My Australia travel video

Dear travel video lovers,
Five weeks ago I landed back in Germany after having been away for nearly a year of which I traveled over 10 months in BIG BIG Australia. I cannot stop thinking about this amazing journey. Putting this 10 months in a video of less than 9 minutes seems pathetic but in a nutshell it reflects my journey. The amazing places and landscapes I have seen, the many and long roads I traveled, the animals I encountered, the things I have done and most importantly the awesome people I have met along the way.
I hope you like my video.
Or watch the Full HD video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXlhNFXKlsM

Thanks so much to everyone who supported me. Please leave a comment!!! :-)
Yours Australia-travel-video-creator Stefanie

Australia Birthday Cake

Dear cake lovers,

This is definitely the best birthday cake my mum has ever designed for me and with the help of my aunt they did a fabolous job, don't you think? :-)

Last year I celebrated with Markus by sailing in the Whitsunday Islands which is still my most favorite place in Australia. It was also the most perfect day I had in Australia but it didn't feel like christmas and also not really like my birthday. Why? Because I missed my family. This year I am back in Germany and we had a chaotic but great christmas eve as usual. I just wished there would have been some snow instead of all the rain.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas 2014!!!

Yours Australia-birthday-cake-celebrating Stefanie

Australia - Some statistics about my travel

G'Day mates, I am thinking a lot about Australia since I came back 26 days ago. I did a lot of rummaging through my bills and came up with this very cost-based statistic that would be of most interest to those who are planning on going there. But I also very much enjoyed the other non-monetary aspects of my travels which surprised even me seeing all listed up like this. This journey was just amazing.
As statistics go, it could get a bit confusing but I try to make it as simple as I can and still interesting (I hope). I have the following categories:

1) How many nights did I sleep where?
2) How much did the accommodation cost me?
3) How many km did I travel by road?
4) How many km did I fly for how much money?
5) What did I achieve and attend?
6) What wildlife did I encounter?
7) How much did the touristic tours cost me?
8) How much money did I earn?
9) How much of my own money did I spend?
10) Cost-breakdown of all the spent money

Stuttgart - Jetlag, bureaucracy and dreaming

Dear home-coming lovers,
Just a week ago I had quite a journey to complete. After my climb up the Sydney Harbour Bridge I slept very badly in the warm dorm room. At 6am I was awake and packed all my luggage. With the airport shuttle I got to the Sydney International Airport to check-in my suitcase which weighted 19.6 kg and then got through immigration and onto my first plane with Vietnam Airlines towards Ho-Chi-Minh-City. After nearly 9 hours we arrived there at 5pm local time. I waited 7 hours to board my second plane to Frankfurt Main and luckily had three seats to myself!!! HURRAY! Despite being able to lie down I didn't sleep too well and 13 hours later I touched down on German ground at 6:45am.
Well, I would say thanks to German efficiency within 30 minutes I was out of the aircraft, through immigration and with my suitcase out of the arrival hall and in Markus' arms!!! We were both so overwhelmed that we didn't take any pictures but I was a mess anyway. Markus has brought me all my winter gear: winter jacket, scarf, gloves and winter boots. We got into the car and drove to our first stop: the German Employment Office in Stuttgart!

Sydney - Last day climbing the Harbour Bridge

Dear Sydney lovers,

I AM BACK!

After Markus and I arrived first in Sydney on the 11th of December 2013 I am now back in beautiful Sydney on the 22^nd of November 2014. I got changed in my last hostel for this journey and then I walked through the city.

I headed to the Paddy’s Market and went crazy on buying souvenirs! It was so cheap, so many things on offer and I felt the urge to take a piece of Australia with me (and I needed some gifts for my beloved ones ;-) ). Anyway, at 5pm I was finished with my shopping orgy and got on the FREE shuttle bus to Circular Quay. Ah, the majestic Sydney Harbour Bridge!

Canberra - Discovering the Parliamentary Zone and a shocking feeling

Dear capitol lovers,

It was time to get into the Parliamentary Zone of Canberra! But first I had to close my Australian bank account which only took about 2 min. The bank clerk asked me how long I have traveled and admired that people like me are not afraid of quitting their jobs to travel for so long. Quite true, it isn’t easy to do it but definitely worth it.

After that I was on my way across the Commonwealth Avenue over Lake Burley Griffin. It was such a nice day and due to the low humidity (in contrast to Malaysia) I didn’t mind the long walk in the sun (but I put on sunscreen anyway).

This is the National Library as seen from the bridge.

