Asia & Oceania

January 2018 - June 2019 Read more

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Asia & Oceania Traveler
Te Anau to Wedderburn
February 4, 2018 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
We took a water taxi across the lake to do a 2 hour walk, on the walk we walked through a forest primary consisting of the New Zealand beech tree.
Back in Te Anau we had lunch, the service was very slow, so we were actually late for our drive towards Wedderburn.
But we managed as we were in no hurry. It was a very long drive though, but 6 hours later we arrived at our accommodation in the middle of nowhere and we are staying here for 2 nights before we head back to civilization.Read more
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Blown away
February 5, 2018 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
We drove from the middle of nowhere to another place in the middle of nowhere to do either 22 or 34 km of a rail trail on mountain bikes. The route was a former train track so it was not challenging at all, even though we had a strong wind. I chose to opt for the 22 km option as I didn't find biking that enjoyable, the views were good though.
Back at our accommodation we watched The Return of the King, kind of cool watching that movie in New Zealand.
After the movie Maggie, Andi, and I went for a walk, as we walked away from the accommodation we didn't feel the wind as it came from behind.
After about 40 minutes of walking we came upon 6 sheep who had ventured out of there paddock, so we tried to herd them towards a hole in the fence. However we never found the hole. We did manage to get them to jump the fence.
We walked to the top of a small hill, and now we felt the wind full on. When we opened our wind breakers, we could almost lean against the wind, and when we jumped the wind carried us a little bit.
On the way home we had the wind straight in our faces, kind of tiring.
Again we came upon sheep on the wrong side of the fence, and again we managed to get them back home.Read more
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Ball and Chain
February 6, 2018 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C
Another long drive today. First stop was at the Moeraki Boulders, rocks which the ocean had eroded so they are more or less perfect spheres.
From there we drove another 2 hours and had lunch, actually really good considering the price and that it was a mall café.
2 hours after lunch we made it to Christchurch, here we stayed in a former prison turned hostel.
It was a national holiday so most of Christchurch was closed, but Maggie, Andi, Michael, Niclas, and I managed to find an Irish pub, the food was amazing and they had close to 20 pool tables, so naturally we played some pool after dinner.Read more
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Oceanic wildlife
February 7, 2018 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
Today didn't start well for me, seems like I had a case of food poisoning so the morning was rough.
We drove towards Kaikoura I was in and out of sleep not feeling good. In Kaikoura I was supposed to go whale watching, but as we arrived I was not feeling up for it. Luckily we had half an hour and after that I kicked myself and went on the boat.
We only had 2 1/2 hours on the water so due to bad timing we only saw one whale, but it was a beautiful and massive male sperm whale and it was clear to me he was larger than the females I saw last year around the Azores. We also saw several species of albatrosses they are huge.
After the whale watching I was supposed to go kayaking and as Andi and I would share a kayak I went for it. That was a good decision, one I got better and better, two we saw loads of fur seals feeding on fish less that 5 meters away.
After a long day, made longer by being ill, Lisa, Maggie, Andi, Michael, Niclas, and I went to dinner. After dinner we went for a short walk before getting some, especially for my part, much needed sleep.Read more
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Final night
February 8, 2018 in New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
Today we drove in beautiful weather from the lovely town Kaikoura to Picton where we caught the ferry back to Wellington. Even though it's only been 2 weeks since we were here last so much has happened that it feels longer.
Now is a time to appreciate the memories and the bonds that have been created over the last 24 days here in beautiful New Zealand. I am really going to miss the people I have bonded with on this trip, luckily we are already planning meet-ups in the near future.
People always ask for your favourite moment after a trip, that is simply an impossible question. But truth be told the connecting with people has been the best part.Read more
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Goodbyes
February 9, 2018 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
Today I left New Zealand to go to Melbourne Australia, where in a few days I will embark on a new G-Adventure.
