranges, Victoria Australia

My last weekend in Australia was filled with awesome things! I met up again with my couchsurf host from St. Kilda in April and with some friends of his we went to the Dandenong Ranges to do a little workout at the 1000 steps. I thought I could be a tourist and would have time to take pictures of the rainforest but everybody else was just there to run up and down the stairs (and there were a lot of people!), so I just had to go with the flow. Afterwards, we had earned ourselves a nice pancake breakfast! Then, Ben, his flat mate and I continued to the Mornington Peninsula to enjoy the Hot Springs. It’s a nice place and was perfect to get warm on this cold day. Plus, we found some really good fish&chips in Rye and finally, I didn’t have to leave Australia without having tried gummy shark.

On my last day, I really lucked out. The whole time I was in Melbourne, I knew Wicked was playing but I automatically assumed that it would be too expensive or sold out. However, after I heard that my new German roommates got tickets the day before, I went on the website and found out that they had a ticket lottery, where you could win tickets for 35$ before every show. I could have hit myself. I had a whole month of trying to win tickets and here I found out on my last weekend. Anyways, I went to the box office two hours before the show and entered the lottery and guess what? My name was drawn:) They were pretty generous and gave away 20 tickets.

The show was great, amazing voices!!!

There wasn’t really a point in going to bed, since I had to leave the house at 3am, so I had a few goodbye drinks with my Korean roommate and we found out what an awesome rooftop we had.

At 4am, I boarded the 22$ bus from Southern Cross to Avalon Airport and at 6am my plane towards Sydney took off.

In Sydney, I then had to get to the international terminal. Now, I’ve never been at an airport before, where you have to pay for the transfer between the different terminals but here it cost 5.40$ for a 1min train ride. Luckily, after that my day got a lot better. I was supposed to have a 5 hour wait (I just wanted to make sure that I don’t miss my Fiji flight, if there was a delay with the flight from Avalon). But since I didn’t want to carry my suitcase with me the whole time, I directly went to the Fiji Airways check-in. The lady told me that it wasn’t possible to check in yet but if I wanted, I could take the earlier flight. So suddenly, I had only 1hour left at Sydney Airport. Just what I needed to get through customs and make it to my gate.

The 3.5 hour flight went by quickly with a small meal and the Lego Movie that was playing on the overhead screens.

View on Fiji islands

Once I was in Fiji, the lady at the Awesome Fiji Tour office was very competent and friendly and 15min later, I was already dropped off at Smugglers Cove hostel by a driver.

I was placed into an about 60 people(!) dorm but the beds were arranged in a way with thin walls in between them that it actually was more agreeable than other smaller dorms I had stayed in. It was nice to be at the beach and being able to wear short clothes again. There were no supermarkets within walking distance but luckily, there are several hostels with cafés right on the beach, where people were enjoying food or tropical cocktails. I slowly started to realize that I wasn’t in Australia anymore, when I looked at the Fijians playing rugby on the beach or the tourists, reading books in hammocks. Good that everything is so nice here, therefore, I don’t have time to miss Melbourne yet.

The fish I had for dinner at the Bamboo Traveller’s café was delicious, plus, they had free wifi 🙂

The next morning, I had an early start with cereals and fresh fruit at 6.30am. While we were waiting for the bus that should bring us to the port, a guy got a coconut down from a tree for me and I was able to drink the juice right out of it with a straw and then eat the meat afterwards. I think it was the best coconut meat I ever had!

Typical beach hammock

At the port, I had to exchange my Peterpan vouchers with the new vouchers I’d need on the islands. Peterpans had made a print mistake and downgraded me a class but luckily, it was correct in the Fiji computer system and she was nice to give me the correct vouchers anyways.

When I boarded the yellow awesome Fiji catamaran, my suitcase was already on it and so I just had to pick a seat to enjoy the next 3 hours on the boat. No danger of getting burned today. The sun was hiding behind clouds and stayed there all day and it was pretty windy, hence cold. So, for now the blue and green paradise looks rather gray. We stopped at a few small islands where people and their luggage were transferred on smaller boats and then were brought to their accommodation. My first stop was the Mantaray Resort on Nanuya Island. When I stepped from the small boat on to the sand of the island, we received a warm Bula welcome and a banana- orange juice. My home for the next four nights will be a big (30-40 bed) dormitory hut, again with the walls that split the room into smaller 4 bed areas. This time, every bed has its own mosquito net. I already had plenty of encounters with them the night before :S

For lunch, we got to choose a dish out of about 20 different plates. They all sounded really good and I was glad I had 4 lunches here.

After lunch, I had to go pay for the meals, which was an additional 87 Fiji $/day. Yup, Fiji definitely is the most expensive island I’ve ever been to.

It would be worth it, if the weather was good and I’d actually feel like going in the water. But with the wind and these temperatures, I just spent the whole afternoon wrapped in blankets in s hammock, reading a book and eating more delicious coconut.

Blue starfish everywhere!

Since diving is also possible with rough water, I went to the dive shop at 6pm to get ready for my first night dive (I had to do one for the advanced course). Luckily, there was another couple coming too, who lifted my motivation level to get into the dark, cold water a little.

We geared up, everybody received a torch and then a small boat brought us a little up the beach. We dropped into the pitch black water. From then on, diving was pretty much normal, except that you really only saw into the direction you pointed the torch. The water actually felt warm compared to the air and I only got cold after about 30min.

The dive was amazing! Great visibility in the torch light. I saw big crabs, a yellow moray, shrimp, a puffer fish and other underwater insect like creatures, which I had never seen during the day. At one point, we sat on the sand and all hid our torch lights. For a moment, it was really dark but then fluorescent green plankton appeared. It was magical! We surfaced on the beach close to the dive shop. After walking back up there, we really had earned ourselves some dinner! That will be a 4 course meal every night. Everything was really good! Especially the fish dishes really are delicious here.

Kokonda

After dinner, there was a Fijian dance show and all the about 50 tourists on the island went to watch and participate in it. Afterwards, pretty much everybody went to bed. The cold weather seemed to have a tiring effect. Therefore, it was really quiet in the dorm and easy to sleep. At some point during the night it started raining, which was quite a concert on our tin roof. It got even colder too. Where is my beautiful island weather?!

At 8am the breakfast drums were calling us to the dining hut. The breakfast buffet is quite big with cereals, pancakes, fruit, croissants, muffins, eggs and beans. For the tea, they even had ginger and lime.

The “island dad” wished us ‘Bula’ (since I arrived in Fiji I’ve heard this word at least 1000 times) and told us that it was not safe to go snorkeling, kayaking or swimming today and therefore there would be some other activities. Great, we are on an island and we are not allowed to go into the water. I could have continued with my scuba dives but since I have enough time, I moved them to tomorrow and went making bracelets out of dry banana leaves instead. The afternoon, we spent looking for coconuts and then making bracelets out of them too.

This is how you take the coconut out of its outer shell, to receive the coconut as we know it from the store. Just that it’s not brown yet because it’s so much fresher 🙂

The next morning, the sun was finally out and everything suddenly looked much better and more how I expected it to be. After breakfast, I met my group at the dive shop and in a small boat, we drove for about 15min to get to our first dive site, where we would do a deep dive. So, for the first time, I went below 18m and we actually made it down to 35m. It didn’t feel very different except that there were less colors. But it was awesome to basically fly out into the blue and just drop down into the nothingness along a wall filled with corals. We even saw two turtles! After driving back to the beach for a short break, we boarded the boat again to drive to a dive spot called “Shark Reef”. Usually, there should be sharks there, however, now there were none. But it was still a nice dive site and we swam through a few tunnels.

After lunch, I had some time to finally go snorkeling. The underwater life right in front of Mantaray Beach is incredible! Many of the guests said that this was the best snorkeling place they have ever seen. I went looking for the house shark “Bob” who lives close to the outmost buoy but he was nowhere to be seen.

