Mittwoch, 30. Januar 2008
Queensland
Tomorrow I will fly to Cairns, this is a city in Queensland, which is the northeastern state of Australia. There I booked a boat tour for 4 days and I will do some dives in the Great Barrier Reef. After that I will rent a car and drive around. I won´t have my laptop with me, so expect pictures and updates after my return, which will be Feb. 16th. Hope you all will have a happy carnival with great parties!!
Montag, 28. Januar 2008
Australia-Day Horse racing
On January 26th is Australia Day, they celebrate themselves. Many parties or concerts are happening, I went with my aunties to a horse racing which is very popular here.
Some guys are dressing up.....
and everyone drank very much. During the day funny things happened, like some running naked over the track. Could have been this guy, I´m quite sure he could drink all the beer he is carrying alone.
And they love to bet. We were lucky and quadrupled our bet, too bad it has been only 20 Dollars.
The Australians love to bet and to gamble. Many of the pubs have gambling machines next to the dining room. After and before eating they play.... I am not lucky with these machines, but my auntie is.. Its amazing to see her winning....
Some guys are dressing up.....
and everyone drank very much. During the day funny things happened, like some running naked over the track. Could have been this guy, I´m quite sure he could drink all the beer he is carrying alone.
And they love to bet. We were lucky and quadrupled our bet, too bad it has been only 20 Dollars.
The Australians love to bet and to gamble. Many of the pubs have gambling machines next to the dining room. After and before eating they play.... I am not lucky with these machines, but my auntie is.. Its amazing to see her winning....
Sydney 3
I´ve spent my last day in the Botanical Gardens. Besides some nice plants I saw some interesting animals. Australia has some of the most noxious animals, I dont know if this spider is also noxious, but it looked quite impressive. It was about 15 cm long.
There were also many flying-foxes:
When you enlarge this picture you can see how many of them where sleeping in the tree, waiting for twilight, their hunting time.
There were also many flying-foxes:
When you enlarge this picture you can see how many of them where sleeping in the tree, waiting for twilight, their hunting time.
Sydney 2
The next day I spent at the famous Bondi Beach. At one beach bar they had Acai, one of my favorite brazilian fruits. This reminded me of some nice moments I spent in Brasil.......
Too bad it will be July when I will be there again :-(
One part of the beach is resevered for swimmers, they had to swim between the flags.
If not, then they will be reminded over loudspeakers from the famous and well equipped life guards.
Too bad it will be July when I will be there again :-(
One part of the beach is resevered for swimmers, they had to swim between the flags.
If not, then they will be reminded over loudspeakers from the famous and well equipped life guards.
Sydney
After Tasmania I flew to Sydney where I started with a bus sightseeing trip. From the open bus I saw the office building of my former employer. Greeting to all my former colleagues!! One of them is now working here...
In the late afternoon I visited the famous Harbour Bridge,
where I booked the bridge climbing tour. This is a 3,5h tour which starts with dressing up and getting used to the security equipment. Unfortunately you are not allowed to bring your own camera. They say its because of security, I think they want to make some extra money with their pics. The tour is quite expensive (250$) and for the pics they wanted an additional 100$, which I was not willing to pay. You walk up on one arrow up to the top (164m) cross at the middle and walk down at the other side. I did this at twilight, so i was walking up with sunlight, saw sunset from the top and walked down in the night with the lighted skyline of sydney. If you also want to do this tour I would recommend to do it at the same time as me, you see two different Sydneys.
Of course I saw the beautiful opera house which is situated in a perfect place within the famous harbor.
In the late afternoon I visited the famous Harbour Bridge,
where I booked the bridge climbing tour. This is a 3,5h tour which starts with dressing up and getting used to the security equipment. Unfortunately you are not allowed to bring your own camera. They say its because of security, I think they want to make some extra money with their pics. The tour is quite expensive (250$) and for the pics they wanted an additional 100$, which I was not willing to pay. You walk up on one arrow up to the top (164m) cross at the middle and walk down at the other side. I did this at twilight, so i was walking up with sunlight, saw sunset from the top and walked down in the night with the lighted skyline of sydney. If you also want to do this tour I would recommend to do it at the same time as me, you see two different Sydneys.
