http://flic.kr/s/aHsju2Zp8Z

This post will be my last one about Australia. At least I havn’t planned anything else in this direction. I really liked the country and the people. There are so many places I hadn’t time to look at, which I will do one day or another. On the other I hand: I met so many people and/or got new insights for travelling in other countries. Let’s see where I will end up

The following map will give you an overview about the places I have been. You can click on the markers for a little visuell impression and short descriptions, if I thought to mention something in particular.

View Australia Travel Route in a larger map

Stop. Don’t delete this blog from your favs, mail subscription or whatever. You will find here posts about other things in the future. Thanks so far for following me while I was in OZ.

Cheers
Chrissy

However, I saw the Barossa and Kangaroo Island. But I won’t see the Great Ocean Rd – didn’t get a lift for that. I don’t mind about it so much. Most important thing is, that I will have some more nice days in Melbourne for shopping, photo taking, meeting friends etc.

If I don’t miss my flights again, my plane will depart on Sunday night and will arrive on Monday afternoon (17.50h) in Frankfurt. That’s for sure.

So.. Now, I’m having a great time with Anne. Unfortunately we won’t make it to Kangoroo Island, but we will meet our friends Susan and Nicole tonight and/or tomorrow (They stayed last year at our place in Wiesbaden). On Monday I take a lift with two guys and a girl down to Melbourne through the Great Ocean Road.

I nearly forgot to tell you: My Sunny is now in good swedish girly hands and is probably already back in Melbourne. It happend faster then I thought, so I could really enjoy my stay in Freo. Here are some pics of my stay in Freo, Perth and a bit of Adelaide…

• Broome
• Exmouth / Cape Range National Park (forget about Whitsundays, come to CR NP!)
• Nanga Beach
• Monkey Mia (watching Dolphins)
• Kalbarri (coastal cliffs and canyon)
• Geraldton
• Perth
• Fremantle
• Singelton

We girls met a lot of people on the way. Sure, bunch of Germans. But also from Netherlands, Canada, USA, France, Italy, Peru and last but not least: Australia. I met more Aussies during my travelling then back in Melbourne. Strange, isn’t it? If you followed my blog regulary, you will recognise some faces from before.

Watch a real Aussie parrot:

organising

Some of you may have already noticed that I’m staying a couple of days here in Freo (Fremantle). It’s a pretty nice place to stay until my car gets sold. Somehow, I hope I will sell it soon, so I can relax some days on the beach, drink coffee and stuff like that. On the other hand, I will really miss my Sunny. He was a very good vehicle

I kindly inform you about my plans for the last three weeks in OZ… Actually, I don’t have much plans. Just flying on the 14th to Adelaide, meeting Anne (my roommate from Wiesbaden) and then take a lift to Melbourne via Great Oceaon Road. Having some last relaxing days in Melbourne before I fly back home on 27th of February (arriving 28th, 5.50pm).

In short: I picked three german girls up in Cairns. Anne, Babs and Sabs. We travelled together until Cloncurry. Right before Cloncurry Sunnys achsel broke, we got stuck for 10 days in Cloncurry until it got fixed. Anne and Sabs went off one day before Babs and me, cause we didn’t know how long it would take and they are more in a hurry then the two of us. Next stops were Barkly Homestead, Daly Water, Mataranka, Katherine, Kununurra, Fitzroy Crossing, Broome. We surprised Anne and Sabs yesterday evening and heading on tomorrow down to Perth. Enough talking! Enjoy:

And: if you know someone in Perth who needs a wonderful car:

Day Twenty-six to Twenty-nine

The day of Christmas eve. Australians’ don’t celebrate Christmas Eve, they just celebrate Christmas Day (25.12.2010). With a fake white or pink Christmas tree, presents before breakfast and enjoying the morning together with the family. But that is not the way we celebrated Christmas this year. On the 24th we went out to Fraser Island for a one day trip. Took a bath in Lake Mc Kensey, ate a lunch in Central Station, watched at coloured sand, had a look at the ship wreck, took a walk in the Elli Creek and headed back to Rainbow Beach. We decided just to eat in our apartment and going out for dinner the next day in the next city. Wrong decision, guys! Not only had we to stay one more night in Rainbow Beach, for that we were lucky we could buy some stuff for cooking our own dinner the next day. The supermarket was the only open shop on Christmas Day. Everything else had closed. Somehow we were counting on some open restaurants in the evening. I won’t do that again in such a little village. The reason we stayed one more day, was a flat tyre my father saw when I drove the packed car out from the garage. The lovely RACQ man (road side assistant of Queensland) couldn’t really help me that day, but told me he will fix that one, another one and the spare tyre the next day. So he did until around 10am on 26th. Because of that and our long way to our next main destination we decided not to drive to 1770. Instead we drove directly to Whitsunday Island with a one night stop in Rockhampton. Nothing really to talk about.. It’s like every other city, has a bit of nightlife and that’s it.