Sadly it meant saying goodbye to people who definitely have become very special to me. Hopefully it was not a goodbye but a see you later.Read more
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Free walking tour Melbourne
February 10, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C
I am now in Melbourne Australia, here I have a total of 5 nights, soon I will meet a new group and start another G-ADVENTURE. But for now I need to explore this vibrant city.
I am still affected by the illness I contracted in New Zealand, so while I was waiting to join a free walking tour of the city, I considered going back to my hostel. However, in my opinion it's my worst accommodation yet, so I stayed and got better during the walk, which was quite informative.
After the walk I went to Victoria State Library. From here I went and found some good pizza, but my stomach would not let me finish it.
I then felt I needed fresh air. It's stifling in the city center.
So went to the gardens south of the river and walked around until a free concert started at the Sidney Myer music Bowl. Sitting there listening to the music played by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, it was impossible not to think of my uncle Peter. I know he would have loved to experience this concert.Read more
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Free music festival St Kilda
February 11, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
This morning I chatted a bit with Lisa, Maggie, and Andi. I left the hostel to walk to St Kilda, where they have the biggest free music festival in Australia. Pretty good timing I would say.
On the way a walked along the lake in Albert park. Here I saw Cockatoos, Parrots, and parakeets. At the festival I first heard That Gold Street Sound, next I found a small lunch and then I heard the Northern folk.
Next up was Maddy Jane, with some soft rock before I went back to the main stage for some punk performed by Models.
After Models, which is only borderline punk, I went to St Kilda pier for a breather, and even though it wasn't sundown I managed to spot a few penguins 2 adults and 2 chicks.
I then went to Thee Wylde Oscars, best music of the day.! And the most lively audience aswell.Read more
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Free walking tour St Kilda
February 12, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
Today I left the hostel a bit late, and walked to the Royal botanical gardens.
Just walking around not really caring, I needed to pass time until 16:30 where I would join the free walking tour in St Kilda.
After a read in the gardens I walked towards St Kilda via Fawkner park where I had another read.
In St Kilda I ate lunch at Abbey Road awesome place. Thanks for the recommendation Maggie and Niclas.
The free walking tour was great, so I opted to go eat with the guide and one girl who had been on the tour.Read more
TravelerHej. Lyder som om humøret er på vej op igen. :) Kh Mor
2/12/18Reply
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Meeting the new group
February 13, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
After checking out in the morning, I went to GPO to have a call with Maggie and Niclas who caught an earlier flight to Sydney. It was great talking with them again.
I then went for a walk along a part of the river I haven't seen yet before finding lunch at Degraves Street.
After lunch I just roamed around the city with nothing specific in mind until I went back and checked in again. Still needed to kill 4 hours before the welcome meeting.
I walked around the city and took some of the mandatory tourist pictures I was missing.
Then it was time for welcome meeting followed by dinner and bed time.Read more
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Great Ocean Road
February 14, 2018 in Australia ⋅ 🌧 17 °C
Today we left Melbourne and drove to the great ocean road. We had a photo stop at the gate, and then kept driving enjoying the view.
We stopped at a café, here I managed to spot a koala. It was sleeping, which they do for 19-23 hours a day.
There were also a lot of different parrots. Aina and I walked of a bit, and Aina spotted another koala, this one was a bit easier to see. And for about 5 seconds it was awake.
The koalas were followed by lunch in Apollo Bay. Before going to Mait's rainforest where they have a 30 minute loop walk. So we walked around the forest and saw a lot of beautiful trees.
After the walk we made our way to the 12 apostles, which used to be called the sow and piglets, but that name doesn't work for a tourist attraction.
It was loaded with tourist so I walked to Gibson's steps, and managed to find some privacy on the beach.
Next stop was Loch Ard Gorge a beautiful scar in the limestone cliffs. However I would probably not go swimming there most days as the waves and currents look massive.
