Great Barrier Reef - Scuba diving and snorkeling

Hi there adventurous people,

On Monday the 30th of December Markus and I got up early (Not again! We are on holidays!) to get picked up for our Great Barrier Reef experience! YEAH! At the marina of Port Douglas we had to take of our shoes before boarding the boat. That’s some good laid-back start for the day! The crew welcomed us onboard and handed us some paperwork that we had to fill in before we could do any activities such as snorkeling or scuba diving. There was a question about having ever fainted or if you had blackouts in the past. Well, I had blackouts and so I crossed that one with “Yes”. I got questioned about this and was told that they were not sure if they could take the risk and let me do scuba diving! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Daintree Forest - Crocodiles, boardwalks and ice cream

Cheerio folks,
I know, crocodiles, boardwalks and ice cream is a strange combination. But I will explain in a minute.
On Sunday morning we first went shopping for our picnic lunch which we have planned to have in the Daintree Forest National Park. Then we set off to the Daintree River and arrived just in time for the next Crocodile Express River Cruise. This is basically a one-hour boat tour in a zig-zag on the river and the skipper tells you more about the river, the environment and the animals, especially crocodiles. And lucky enough we spotted two, the first one a bit hidden and the second a rather small one:

Port Douglas - Wallaman Falls and Coastal Drive

Hallihallo,
Saturday morning and Townsville is very deserted. We searched a while for a fuel station and then headed north until Ingham. There we detoured towards the west to the Wallaman Falls, the highest single-drop waterfall of Australia. So we thought we should see it but we did not know that it was such a steep and winding road. And a few kilometres of the road are not sealed... But we made it within one hour and had a fantastic view around the area although the waterfall was a bit low on water.

Townsville - Relaxed day at the strand

Moin Moin altogether,

It’s Friday the 27^th of December, a normal working day after Christmas. So everything back to business, normal opening times and Townsville is not that dead anymore. We relaxed in the morning in the hotel and past by the morning heat by watching TV, playing card games and sleeping. After lunch we drove down to the beach which is called The Strand as it is actually an artificial beach. We walked along the pavement to the Northern end to the Rock Pool. A lagoon filled with ocean water which has been cleared of debris and marine stingers.

Townsville - Boxing day with great lookout, breakdown, shopping and BBQ

G’Day mates,

Today is the second day of Christmas, called Boxing Day. And like in Great Britain here are massive sales on everywhere. We agreed with the two Taiwanese people to drive together to a big mall for shopping at 12pm. So in the morning Markus and I had a look at the internet what we could do on Magnetic Island. This is an island just 8 km offshore of Townsville and supposed to be nice. But taking the car on the island is far too expensive (178 AUD return) and we could not find a tour that would show us enough of the island. So after a while we gave up on the idea and headed with the car for Castle Hill, a giant rock formation in Townsville where you can overlook the whole city. The street up there is very winding but you really have a fantastic view:

Townsville - A different Christmas Day

Hey there,

Early in the morning on Christmas Day Airlie Beach was deserted and it took a while to find an open fuel station. After we have filled up we drove about 350 km North to Townsville and our next hotel, Orchid Guest House. We got into the room at 1pm, made ourselves some pasta for lunch but it was way too hot to eat it up. As the owner were not in yet, we first escaped from the heat in our room and then took a short walk to the nearby Queens Gardens. But because of all the flies (we forgot our insect repellent) we left very soon as well. Back in the hotel we passed the time by watching TV and at 6:30pm we met our host who prepared a small Christmas Dinner for all her guests. How nice is this! She knew that absolutely everything is closed in Townsville on Christmas Day and we would not get some decent food. We were ten people altogether but not everyone is on the pictures:

Airlie Beach - Snorkeling and Whitehaven Beach for my birthday

Merry Christmas everyone!

On Christmas Eve, the 24^th of December 2013 it was my 28^th birthday! HONESTLY? I actually had to remind myself of this because this was so totally different from all my birthdays so far that I did not feel like it. It was too warm and sunny, Markus was with me (he is normally of course with his family) and most importantly, I was not with my family! It felt so strange! :-(

But Markus had a special birthday present for me: a sailing adventure tour to Whitehaven Beach! We got picked up at our hotel (Kipara Rainforest Retreat) and checked in at the harbor of Airlie Beach and boarded the purple sailing boat Camira.