Canberra - Australian War Memorial

Dear capitol lovers,

Believe it or not: I finally made it into the very capitol of Australia!

In case you didn’t know: neither Sydney nor Melbourne are the capitol. As a tiebreaker a completely new city has been created: CANBERRA! The problem with it is (in my opinion) that it is a little bit hard to access. I mean, all the cities in Australia are a bit far from each other and all that. But although Canberra is only about 300 km away from Sydney there are not too many flights going there and no direct train connection available. So you have to get one of the coaches like Greyhound or Murray’s to get there. And that’s what I did.

Australia - Birds in the wild

Dear loyal readers of my little blog,
During my time in Australia I had the chance and a fairly good camera to take pictures of lots of different birds in Australia. At one point during my Au Pair time in Perth I had enough time and the energy to look up their names on the internet (it was raining a lot, so no point in going out and exploring the country, right?).

I start with the most beautiful birds in my opinion: the parrots!

Here is a Carnaby`s Cockatoo which I encountered in King's Park in Perth. Only when I saw a picture of it in a Avon Valley brochure I recognised it as an endangered black cockatoo.

Malaysia - Langkawi island - Relaxing pur and last organisation

Dear island lovers (again),
In my third week in Malaysia I decided to get to the next island, further North. I got on the 2pm ferry from Penang island to Langkawi island. The clouds were pretty dark and it rained as well during the three-hour-trip but luckily it wasn't too rocky and I didn't get seasick.

Malaysia - Pangkor and Penang islands - Nice beaches and amazing food

Dear island lovers,
After exploring Melaka, Kuala Lumpur and the Cameron Highlands I decided to head towards the West Coast of the Malaysian peninsular as it was supposed to be drier there. And they have beaches :-) Lots of beaches. My first stop was Pangkor island where I arrived after taking two buses, a ferry and then a motorbike ride to my guesthouse. OH YES! Three Malay-Chinese guys who spoke to me on the second bus helped me to get me and my 20 kg suitcase to my guesthouse in Teluk Nipah on two motorbikes. How nice! After checking in and refreshing I went for a first walk along the beach.

Malaysia - Melaka, Kuala Lumpur and Cameron Highlands - Dutch, chaotic and mossy

Dear Malaysia lovers,
After my week in Bali and my week in Singapore it was time to move on within Southeast Asia. From Singapore I took the bus across to Malaysia and into Melaka (also known as Malacca). This town which is about 120 km South of Kuala Lumpur is a listed World Heritage City due to its rich history. Mostly because of their Dutch occupation but the Portuguese have been there as well and many buildings have been preserved. I had a good look around. Luckily everything is very close to each other and easily visited within a day.

All the trishaws are as heavily decorated as the ones on this picture

Australia - Compared to Singapore - my impression after a week

Dear Singapore lovers,
Guys, Singapore is like SO freaking different to Australia but than in some ways it isn't. I spent a week there after I finished my six months as an Au Pair. Luckily I was able to stay with my friend Eva whom I met in Adelaide in February.

Let's just get a few facts right about Australia and Singapore to give you an idea of how different they are:

Australia - 10 things I learned as an Au Pair

Dear children lovers,
I never thought I would end up as an Au Pair. In all honesty, I considered working as an Au Pair as almost my very last option to earn money in Australia. But then I decided to answer this one add on Gumtree as it did sound quite fair and well, the next week I boarded the plane from Melbourne to Perth to start working as an Au pair - in a French family... I swear this is the best picture of the four kids and me that we could take!

I had a bit of experience with younger children before due to my younger cousines and my goddaughter but these three kids have teached me quite something, I can tell ya!

Bali - Great but not as relaxing as intended... I blame Australia!

Dear Bali lovers,
I flew to Bali in Indonesia!!! Who would have thought I would do that when I arrived in Sydney exactly 10 months ago? To be totally honest, I felt a bit like I'm betraying Australia when I headed to the Perth International Airport. But than, it is a typical Aussie get-away right? I planned this to be a totally relaxing, slow-paced cultural holiday to regain some energy for my further travel. Well, that didn't quite go to plan.
After a smooth flight and a long immigration queue I got picked up by the owners of the homestay which I chose in Ubud. I arrived there at 8pm and settled into my room before I went out for dinner. I was a bit overwhelmed by the hot and humid weather and all the noises, smells and looks. Visiting any part of Asia is so different to any Western country or Australia. I know a bit from our family holidays but I haven't been to Asia in over 10 years. (Shocking, I know!)
The next morning I enjoyed a Banana pancake on the terrace of my room. That's how a holiday should be like!!!