Since I had a voucher for it, I went on the sunset tube cruise that day. In summer, it would probably be lovely to float around in a tube somewhere in the ocean, drinking a beer, however not when it’s as windy and cold as it was that day. The sunset was pretty but frankly, I think we all wished to be back ashore wrapped in a warm towel as quick as possible. There were not even hot showers :S

After dinner, we all gathered in the bar to pick a small crab out of a bucket. The island dad wrote a number on its house and we then had some time to train our crab for the upcoming crab race. The crabs were placed in the middle of a 1,5m circle and whichever crab reached the line first won. Everybody was cheering for the crabs and there was a lot of screaming once they ran close to the people standing around the circle. What a fun event 🙂

The next morning, I almost got the chance to go diving with manta rays because they are supposed to swim in a channel close to the resort but unfortunately, they have hardly been sighted in the past 10 days. So, we went diving through caves instead, which was really great too!

In the afternoon, only my navigation dive was left over in order for me to complete the advanced diving course. We practiced with the compass on land as I had seen so many other people do on different beaches before and after that we geared up and went for a dive at the house reef again. In the beginning, visibility was very bad and I really had no idea whether I was still on the right track to complete my squares and triangles but luckily, I always ended up where I was supposed to 🙂

We used the remaining air to just enjoy the dive. I even got to see Bob!! My first shark in nature. He is about 1,5m long and quite fat. So, he really looks like a real shark! But he was quite shy and quickly swam away.

Back at the dive shop, we high-fived each other since we had passed the course and then a British girl and I grabbed a canoe to row to the opposite small island. It was fun to do it in the ocean and on waves for once but quite exhausting with the wind that had picked up again.

In the afternoon, only my navigation dive was left over in order for me to complete the advanced diving course. We practiced with the compass on land as I had seen so many other people do on different beaches before and after that we geared up and went for a dive at the house reef again. In the beginning, visibility was very bad and I really had no idea whether I was still on the right track to complete my squares and triangles but luckily, I always ended up where I was supposed to 🙂

We used the remaining air to just enjoy the dive. I even got to see Bob!! My first shark in nature. He is about 1,5m long and quite fat. So, he really looks like a real shark! But he was quite shy and quickly swam away.

Back at the dive shop, we high-fived each other since we had passed the course and then a British girl and I grabbed a canoe to row to the opposite small island. It was fun to do it in the ocean and on waves for once but quite exhausting with the wind that had picked up again.

My last night on Mantaray Island ended with a Fijian buffet, where I could indulge in Kokonda (raw fish with herbs and vegetables in coconut milk and lime juice) again. After that, there was another dance performance by the staff. In the end, they sang the goodbye song and we shook hands with everybody. It was quite sad to say goodbye to the Mantaray island family.

A glance in the rearview mirror (Australia)

Wow. It has happened, half a year has passed and my Australia visa will expire soon. Therefore, this will be the last post about Australia (from this trip ;)).

My last month here, I have spent in Melbourne. I’d never have thought before that I would choose a cold place from where you can’t see the ocean (only if you take a tram for 15 or 30 min). I much rather saw myself somewhere, where it’s hot and where I can surf every day. But Melbourne quickly gained a special place in my heart with its awesome architecture, delicious coffee and food, art, markets and perhaps also the similarity to NYC. Plus, a friend offered me to stay at his place which made a lot of things much easier for me. I thought I’d have some more time to sightsee but the second day I arrived, I found a job distributing flyers for a restaurant and after working my first shift, I also got offered a job as a waitress. So, from then on, I distributed fliers on weekdays and helped in the restaurant on the weekends. The pay was very bad but I just wanted to do it for the experience and to have something that covers my expenses at the moment. A good side effect was that I met more really nice people. It’s sad that I already have to say goodbye again now.

One of my colleagues told me about this 10day introductory yoga course at his yoga center. So, for the past 9 days I’ve been trying different classes at Power Living. I never thought I’d be the yoga type, since I always thought that it was probably more on the spiritual and less on the physical side. But I was proven wrong and have to say that I love it!

I recently found this quote about traveling or life in general.

So never refuse an invitation, never resist the unfamiliar, never fail to be polite and never outstay the welcome. Just keep your mind open and suck in the experience. And if it hurts, you know what? It’s probably worth it.
Alex Garland

In Australia, I really tried to live up to this. To just say ‘yes’ and go for something I’ve never done before or only knew little about. Especially, when I wouldn’t be able to do it back at home. The outcome were many adventures, a broader horizon and all these nice people, I’m so glad I got to meet. And I’m so thankful that somebody always seemed to be there when I needed a ride, a mechanic, a guy to carry my suitcase upstairs or carry me over a water puddle ;), a place to stay or help in any other way. Thank you!

The two downsides of my travels here were that the medical system of Australia is sooo complicated, especially for foreigners and that I wasted way too much time at the Peterpans Travel Agency, because it always took them so long to get something done. Like I said, the trips were great but I was beginning to think that I should have booked them separately and not all of them with Peterpans. But in the end, I’m glad I did the tours I did with the people who were on them!

Several times I have been asked what my favorite place was. It’s such a difficult question but I tried to make a few lists.

Colors of Karinjini

Nature:

1. Karinjini NP (Amazing gorges with rocks in beautiful reds and oranges and clear green blue water as a contrast. The hikes there involved swimming and climbing and therefore were very entertaining. The nights on the wild campsites were beautiful and driving on the outback roads during the day was a lot of fun (although it was a torture for my car and covered everything we owned in red dust.)
2. Kakadu NP and Lichtfield NP (Waterfalls and swimming holes, WOW!!)
3. The Blue Mountains (so close to Sydney but such awesome views and beautiful waterfalls)
4. Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays. The whole sailing trip was fun.
5. Diving at the Great Barrier Reef
6. Sunsets on long, straight empty roads, surrounded by nature (and the stars at night at these deserted places, wow!,for example in the Nullabor and in the NT)

Lichtfield NP

Blue Mountains

And then aaaaaaall the other incredible places..the Pinnacles and Natures Window in WA, the high trees in Pemberton, Lake McKenzie and the rest of Fraser Island, Devil’s Marbles, Mataranka Springs, Wilson’s Prom in Victoria and of course the Twelve Apostles and the rest of the Great Ocean Road. And so much more.

Beaches:

Here it’s really hard to make a list because I just love beaches in general. And most people would probably just expect me to put Whitehaven Beach on top. You can read further down, why I didn’t.

1. Beaches in Margaret River. Wild and beautiful and waves to surf.
2. Bundegi Beach in Exmouth (because it felt like we had discovered an insider spot)
3. Esperance, Lucky Bay (such white sand and kangaroos on the beach)
4. Coral Bay (such white sand and crystal clear blue water)
5. Whitehaven Beach (the view from the viewing platform is probably the most spectacular one I’ve seen in Australia but the white beach itself is not that different from Esperance or Exmouth, I’d say. Plus, we had to wear a stinger suit, and so I didn’t even get in direct touch with the beautiful clear water)

Actually, they are probably all on the same level…all beautiful in their own way. Not around salt water but also amazing:

6. Lake McKenzie on Fraser Island
7. Lake Wabby on Fraser Island(a desert next to a lake surrounded by trees. A very special sight)

Very close after that is Cottesloe in Perth 🙂

Towns

1. Melbourne
2. Margaret River (wine, chocolate, cheese, nature…what do you need more?)
3. Fremantle
4. Noosa (the Margaret River of the East Coast)
5. Albany (very backpacker friendly, heaps of nice free campgrounds)
6. Sydney
7. Perth

Things that surprise me:

–  Bird whistle in very different tunes and melodies than in Europe. It sounds like people are whistling, or a song on a radio, monkeys, or somebody laughing

–  The showers have old faucets to regulate the hot and cold water (with two handles) it takes ages to get the water to the desired temperature. What a waste of water!

– There are more places without internet or phone reception than anywhere else in the world I’ve ever been.

– Helpful people and kind people in places we last expected them to be

– It’s possible to have no McDonalds around for 2000km in any direction!! (same for Starbucks and H&M)

– Big birds, big eagles, big fish, big kangaroos, big spiders (everything is in all sizes here!) plus, the eyes of spiders look like diamonds in the light of a flashlight

– Spotting koalas and possums is so awesome for people like me who get excited when they see a squirrel because I hardly ever get to see a wild animal at home

– How much rain and cold Australia gets in winter!!! Didn’t exactly chose the right half year to travel, or did I? At least there weren’t so many tourists but my sunny Australia illusion is definitely shattered

– Ciders. We need to import more brands to Switzerland.