Port Campbell was our final destination so we made it there an hour before dinner time.Read more
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Grampians National Park
February 15, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
We left our accommodation and continued down the great ocean road. First stop was London Bridge. A massive arch in the sandstone. The main arch broke a few years ago and people had to be rescued by helicopter.
Next up was The Grotto, a really cool window in the rock. It sort shows how the cliff is broken down by the weather.
We continued on to the Bay of Islands. Not as cool as those in New Zealand, but still a beautiful sight.
From here, we left the great ocean road and went to Tower Hill, here we saw more koalas, and our first Emus and grey kangaroos. Then we did a hike around one of the craters as it's a former volcano.
We then had a two hour drive to Grampians national park where we went to Halls Gap, from hear we drove to a parking spot where we did a hike to a lookout called the pinnacle. On the way through the Grampians we saw an Echidna by the road, the hedgehog of the marsupials.
When we came back to Halls Gap, the city had been invaded by grey kangaroos and they are almost tame, which to me seems so strange.Read more
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Waterfalls and Wallaby
February 16, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
Day 38 means I'm halfway on my journey, we started today with a sunrise in the Grampians before going to Jaws of death followed by MacKenzie Falls. From MacKenzie Falls I saw a route to Fish falls and took that trail as well.
Right at fish falls I was surprised by a wallaby. Actually it was probably me surprising the wallaby.
After the waterfalls we started our long drive to Adelaide. We stopped in Horsham for a food stop, later we stopped at a pink salt lake. We had a few more stops on the way before making it to Adelaide.
In Adelaide most of us went to a Thai place for dinner. After which Emily and I strolled through a festival area. Here we saw a magician, some light shows on houses showing historical events and then we found a park where laser lights and smoke made a beautiful imitation of aurora borealis/australis.Read more
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Adelaide
February 17, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
Free day in Adelaide, what is one to do.?
Well Emily and I went via the river to the botanic gardens. Right outside the gardens we happened upon a big family of fruit bats taking their sunshine sleep.
In the gardens we walked around and looked at the beautiful plants and went to the water lily pond and the rainforest house.
After the gardens we went to the Adelaide Fringe festival for lunch.
During lunch we spotted Aina who joined us when she was done shopping. We walked around the festival and got lured into seeing a show. It was a juggler who was quite funny in a very offhanded way that appealed to all ages.
Aina went to the botanic gardens and Emily and I found some gelato and after that a supermarket.
I went for dinner on my own at an Italian restaurant I saw yesterday.
At 19:00 we had welcome meeting for 3 new people in our group. They seem nice, will be good to get to know them.
After the meeting, Aina, Danielle, Emily and I went to a show at the Fringe festival with Baby Wants Candy, an improvised show where the audience select the title. We ended up with "Survivor: Mormons VS Lepers". It was really good.Read more
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Quorn
February 18, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
Today we left Adelaide behind and went to Clare Valley where the rest of the group had a wine tasting at a Taylor's Vineyard.
After the vineyard we went to the city of Clare and had lunch at Pancho's
After lunch we drove to Quorn, a former railway town on the South- to North coast train called the Pichi Richi trail, on. However, the area gets to much rain so now the train is not going through here anymore. On the way to Quorn we stopped at Goyder's line, an arbitrary line made by a man named Goyder who said you won't be able to grow anything north of the line. Turned out he was right.
After arriving at Quorn we went to Warren Gorge to look for rock wallabies, and luckily we managed to see a couple. On the drive we also saw an Emu with his 9 chicks (babies).
We had dinner and celebrated Katha's birthday. On the way back from dinner, we saw hundreds of parrots fly across the sky in a cacophony of noise. Quite amazing.
We all went early to bed as we have a sunrise hike tomorrow morning.Read more
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Beltana Sheep Station
February 19, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C
We got up relatively early this morning so we could get to the foot of devil's peak at 06:30. This should allow enough time to make it to the peak before sunrise.
The hike up the to the peak was a bit technical so it was good to wear hiking boots.