Day Thirty to Thirty-two

Our temporary home on those days was the Best Western Palm in Airlie Beach. I guess I forget to mention how the weather is over here: rainy! The day we left Rockhampton the cyclone arrived in the area between Rockhampton and Bundaberg. Which resulted in floods all over the place as well as damaged properties. Maybe you saw it in the news. We weren’t in there, luckily. You could say we run away from it.
However. we tried to make the best out of it in Airlie. One day we went for a little hiking trip to the Conway National Park, where we got a wonderful view of the Whitsunday Island. On the way we passed thousands of spiders, spider webs, butterflies and other little animals. It took us around 4 hours return, for a 4km distance. Too long for this short distance! Airlie Beach itself is pretty small, but has a lot of life going on at the streets and in the pubs. Our one day Whitsunday Island tour took us to a swim at Whitehaven Beach, little walking tour to Hill Inlet Lookout and snorkelling at Mantaray Bay. Also on this trip the weather man was nice to us. The sun came out after our first few hours on the boat and it stayed the whole day. I met two nice people at the trip – Lara from the US and Brian from Ireland, both living in Sydney. We went also out for a drink in the evening…
Because my dad wanted to stay a couple of days in Cairns, before they leave Australia, we tried to drive as far as we can on one day. So we made our lunch stop in Townsville (not worth to go) and stayed the night in Innisfail (can’t say, if it’s alright, didn’t had a closer look).

Day Thirty-three to Thirty-seven

So we arrived after a stop at the Josephine Falls in Cairns on time for New Years Eve. Which I celebrated with my (Swinburne) friends Mael and Armin, as well as with Irish-Brian and some other friends from Mael and Armin. We had a Kangaroo dinner and firework at the Lagoon in Cairns. The rest of the night we celebrated in the Irish Pub called P.J. Unfortunately I had to sleep in my car, cause the hotel I stayed in and the hostel of my friend was too far away. I’m looking forward to sleep in it again in a couple of days!
What else did we do so far in Cairns? We drove to the Crystal Cascades, a waterfall with a few swimming pools and for a walk through the Mossmann Gorge rainforest with a lot of rain at the last few hundred meters. Sure, we also did a tour to the Great Barrier Reef for snorkelling and a introductory scuba diving (only I did that one). Guess what! We had good weather at this trip, too. Only a bit of rain, flat water, a good view to the corals and fishes. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any turtles. Besides of that snorkelling and scuba diving was so much fun and a gorgeous experience! I’m so happy I did it. Watching fishes from so close and touching soft corals (just be careful which one you are touching).
My plan for the next and last days in Cairns: Finding a travel partner for my trip to the west coast, bringing my car to a mechanic for a service check and preparing some stuff for the big and long trip. Ah, also saying goodbye to my parents.

Day Sixteen

Last day in Byron Bay. Before we headed off we saw a doubled rainbow just above the lighthouse. Really nice! Later in the afternoon I drove to Tumbulgum, where a lovely family lives. I didn’t know those people before, but my brother Robert threaded. In the first place I wanted to stay at a friends place of him. But she moved in the last months to Perth. Anyway, she arranged that I can stay at her parents place. So I did. Her parents (Kim and John) and her brothers (Josh and Tom) welcomed me very friendly. So I stayed there 4 nights.

Day Seventeen to Nineteen

I didn’t do a lot in Tumbulgum. Chilled at the veranda, walked through the village, did a few things for my uni at home, went to the army end celebration of Josh and so on. Kim drove with me around the area of Tumbulgum and showed me some rainforests, the place where the british “Celebrities – get me out of here” is getting shooted, places to swim in the river, the Hare Krishna Community, the local Art Gallery and Mt Warning. I also was in Tweed Heads to stand on the edge of Queensland and New South Wales and in Coolangatta for a chinese dinner. Very relaxed days and I’m happy I could meet this family.

Day Twenty

Sure, I have to see the Gold Coast. So I went to Surfers Paradise. Unfortunately it was a bit rainy and not a lot people or surfers at the beach/in the water. I was expecting a lot more. Instead of spending the night directly in Surfers I drove a bit more north to Jacobs Well. A little village with the view to the little Kangaroo Island of Queensland. Great for driving around with a boat.

Day Twenty-one to Twenty-two

On Sunday I drove up to Brissie, Brisbane. Before I picked up my parents from the airport I went to the South Bank Market, Modern Art Gallery, Art Gallery and the village Market. From there on I slept every night in a normal bed so my car can carry my parents and their luggage. The next day we walked in the CBD of Brisbane, South Bank and got the ferry back to Eagle St Pier.

Day Twenty-three

My mam was happy when we left the city. She had enough of city life and wanted to see some nature. So we drove to Noosa Heads at the north point of the sunshine coast. There we stayed two nights, walked in the Noosa National Park and took a bath in the pacific.