– A bit shocking but drinking while driving seems to be normal for Australians. Plus, most Australians I met really do like to drink a lot.

– On all the TVs in public areas there was always a cooking shows on. All the time!! Or The Voice of Australia.

–  Australia has good chocolate!

Karinjini

– How expensive fruit and veggies are!! And cheese and yoghurt and cold cut meat L Minced meat and steak is extremely cheap though. I love eating burgers here.

– How the fuel prices can vary even during the week! From 1.34 to 1.63! It’s worth to check online (at least in Perth that worked).

– That my student concession card didn’t work anywhere on the west and south coast. They only accepted local cards although STA told me that the ISIC card was an Australian invention.

– Retired Australians seem to get the best discounts

– The amazing nature. Knew that before I got here but there really are extremely beautiful places, just can’t stop saying ‘wow’.

See ya, Australia. Probably not so soon because you’re so far away but it would definitely be worth returning some day.

Welcome to the Red Center

When we got off the bus in Alice Springs, we were surprised to find that it was a freezing 16 ºC at 6.30pm already. We had an hour to get settled in the Haven hostel and then we were picked up again to have a group dinner at the Evolution club. The location itself was a bit weird and there only was one other tour group and about 5 other people but the 10$ dishes were beautifully arranged and I had the most delicious fish and chips I ever had. We danced until they closed the place at 1am by then, I was so exhausted from the past days, that I just wanted to go to bed. At first, a few of us had planned to rent a car the next day to go to the MacDonnell Ranges but in the end, we didn’t want to be bothered with organizing it and I wanted to see Alice Springs too.

So, after finally sleeping more than 5 hours, Maya and I strollethrough town, passed the headquarters of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, walked across the bridge of the dried up Todd River and then visited the botanical gardens. There were mostly bushes and this dry, dusty or rocky soil but there were colorful parrots and butterflies too.
We had lunch in a Thai place and then wandered through the shops (they have K-Mart and Coles/Woolworth here!!) and the aboriginal art galleries.
Then, for the first time, I went to Gloria Jean’s Café. I don’t know whether it’s the same in the other shops but here, I could put my own toppings on it afterwards, like in the Stewarts ice cream shops in the US. I probably had the most unhealthy but delicious coffee because it seemed that everybody else was there with their mother, who told them not to put so much on it.

Sunset on ANZAC Hill

For the sunset, Maya went on a camel tour and I met up with Tiffany to walk to the top of ANZAC hill. I wished she’d be with us on the next part of the tour but unfortunately, she had other plans. She was the Hong Kong girl that Jan first left behind. I’m glad we waited for her, she was such an awesome person and really spread a good mood among the group.
It only takes 3min to walk up the hill, if you take the steep path. The sunset was beautiful and the view on Alice Springs and the flat desert in front of it and the mountains behind it impressive.
Back in the hostel, I had to pack once AGAIN. It doesn’t get better over time. Although we then went to bed early, it felt like a rather short night. When we got up for breakfast at 5.30, some people were already watching Spain-Netherlands.
When our bus arrived, I was pleased to see that it was a 4WD truck without a trailer. Our guide Bender than told us that we all got bumped up a class. Must be thanks to our Italian grandparents who are on tour with us again and were already waving good morning to us from their seats.
And I have to say that the quality of information and food has been a lot better on this tour. Good that this was the last part, so that our tour has been gradually improving.

We spent the morning driving towards Ayers Rock (Uluru). Now we didn’t need as many bathroom stops since the weather is freezing and windy.
After a few hours of driving, we saw a big flat mountain that could have been Uluru but isn’t, so the tour guides call it Fooluru. Finally, after about 500km, Uluru came up in the distance. It does look quite cool in the otherwise flat landscape.
We had lunch on our campsite in Yulara and afterwards, Bender brought us to the visitor center at Uluru, where we had an hour to look around. At first, I thought that an hour would be too much time. Time I’d rather spend at the actual rock. But in the center, there was a great movie about the Aborigines living here and a lot of art and information. In the end, we really needed the time.
Then, Bender took us on a walk half around Uluru, always stopping and telling us the stories of the Aborigines, that we were allowed to know.
From up close, the rock also looks impressive. It’s just a pity that there is a metal fence running to the top, where you could climb it on certain days. There are enough other high platforms you can climb here, Uluru must not be one of them. Hopefully, soon it will be prohibited and they can take away the ‘scar’ of Uluru. There actually was an ‘I did not climb Uluru’ guest book, which I found a funny idea.
After the walk, we drove to a parking lot where all the other tour groups were waiting for the sunset already. My group walked a little off to the side on a sand hill. From there we had a beautiful panorama of Uluru and the red center. And we even had dips with crackers and a glass of sparkling wine to go with it.
We arrived back at the camp in the dark but luckily, there was electricity in the kitchen.

Cooking on an open fire

We built a fire with the wood we had collected on a stop during the drive in the morning and Bender actually cooked dinner for us on the fire. It was spaghetti bolognaise with kangaroo mince. It was delicious!! Then, we had the option to sleep in a cabin with nice hostel bunks but in the end almost everybody opted for a swag, since they tend to be warmer than tents. And since there were clouds, I actually wasn’t cold at all and had a great sleep.
The next morning, we got up at the usual time to have breakfast and then walk up a sand dune for sunrise. Now I was glad that it was winter and we didn’t have to get up at 3.30.

Sunset at Uluru

By the time the sun had risen, we were all frozen. Unfortunately, the rays never really reached Uluru, so the color play there wasn’t so special but the Olgas in the distance were quite pretty. That’s where we were driving to now. Katja Tuja looks great from the distance but is also amazing from up close to walk around. We went on a three hour hike, on which Bender gave us more information about geology and flora. The rocks around here really are fascinating!
Then, we drove back to the camel farm in Yulara, where we had a bbq for lunch. This must be the place from where my parents had taken a sunset camel ride about 25 years ago.

Katja Tuja

Katja Tuja

The afternoon, we spent driving to our night camp at Kings Creek. On the way, we stopped again to collect some firewood. When we got to Kings Creek, Bender first received the sad news that somebody had fallen off Kings Canyon that day and therefore it wasn’t sure whether the rim walk would be open the next day. Apparently the first time in about 8 years that had happened.

We set up our camp and Bender cooked on the fire again. Chicken with vegetables and rice and two dampers (bred with different kinds of fillings).I’m amazed what you can do on fire if you know how to and I loved the dessert damper that had a chocolate dough and m&m’s and Nutella inside!
At this camp, the toilet hut was a bit off in the bush and didn’t have a door. To have hot water for the shower, you also had to build a fire below the tank. Now, this really felt like adventure camping. The evening was warmer, because there was no wind and so I wasn’t too afraid of being cold when I climbed in the swag. However, that night, there were no clouds and somehow, the swag wasn’t isolating from the ground and just felt freezing all around. I was busy wiggling my feet and changing the side that touched the mattress all night, to stay warmer, I don’t think I slept at all. I was glad when Bender finally turned on the wake up music because that meant I could go have breakfast by the fire. I could have checked before that, whether the fire was already burning but I didn’t want to stick my head out and let even more cold air in…

Katja Tuja

After breakfast, we drove to Kings Canyon to find out whether the walk was open. There still was a police car and a lot of park ranger cars. Half the walk was open and so we climbed the steep hill up to the rim, from where we had a beautiful view on part of the canyon and the plain. Bender told us some more about plants and rocks and four small toy koalas, that found their home on tree on the canyon. We walked to the billabong in the Garden of Eden, where we turned around to walk the same way back. As usual, climbing down the steep hill seemed more straining than getting up, because you are always facing the long way down.

Kings Canyon

Our last stop here was lunch and then we already started the drive back to Alice Springs. Before I came here I assumed that you’d see Ayers Rock and the other sights from Alice Springs. Now I know that even once you get there, you have to do a lot more driving to get to the famous nature sights, But as they say, the journey is just as important as the destination and the red center really wasn’t disappointing.