Of course I saw the beautiful opera house which is situated in a perfect place within the famous harbor.
Tasmania East Coast 2
The last day of the tour was dedicated to some nice beaches. Here is "Blowhole", a hole in the rocks where the waves are compressed and pressed through.
The brown color of the rocks is the result of some minerals.
On this beach I made some nice pics, have a look at the different colors of the stones and the water.
And this is one of the most beautiful bays, called "Whineglass Bay". The name comes from the nearly perfect curve of the beach, which has the form of a ... wine glass.
The brown color of the rocks is the result of some minerals.
On this beach I made some nice pics, have a look at the different colors of the stones and the water.
And this is one of the most beautiful bays, called "Whineglass Bay". The name comes from the nearly perfect curve of the beach, which has the form of a ... wine glass.
Tasmania East Coast
We started our second part of the trip in Port Arthur. It is a small island which was used as a prison island for convicts, who was shipped from England. Less than 5 people have been successful to flee from this place. One prisoner tried to escape and hided himself inside the skin of a kanguruh. The menu of the guarding soldiers was not very diversified, so they were very happy to see some fresh meat for dinner and they shot him.....
The next day we made a short hike in a beautiful rain forest. In previous times there has been some mining here, this railroad bridge could have been used in an Indiana Jones film...
The tracks in this rain forest are shaded with some giant fern trees. Combined with some sun this was looking really nice.
And the target of the hike was a beautiful water fall...
The next day we made a short hike in a beautiful rain forest. In previous times there has been some mining here, this railroad bridge could have been used in an Indiana Jones film...
The tracks in this rain forest are shaded with some giant fern trees. Combined with some sun this was looking really nice.
And the target of the hike was a beautiful water fall...
Hobart
I had one day off in the capital Hobart, where I visited the famous Salamanca Market. One of the nicest things I saw there was a woolen tasmanian devil tea pot warmer.
In the afternoon I did a downhill tour from the nearby Mount Wellington. On the street it was no problem, but it also had a steep sandy off road part, which was a bit slippery. In Australia and New Zealand it is mandatory to wear a bicycle helmet. If you dont wear it you have to pay a fine.
The next day we visited an animal sanctuary with some hungry kanguruhs
and some full tiger snakes. We saw this snake also live.. without fences at our trip to the great ocean road. It is very noxious, if it bites you, you have 5 minutes left to sum up your life..... then it will be over....
In the afternoon I did a downhill tour from the nearby Mount Wellington. On the street it was no problem, but it also had a steep sandy off road part, which was a bit slippery. In Australia and New Zealand it is mandatory to wear a bicycle helmet. If you dont wear it you have to pay a fine.
The next day we visited an animal sanctuary with some hungry kanguruhs
and some full tiger snakes. We saw this snake also live.. without fences at our trip to the great ocean road. It is very noxious, if it bites you, you have 5 minutes left to sum up your life..... then it will be over....
Tasmania West Coast 2
We arrived in Strahan, they had very nice and big sand dunes there, over 1km deep. This was a nice contrast to the freezing mountains the day before.
At night we drove back to the beach for a spectacular sunset.
The next day was mostly driving towards the capital Hobart. We passed by a funny memorial for World War I soldiers cut out of the wood of some big trees.
At night we drove back to the beach for a spectacular sunset.
The next day was mostly driving towards the capital Hobart. We passed by a funny memorial for World War I soldiers cut out of the wood of some big trees.
Tasmania West Coast
From Tuesday January 15 till Wednesday January 23th I have been in Tasmania.
It was very nice, I booked a guided Tour, 3 days West Coast, 1 day off in the capital Hobart and 3 days East Coast.