Yeppoon - Hugging a koala! And more

Servus folks,

This morning I was especially excited about our next stop at the Cooberriepark Wildlife Sanctuary as you are allowed to actually hold and cuddle a koala!!! We got there by 11am and shortly after entering the sanctuary we were quite disappointed by the making of the surroundings and the cages as well as of the number of animals. They promised in the leaflet over 300 animals and most of them were ducks, farm animals and parrots... Also the kangaroos were not as exciting and not as many as in the Billabong Zoo but we fed them anyway with joy.

Rockhampton - Botanic Garden and Tourist Drive no. 10

Hi there everyone,

On Sunday, the 22^nd of December (fourth advent) we drove early in the morning to the free park and zoo of Bundaberg which is not a big or nice zoo. After only 30 minutes we left and got onto the Bruce Highway further North. At about 1:30pm we arrived at the Visitor Information Center of Rockhampton and got some ideas of what to see in the area and went first to the Botanic Garden where there is also a free zoo. This zoo is much bigger than the one in Bundaberg and we saw some cute koalas and other animals.

Bundaberg - Rum and turtles

Howdy partners,
What do rum and turtles have in common (except maybe a recipe)? Bundaberg! After leaving Hervey Bay early in the morning we headed straight for the rum distillery. At the main entrance we met some guys from Brisbane who had two spare tickets for the full tour. So they sold them to us for 20 AUD per ticket instead of the regular 25 AUD.

Fraser Island - Bumby drive and flight

G'Day everyone,
On Friday early morning we were picked up by the Fraser Explorer Tour at our motel and driven to River Heads where the ferry departs to Fraser Island. It took about half an hour across and then we got onto our 4WD (four-wheel-drive) coach. The ferry was absolutely full, about 4 or 5 coaches and several jeeps were waiting for all the visitors.

Our guide Butch advised us to always were the seat belts and after a few kilometres we knew exactly why: it was very, very, VERY bumpy!

Hervey Bay - Organising, beaching and barbequing

Hey folks,

We arrived in Hervey Bay at 6pm on Wednesday night at the Beach Motel where we booked a budget room which is very comfy and nice for the price we paid (so far our cheapest accommodation per night). We got ourselves some dinner and beer (very expensive!) and awaited the next day where we have only planned to book our Fraser Island tour and spend the rest of the day at the beach.

Well, it took us all morning to plan the next few days because due to the Christmas holiday season we could not book a 2-day-tour as we have planned as everything was booked out :-(

Brisbane - Surprisingly nice

Good morning/afternoon/evening/night,

After Sydney and Melbourne this is the third-biggest city of Australia: Brisbane! I have heard contrary things about this town, so we explored it the way we always do: We got some information from the Lonely Planet and from the reception of our backpacker hostel (Somewheretostay Backpackers, what a name, huh?) and then we just headed for downtown on Wednesday morning. We parked the car at a multistorey carpark at South Bank and strolled along the South Bank Park which is really nice with the picnic areas and the artificial beach.

Byron Bay - Walking track along the beach

Servus,

Finally the sky cleared up and we got some nice blue sky with only a few clouds and some 28 degrees Celsius. We drove about half an hour from Ballina to Byron Bay and parked right behind the Tourist Information which was a good choice. Because we could park there all day for free whereas you have to get a ticket everywhere else. We got a map of the city and walked to the beach which was luckily not too crowded. We followed the walking track up Cape Byron to the most easterly point of the Australian mainland and the lighthouse of Byron Bay.

Coffs Harbour - Muttonbird Island Nature Reserve

Hi there,

After our exciting visit to the Koala and Wildlife Park we headed North to Coffs Harbours for a short visit to the Muttonbird Island Nature Reserve where we did not find a lot of birds but had a great view over the ocean and the harbour.

 

Port Macquarie - Pating koalas and feeding kangaroos :-)

G’Day, How is it going?

We made our way to Port Macquarie because of the Koala and Wildife Park – Billabong Zoo!

Although it rained a little bit, we strolled around and attended all the animal presentations in the morning. Starting with the penguins, then the koalas (unfortunately it is forbidden by law to hold a koala in New South Wales if you are not a caretaker but we were allowed to pat one), the snow leopards (they were just lying around) and at last the crocodile.

Blue Mountains - Scenic World

Hi there everyone,

On Sunday the 15^th (the third advent) we checked out of our hostel on time to be at the Scenic World at 9:30am, just half an hour after opening. There was no big queue at the cashier and so we went straight to the Skywalk. The middle part of this has a glass-floor.