Sunrise on the road

On the road again (Darwin to Alice Springs)

After a night separated from the group in different hostel dorms, we met up at 6.30am again to be picked up from Jan, our next tour guide. We picked up some other people because a few from our top end tour had left us. Now we were 17 girls and a Danish guy, an Italian couple in their sixties (we adopted them as our grandparents) plus Jan. There even is a Swiss girl from Solothurn 🙂
Jan is very energetic and so he spread a good mood among the group right away. We had a pen with which we could draw on the bus windows on the long drives but first, we all had to enter the Weet Bix-challenge. Weet-Bix are compressed cereal shaped into small bars. You take about three of them and soak them in milk to have a bowl of cereal. It’s an Aussie thing. However, the challenge now was to eat it as quick as possible. Without any liquids. That was torture! After a while it was like swallowing oversized pills. But we all survived and the winner only took 1’11”.
After 1,5 hours, we stopped at a gas station we had already fueled up yesterday on the way back. It should have been just a short toilet break but then Jan got a call that he forgot to pick up one girl from Hong Kong and so we all waited the 1.5 hours while somebody was driving her down. Jan brought out some oranges (they taste different here) and a didgeridoo, where we could have ago. I was as successful as I had been in Switzerland with the Alphorn, which means I only produced a weird elephant noise. Luckily, that happened to most people.
Then we went on a short walk to have a look at some flora and the WWII war cemetery.

Jan entertaining us in the evening

Finally, our group of 20 people was complete and on we went.
We had lunch on a grass patch in Kathrine and then drove for another half an hour to Kathrine Gorge.
There is a nice exhibition about the area in the visitor center (and air-conditioning). It was another really hot day. Therefore, some chose to do the 80$ boat tour, while we others went on a walk with our guide. We hiked to the top of the gorge. The views were stunning but we had to earn them in this heat. Luckily, there was a water tap with cold (!) water at the top. The water was pumped up from underground that’s why it was colder.

Then, we walked back down to the visitor center, passing different kinds of trees and flowers. Afterwards, it was time to jump in the river and I was really looking forward to it after the walk. However, because the water wasn’t clear here and there were saltwater crocodiles in the area, everybody was very hesitant with jumping in the water. Even after Jan had jumped in. And the employees in the restaurant said it was safe too. In the end, it was only me and the other Swiss girl who went for a swim. We didn’t see a crocodile.

Back in the bus, we drove to the shopping center in Kathrine, where we had half an hour to buy more things we might need and there was wifi too!
Then, we lucked out that there was no other group at the campsite. We’d have had to sleep in swags with only a small kitchen tent but instead we could have the big kitchen and cabin tents with beds and electricity inside! And a bedside table too!!
For dinner we had pasta with chicken and vegetables and afterwards we were sitting around a campfire for a short time but soon, everybody was overwhelmed by tiredness and retired into the cabins.

Natural hot springs ❤

The next morning, it was freezing! I had to keep wearing long clothes until our first stop in Mataranka. We didn’t swim in the Mataranka hot springs because that’s a manmade place. Instead we went to the Bitter Springs 3km out of town.
Now, we were glad that it wasn’t so hot yet because the water was 34º bathtub temperature. And that in a beautiful blue creek in a palm tree forest. It was wonderful! We stayed in the water for at least an hour. Swimming along the creek was cool too. Except for the many big spiders that towered in their nets right over the water. I just pretended to be a crocodile and kept my head half in the water.
At 10.30am we were on the bus again heading towards our lunch stop; the Daly Waters Pub. It’s the oldest pub in the Northern Territory and has a very cool set up. It’s filled with things that people leave behind and funny signs. Also, the food and drinks were cheaper than in Darwin.

Sunset from the roof of the bus

During that break, our driver tried to fix the air-conditioning of the car. The belt broke and so the bus had been making weird sounds for the last 40min of the drive. When we set off again, it worked for five minutes but then weird noises were back and from now on, our air-con were the windows. It’s ok but after walking in this heat I would have preferred to really cool down.
From there it was pretty much just driving and having toilet and fuel stops until Jan parked the bus along the road in the middle of nowhere. The country side was flat and wide in all directions. That’s where we watched the sunset. From the roof of the bus. Standing on the roof of a car in a wide open space was a point on my life list. Really makes you feel free 🙂 Now I can check that off.
We even had a sunset platter with olives, feta, crackers and a dip. Momentary upgrade to a 5 star tour 🙂
When the sun was gone, we drove to our campsite on a cattle station. Banka Banka was an actual caravan park with a nice kitchen building and good showers and toilets. We had a delicious bbq dinner and afterwards sat around the campfire, where Jan played the guitar and didgeridoo.
Then, it was finally the night where I’d get to experience sleeping in a swag. I was expecting the nice looking ones from the people I had met along the way. However, ours just were bags on the ground with two thin mattresses inside. The grass with all these bags on the ground looked a bit like a disaster had happened…

There was no mosquito window for the face, so either, you zipped yourself up all the way and had bad air, or you left your face in the open. I just wore my woolen hat, a jacket and cuddled in my sleeping bag. Like this, I was actually warmer than the previous nights in the tent! Plus, it was quite comfortable and we even had a real pillow! I felt bad for our Italian grandparents who are doing this trip in their sixties and weren’t expecting to sleep on the ground. But they seemed fine too this morning and now they will have great stories to tell 🙂

When my alarm rang in morning, I was surprised that I didn’t wake up when the Singapore group that was sleeping next to me left their swags. I really must have slept well!

Devil’s Marbles

On the road again, Jan was asking us quiz questions over the microphone. We stopped at a few roadhouses for toilets (we are drinking so much water in this heat) and at the Tenant Creek Telegraph station. Then, we reached a fantastic place called Devils Marbles. The marbles are granite rocks that were shaped into round and oval boulders over the years. They looked really cool and so we went on an explorer walk and had some fun with taking pictures.

Devil’s Marbles

Lunch we had at Wycliffe Well. One of the funniest places I’ve ever been to. They call it the UFO capital of Australia and everything is in an alien theme.
From there, we pretty much drove straight to Alice Springs with just a few stops at gas stations and to take a few road kill pictures of ourselves on a long straight stretch of road. At the Tropic of Capricorn line, the whole group held hands and on three, we jumped from the tropic into the desert. That was fun and we entertained the whole parking lot. Welcome to the red center!
Once we arrived in Alice Springs, I couldn’t believe I actually made it here. To the center of Australia. Was a long but exciting and amazing journey from Perth along the South and East Coast and then from the top end down to here (and I’d do it again).

Billabongs or “do you wanna lick an ant”?

Buley Rockhole

Thanks to Andrew who drove me to my pick up point at 6am, I was readily waiting when my tour bus from Wayoutback Tours came to pick me up. We drove around town some more to pick up other people until we were a group of 19 girls, two French guys and our guide Kel.
He drove us for about 1,5 hours into Lichtfield NP. The roads started to look more like dirt again than concrete. Then, I realized that I had actually missed these outback roads that build an orange red contrast to the sky and that cover the cars and everything in red dust. It’s just an experience you could never have in Switzerland.
We quickly stopped off at a café, where we’d leave the trailer for the day. Then, Kel brought us to Buley Rockhole. It was a clear stream, floating over rocks, building several swimming pools and waterfalls. It looked incredibly beautiful, plus the water was the perfect refreshing temperature. It was a lot of fun to fight against the currents of the waterfalls and then float back to the edge of the pool, where the next waterfall would drop into a lower pool.

Florence Falls

Too soon, we had to head back into the bus and then drove to Florence Falls. There was a viewing platform from where the two broad waterfalls looked amazing! The hike down to the pool was an easy walk and probably took less than 5 minutes. It’s definitely worth to go and jump in the water again which shone green against the rock but was crystal clear too. Unfortunately, there were a lot of people there but once you swam out to one of the waterfalls, you were pretty much alone. The view from when you are floating on the back, looking up at the falling water is indescribable. It was possible to swim under the waterfall and have a nice shower. On the sides, the water pressure wasn’t that hard.
Again, too quick we had to hike back up. That was a bit harder in this heat.
We then drove to the Wangi Falls, where we set up for lunch. A chicken burger with lettuce, tomatos and cucumbers. After lunch, we walked the two minutes to the falls. Again, I couldn’t take my eyes off them, they were so stunning!! Amazing colors and this big amount of water! In this national park there probably are some of the most beautiful waterfalls I’ve seen.