Tasmania is a country with a very low criminality rate. If it would have been higher, they probably had to install real fences for this opium field.. Yes, you just read right.. it is OPIUM!!
The western part of Tasmania is very wild and consists mostly of a nature reserve roundabout the size of Switzerland. One part of it are the Craddle Mountains. It was really cold here, about 12 degrees with a strong wind. I did a nice 4h hike there.
On my way back to the car park I saw two typical Tasmanian animals: a wombat
and a echidna, which looks like a hedgehog and is eating ants.
On the next day we stopped at Lake Rosebery. Here it had no wind and dark water, so i could take some very nice pics with the mirrored landscape in the lake.
It was very nice, I booked a guided Tour, 3 days West Coast, 1 day off in the capital Hobart and 3 days East Coast.
Tasmania is a country with a very low criminality rate. If it would have been higher, they probably had to install real fences for this opium field.. Yes, you just read right.. it is OPIUM!!
The western part of Tasmania is very wild and consists mostly of a nature reserve roundabout the size of Switzerland. One part of it are the Craddle Mountains. It was really cold here, about 12 degrees with a strong wind. I did a nice 4h hike there.
On my way back to the car park I saw two typical Tasmanian animals: a wombat
and a echidna, which looks like a hedgehog and is eating ants.
On the next day we stopped at Lake Rosebery. Here it had no wind and dark water, so i could take some very nice pics with the mirrored landscape in the lake.
Dienstag, 22. Januar 2008
update coming soon
hi guys, i was traveling this week in tasmania, the next 3 days i will spend in sydney. then i will fly back to melbourne. i dont have my laptop with me, so more info and some wonderfull pics will be posted here next week. greetings to all, michael
Sonntag, 13. Januar 2008
lazy...
Was lazy the past days... Saturday went to Healesville Sanctuary, a place with Australian animals. Here I saw the famous Koalas, they are a little booring, because they are sleeping most time of the day. But I have to admit, that even then they are still looking cute....
In the evening I went downtown for dinner with my aunties. Was nice, many people at the boulevard, many performances, funny music. The night finished in the crown casino, where I had fun loosing some bucks...
Sunday drove down the Melbourne Bay on the eastern side, it was quite windy, perfect for wind- and kitesurfers.
On Tuesday I will fly to Tasmania. There I booked a 7 day sightseeing tour, three days east coast, 3 days west coast and a day off in the capital Hobart where I will do a downhill trip with a bicycle.
In the evening I went downtown for dinner with my aunties. Was nice, many people at the boulevard, many performances, funny music. The night finished in the crown casino, where I had fun loosing some bucks...
Sunday drove down the Melbourne Bay on the eastern side, it was quite windy, perfect for wind- and kitesurfers.
On Tuesday I will fly to Tasmania. There I booked a 7 day sightseeing tour, three days east coast, 3 days west coast and a day off in the capital Hobart where I will do a downhill trip with a bicycle.
Mittwoch, 9. Januar 2008
Great Ocean Road
I am glad to introduce Dim-Sin, the local cat. We deeply tried to find out, if we could be friends.....
And came to a positive result....
I now have a girlfriend Down Under ;-)
Poor cat, she has so much hair, it must be horrible for her with temperatures hitting 43 degrees in the last and also coming days.
On saturday I went with my aunties to an area called Great Ocean Road. These impressive rocks belong to a group called "12 Apostels". You drive there at a road close to the ocean with some spectacular views.
This picture was a little faked, I was not the only one here at that beach. The water was quite cold, 20 degrees max.
Some other nice beach, this time really without people...
Many beaches have some tricky and very dangerous currents, therefore take care and go only swimming with lifesavers close. The Australian Lifesavers are very famous, here they got rewarded with a nice memorial ...
On Sunday we went to Otway fly tree top walk. Its a walking way which raises up to 47m high into the rain forest with very high trees. You can see the forest from quite a very different view. Even everything is tightly connected with the ground, when it has even a light breeze everything will be swinging. Here you see the highest observation tower.