Swan Valley - Au Pairs taste the best of what is on offer

Dear Swan Valley lovers,
On Saturday the 4th of October 2014 my hostfamily packed their Holden Jackaroo with all necessary things for a holiday in Exmouth. Well, they would have loved to take me with them but they ran out of space due to all the luggage they need for six people. Instead I will stay in the house alone while they are away. And I took the chance to organise a day out in the Swan Valley with three other Au Pairs, our Italian driver Veronica and two German Au pairs who live close to me, Angelina and Alicia.
I have been to the Swan Valley twice before, once on my own and then again with my friend Christine. So the other three totally relied on my knowledge and hardly informed themselves about what there is to see and do. So I took them to the places I have been before.
We started at the Sandalford Winery where we had a little walk around the vineyards before we went inside to see what is in the shop.

Perth - Zoo visit with children

Dear Zoo lovers,
The Perth Zoo is only a few kilometers away from my hostfamily, just a 10 minute car drive. But I never bothered to go there in the five months that I have spent here in Perth. Why? Because it didn't offer me anything special or new that I wanted to see and at 27 AUD entry fee for an adult I wasn't willing to pay that. During the spring school holidays and just 11 days after the birth of Éléonore my hostmother asked me to join and help her with the four kids at the Perth Zoo where she would meet two other French families with their kids to spend the day.

I took the chance to take some close-up pictures of my hostchildren.

Perth - Royal Show is on! Food, craft, rides and lots of animals

Dear Royal Show lovers,
I had to shift some of my other regular jobs around to have this day off to go to the Perth Royal Show! I was seriously excited about it, even more as I would not spent it alone :-)
The Royal Shows around Australia started as agricultural get-togethers of the regional farmers and to compare their best cattle and other animals and farm produce with each other and nominate the best of the numerous categories they have. At some point they got the permission to call it royal and up to this date it is one of the main events of Perth. At 9:30am I made my way through really jam-packed trains to the Claremont showgrounds where I met Twiggy and we got inside. We got a map and a list of the day's activities and events and made our way towards the cookery pavillion.

We had a look at the different stalls and showbags and got the chance to pet a really soft-haired huge horse along the way.

Fremantle - With James at Little Creatures

Dear meeting up with friends lovers,
This is my fifth month in Perth and finally James (who I got to know on my Tasmania tour back in February) and I managed to meetup. I totally forgot that he lives here and thanks to Facebook he replied to one of my pictures of the Pinnacles that we should meet up. Due to his holidays in Europe and my West Coast tour and then the birth of the fourth baby of my hostfamily it took us quite a while.
But we managed to find a convenient time for lunch and we decided to go to the Little Creatures brewery in Fremantle.

Manning - The baby is here!!!

Dear baby lovers,
In the afternoon of Saturday, the 20th of September the fourth baby of my hostfamily finally arrived (9 days after the due date...). My hostparents didn't want to know the gender of their kids before the birth, so here SHE is:

Éléonore, fit and healthy, a French born in Perth.

Perth - Wildflowers at King's Park Festival

Dear Wildflower lovers,
It is Wildflower season in WA! HURRAY! My hostfamily luckily wanted to swap some of my working hours, so I was able to attend the month-long King's Park Festival on Saturday the 13th of September. I got up early (before 8am!) to catch two buses to King's Park where I arrived at 9:30am on a fantastic sunny day. At the top of Fraser Avenue you will be greeted by a flower bed full of wildflowers in bloom.

I love my camera! It can take the most clear close-up pictures, so I went as close as possible to all these lovely and beautiful flowers.

11.9.2014 - 9 months in Oz!!! What's next?

Dear date lovers,
Today is again a little milestone in my travels around the mighty country of Australia:

9 whole months ago I finally arrived here after waiting for over 10 years!!!

Time has passed way too quickly for me, so let me recapture on the last three months: what have I done?
Well, actually heaps of stuff to be honest :-) I made it safely all the way from Perth up the West Coast, swimming with Whalesharks, through the Pilbara, past crocodiles in the Kimberleys and into the very Top End despite our van brokedown and all the mosquitos, snakes and spiders :-)

Cannington - Greyhound races with other aupairs

Dear dog racing lovers,
I admit it: I have never been to a dog race before! But Australia is full of firsts for me, it's just I didn't expect this to be one of them. I surely should have seen some dog races in England but somehow it never came to my mind. Together with two other German Au pairs who live nearby I decided fairly spontaneously to have a look at the races on a Wednesday as the entry is free then. On Saturdays you have to pay to get in. I picked the two 18-year-old girls up and we made our way to Cannington, only a 15 minute drive away to the Greyhound racing grounds where we arrived at about 7:30pm.

