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SYD - TAS - NZ 2023SYD - TAS - NZ 2023
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SYD - TAS - NZ 2023

January - February 2023
  • Claudia Wildmann
A 31-day adventure by Claudia Read more
  • Claudia Wildmann

List of countries

  • New Zealand New Zealand
  • Australia Australia
  • United States United States
Categories
Hiking, Nature, Solo travel, Vacation
  • 54.6kkilometers traveled
Means of transport
  • Flight37.8kkilometers
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  • 33footprints
  • 31days
  • 368photos
  • 6likes
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  • Claudia WildmannTravelerSYD - TAS - NZ 2023

    Sydney

    January 15, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Sydney… I lost a day on the way here (left Friday evening, arrived Sunday morning), made it with all my luggage and am exploring the city… back after 16 years. So many memories while strolling through this downtown…
    Jet lagged and tired, I nevertheless snatch tickets for Amadeus in the Opera House… who knows when I’ll be back 🤷‍♀️☺️
    I did not plan for the opera when packing… but I sorted that as well.

    What a day… what a city!

    And yes… I got sunburned…. Jet lag does not protect you 🤦🏻‍♀️    Read more

  • Claudia WildmannTravelerSYD - TAS - NZ 2023

    Coogee, NSW

    January 16, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Down memory lane by heading to Coogee, the little beach suburb I lived in 2007…. I took the bus (same bus number, passed the horse stables) to the final stop - and here I am. It looks still pretty much the same… even my coffee shop is still there… start with a breakfast and get ready for the beach walk to Bondi. Past the most amazing cemetery…

    From Bondi I went on to Watson Bay and the lighthouse. Had some surprise ‚views‘ at a nudist beach (I realized it rather late 😂) and took the ferry back home to Circular Quays…

    Some shopping… some strolling… ending the day with the most gorgeous outdoor movie spot ever - Sydney Opera and Harbour Bridge as background. Film itself (‚Tar‘) - interesting… but Cate Blanchett is impressive.    Read more

  • Claudia WildmannTravelerSYD - TAS - NZ 2023

    Manly

    January 17, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Beach Walk Spit Bridge to Manly - to soak in some more sun, beaches, views and stretch my legs before hopping on a plane again.
    Another beautiful beach walk I think I had missed out on before… worth it - but hot ☺️
    Little stop at Manly Beach before taking the ferry back to downtown…    Read more

  • Claudia WildmannTravelerSYD - TAS - NZ 2023

    Welcome to Tasmania

    January 17, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Goodbye Sydney. You treated me well again and I’m sure I’ll come back….

    Next stop: Tasmania. With a 45 minutes delay - but I’m on vacation after all. I made it to Launceston, checked into my hotel and the quick walk to the supermarket (open until 10pm!!) indicates there might not be too much to see… but I only have tomorrow anyways…

    My only remaining question: Do they really speak English here? I has a lovely taxi driver who told me all kind of stories in my way from the airport. Now all I need is someone telling me, what he told me. I really tried, but failed… 🤷‍♀️😢    Read more

  • Claudia WildmannTravelerSYD - TAS - NZ 2023

    Launceston

    January 18, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Launceston. A city I had not heard about until I started planning this trip. So, I came here with no expectations at all, actually getting out of here on the same evening my hiking trip concludes (after a shower ;-)).

    So, I just strolled through the town this morning, towards the little river I saw on the map… lucky surprise - I ended at the Launceston Cataract Gorge - which was indeed gorgeous. And ended to be much more sweaty than expected. A beautiful spot…

    After that, back to my hotel (still impressed that the guy at the reception knew my name and the duration of my stay simply by telling him my room number!), grabbing my stuff for the pre-trip meeting for my Cradle Mountain Overland Trail hiking tour starting tomorrow. 7 guests (6 women), 2 guides, and we will be ready to go early tomorrow… and it sounds as if we may have to endure a bit of a temperature shock… about 30C today - down to 13 tomorrow… but I was told that the weather constantly changes and we can expect snow or heat or both in one trip - so let’s see what we will get.