In the afternoon we went back, I decided to do some diving here, so I stayed overnight in Queenscliff at a dive school. Queenscliff is located at the entry to the bay of Melbourne.
On Monday did 2 dives, this time with my new equipment. The water was quite cold, 18-20degrees. This was quite challenging compared to Thailand, where I had 28 degree water.
First dive was with a Guide, whom I had to pay extra. The underwater flora and fauna there was totally different than Thailand, nice big sea-leaves swinging with the current.
My second dive was a "Drift Dive". All Divers are holding a rope, which is connected to a surface marker buoy. We did not swim, instead we let ourself drift with the strong current and watched the scenery flying bye. The disadvantage of not doing anything was, that I was freezing a little. We passed quite a distance heading to the local light tower. At dawn I was able to take a pic of it with a nice sunset.
On Monday i was running out of money, the ATMs not accepting my card and I was a little worried, if I have enough left to pay the bus and train back to Melbourne. I even skipped lunch to safe my money for my trip back home. I made it with some luck, one of the divers gave me a lift and dropped me in Melbourne.
The Aussies are nice people, sometimes a little strange/different:
They love abbreviations: for example they hate Mossis... aka Mosquitos
They love Veggi... aka Vegemite, something which smells and tastes like Maggi and is used as a bread parfait. We make soup out of it ;-) They are eating it even for breakfast.
They love strange sport games, for example Cricket. Do you know that a cricket match lasts for 5 days? It begins in the morning and breaks only for lunch and tea.... So if you love soccer and your friend/partner/wife complains that you are wasting too much time watching it.. tell her that you think about switching to Cricket and I am sure, she will stop complaining about your hobby any more ...
On Tuesday I did nothing, just relaxing....
On Wednesday went into Melbourne, I had to bring my bags into town for repair.
And came to a positive result....
I now have a girlfriend Down Under ;-)
Poor cat, she has so much hair, it must be horrible for her with temperatures hitting 43 degrees in the last and also coming days.
On saturday I went with my aunties to an area called Great Ocean Road. These impressive rocks belong to a group called "12 Apostels". You drive there at a road close to the ocean with some spectacular views.
This picture was a little faked, I was not the only one here at that beach. The water was quite cold, 20 degrees max.
Some other nice beach, this time really without people...
Many beaches have some tricky and very dangerous currents, therefore take care and go only swimming with lifesavers close. The Australian Lifesavers are very famous, here they got rewarded with a nice memorial ...
On Sunday we went to Otway fly tree top walk. Its a walking way which raises up to 47m high into the rain forest with very high trees. You can see the forest from quite a very different view. Even everything is tightly connected with the ground, when it has even a light breeze everything will be swinging. Here you see the highest observation tower.
In the afternoon we went back, I decided to do some diving here, so I stayed overnight in Queenscliff at a dive school. Queenscliff is located at the entry to the bay of Melbourne.
On Monday did 2 dives, this time with my new equipment. The water was quite cold, 18-20degrees. This was quite challenging compared to Thailand, where I had 28 degree water.
First dive was with a Guide, whom I had to pay extra. The underwater flora and fauna there was totally different than Thailand, nice big sea-leaves swinging with the current.
My second dive was a "Drift Dive". All Divers are holding a rope, which is connected to a surface marker buoy. We did not swim, instead we let ourself drift with the strong current and watched the scenery flying bye. The disadvantage of not doing anything was, that I was freezing a little. We passed quite a distance heading to the local light tower. At dawn I was able to take a pic of it with a nice sunset.
On Monday i was running out of money, the ATMs not accepting my card and I was a little worried, if I have enough left to pay the bus and train back to Melbourne. I even skipped lunch to safe my money for my trip back home. I made it with some luck, one of the divers gave me a lift and dropped me in Melbourne.
The Aussies are nice people, sometimes a little strange/different:
They love abbreviations: for example they hate Mossis... aka Mosquitos
They love Veggi... aka Vegemite, something which smells and tastes like Maggi and is used as a bread parfait. We make soup out of it ;-) They are eating it even for breakfast.