Wangi Falls

I realize that here in Australia I say a lot that this is one of the prettiest places I have ever seen. So, I asked myself, whether I just forget how beautiful the other places were, whether they are just differently beautiful or whether they really are prettier…

I also jumped into the Wangi Falls pool and again, it was cool to look up to them and the water was green and clear.

Our next stop was a place with many termite mounts and a termite ‘grave yard’. The rocks that the termites are building look like tombstones. When we stopped to observe the plain, Kelly caught a yellow ant with a green tail from a tree and asked us whether we wanted to lick it. It would taste like lime. One girl was brave and so…licked the ant. She confirmed that it tasted sour and so Kel caught a few more ants and we all had a go. It really was quite sour!

Then we had a 2,5 hour drive ahead of us. We picked up our trailer and made the way towards Point Stuart Campground. After the sunset, the bushfires were very well visible and since they all were controlled and purposely laid, we could drive right past them. It looked quite pretty, like thousands on lanterns in the forest.

The campsite really looked like a group camp with cabin tents arranged around a big kitchen hut. So it was actually quite luxurious to share a little house with someone else.
We checked well for spiders and frogs (snake food) and were happy not to find any. Only the mosquitos really were a pain!
For dinner, we had a big and delicious bbq with sausages&steaks, a Greek salad and coleslaw. We were all full after that and ready to go to bed.
During the night, I heard new animal sounds again and wondered which animals they were.

Ubirr

The night was short. At 5.30am, still in the dark, breakfast was served. Surprisingly, everybody got up to eat. Travelling just makes you hungry!
We packed up while the sun was rising and then drove to Murray River, where our boat cruise would start at 7.30am.
We boarded a small boat with about 24 seats and a driver brought us up and down the river in the early morning sun (I was glad brought my sweater; mornings are quite chilly compared to the day).
We saw a few big saltwater crocodiles, a few freshwater crocodiles and even a baby. Plus, there were a lot of birds and water lilies. The two hours on the water passed really quickly and soon, we were back on land, where a fruit platter awaited us.
Then, we drove on to the Mamukala Wetlands, a beautiful wetland bird watch place. There also was an interesting painting about how the aborigines tell the seasons.
Then, we jumped back on our ‘school bus’ and drove on to Jabaru, where we made sandwiches for lunch in a nice park. There were some little aboriginal children playing on the swings. Sadly, these were the first happy aborigines I have seen in Australia.

At the top of Gunlom Fall

After lunch, we entered the beautiful Kakadu Nationalpark and drove to a sacred site called Ubirr. It’s a small mountain from which you have an amazing view! On the way to the top, it was like an outdoor museum with ancient wall paintings. We stopped at every spot and Kel would tell us a story about it.
We took our time, so that the walk wasn’t too exhausting, despite the heat.
Back at the start, it was already time to drive to the campsite. We arrived at Cooinda shortly before sunset and had time to swim in the nice pool with a small waterfall and hot tub.

The camping huts were similar, except that here, we had actual beds with mattresses. The one the night before almost felt like sleeping on bare wood.
For dinner, we had stir fry chicken with rice. Such a simple but delicious dish! I have to remember that for home.
Here, the bathrooms were a bit further away and it was quite hard to find the way in the dark. Plus, there were so many frogs and (poisonous) cane toads that you heard a scream by a girl from our group once in a while:)

See that saltie?

The next morning, breakfast was at 5.30 again. At 6.45 (unbelievable how much time packing up with a group needs) we were ready to roll. Our destination was Gunlom. To get there, we drove along another 4wd track, which was quite fun with the bus. I even saw wild donkeys, a wallaby and a pig somewhere in the trees. In the golden morning light, everything looked even prettier than during the day.
At Gunlom, we hiked for 20min up a steep path over slippery and uneven rocks. On the top, there was an amazing view over the plain and a little further back, there were pools from a waterfall glistering in the sunlight. Once I walked there, I realized that we were actually standing at the top of a waterfall that fell over the cliff we just had walked up. It was beautiful to swim in the pools. They looked like infinity pools because behind them, a huge wall would drop down.
We spent about 1,5 hours up there but I could have stayed all day!
Nevertheless, we hiked back down and this time, had wraps for lunch. There even was grated cheddar cheese! Not just the slices in plastic foil.
Then, we walked the two minutes to the bigger bottom pool and just relaxed until it was time to drive back to Darwin. After all, it should take us 5 hours to get back. It took us a bit more and so shortly past seven, we were finally dropped off at our hostel.

Quickly, we hurried to Coles to buy some more road trip snacks for the rest of the tour. On the way there, I ran in to two guys I met at Peterpans the other night. That’s the good thing about only having one main street, you run into people you meet again and again. Since it was a Monday, we made plans to go get 5$ Domino’s Pizza afterwards. However, since it was a public holiday for the queen’s birthday, there was a 10% surcharge this time. The evening passed too quickly. I had planned on going to bed at 9.30 because I was so tired and I had to get up at 5.30 again but in the end it was midnight after all. Fault of the good public wifi in Darwin 🙂 But I’ve learned from experience in Australia, that you have to enjoy the wifi while you can and I assume that I won’t see much of that on the way to Alice Springs.

Anyways, exploring the top end was amazing! I could have spent weeks in these national parks. There would be so much more to see but I was really happy with the places we visited. Every stop was a highlight!

Darwin – the capital of sunsets

The about two hour flight from Cairns to Darwin passed very quickly. We landed in 34ºC  Northern Territory heat and firstly had to set our watches half an hour back. The airport was tiny and within 15min I was out in the sun. Again without showing my passport or my bags.
Over the past few days I had been in contact with Andrew, I guy I met while I was diving in Koh Tao. I hadn’t actually expected him to have any time for me, since he works for the Navy and basically is always working. Therefore, I was even happier when he had offered to pick me up from the airport.
So already 5min later, he arrived in his cool jeep and in uniform. How could anyone wear long clothes in this weather?!
He drove us to a beautiful café in the botanical gardens and with a delicious chai latte it slowly really sank in that I was in a completely different place of Australia now.

Then Andrew had to go back to work. He dropped me off in the center of town but kindly held on to my suitcase for the day, until I found a hostel. Online, there only were few places left and they were very expensive, so I wanted to try my luck up front and even ask whether I could work for my accommodation. I asked place after place on Mitchel St. They were all 34$(for a simple dorm bed!) and no work anywhere. Luckily, the woman in what I thought was the last hostel on this street then told me there was another one 10min further down, which was probably cheaper. And so I landed at the Gecko Lodge. The very friendly Thai owner gave me the last bed in a male dorm for 25$ and told me I could switch into a 4 bed dorm for the rest of the nights. The people at the hostel were all very friendly and told me that this here was more like a family. Everybody was either working or looking for work. Then I went to have some lunch and stopped off in air-conditioned shops once in a while, as I was having another look at the town. There also is an Esplanade with inviting shady trees and green grass. I finally felt that the alarm clock rung before 5am and so I lie down in the shade for a while amongst all the other people that were already hiding from the heat 🙂
When Andrew got off from work, he brought me my bags and said that we’d meet again later to watch the sunset.
I tried to have a cold shower but the water just wouldn’t get completely cold. Anyways, I’m not complaining. I LOVE the heat and how I could wear short clothes all night long. Plus, doing laundry was so much fun too because everything dried so quickly, that I easily could wash all my things.