Blue Mountains - Waterfall and Three Sisters

Hi there hiking fans,

This morning we checked out of our hostel (Wake Up Hotel, close to Sydney Central Station) and got back to the airport to pick up our rental car. We had a few issues with it because they want to charge us 400 AUD as one-way-fee because we will drop off the car in Cairns and not return it to Sydney. But in Germany we specifically asked about this and we have been reassured that we do not have to pay this fee. We need to clarify this but got the car anyway. We drove towards the Blue Mountains in rainy weather. Yes, exactly: it RAINED!

Third and last day in Sydney - Meet my cousin

G’Day mates,

Our third day in Sydney started quite early as our sleeping habits are still a bit messed up. We walked again along Pitt Street to Circular Quay and then to the Opera House. This time we do not look as exhausted as we did two days ago.

 

Second day in Sydney - Darlingharbour and Bondi Beach

Hi there,
Our second day in Sydney started quite late. After some hours of sleep we left the hostel at about 11:30am. We first headed for Chinatown, past the Chinese Garden of Friendship towards Darling Harbour. Because of the Australian summer we totally forgot that it is only 12 days until Christmas and we could not resist to take a picture with these Santa Clauses saying “HO HO HO”.

 

I am finally in SYDNEY!!!

G'Day mates!!!

Indeed, Markus and I arrived on Wednesday morning at Sydney International Airport and every time when I thought „I am in Australia, I made it to Sydney!“ at first I felt like crying for having finally reached my long-dreamed-of destination and then … well, actually I cannot believe it…

Strange, isn’t it? But Markus feels the same way. Of course it’s very warm (about 23 degrees Celsius), big streets with very high buildings, lots of Asian people and it feels great to be here. But we both think that this town could also exist somewhere in the very South of Europe. After checking into our hostel (a massive building called Wake Up) near the Sydney Central Station and freshing up from our long journey we headed North. We walked along Pitt Street, took in the vibrance of this huge city, ate something for lunch, observing all the new impressions around us until we arrived at the Circular Quay with a fantastic view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, this huge cruiser and the Opera House!

I am in... well, not Sydney but Saigon

Good morning,  

Markus and I have landed in Saigon (Ho Chi Min City) in Vietnam at 7am local time. So it was 1am in Germany. We couldn't sleep very well in the plane and are quite tired now.

The route for the first six weeks

Welcome to my last 25 hours in Germany, 
Tomorrow afternoon I will board the plane of Vietnam Airlines with my boyfriend Markus in Frankfurt Airport. For him it will be a six week holiday and therefore we have planned the route already as follows:

• Full-day transit in Saigon
• Arriving in Sydney

My Checklist #8 - Snorkling or diving at the Great Barrier Reef

Hi world, 
My cold is not really getting better but at least I started with my packing (small suitcase it is) and that raised the question: what do I need for the Australian summer and especially for the Great Barrier Reef? There is no way round this world wonder and the least would be to snorkel. Depending on our budget we also want to go diving. We are not surfers. We have been told that its best North of Townsville, even at Port Douglas as it's not too far from there to the reef.
Have you been snorkling or diving at the Great Barrier Reef and do you have any tipps for me?
Yours diving-trying Stefanie

3 days left - Getting nervous...

Servus,
Okay, I admit it: I am getting slightly nervous about this trip. Three days left until the flight and this weekend my boyfriend and I are visiting his family. So its not like I have three full days to pack.
Most of the things you need to travel you can buy locally but there are especially some documents that you should not forget:

My Checklist #7 - Reading the stars in the Outback

Good morning everyone, 
Only recently I got to know that the sky in the Outback is supposed to be very clear as there is almost no pollution. So the stars are visible very clearly. Karlis gave me these star charts with the words "This might help you if you get lost in the Outback." Ehm... thanks?!

My Checklist #6 - Hugging a koala bear

Well, hello there,
Yes, I want to hug a koala right after jumping after a kangaroo! I do not care if they are filthy, dirty and stinky in reality and have sharp claws, I want one of these cute little creature on my arm! I have heard of stations for old and injured animals. The entry fees are completely used to keep these stations running and there you can even help for a few hours like cleaning the cages or something. So hugging them does not hurt an animal.

What do you think about this? I even know a person who has been to Australia and then got a koala tattoo on her arm (a big one!) because she loves them so much!

Yours animal-hugging Stefanie

Backpack or suitcase? That's the question.