Manning - Aussie movies and Aussie literature

Dear Aussie culture lovers (I know you exist!),
In preparation of my Australia trip I have of course read a lot of information about this big big country. Especially in travel guide books like the Lonely Planet but also in magazines and on the internet. Since I arrived in Australia and especially since working as an Au Pair in Perth I took the chance to join the local Manning library to borrow some books and DVDs about Australia.

This first book however I got from Eva whom I met in Adelaide.

Perth - With Twiggy in King's Park

Dear park lovers,
One of the best things that happen to me in Australia is meeting great people! And it is even better to meet these great people again! So on the morning of Friday the 8th of August I met Twiggy in the CBD of Perth. I got to know Twiggy on the Southwest Tour that I did back in April this year, shortly before Easter.
Anyway, due to the bus breakdown and the following loss in time which we tried to compensate by getting up early (AHHHH!!!) and doing lots of things in a single day the whole group grow more and more together. Despite the bus breakdown this was probably one of the best tours I have done in Australia because of the awesome people and Twiggy was one of them. After catching up on what happened in the last few months in our lives we decided to go to Kings Park with the fantastic view onto the Perth skyline.

Perth - Why I am back

Dear Perth lovers,
Why did I decide to go back to my host family in Perth to work there for a few more months instead of just finishing my travels? Do you have any idea of how expensive Australia is???
My West Coast Tour has cost more than I expected but I would like to do some more traveling and therefore need to earn more money. My host family is supadupa nice, I got used to the children and why look (again) for another job if I already have a good one?

Australia - 12 Tipps to driving long distances

Dear loyal blog readers,

SHEEZ! I couldn't believe it even when I checked the figures: over 7,000km!!! We drove over seven THOUSAND kilometers from Perth to Darwin in just 30 days... In comparison, Markus and I drove over 3,000km on the East Coast from Sydney to Cape Tribulation and back to Cairns in 18 days. And let's not forget my awesome 5 day Kangaroo Island trip (a roundtrip of about 800km). And the Tasmania Tour (about 1,500km in 6 days) and the Southwest Tour (about 2,500km in 6 days) even though I didn't drive myself.

Darwin - Car return, beer and a night at the airport

Dear last day lovers (do they exist?),
On Day 30 of our West Coast tour Charlotte and I got up early (I HATE getting up early...) again at 7:15am. It was a warm night in the car and I didn't sleep well. We hand-washed our Johnny Cash car in the Noonamah Tourist Park before we went for a search of a car wash where we could use a hover to get the last dust out.

Darwin - Markets and nice dinner at sunset

Dear market lovers,
On Sunday the 20th of July 2014 Charlotte and I got up early to clean out our Johnny Cash car and to give away some of our stuff to other campers as we would give back the car the next day to Wickedcamper. After some good work (you wouldn't believe how much dirt can be in such a tiny car even though we cleaned it out in between as well...) we drove into the city again where we headed for the Nightcliff Village Sunday market. 

Darwin - City, parks, museum and beach

Dear city lovers,
On Day 28 of our tour, so exactly four weeks after we left Perth Charlotte and I made our way into Darwin. We first stopped at the Charles Darwin National Park at 10am.

This park is a mangrove park and I really didn't expect to see bombs and bunkers along the way and lots of boards about the wars and especially the bombing of Darwin.

Litchfield - Wangi Falls, Cascades and Buley Rockhole again

Dear swimming lovers (once again),
On Day 27 of our tour Charlotte and I got ready to visit the Wangi Falls at 9am. We brought all our bathing stuff with us and were ready to jump into the water when we discovered this sign.

Litchfield - Swimming at Buley Rockhole and Florence Falls

Dear swimming lovers (again),
On Thursday morning we made a quick escape from the mosquitos of the Merl campground down the Arnhem Highway.

After 40km we stopped at Malakuta to have breakfast but we didn't do the walk there as we wanted to visit Litchfield National Park. I drove the 250km to Litchfield and stopped first at the Termite Mounds.

Kakadu - Maguk waterholes and Aborigine rock art

Dear swimming and rock art fans,
On Wednesday morning we drove with Katherine, Shaun and Phil at 7:45am towards Maguk, a place in the Southern part of the Kakadu National Park and again only accessible via a dirt road where 4WD should be engaged. We arrived at 8:30am and then took on the hike through some monsoon forest.