Later, Andrew brought us to the Ski Club. I thought they just tried to be funny with the name until I realized that they meant waterski.
It was an outdoor bar at the ocean on green grass under palm trees and there was live music too. So, the place on its own is pretty cool but then I also got to see my first incredibly beautiful and kitsch Darwin sunset. The colors in the sky were so pretty, it looked like a painting was being painted. And to make it really kitsch, there were black silhouettes of sailboats in front of it.
Then, we went to have dinner in a small Vietnamese place next to McDonalds and the beef rice noodles I had were really good! So already my first day in Darwin gad been a success. And even though I then already went to bed at 9.30pm, I had a great sleep because everybody in my room was really quiet when they came in. I like working hostels 🙂

The next day, I wanted to go to the fish feeding but then decided against it since it cost 15$ and I already saw two fish feedings off the boats I was on. Therefore, I strolled to the marina and went for a swim in the lagoon. It’s a controlled area in the port. So, the water was salty but rather murky. But I guess you have to swim here when the ocean is too dangerous because of crocodiles.
I went back to the hostel to cook a late lunch. That was a bit a pain again, since the flies were back.
In the late afternoon, I wanted to walk down to a different beach, to watch the sunset again. I didn’t end up exactly where I wanted to but it was also a very nice spot at the ocean and there were some couples or families having picnics. What a nice way to end the day!
When the sun was down, I had to hurry back into town to make it to the Peterpans night here (I also spent some time with them today, since they had forgotten to book my last night in Alice Springs). We all walked to Monsoon’s where a few were selected to play games and win prizes. Then, they started to bring free pizza and here they brought so many that in the end I felt really full. Luckily, they then put on good music, so that I could go dancing. They also handed out vouchers for free drinks and the men kept buying jugs, so that I think none of the girls had to pay anything all night 🙂

Then, there also was a table with body glow paint, where everybody tried to be creative. Just as I thought I should leave soon, a really good live band came on stage and so we kept dancing. And that in my backpack-sneaker outfit (in other towns, they wouldn’t let me enter like that. I like Darwin!
At midnight, there was a bikini contest. Since I had never seen one before, I stayed for that too. Hopefully, I won’t have to see a second one! One of the girls could win 200$ but in the end it was just who showed their boobs longer…
After that, I thought it would be good have some fresh air. However, the temperature felt pretty much the same outside. The 20min walk back to the hostel was quite nice in the now about 29ºC though.
Thursday, was a lazy day at the lagoon and in town. In the afternoon I was lucky to run into some French guys from my hostel who were just finished with work, so I could ride back with them.
I went for a walk in the botanical gardens. They are pretty small but with local plants and as I mentioned, the café is nice plus there is an air-conditioned info house with free wifi.
Afterwards, it was time to head to Mindil Beach for the famous sunset markets. There were a lot of booths with handmade things to buy. It was really crowded with people, there was live music and the smell of good food. And all this in the soft light of the setting sun. The atmosphere really reminded me of the Seenachtfest in Switzerland. When the sun really started to set, I bought a delicious smoothie and joined the hundreds of other people on the beach to watch the spectacle. Of course it was another stunning sunset but not as romantic in between this huge crowed.
Afterwards, there were people playing didgeridoo and others who had a show with fire.

I wished I could go to the markets again on Sunday but then I d already be on a tour.
Friday was pretty relaxed again. I checked out of the hostel and brought my suitcase to the storage room of the Youth Shack, where we’d be staying when we come back from the national parks. We were only allowed to bring a small backpack for the first few days.
Tonight, I’d be able to stay with Andrew. As he lived on the army base, I wouldn’t have been able to walk anywhere without him and therefore that wouldn’t have been very practical during the week. But now it was Friday and so I met him at the Esplanade at 5pm, where an interview, that he organized, with someone who won an award, was taking place. I watched that and also happened to be at the right spot to see the cancer rally cars arrive. They drove from Perth to Darwin and wanted to raise money against cancer.
Andrew and I then drove to the base, where I had to be signed in properly and show my passport. I received a visitor card, which I had to carry with me all the time.
The apartment was one room with a nice bathroom and view of the ocean.
I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to watch the sunset on my last night here and therefore we this time drove to East Point. Again, an extremely pretty setting! Actually reminded me a bit of the rocky beach behind the Romantica Hotel in Mallorca we used to go to when I was a child.

After the sunset, we picked up a woman that had just started working for the army in Darwin. Together, we went to a bar to meet some other friends of Andrew. I was expecting all military people but actually it was the crew from the interview in the afternoon and their other colleagues. So suddenly I was sitting at a table with people from ABC, having a great time, since part of me still wants to work for a radio or tv:)

Before I came to Darwin, I knew nothing about it. But then I was so openly welcomed and had such a great time and I think anybody who went to that city would experience the same.

 

Oh, the East Coast has rollercoaster roads too! (Cairns to Cape Tribulation)

On the day after the reef trip, I had to check out and still wasn’t entirely sure where I would go. I had wanted to extend my stay at the Global Backpackers Central but when I talked to the women at the counter the first evening (when I was feeling very tired and lonely), she was so rude to me (if she’s always like that she really should look for a different job), that I just wanted to start crying and leave Cairns. Luckily, the Peterpans night and the reef trip shed a better light on Cairns again. But I obviously didn’t stay at that hostel anymore and was really lucky with the couchsurfer I then found. He lived near the botanical gardens and so I took a bus (2.90$) there with all my luggage. Brenton was an amazing host! There already was a German couchsurfer at his apartment and so she had the couch and I made use of my mattress again. Finally, I had two quiet nights of great sleep :)! I was a bit afraid that a big huntsman spider that was hiding behind the microwave would come crawling over my face in the night but Brenton then kindly moved this tenant outdoors.

The three of us then went for a walk at the botanical gardens. I then realized that they were huge and I would have to come back again. It was basically a rainforest jungle, which was pretty cool. However, we hadn’t put any mosquito repellent on and since they were attacking us, we ran back to the house again soon. Just in time before a pouring rain started. It seems to start raining out of the blue often here.

Jenni and Jess with our rental car

Since it was a Saturday, we then drove to Rusty’s market. That’s something you don’t want to miss! We found some really cheap vegetables (perfect Guacamole avocados for 10 for 2$!!! à I was eating avocado for the rest of my days here :)). And there is good food and amazing drinks. Later in the afternoon, I came back with Jenni and Jess from my group on Fraser Island. We each had a fruity drink and I had the best smoothie I ever had!

The three of us were renting a car together with the German girl for the next day. After asking around a little we found one for 60$ with insurance. This made me feel so grown up! I can rent a car on my own! When did that happen?! The same feeling comes with booking a hotel room. That sometimes you rather pay a little more for a nice room and you can actually afford it, instead of a cheap, loud dorm bed.

Barron Falls

Anyways, I was excited about the next day and so at 8.30am we were already packed in the small white car, ready to go. If only it would have been an automatic…I have been doing so well with avoiding manuals over here and now I had to drive a stick shift a whole day. With the stick on the left side!!! Considering that, I think I did pretty well :). There only was one embarrassing moment when I took about half a minute to turn the car back on at a one way street at a construction site (it was an uphill start…). Funny was, that the indicators and windshield wipers were on the same side as in Switzerland in this car. Apparently, Australians don’t know what they want.

After a 40min curvy mountain road drive, we reached Kuranda, which was supposed to be a similar hippie town as Nimbin, just bigger. There is a market on everyday but it wasn’t very busy and I don’t know if it would have been busier later in the day. It still was worth a stop but most of all, due to the Barron Falls. They are another short drive from town. 2min from the car park, there is a lookout with a great view over the falls. It surely would be a nice walk to the bottom of the big falls with a refreshing swim in the pool. However, we wanted to save our walking for Mossman Gorge, our next destination. We drove straight past Port Douglas and then parked the car on the big car park at Mossman Gorge. I didn’t expect this place to be that touristy! You can pay for a shuttle bus to bring you to the entrance of the gorge or you can walk for 20min on a normal road, where the shuttle busses will pass you every few minutes. We walked and passed an aboriginal community and already a few lovely creeks. There were beautiful blue butterflies but they were always too quick to catch them on camera!

Bridge in the Mossman Gorge

We then decided to only do a short walk to the bridge and then swim at a small beach on our way back. The longest walk you could make is only 45min too, so we didn’t really see a point for the shuttle bus.

The rainforest was very lush and green and I loved the fern trees that looked like palm trees. The bridge was actually partially a suspension bridge. It moved when people walked on it!! The water of the stream was very clear and beautiful, so I just had to jump in. Very refreshing! Then we walked back to the entrance and had lunch at the picnic area. We felt very luxurious with our guacamole sandwiches and nachos :). On the way back to the car park it started raining. But you didn’t really need a rain jacket because the drops were so small that it was more like a rainforest spray shower at a spa (I guess the rainforest name makes sense now :)).