They love strange sport games, for example Cricket. Do you know that a cricket match lasts for 5 days? It begins in the morning and breaks only for lunch and tea.... So if you love soccer and your friend/partner/wife complains that you are wasting too much time watching it.. tell her that you think about switching to Cricket and I am sure, she will stop complaining about your hobby any more ...
On Tuesday I did nothing, just relaxing....
On Wednesday went into Melbourne, I had to bring my bags into town for repair.
Freitag, 4. Januar 2008
dandenong forest
On Friday 4th. I went with my Aunt to Dandenong forest, which is half a hour away from her place. When we arrived at the parking lot, there was some bird feeding going on where I participated. These Australian parrots are really funny. The lady behind me was not feeling very comfortable with three of them sitting on her.
In the forest you will see giant gum trees (Eukalyptusbäume). The taller ones can survive bush fires. If you enlarge the picture, you can see the charred bark of this tree.
The forest is also know for its giant fern, some beautiful ones can be seen here. This house is regularly on calender photos.
A little disappointing have been the "waterfalls". I brought my towel to have a swim, but more than "let some water flow over my toe" was not possible.
Everything in Australia is a little bigger than in Thailand, I´m glad to introduce to you Eli, my personal tour guide & cook & driver& aunt.
We will spend the weekend at the "Grand Ocean Road" area. We had problems to find accommodation, there is a swimming event happening close, which is called "pier to pub "
http://www.check-in.com.au/Great_Ocean_Road/Lorne_Pier_to_Pub.htm
Several thousand swimmers swim 1,2km in the sea, this event is listed in the guiness book of records as the largest open water swim event.
Remark: One month ago I started my trip, the time is running very fast fast fast....
In the forest you will see giant gum trees (Eukalyptusbäume). The taller ones can survive bush fires. If you enlarge the picture, you can see the charred bark of this tree.
The forest is also know for its giant fern, some beautiful ones can be seen here. This house is regularly on calender photos.
A little disappointing have been the "waterfalls". I brought my towel to have a swim, but more than "let some water flow over my toe" was not possible.
Everything in Australia is a little bigger than in Thailand, I´m glad to introduce to you Eli, my personal tour guide & cook & driver& aunt.
We will spend the weekend at the "Grand Ocean Road" area. We had problems to find accommodation, there is a swimming event happening close, which is called "pier to pub "
http://www.check-in.com.au/Great_Ocean_Road/Lorne_Pier_to_Pub.htm
Several thousand swimmers swim 1,2km in the sea, this event is listed in the guiness book of records as the largest open water swim event.
Remark: One month ago I started my trip, the time is running very fast fast fast....
Donnerstag, 3. Januar 2008
Today I visited Phillip Island with my aunt, which is about 1,5 h southeast of Melbourne. Its a nice island, its main attraction are small penguins, which came back home at night and sleep here. You have to buy tickets for this parade and have to bring warm clothes, because it could be late, when they are appearing. The rocks in the background are called "the Nobbies", a sanctuary for seagulls, penguins and seals (Seehunde). The wind was quite strong there, I had to hold my cap, otherwise it would have flown away.
The landscape is beautiful, here is the side which is facing the land.
And here the sea-facing side, quite rough but also beautiful.
This beach is located at the biggest city in Phillip Island. When you look closer (enlarge it with clicking on it), you´ll see many people wearing t-shirts, this is due to the intensive sun-ray which australia has. You really have to protect your skin here, it will get sunburned very fast.
The landscape is beautiful, here is the side which is facing the land.
And here the sea-facing side, quite rough but also beautiful.
This beach is located at the biggest city in Phillip Island. When you look closer (enlarge it with clicking on it), you´ll see many people wearing t-shirts, this is due to the intensive sun-ray which australia has. You really have to protect your skin here, it will get sunburned very fast.
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