Hello to everyone out there, 
With only 4 days to go (YEAH!) I have to start packing. And the big question is for me: Shall I take my backpack (which my lovely mum bought me years ago for my birthday) or do I go for a suitcase? I am a small person (1.63 m height) and therefore my backpack is relatively small as well with only 60 Liter volume. This brings me to the idea of taking a suitcase instead in order to carry more stuff with me. But then, do I want and need to carry a lot of things? Would a smaller suitcase be better? That way I am forced to reduce the weight and concentrate on the really necessary things.
Here is the luggage in question:

I am currently thinking about the smaller suitcase. What do you think?
Yours packing Stefanie

A cold cannot stop me!

Servus,

After 10 years there still might be a few things on earth which could prevent me from boarding that plane on Monday on my way to Australia. But a cold is not going to be one of them!!! I am prepared to fight it:

Well, I wish you all best health!

Yours cold-fighting Stefanie

My Checklist #5 - Jumping after a kangaroo

Hi there, 
I can vivdly remember how I once years and years ago wrote this "To do before I die" on a piece of paper. By doing so, I saw myself in the desert jumping like a kangaroo behind a real kangaroo. Sounds crazy? Maybe but we are equipped with a little camera. So if I have the chance I really like to do that and post the proof :-) Yours kangaroo-jumping Stefanie

My Checklist #4 - Ayers Rock (Uluru)

Moin Moin,
This is of course one other Must-See in Australia: The Ayers Rock, also known as Uluru. We (my boyfriend Markus is going with me for the first six weeks) have already booked our flights there. We will stay there for three days at the beginning of January 2014 (that's going to be really stupid hot then...).
My colleagues from Bremen have their own idea of what I should look for in the Outback:

My Checklist #3 - Whitehaven Beach on Christmas

G'Day everyone, 
This one might be a little bit surprising but it is very important to me. It's my birthday on the 24th of December and in the past if I was lucky I was able to celebrate it in the snow. But in the past 10 years or so it's been very miserable in Germany on Christmas Eve. So I am really looking forward to my birthday and Christmas in the sun and on the beach. But not just any beach, I want to be at Whitehaven Beach!

Probably one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I really hope this goes to plan and I can enjoy my 28th birthday there. *dreaming* What would be your perfect birthday location in the world? Let me know.
Yours birthday-planning Stefanie

My Checklist #2 - Melbourne Sightseeing

Hi there, 
Of course I also want to see the second biggest city of Australia: Melbourne! But not only that, I also would like to work there. Thanks to my friends Elina and Karlis (who are from Melbourne) I have the desire to get to know this city a little bit better. I also have relatives there, so this seems like the perfect place to stay for a while.

• Federation Square & Flinders Street Station
• Eureka Tower – Skydeck 88 & The Edge
• Chinatown
• Flinders Lane
• Southbank
• Webb Bridge
• Royal Botanic Gardens
• Queen Victoria Market
• Lygon Street
• Parliament House
• St Kilda Beach & Luna Park
• South Melbourne
• Albert Park
• Little Collins Street Bars

This should be quite something to explore. Do you have any more places to name?
Cheers, Stefanie

My Checklist #1 - Sydney Sightseeing

Hello everyone, 
I have this dream of working and traveling in Australia since 2003. I was in 11th grade when I thought it would be cool to go downunder. So, 10 years later I have built up a huge list of things I want to do. I will mentally prepare myself for this trip by creating this checklist as the things come to my mind (so the number does not necessarily indicate the importance).
But absolutely number 1 is to go sightseeing in Sydney!

• Opera House (sponsored by the EADS Energy Strategy Team :-) )
• Harbour Bridge
• The Rocks
• Royal Botanical Garden
• Government House
• Circular Quay
• Customs House
• Darlingharbour
• Chinatown
• Bondi Beach
• Manly Beach

Have I forgotten something? What are your tipps? Comment below!

Yours city-lover Stefanie

I am crazy...

... because I have left my beloved work in Bremen, Germany. I am going to leave behind my family, friends and colleagues to venture out to Australia for some months.
I cannot believe I am actually doing this although I am 27 years old and have given up on this work and travel dream two years ago.
But it is not too late and so I went for it. Crazy... but I am also happy! :-)
This blog is meant for everyone who knows me, who wishes me the best for this tour and who want to check if I am still alive in the most dangerous continent on earth ;-)

I will keep you updated on my preparation (only 5 days to my flight!!!) and my trip.
Your travel-preparing Stefanie