Then, we had about another hour of driving ahead of us to get to the river, where we had to take a car ferry to get to Cape Tribulation. They asked 23$/car for a return trip on the ferry. Seriously?!?! It only takes 2minutes to cross! Half joking, I asked the guy whether we could get it for 22$ to make it easier to split it through 4 people but to our surprise he just agreed 🙂

Mossman River

Then, the fun part of driving started. The roads were very windy and up and down and narrow curves through the rainforest. It was the first time since WA that it felt like being on an outback road again, where you actually had to concentrate on driving and where it rather felt like a roller coaster ride. All the (some of the quite big) holes in the ground were quite dangerous. I’m glad we were with a rental car, I wouldn’t want to expose my own car to this road. I had a great time driving there (and that with a manual :)), I hope my fellow passengers did too :).

Unfortunately, we did not see one animal (except the red headed turkeys, they are everywhere). That was a bit disappointing. We would have needed more time to find better walks but since it started raining again, we just went to one beach. It was still pretty with all the mangroves in the water and Alexandra Lookout would probably be amazing on a nice day.

Cape Tribulation

We had no idea where the time went but it was already late afternoon and we had to start driving back. We didn’t want to end up in the rainforest in the dark. The ferries would cross until midnight though…

On our drive back, we made a short detour to Port Douglas and had a walk around town. It looked very cozy and pretty and I would have liked to spend one or two nights there too.

There would have been many more nice places to look at north of Cairns. A lot of waterfalls. But you just need a car to get there and unfortunately, my flight to Darwin is already around the corner. The road between Cairns and Port Douglas was beautiful to drive too, because a lot of it is directly along the ocean. Only, we didn’t see any of it anymore on our way back in the dark. Luckily, we didn’t see or hit any animals either.

It was a great day and I am so glad I could meet up with some friends I met previously on this trip. Travelling is worth so much more if you can share it with nice people. And I wouldn’t have rented a car on my own. Like that, the day only cost us 30$ instead of 150$ with a tour.

Hiking in the Botanical Gardens

The next day, my last day at the East Coast, Lauren and Jamie had arrived too. Them, Jess and Jenni and I went on another exploring tour in the botanical gardens. We did the red arrow walk up a hill, from where we had a nice view overlooking the ocean and the airport. Catching our breath and trying to cool down a little (it gets very hot when the sun isn’t covered by clouds), we were philosophizing how this was possible that a heavy thing like a plane can just stay in the air.

Then, I moved back into a hostel for my last night. It is extremely inconvenient to get to Cairns airport and the only way really is to take a shuttle from a hostel in the center for 12$ (it gets cheaper the more people you are).

My hostel (Bohemian Resort) had a nice pool and whirlpool and after enjoying that, I had to organize a few things for the rest of my trip (still don’t have any accommodation in Darwin, it’s crazy expensive there!). Later, I met up with the others at McDonalds for a 30cent ice cream cone :). Then, we went to the night market, which was pretty much a small Asian tourist/souvenir market. Now, a few other known faces from the Whitsundays and Fraser had arrived in Cairns too. I didn’t think anybody would catch up with me and so it was great to see them again!

For dinner, we ended up at the best pizza place in town (unfortunately, I forgot the name but it’s on Sheridan St and has a little pool in front of it). At home, I want to try to make a bruschetta exactly like that!! It was DELICIOUS!!! Good food and great company was the perfect end to my East Coast trip. I almost wished the volcano in Indonesia would still be spitting ashes, so that my flight would get delayed for a few days. But it was on time and so I had to get up at 5am the next day to take my shuttle bus and then board the JetStar plane. They aren’t very strict for domestic flights in Australia. I could take liquids in my hand luggage (great, why did I spend so much time thinking about how to pack my things?) and I didn’t have to show my passport once!

Anyways, now I am on the plane to the Northern Territory. I didn’t think I’d be sad to leave the East Coast since for the first three weeks, everything looked nice but very similar. But then, I got to these stunning islands and was able to snorkel and dive at these amazing spots and met all these cool people I really hope to see again soon! If not over here, I have even more reasons for some European city trips 🙂

40min of bliss – diving at the Great Barrier Reef

When I arrived in Cairns at 5.45am, I was quite tired and very happy when I realized that the Global Backpackers central hostel was right around the corner from the bus stop. Only, where was the entrance? It was a building with shops and I had to walk into the arcade. Normally, I wouldn’t have been able to go up yet but to my luck, somebody had to go to the airport then and therefore left the hostel. The night manager let me come upstairs and I chilled on the couch for a while. An hour later, they opened the pool and so I could go sleep there for another few hours. At 11am, they let me check in (instead of 1pm) and therefore I was very happy with this hostel so far. The rest of the day I spent walking around town. It looks quite touristy too. There is a good shopping mall and also a lagoon. The esplanade stretches for about 7km (I didn’t realize that and thought I would just go for a short stroll along the sea). There were nice parks, playgrounds and outdoor work out places. Even a small climbing boulder area. After I had been walking for about an hour I realized that I’d have to walk the whole way back, so I didn’t continue anymore although I was really close to the botanical gardens. Back at the hostel, I tried to take a nap but that wasn’t possible due to all the people talking and constantly coming in and out of the room. A lot of action for an 8 bed dorm. A group of young guys started playing a drinking game at 7 and so I was glad I signed up for the Peterpans night out at 8.15pm (sleep would have been impossible with them in the room).

At Peterpans, they made us play a game where we could win a trip and afterwards, the employees suddenly started a really awesome flash mob dance. Then it was time to go to the Woolshed for a free cider and free pizza 🙂 Mhhh. Afterwards, I went back to the hostel, since I had to get up at 6am again the next day for my tour to the Great Barrier Reef.

When I got to our hallway in the hostel, it already smelled really bad of Goon (for the people who haven’t been to Australia yet, that’s cheap and gross wine that comes in a bag that fits into a cardboard container.) I strongly hoped it didn’t come from my room but when I opened the door, there was a huge mess on the floor and the goon smell was even worse. I’d smell like an alcoholic the next morning. Anyways, I tried my best to fall asleep and luckily was hardly awakened by other returning people.

The next morning, I walked down to the reef fleet terminal and could board the Ocean Freedom right away. I had to fill out another diving form and then could help myself to coffee, a Danish and fruit from a huge and delicious fruit plate. I found a nice seat on the upper deck in the shade (throughout the day it changed several times from being a shade roof and protecting us from the rain. The weather around Cairns really is tropical.)

We drove for about 1,5 hours to a dive spot called Wonderwall. Already the first poor people were getting sick but luckily, I wasn’t affected by the waves and was ready to start the first dive when we got to the spot. There was only one other certified girl, so we had almost a private guide. We jumped off the boat into an incredible underwater world. I wished I could have stayed down there forever! The first thing I saw was a HUGE fish. At least 1m high and almost the same length as me. There were weird looking plants, some of them looked like feathers you could put on a hat. So many colorful fishes in colors and patterns I had never seen before. They looked like candy or ice cream. And fish in such an intense blue! Plus, I saw Nemo, his sisters and brothers and cousins and grandparents…There were so many fish! The best was, I finally got to see a turtle! And what a beauty. Moreover, we saw a second one later, that was still a baby.

Sorry, not completely in focus, the water was rather choppy.

So far, everywhere I went diving, everyone would warn us not to touch anything. First of all, because corals can be extremely sharp or poisonous and secondly, it probably damages the wildlife. So I had very mixed feelings when our diving instructor handed me a sea cucumber to touch (it feels very slimy) and pointed us to touch some other cucumbers or things. We even petted the turtle. I was so excited but I know I shouldn’t have done it. The guides should try to protect the reef and encourage the people to do the same. It’s such an amazing world down there! It’s so sad to know that in a few years it won’t look like that anymore. It was one of the best places I have ever dived at. Unfortunately, after 40min we were already back at the surface and made space for the introductory group dives. I jumped back into the water with my snorkel gear on. There were some schools of fish right behind the boat and a big (1,5m) barracuda with scary teeth, that would swim up really close to you because it thinks you will feed it. There were a lot of waves and so even snorkeling could make you feel a bit queasy. Back on the boat I knew I’d start feeling sick too if I wouldn’t get something to eat soon. Luckily, the skipper was of the same opinion and 5min later, a beeeeeautiful lunch buffet was set up. I want to work on that boat 🙂 Unfortunately, a lot of people felt too sick to really eat. I think I would have cried if it was me and I had to miss such a delicious meal.