At the peak I found a found a route called Nerve Test, so I obviously took that, and enjoyed the sunrise. Luckily everyone made it to the top before the sun appeared on the horizon.
On the hike back Aina and I talked about the pros and cons of group travel. We have slightly different views, but also agree on some aspects.
After the hike we drove back, packed lunches and picked up the snoozers.
We drove to Kanyaka a former settlement, but as it is north of Goyder's line they didn't make it and it's now crumbling away.
From Kanyaka we drove to Hawker to fix a tire on the trailer.
After we had the tire fixed we drove to Wilpena National park for lunch before finally driving towards Beltana Sheep Station. It was a bumpy ride on gravel roads but the Flinders ranges were beautiful, and has that red colour associated with Australia.
At Beltana we went to the pool, but after an hour I went for a walk. It was quite hot, and even though I wore sun screen I got some mild burns.
We had a beautiful barbecue dinner, then we saw the sunset and I went tired to bed.
However I got up again to go star gazing as we have very little light pollution here, so cool to see the milky way.Read more
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William Creek
February 20, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C
Got up early so I could do all my morning preparations before sunrise before heading to the eastern side of the sheep station to enjoy the sunrise.
I the proceeded to the kitchen where Cara was cooking us a lovely breakfast. I helped prepare for the packed lunches we would make after breakfast.
We left Beltana to go towards William Creek.
We went by a friend of Cara's called Talc Alf, originally Dutch he immigrated to Australia at a young age. He now lives as an artist, in Lyndhurst, doing sculptures in talc stone. He also developed his own interpretation of letters origins and use that for names and countries as well. He was what most people would describe as a character, but he made a lot of sense and was so friendly.
We drove to some ochre pits where we could see the different colours of the clay depending on the iron content. Cara did an aboriginal initiation ceremony where we painted eachother with the three colours. White for acknowledging we were there, orange for a wish upon the person we painted, red for a wish for ourselves.
We drove on to Marree where we had our lunch break. We were traveling along the Oodnadatta track, a gravel road following the Gahn railway which doesn't run here anymore due to rain.
After Marree we had 204 km left for William Creek, a bumpy ride. We had stops along the way at Lake Eyre Australia's largest salt lake and a bubbler, a natural pool of water bubbling up from under ground.
We got to William Creek where we had dinner in the pub, which is the only thing there. We had a dress up party, themed "never would I ever" so we all wore stuff we wouldn't wear in public.Read more
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Opal Capital of the World
February 21, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 36 °C
So yesterday I claimed William Creek only has a pub. That's not entirely true. They also have an airstrip, so Aina, Danielle, (new) Emily, Katie, and I took a one hour flight to the painted hills. The painted hills are small hills made from soft rock with high iron content. They are completely of limits to the public and therefore in pristine state, however, as it is made from soft rock they are slowly eroding. But being 50 meters tall and stretching for 35 km and being 10 km wide, the painted hills won't be gone any time soon.
On the way their we went by Anna Creek cattle station, the largest cattle station in the world, with 6.5 million acres or 26000 kilometres squared. And the painted hills are with Anna Creek station's land. The flight was done in a Cessna 210 at about 1500 feet and was about 200 km.
After breakfast we left the Oodnadatta track to drive towards Coober Pedy, the opal capital of the world.
On the way we stopped at the longest man made structure in the world. A 5000+ km long fence that keeps the Dingos north of the fence, as the south side is sheep country and the north side is cattle country.
We made it to Coober Pedy and had some free time before going for a tour in the Umoona mine, it was cool as it gave a historical view on the opal mining in Australia.
Cara took us to her friend Terry, who has an art gallery/kangaroo sanctuary with his wife Josephine. So hand fed big red kangaroos and saw him feed a baby. At was a cool surprise.