Day Twenty-five

We are now in Rainbow Beach, since yesterday. The plan was to stay in Rainbow one night, go to Eurong on Fraser the next day and stay there two nights and discovering the island. Unfortunatly we couldn’t do that. I didn’t want to go to Fraser with my 4WD car (it is not fit enough.. you know, I got stucked.. and Fraser is a lot worse) so we had to hire one. But we didn’t get one in Fraser, only for the day after. In Hervey Bay the companies wanted too much money. Main problem: we had an accommondation in Eurong, booked and payed. Under 72h they neither let us change the date nor we can cancel it without loosing the whole money. My dad tried to find an other way, just to go there somehow. But he didn’t find one. We are staying now three nights in Rainbow and do a day trip tomorrow. Still, we loose the money. But yea… At least we saw the Carlo Sandblow, Cooloola Cove and Tin Can Bay and took a bath in the ocean. I just hope the rain stops while we are on Fraser Island tomorrow. Otherwise it would be not a really nice experience.

Lets see how the rest of our trip up to Cairns will be.

I wish you all wonderful christmas days! Enjoy your time with your fam or whatever you are doing. I’m not really in christmas mood.. not christmas tree around or lights, christmas markets and stuff.. How shall I get there? And if I can’t update my blog before New Year’s: Happy New Year!!

You already saw some pics of my first four days. Have a look at the pics of the rest. I won’t write a lot – it would take me ages

Day Five

Travelling to the Blue Mountains through Jamberoo Mt.

Day Six

I stayed three nights in Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains. At my first day I did a abseiling and canyoning tour, cause it was rainy and not so nice for hiking or walking aroung.. It was awesome! Not only the unique experience to walk in the river and jump into little water wholes, also the nature around me looked wonderful. Thanks to my new friend Jason, a US navy mate, I have some pics from the trip. I really should buy me one of the watercameras. Aldi sold some last thursday. Unfortunally we were too late to get one. Maybe I have luck and get one in a other Aldi store, but I don’t think so…

Day Seven

Still in Katoomba at a walking track from the three sisters to the Katoomba Waterfalls and back with Jason.

Day Eight

Thanks to a couple who married just three weeks ago, we got two vauchers for the Jenolan Caves. Paying only the half price made the trip a bit less expensive and we had a look at two caves, River Cave and Temple of Baal.

Day Nine

Not much to tell.. I just drove a few hundret K’s to Myall Lakes National Park. To camp at the Dark Hole – a very nice spot, thanks to Armin who recommended me this place.

Day Ten

In Port Macquarie I met Armin.. To waste a bit of time and as a test drive for Fraser Island we tried to drive a 4WD Road, 12K’s long. After we managed the first water hole, we also managed to get through the next water holes, stones and sand areas. Excited but also a bit dangerous. I don’t want to hurt my little Sunny. Because of that we didn’t go through a bigger water hole, which came like 10 Minutues before our target place, Point Plomer. So we drove back but got stucked in the sand. I forgot to follow Philipps notice, to let off air from the tyres… or.. in the end two drunken Australians helped us to make our way savely until Point Plomer.

Day Eleven

There is also not much to tell about. Armin and me drove to Coffs Harbour to drive a little bit of the same way back. We ended in the Never Never Area of the Dorrigo National Park…

Day Twelve

… where we did a 4,5h hiking trip to the waterfalls. Those leeches loved my foot, so we had to stop every 5minutes to get rid of them. Luckily I had socks on, so they didn’t get a chance to suck my blood. Only one did that the night before.

Day Thirtneen and Fourteen

Now we are in Byron Bay. Where I met coincidentally five Swinburne mates. The little city seems like the best backpacker city at the eastcoast after Sydney. I’m sure, there will follow now a lot of them to my way to Cairns. But I won’t be able to party a lot, cause I do this trip with my parents. We campes the first night at the Woolworth parket slots, with around 10 other Campervans I don’t now, when I keep travelling. Maybe tomorrow or in two days. Have a couple of days to go to Brisbane to meet my parents there. Crazy, they will fly to Australia very soon and have a look at Melbourne before.

I’m writing now my little post from Kiama, a little city close to Wollongong. My first few adventure days got me to Wilsons Promontory, Raymond Island, Bournda National Park – or more a picnic area at Wallagoot Lake and finally Kiama.
I could tell you all my experiences and stuff, but I don’t really feel like doing so. Mainly I had some nice first days with more rain then sun. Luckily I had always sun, when I was looking around and the rain came out as soon as I was sitting in my car. This is also the reason why I already changed my plans. As you may remember, I wanted to go through the alps up to Sydney. Weatherforecasts said it should at some time rain and at the tourist info I was told to go the safest route, which I would have to do twice. It didn’t feel worth it to drive this long distance and then just walking in the rain..
So I will go tomorrow just to the Blue Montains and afterwards to Brisbane with a few stops in between.

I already feel a bit exhausted from travelling long distances. I got so far 1.090km. But maybe I feel so, because of nearly 20 mosquito bites I got yesterday at the lake? Probably both. Sunny is still running. Althought sometimes he does things I can’t get in the first place and I’m relieved when it starts after such a questionmark. But it seems it likes me… I hope this will hold on until I’m back in Melbourne in the end of February ’11.

Alright.. I managed to upload some of my pics (not edited).. Have fun and see you soon.