More Aussie impressions

View on Whitsunday Islands - gorgeous, isn't it?














Our sailing boat, we spent 3 days on













Babsi and me on Whitehaven Beach - before I managed to fall down the hatch :-)












Aboriginal Rock Art in Kakadu National Park















Ubbir Rock, Kakadu National Park














me at Ubbir Rock













At these waterfalls we were swimming at Litchfield National Park- it was sooo refreshing!












View on the MacDonald Ranges near Alice Springs














View while hiking in the outback

Airlie Beach and Cairns

So we have arrived almost at the top of the Australian East Coast, in Cairns to be precise. The weather up here is lovely and most importantly warm- finally. That's good because Cairns is supposed to be part of the tropics already.

We got here last Saturday and in one hour we are leaving again, as we are off to Darwin tonight. Time just flies by and there is not enough time to see all the nice places here on the coast and do all the cool activities and tours they offer. The choice is just huge! But we did go sailing in Airlie Beach. That was one of the hightlights of this trip in many ways. First of all, I had never really been sailing before. I had heard from other people that it was an awesome thing to do but I couldn't imagine it was like. So we set off on Tuesday morning, sun shining and the wind blowing steadily. We got to meet up with the others, all in all there were 14 of us going on the trip. It turned out to be a really good group and we had loads of fun together!

The whole morning we were sailing to Whitsunday Island to finally arrive to Whitehaven Beach, one of the most beautiful beaches I have seen: the sand is completely white and extremely fine- it feels as if you would walk on flour. We got to stay there for a few hours and then sail back to our anchoring spot for the night. - And that when it happened: I just had finished helping to put the sails up and I was going to sit down again when I lost my balance. Why I lost my balance? No clue up until this moment. The only thing I remember is thinking "shit" and then I found myself down in the living area of our sail boat. I had fallen head first 2 meters down the hatch, that is the stair case that leads you below the deck. Somehow I had managed to get my right foot tangled in one of the stairs, so one half of me was hanging on the stair case, my left shoulder and my head were touching the floor. Actually this was lucky, as this way my fall had been slowed down, and my head didn't crush straight into the floor. But this also meant that I badly bruised my foot in such a way that for the rest of the 2 days on board I was just able to limp around the boat- actually my foot is only getting better now. My shoulder was hurting plus I had four more large bruises on my right side. Luckily we also had a doctor on board, who had a look at my foot. Diagonosis: badly bruised ligaments, maybe a teared muscle. However, I didn't let myself be put off by this little fall and I continued enjoying our sailing trip! Everyone on board was very helpful, so it wasn't a problem at all. The snorkeling was a bit of a challenge though, especially the getting into the water bit as well as the getting on and off the sailing boat. The pain was rewarded by seeing turtles, many different species of fish and a lot of corral. On our second night I even managed to dance at the party, although dance might not be the most appropriate word, hobbling would be a better way to describe it. Everyone had a laugh when they saw me, but that was ok, as I was having a great time! :-)


Here in Cairns one of my long time dreams has come true: I went diving at the Great Barrier Reef! Despite the water being a bit chilly, it was a great experience: I saw my first shark out in the wild (Reef shark), I did the first ever dive without any dive master and I saw Napoleon fish, a huge crab, giant clams, Butterfly fish, Angel fish...etc. Diving is just so addictive!

Now I gotta run again, as my internet credit is running out. As you see I'm having a fantastic time here in Aussie and I'm looking forward to telling you soon more about my adventures down under!

Impressions from Australia

The Brisbane city centre, having lunch on the river











On the beach of Mackay















Crossing a small river on the way to Finch Hatton Gorge












Mackay town centre strolling around












Babsi and me in the tent, in our sleeping gear :-)















Views on the way to Eungella National Park










View on the Eungella National park taking from our camping ground

Rockhampton, Mackay, Eungella National Park

I don't even know where to start, the last week was so full of moments and experiences that are worth remembering. I'll try to give you a short summary on some of the highlights.

Our first stop after Brisbane was Rockhampton, a provincial town up the east coast, where we spent two days. It is also known as the beef capital of the region, it's not touristy at all, a very relaxed place with a real Aussie feel to it. One of the highlights there was definitely the 250 gram steak I got to eat in a typical Aussie Pub with rugby match playing on TV at the same time.

After that we headed up to Mackay, a picturesque town situated next to a river and the sea. We made this our base to explore the surrounding Eungella National Park. As public transport in Australia is scarce compared to Europe, we had decided to rent a car for the weekend. That was totally worth it, because like this we were able to explore the area properly. So off we went, driving through kilometers of sugar cane fields, while listening to Colombian music, the sky being not covered by a single cloud, looking forward to the weekend ahead. We walked along river gorges, had picniques at a waterfall, trekked through rain forest, we saw platypus in the wild as well as turtles!

The scenery in Eungella National Park was just stunning, as was the camping ground we stayed at. It had the best view I ever had while camping (pictures will follow). At the same time, on that weekend I also spent my coldest night ever in a tent. We were almost freezing our butts off (4 degrees), despite wearing stockings, socks, long pants, a t-shirt, a top, a jumper, a hat and a jacket! Generally speaking if our first week had to be summed up, I would describe it as cool- in the true sense of the word :-) The days are usually nice and warm- if it is not windy, but the evenings and nights are freezing. Today it was the first time since coming to Aussie, when I felt warm. So the last three nights we didn't stay at the tent, we appreciated A LOT. But as we are travelling north it should get better...so at least that's what I hope.

In my next post I'll update you on the sailing trip we went to during the last three days. That was truly amazing. But now I'm off to dinner.

Now in Aussie

After having spent 3 days up in the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia I stayed for 3 days in Singapore, where I met up with a few old AIESEC friends. Amit, Vaibhav, PatriCK, Melissa...etc, just to name a few. It was really good to see again so many people I know, but there is never enough time to catch up with everybody. Also I had to take it very easy as I caught a really bad cold, which is due to all the airconditioning here in Singapore- or that's at least what I suspect. That's why I have a new nick name, Amit calles me "Germie"...:-) It's nothing bad though, I just couldn't go sightseeing for most days. However, I anyways prefer hanging out with friends and relaxing, instead of stressing from place to place. At the beginning of my trip, I was hurrying from place to place and sight to sight, but now, I tend to take things more slowly and I'm more than fine, with not having seen everything.

Singapore was actually a bit overwhelming after having travelled in Laos and Cambodia- almost like a reverse culture shock. Everything in Singapore is very developed, very fast and very crowded- ah and I forgot much more expensive..;-). Shopping malls are everywhere. Shopping seems to the national sport here...:-)

I arrived yesterday morning here in Brisbane, Australia. Sometimes there are places you just love from the first half an hour you are there, and I think Brisbane is one of these places. I just love the city, and the relaxed and friendly people! I could imagine living here for a while, actually. The next 5 weeks week I will be travelling with my cousin Barbara. We are starting our trip up to Cairns tonight. We have two weeks to travel up the East coast, before we fly to Darwin. From there we have two more weeks to go down to Alice Springs and then we will end up our trip in the Sydney area.

My travel style will change quite drastically, as Aussie is an expensive place to travel- especially if you are used to Asian prices. So yesterday we went out to buy a tent and some other stuff, as we intent to go camping whenever we can. I'll keep you posted on how that goes...:-)