We slept "underground" or rather inside a hill in a dugout.Read more
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King's Creek
February 22, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C
Leaving bright and early was not early enough for us, so we packed the bus at 5 in the morning and hit the road. We stopped as the sun had climbed above the horizon for a few pictures before continuing down the highway.
We stopped at the border between South Australia and Northern Territory. After that stop we drove 5 minutes to go collect firewood for our dinner, and then we had another hour to drive to Erlunda for lunch.
On the drive to King's Creek we saw a few wild horses right before making it to our destination. The first of 2 camp sites, and where we will be camping for one night. We will be sleeping under the stars on swags, a mattress inside a mini tent, but as it is summer most people will probably sleep on top of it.
But before sleeping some of us went quad biking.
Quad biking was super fun, our guide would speed ahead so we could go at a speed we were comfortable with.
Katie was leading our group of 6 and she went quite fast, and I was right behind her, literally right behind her, which meant I got super dusty.
During the drive we reached speeds of 60+ km/h and took sharp turns, climbed cliffs, and drove on gravel where the we really could do sharp turns at higher speeds.
After quad biking we had a lovely dinner cooked by Cara, and then we relaxed until we went to bed early as we had an early morning the next day.Read more
TravelerDu er godt nok tæt på Alice Springs. En af mine drømme destinationer.
2/25/18Reply
TravelerJa, men jeg flyver lige uden om, jeg ved ikke rigtig noget om stedet.
2/25/18Reply
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King's Canyon and Uluru
February 23, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
Got up early as we want to do our activities before it gets too hot, we have 40+ in the daytime, I'm loving the heat, but also happy we are not doing a 4 hour walk in that heat.
We left our camp site in King's Creek to go to King's Canyon, here we did the rim track, a 6 km loop walk, which was really easy after the first 15 minutes with stairs.
King's Canyon was beautiful, loads of red cliffs in amazing shapes. We also went into the Gardens of Eden, here all the water gets collected when it rains so it's lush and green in the Gardens of Eden where the rest of the area is less green as we are in a semi-arid zone.
After King's Canyon, we went to pack lunches before driving towards Uluru. We saw wild camels and horses on the drive.
We stopped at Mount Conner also know as Fuluru as many get to it on the highway and believe they have reached Uluru, but that is another 2 hours down the road.
Arrived in Yulara township completing my final long drive in the outback, and checked in and went to the supermarket as a final stop before going close to Uluru.
We got to our campground and quickly put our food in the fridge, and then we went to Uluru to do the Mala walk, a relatively short walk where Cara told us an Aboriginal legend, and taught us about different plants.
Back at our campground we saw the sunset from a lookout right next to our home.
After a lovely barbecue dinner with Kangaroo meatballs Aina, Emily, Jasmine, Katha, and I went to see the field of lights, a massive art piece consisting of 50 thousand solar powered colour changing LEDs.Read more
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Sun Ups & Sun Downs
February 24, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
Yet another early morning to catch a sunrise, this time we saw the sun rise above Uluru. I think my favourite sunrise so far was the one on Devil's peak.
We drove to the base walk and headed clock-wise around Uluru. The vegetation around Uluru is a lot denser and way more green than I had imagined.
When we made it all the way around to where we did the Mala walk yesterday, Cara wasn't there, so I walked to where we started out base walk and thereby walked all the way around the monolith.
After the walk we went to the cultural center in the national park. Here we could read stories, watch documentaries, see aborigines women paint traditional artwork, and of course buy souvenirs.
We drove back at 11 for lunch, and people split up. I went to the pool with, Caro, Clara, and Emily.
Next point on the agenda was a short walk at Kata Tjuta, Cara gave us a small talk explaining how this flat area has these massive rock formations. From Kata Tjuta we drove to a lookout to see Uluru change colour during the sunset. We managed to see a Sand Goanna and enjoyed the sunrise.