    And after grabbing some last things from the supermarket (snacks) and (almost) successfully fighting the temptation of all these outdoor stores here (another nice add on of this town) I’m now enjoying a glass of wine and a fancy dinner and the other amenities of modern life (shower, proper bed, light simply by pushing a switch, wifi, using the bathroom at night without shuffling out of a sleeping bag, finding shoes, a headlamp and walking through the cold), before heading out tomorrow.

    Remaining question: Should I bring my camera or just take the phone?!?

    There may not be many updates during the next 6 days - so all the fancy hiking pics and weird stories will have to wait…

    Fun fact: the sun sets only at 8:45pm - and I and my body are sooooo confused…

    PS: Launceston is Tasmania’s second largest city with a population of a bit less than 90k, which makes it 18th largest city of Australia. It’s a UNESCO city of gastronomy (little did I know that existed), has some nice restored Victorian houses and at least 8 churches.

    PPS: For anyone interested - this is what I’m doing the next couple of days: https://www.intrepidtravel.com/us/australia/cra…    Read more

  • Claudia WildmannTravelerSYD - TAS - NZ 2023

    Overland Track 1/6

    January 19, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Off we went… After an early morning start, a bumpy bus ride and coffee on the way, it was time to say goodbye to civilization. Our little group of 7 courageous hikers and 2 guides started our Overland Track from Ronny’s Creek to Waterfall Valley.
    The weather was probably the worst that day - but still not bad, just a bit windy and chilled. All of us had to get used to that bulky heavy thing on our backs - challenged right away with the steepest section of the trail…
    But… we survived and got rewarded with some pretty amazing views. Two little huts on the way - incl one that looked more like an old diver’s helmet where we learned that the best way to get a hut set up and potentially named after you is to die of hypothermia… if you ‘just’ fall - no hut, I’m afraid… (yup… bit of a weird humor here… but it should become a theme over the next days… luckily, there won’t be a new hut named after any of us anytime soon).
    Finally we reached the destination of this day, set up tent (far away from the toilets - which meant a long way to go for me twice (!) during the night) and said goodnight to our little wallaby neighbors…    Read more

  • Claudia WildmannTravelerSYD - TAS - NZ 2023

    Overland Track 2/6

    January 20, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Day 2 was the shortest day in terms of distance and while we had a lazy start, we woke up to blue sky… Waterfall Valley to Lake Windermere with a nice little side tour to go swimming in a waaaaay too cold lake…
    This evening, wombats and possums said goodnight to us.    Read more

  • Claudia WildmannTravelerSYD - TAS - NZ 2023

    Overland Track - Summary

    January 24, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Back in civilisation after 6 days of hiking the Overland Track in Tasmania.
    The (very) short version: It was an amazing, memorable and truely unique experience. My feet hurt (but no blisters), I am tired and exhausted, but I'm coming back with many, many good memories, new friends, new experiences, appreciation of amenities like hot showers, light switches, proper beds and toilets closeby (yes, a true reminder of Zeltlager in the Jachenau... it's been a while, but the experiences from back then came in handy once again), many moskito bites and so many pictures in my head.
    More to come - but for now: I'm back, clean, tired at Launceston airport, waiting for my 2hrs delayed flight to Melbourne where I will spend some more hours of this night before heading to Queenstown. New Zealand is next - but I have tons to digest. Thanks to Ana, Anne, Jenny, Scott, Lisa, Penny and our amazing guides Samson and Ryder who made this trip so special. I really hope to keep in touch.

    Off-topic, but still somehow present right now. While I was not impacted by the Amazon layoffs, some dear colleagues have been impacted. I was and still am devastated by some of the news I saw only today and am still processing. Thinking of all of you and wishing you all the very best. It is such a bummer to see you go and hard to believe... Let me know if there is anything I can do!    Read more

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