Kakadu - River crossing, Twin Falls and Jim Jim Falls

Dear 4WD lovers,
Upon getting up really early we were greeted by mosquitos during our breakfast... We got ready to meet Shaun the tourguide, his sister Katherine and her husband Paul at 7am and to drive towards the Twin Falls on a 4WD track. Shaun has approached us the day before to come along with them as they had two free seats in their rented car. Despite the 60km/h limit signs Shaun drove at around 100km/h but still managed to spot this two meter long python next to the road! AHHHH!

Kakadu - Cooinda, Cultural Center and Yellow Waters

Dear National Park lovers,
On Monday morning Charlotte and I got our passes for the Kakadu National Park. While you have to pay a small entrance fee of about 10 AUD per vehicle at nearly every national park in WA, in the Northern Territory there are only two national parks where you have to pay 25 AUD per person: the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and the Kakadu National Park.

Katherine - Gorge lookout, hot springs and lots of birds

Dear bird lovers,
On Sunday the 13th of July I drove the last 110km to Katherine where we headed for the Visitor Information Center. Luckily we were able to use their FREE Wifi for half an hour and so we connected to the world again! We had no internet for the last ten days. After some grocery shopping anf fueling up we drove to the Nitmiluk (Katherine Gorge) National Park for lunch at 1pm. There we were surrounded by bats just hanging around in the trees...

Lake Argyle - Surprisingly nice views

Dear lake lovers,
After our rather disappointing visit to Wyndham we decided to stay overnight at Lake Argyle. After securing a spot at the only caravan park we drove to the Dam lookout for the sunset. We had a really nice view and it was surprisingly beautiful for an artificial lake. Lake Argyle is Australia's second largest dam lake.

Wyndham - Five river lookout and grotto in the East Kimberleys

Dear lookout lovers,
On Day 20 of our West Coast trip after our day into the Bungle Bungles Charlotte and I got ready to depart the rest stop area at 9am. I drove us 3 hours (270km) to Wyndham in the East Kimberleys.

I headed for the Five River lookout which we have been told by Carol that it is really nice. There you find the whole history of Wyndham on just two signs.

Bungle Bungle - Long drive to Cathedrale Gorge

Dear strange formation lovers,
Well, getting up early is definitely not my cup of tea but if it needs to be than I will get up at 6:30am. Charlotte and I got breakfast and everything ready by 7:45am to walk around Leicester's rest stop area. We were looking for someone who has a 4WD and would possibly have some spare seats available to take us into the Bungle Bungles. After just a few minutes we approached a man who just checked the engine of his car and asked him if they are heading into the Bungle Bungles.

Leicester's - Geiki Gorge and another long driving day

Dear driving lovers (again),
On Wednesday morning after our West Kimberley daytour we had another long day of driving ahead of us and set off at 8am. I drove the 250km to Fitzroy Crossing where we filled up our little car. Then Charlotte took over the steering wheel and got us to Geiki Gorge. We didn't plan this stop, so we were only able to do a short 800 meter loop walk where you don't have a view of the gorge itself. The walk was still nice.

West Kimberleys - Crocodiles in Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek

Dear Kimberley lovers,
After a rather bad first night sleeping in the small Johnny Cash car we got up at 6:15am to be ready at the Derby Busservice Depot at 8am to be picked up for our day tour to the West Kimberleys.

We were quite shocked to see so many older people on the bus as this tour was advertised as being suitable for a moderate fitness level with rock climbing involved.

Derby - Small car, small town, big overnight sleeping problem

Dear small town lovers,
Everything turned out differently than expected!
Charlotte, Bastian and I got to Wickedcamper at their Broome depot shortly after 9am which was probably too early. Our Tankgirl was still on the trailer and the depot looked more like a graveyard of to-their-limits-and-beyond-used vans.

Broome - Batman van, coastline and beer

Dear easy life lovers,
I can tell you: it wasn't an easy life for us driving our "new" Batman van. What? Where is Tankgirl? Well, read the sad story about her here in my last post...
The batmobil had a manual gearbox and not an automtic one. That's not the problem as such, the problem was to get into the gears, especially the third one was difficult. The steering wheel wasn't straight, the brakes didn't seem to be how they should be, it had over 430,000km on its clock and pieces were falling off everywhere.

Sandfire - Tankgirl breaks down...