We had another lovely dinner cooked by Cara before going for an astronomy tour where we got to see nebulas, constellations, population 2 stars, and the moon through telescopes magnifying more than 100x.Read more
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Let's Go East
February 25, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C
Got up a bit later than the other days and packed our bags. Today our group got split up. 12 people myself included got dropped off at a hotel for an airport pickup later in the morning while the remaining 8 kept on driving to Alice Springs where their tour ends.
We got to the airport and boarded our flight to Sydney, the flight was completely uneventful, however, arriving in Sydney meant lots of rain and a mere 20 degrees, which feels cold after 8 days with unrelenting heat.
We arrived at our hostel 30 minutes before our welcome meeting, here we met Aaron A.k.a Azza and 8 new girls who join our group for the east coast. We went to the next door pub for dinner and had a good meal and some nice talks.Read more
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Sydney
February 26, 2018 in Australia ⋅ 🌧 19 °C
What to do when you only have one day in Sydney with poor weather.?
Well, Aisha, Emily, Lisa and I went to a free walking tour that took us through the city ending at Circular Quay with a view of the Opera House.
We found lunch at an Italian restaurant, and then we split up.
Emily went to the opera house as she's already done what the rest of us wanted, the Coogee to Bondi coastal walk.
Aisha, Lisa, and I took the bus to Coogee and started the beautiful walk towards Bondi, it had stopped raining, but it was a windy walk, but luckily the wind came from behind most of the walk.
At on place we opted to do a bit rock hopping instead of following the road. I think I enjoyed that more than the girls.
We made it to Bondi and walked in the edge of the water before taking a bus back to the CPD. Here we walked straight back to the hostel where we were invited to join 7 others from our group for dinner.
So 10 of us left and went to the Darling Harbour and found some Mediterranean food.
After dinner we walked home and straight to our rooms for a good night's sleep before hitting the road tomorrow.Read more
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Lawn bowling.?
February 27, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
We got up sort of early to check out and leave CPD before traffic would be messy, but it was all good as it meant breakfast in Kirribilli with a nice view of Sydney harbour with the bridge and the opera house.
First point on the agenda was wine tasting in Hunter valley, while the others tasted a few wines, I caught up on my journal.
From Hunter valley we headed towards Tamworth, a medium sized town a bit inland. On the way we stopped for lunch and snack breaks.
As we made it to Tamworth we immediately headed to the lawn bowling club. Lawn bowling is a game quite similar to petanque, only the bowls are larger and only weighted on one side, which make the curl when they slow down.
Emily and I played Vicky and Stuart. At first Emily and I were dominating, but Vicky and Stuart improved quickly and we had some close matches with individual bowls being played on pro level from all of us.
In the end Emily and I claimed a narrow victory. I expected to enjoy lawn bowl, but not as much as I actually did, it was great fun.
As we walked back we went straight to dinner with a trivia night.Read more
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Beach Time
February 28, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
Due to good weather we left early to get as much time on the beach in Yamba as possible, we did also have a few stops on the way.
First significant stop was at Boundary falls where we went down to the bottom of the water fall, the walk was easy and there was another waterfall so I walked down there. The other water fall was called Lyrebird falls, here I got a suprise when I saw Emily, she had managed to get a tiny bit lost and never made it to Boundary falls, so she was sitting at Lyrebird falls and had her lunch.
We walked back to the group and continued on our merry way to Raspberry lookout where we had a great view of the Gibraltar ranges, these mountains used to be covered by rainforest, but as rainforest hate drought and forest fires the majority of the mountains are now covered by eucalyptus, only in a few gullies is it possible to see the rainforest as it used to be.
Hitting the road we headed towards the beach town Yamba. Upon arrival we went to the beach, it was really nice, the water temperature enabled us to stay in as long as we liked, and the lateness of the afternoon meant no burns.
After beach time, Aisha, Emily, Lisa, Myf, Sierra, Laurens, and I went to dinner at a lovely Indian restaurant. It was super good food, and after dinner we chilled on our ocean view balcony.Read more
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