Then, we drove to a second spot. We all hopped on a glass bottom boat and had a short guided excursion. Then we hopped into the water again and snorkeled back to the boat with the slight current. It was amazing. We were somewhere miles away from the mainland but there was a sandbank in the ocean. You’d think that everywhere away from the land, the ocean would be really deep. Not here. So the deepest spots where the corals were was actually only about 4m deep. The water was really clear and so it was the perfect conditions and place to spot fish and corals. What a beautiful place! Here at the back of the boat, there was another barracuda and the big carnivorous fish we already saw on Samurai. When I first realized I was snorkeling right through them I screamed into my snorkel but then I realized that I wasn’t the first person getting out of the water and that they had probably already been there the whole time. The people who were done with snorkeling would also just jump in the water and swim at the back of the boat and the fish obviously could distinguish between toes, fingers and food.

Too soon, we started the way back. First, they were coming around with a fruit plate again. A little later, with a cheese board and crackers!! And just as I was thinking that something sweet would be nice, they carried around a tray with different cake slices. I was so happy I landed on this boat :)!!!

It must have been a very expensive trip that I probably never would have booked if I knew its price but since it was all in my East Coast package (which was expensive too but it didn’t hurt as much to just pay it all at once) I attended some really awesome tours I really don’t want to have missed. Tours in Australia are really expensive but in the end, they are sooooo worth it because I met awesome people and I have amazing memories and impressions  that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

Sailing in the Whitsundays

View from the Whitehaven lookout

Between Fraser and the Whitsundays I had one night in Agnes Waters, which is next to a place called 1770. It’s a very small place but the Cool Bananas Hostel we stayed at was awesome and the beach beautiful. Unfortunately, it was a rainy day and so the hike around the 1770 headland wasn’t as beautiful as it probably could have been but the guys had a great time climbing around the rocks. When the sun came out for a moment, we took the surfboards and grabbed some free body boards and headed to the beach (it then started raining again but that doesn’t really matter when you are already in the water). The waves were perfect for beginners and I had the best time paddling around with other learners and little boys that made it look so easy. Humans weren’t the only ones on the water though. There were about a million butterflies hovering over the waves. I wished I had another night there to go surfing again the next day! Even with the green water waves, I never nose-dived 🙂 If I continued surfing now, I hope I’d actually be able to surf curves soon :).

Sailing is work!

Then, I was a bit nervous about taking the night bus to Airlie Beach. I’m never able to sleep on these buses and so I wasn’t particularly looking forward to it. Unfortunately, it was a bus without wifi but at least I had nice neighbors and somehow we all made it there intact the next morning. We wandered to the Nomads hostel, where most of us first took a nap for a few hours 🙂

Airlie Beach is another touristy place with a lot of shops, restaurants and bars but I found it very agreeable to stay there. You can’t swim in the ocean because of dangerous stingers but there is a beautiful lagoon around which you can perfectly relax, have a bbq and swim in the saltwater pool when you get too hot. Finally, we had really nice weather again. I even might get my sun tan back. I think I had the nicest days here since I left Perth (I had serious bad weather luck along the East coast, just not what I expected from Australia).

The day before my Whitsunday tour, I just spent hanging around the lagoon, since I thought everybody I knew from Fraser and Noosa already departed a day before me. While I was cooking dinner in the evening, I ran into someone I already met in Rainbow Beach and we realized that we’d be on the same boat the next day. Therefore, we sat opposite each other while we had dinner and while we were talking to some people next to us, someone suddenly asked whether we were a couple. The question on its own wouldn’t be so funny but her comment after we denied that was: yes, otherwise it would have been really weird, since you are eating different things.

However, during the next three days on the boat we were eating the same thing. Did that make us a couple then :)?

Anyways, the next morning I went to check in for my boat. We only were a small group and first had to fill in the safety forms and sign the papers that we wouldn’t sue them. Then, we walked down to the pier and after first waiting at the wrong spot, we then found the correct gate. At least I wasn’t alone :). We met Michael, our dive and trip guide who made us fill in another form and then we could finally board the Samurai, our home for the next two nights. Since we were only 12 passengers (and two crew members) on a boat that usually fits 25 people (I really don’t know how that would work though), we all had a nice amount of space.

Playing around with perspectives and dimentions

Then, we set out in the open sea on a beautiful day. In fact, the weather was so nice that we could only really sail without the motor for 45min in these three days. But it was a lot of fun like that too, mostly thanks to the other awesome passengers. I already miss you guys!

Our first stop was Hayman Island. The certified divers jumped into the water first and we had a nice 42min dive. Visibility was not that good but there were many fish and beautiful corals and just the feeling of floating under water reminded me again that I really should dive more.

For the rest of the afternoon, I went snorkeling, while Michael took a few other groups for an introductory dive. I saw about the same things snorkeling than during diving since everything was up in shallow water.

Then, we our skipper drove us into a beautiful sunset and found a quiet spot to spend the night. The Samurai wasn’t supposed to be a party boat but with this group, both evenings turned into a party anyways, especially after the ‘little piggy’ game. I can’t tell you what it is, otherwise it wouldn’t be funny anymore if you one day get to play it :).

Most of the nights however, we spent just lying on the deck, looking at the amazing sky. There were soooo many stars. We could clearly see the Milky Way and there were many shooting stars. I always wished for chocolate because that was the only thing that was really missing on the boat.

The morning was a bit critical for the stomach of a few people but luckily I could enjoy a beautiful sunrise and my breakfast without any problems. Then, we headed to Whitehaven Beach. We got off on the other side of the island, where it firstly was time for some funny pictures. Then, we walked to the stunning white beach, where we played around with the cameras some more. This beach surely was amazing! Too bad that you have to wear suits to swim in the water because of the stingers. Luckily, I didn’t see one.

After the beach, we hiked up to the view point. The view from there was even better than being at the beach itself. That was probably the most beautiful nature panorama I have ever seen. Just such a stunning mix of blue, green and white colors.

While we were waiting for the small boat to bring us back to Samurai, no other people than Lauren and Jamie from Fraser were jumping off their boat to come on the island. Back to the boat, a nice bbq lunch awaited us. After lunch, we went snorkeling at a different spot and for the sunset we went to a sand bank in the middle of the ocean. We walked to one end of the island and after the sunset, we walked back and realized that part of the sand bank was under water now. Good that I wasn’t wearing long pants 🙂 We even saw a turtle sticking its head out of the water and a small shark.

The second night was wonderful again and luckily I was below deck already during the two minutes it suddenly started pouring out of the blue.

The next morning we went snorkeling around the sandbank but there wasn’t much to see. Visibility was pretty bad. It still was good just to be in the water and at the beach anyways. Then it unfortunately already was time to sail back to Airlie Beach. Good music, great company and beautiful weather made this trip perfect! Back at shore I started to feel a little land sick, so I preventively took a motion sickness pill. On the way to the hostel, I ran into Jamie, Lauren and Victoria and Ronnie again, who were having a bbq at the lagoon for Jamie’s birthday. They invited me to come back for the cake and so my chocolate wish actually came true :).

In the evening, my boat group met up again for an after party. Ali had brought the Twister game and so we had some international competitions going on 🙂 It was another great evening, so that we still weren’t tired of each other after spending all this time together and therefore met up again the next day for swimming and a nice bbq dinner. Then, I sadly had to leave with the night bus to Cairns. Unbelievable, that this is already the last bus from my Greyhound pass. It was such a long list of trips and now it suddenly comes to an end. Everybody else would be stopping of at Magnetic Island and perhaps do a skydive at Mission Beach, so it will be unlikely that I’ll see them again over here 😦 I guess it’s time to meet new people again…

This time, there was wifi on the bus and I even had two seats to myself, so the time until 5.45am passed pretty quickly (which didn’t mean that I could sleep any more than on the last bus).

So far, Fraser and the Whitsundays (and surfing) really were the highlights of the East Coast. The beaches and colors of Whitehaven Beach and watching the stars from the boat at night should be something you should put on the top of your Australia list if you ever get the chance to come here.

Best Samurai group ever 🙂