Dear van lovers,
The title says it already: Tankgirl didn't wanted to complete the journey with us but I give you the full details of the sad story anyway.
It all started very normal on Friday the 4th of July, on Day 13 of our tour. We got ready to depart Port Hedland at 8:30am in the morning as we had a 600km journey in front of us to get to Broome. After a few hours (and a fuel stop at Pardoo Roadhouse) as Bastian drove on the Great Northern Highway we noticed some strange engine noises and Bastian told us that the steering got funny as well.

Karijini - Circular Pool and Fortescue Falls

Dear walking lovers,
On our second day in Karijini we drove to Dales Gorge and started the circular walk clockwise. So we walked towards the Circular Pool first along the rim of the gorge.

Karijini - Climbing Mount Bruce

Dear mountain climbing lovers,
After a "nice" full day of driving the day before we set out early in the morning again towards the Dale Campground in Karijini National Park as it is a busy time of year. Then we drove on further towards the Visitor Information Center and have been told that the gravel roads are really rough. As our Tankgirl is not a 4WD (four-wheel-drive) we have been advised to test a bit of the road first. And so we did.

We were afraid about the conditions of the tyres from the very beginning and everything in this van was rattling away as we drove just 200 meters or so on this road.

Tom Price - Driving, driving and driving

Dear driving lovers (do these exist?),
The day after our awesome WHALESHARK swim we got organised again. We put away the tent, bought groceries, fuelled Tankgirl (1st), picked up the CD with the pictures from the swim the day before and then Bastian drove. And he drove and drove until about 280km along the road we stopped at the Nanutarra Roadhouse to fuel up again (2nd) and then another 270km landinwards to Paraburdoo for fuel (3rd) and then it was a very short 80km drive to Tom Price to the Tourist Park Caravan Park where we arrived just in time to make dinner (rice with tuna, chick peas, beans and curry paste). Well, then we settled for a very cold night again. Yepp, that was our tenth day on our West Coast Tour. I took some pictures of the road and changing landscape along the way. But, seriously, there is nothing more to say about this day except that the fuel got immensely more expensive with every fuel stop.

Exmouth - Swimming with Whalesharks!!!

Dear Whaleshark lovers,
On Monday the 30th of June it was time for Charlotte, Bastian and me to go for a swim with these guys:

WHALESHARKS! The biggest fish in the sea and on visit in the Ningaloo Reef every winter.

Exmouth - Visiting Cape Range National Park

Dear beach lovers,
On Sunday Charlotte drove us about 150km to Exmouth where we had to fill up our Tankgirl near the Visitor Information Center where we got lots of information about the area. After a short visit to a small market we set off to the Cape Range National Park. We first stopped at Hunters Beach, apparently good for surfing but this day the waves were not too high.

Coral Bay - Drifting off in the current

Heyho reef lovers,
Everyone knows about the Great Barrier Reef on the East Coast of Australia. But nobody ever told me about a big reef system on the West Coast called Ningaloo. I was very surprised during my research before this tour to find out about it. Surely it is not as big as you could see it from space but everybody here was raving over it.
Anyway, as we drove the last 100km to Coral Bay from our free camping overnight stay we bought some snorkel equipment there. After lunch we headed onto the really nice beach and took some pictures with Charlotte's underwatercamera.

Monkey Mia - Dolphin feeding and drive to Carnarvon

Dear animal lovers,
On Thursday the 26th of June we got up really early to be at Monkey Mia at 8am just in time for the first interaction with the dolphins. People were lining the beach.

And the dolphins got REALLY close! It was so exciting to spot more and more coming in and circling around in front of us.

Shark Bay - Hamelin Pool and photoshooting at Shell Beach

Greetings to all history and photoshooting lovers,
On Wednesday the 25th of June we got up at 7:15am and left the caravan park at 8:40am to be just in time for the pelican feeding. Only problem: no pelican turned up...

Quite disappointed to have gotten up so early to not see any pelicans we settled into the van and Bastian drove three hours straight to the Billabong Roadhouse where we girls got a picture taken.

Kalbarri - Nature's Window and the loop walk

Dear walking friends,

At 8am in the morning Laura and Charlotte walked over to the car rental to pick up our car for the day. They arrived at the caravan park with this:

Kalbarri - Memorial, a pink lake and coastal cliffs

Alrighty folks,

On the morning of our second day after a seriously freezing night with just two hours of sleep we at least had a very nice breakfast and then I drove us into the city of Geraldton where we visited the HMAS Sydney memorial.