Australia

December 2016 - January 2017

A 32-day adventure by Vander Wonders Read more

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Traveler Australia
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- Dec 12, 2016, 4:42pm
- ☀️ 25 °C
- Altitude: 6 m
- Australia Victoria Corangamite The Razorback -38.649003, 143.07287538°38’56” S 143°4’22” E
Day 5
Great Ocean Road - Lochard Gorge
December 12, 2016 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
Truly saving the best for last, Lochard Gorge & Razerback. The 12 Apostles may be the most famous but this site is by far the most scenic of this coastline.

We even got some girl in the picture who just wouldn't go away she spent about 20min trying to perfect her selfie.

{Roedolf}Read more
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Traveler Australia
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- Dec 13, 2016, 8:50pm
- ⛅ 27 °C
- Altitude: 19 m
- Australia Victoria Stonnington Windsor -37.854137, 144.99264537°51’15” S 144°59’34” E
Day 6
Mr Miyaki
December 13, 2016 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C
#MRMSAYS… drink frose...

Heerlike verjaarsdag bederf ete, dis vreeslik oorspronklik en anders en oortref al my verwagtinge

Besluite besluite...toe ons daar aankom was dit 'n uur en 45 min waglys, hulle vat glad nie besprekings nie, duidelik baie populêr. Ek drink toe so verfrissende frosé (ps. dis aanvanklik wat my aandag op instagram getrek het) dis so slush puppy- rige droë rosé wyn en die presentation sal enige Affie huishoudkunde juffrou laat flikflakke maak. Ons hum en ha of ons 'n snack moet eet of na 'n ander plek moet gaan, ek wil bitter graag hier eet maar Roedolf lê die feite uit van hoelaat ons eers gaan eet, vroeg opstaan ens...'n bietjie van 'n penarie -ons moes maar vroeër kom.

Ek gaan "reconfirm" met die host en verduidelik ons het 'n baie vroeë vlug, sy is behulpsaam en kyk wat sy kan doen. Êrens het die goeie kelner ook gesien ons is besluitloos en sy bring 'n cocktail op die huis. Ons kuier lekker en eks in vervoering oor al die skeppings wat uit die kombuis kom.

Kort daarna het ons 'n tafel, dit was nie naastenby 'n uur en 45min nie. Ek besef dis hul manier om maar expectation te manage want mens het geen idee hoelank mense sal vertoef nie, die plek het 'n ongelooflike atmosfeer en mens kan maklik vashaak.

Ons volg die kelner se aanbevelings en eet die heerlikste volksvreemde kos soos Roedolf sal sê. Dis 'n Japanese plek met 'n moderne aanslag. Die Salmon tacos is 'n treffer verder eet ons 'n prawn sosastie stokkie in 'n degie, so pork skewer met soetsuur smakie en nog heerlike goedjies wat mens nie alledaags proe nie.Die diens is uitstekend en die kos is bekoorlik, die kelner maak ook 'n mini ophef oor my bday met so MRMiyaki shooter.

Hierdie "eet" ervaring het my weereens laat besef hoe verskillend ons is, ek sal 'n week vooruit na restaurante soek, "must do's" met 'n experience en goeie kritiek (resensies?) ish my afrikaans🙈. Ek sal sonder blik of bloos lank wag en die honger met wyn afspoel. Roedolf aan die ander kant sal n BiG Mac op sy verjaasdag kies en liries daaroor raak.

It's not wrong it's just different!

Wat 'n Lekker aandjie saam te danke aan mr Miyagi
http://mrmiyagi.com.auRead more
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Traveler Australia
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- Dec 13, 2016
- ⛅ 23 °C
- Altitude: 13 m
- Australia Victoria Corangamite Rutledge Creek -38.636599, 143.03855538°38’12” S 143°2’19” E
Day 6
Lochard Gorge (GOR)
December 13, 2016 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
I thought this was more striking than the 12 Apostels...probably because there was no expectation. I am a hidden gem kind of girl - these unexpected natural beauties makes me so happy! I loVed the 2 short walks down to the beach and Razorback. We saw an Echidna which was really fascinating to watch.
(These solitary little spiky creatures are apparently not easy to see but are quite common in rainforest and dry sclerophyll forest regions where their favourite meal is ants and termites.)

What was even more fascinating to watch was R and his everlasting battle with sand between his toes... the "things" that bothers people haha!! Oh and don't forget all the desperate attempts to keep the flies away, it's so entertaining to listen to tourists in any possible language " battling" the flies.

Mense gaan deur n helse tyd met die vlieë - dis 'n stryd waai , kop toedraai vloek ish dis snaaks. Veral die rysetende tjonkies, hulle kan dit nie vat nie.

{Issy}Read more
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Traveler Australia
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- Dec 14, 2016, 12:07pm
- ⛅ 26 °C
- Altitude: 7 m
- Australia Queensland Cairns -16.9229, 145.7649716°55’22” S 145°45’54” E
Day 7
Settling in in Queensland
December 14, 2016 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
When we got off the plane I was delighted to feel the heat and humidity... Queensland have a real summer not 4 seasons in one day like Melbourne.

I love our airbnb it's so spacious and modern, and pretty much has my dream kitchen in terms of space!! I had to do some physcometrical tests on strenghtsfinder & Myers Briggs for a potential opportunity. It felt like the last thing I wanted to do but I actually enjoyed it and learned something about myself.

After that we took a nap and got a few necessities from the pharmacy for our dive trip. We headed to the 6pm movie, Hacksaw Ridge from Mel Gibson was gripping and gory and left me thinking about brotherly love in a different way.

{Issy}Read more
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Traveler Australia
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- Dec 15, 2016, 6:13am
- ☀️ 23 °C
- Altitude: 3 m
- Australia Queensland Cairns Stafford Point -16.9227, 145.78091316°55’22” S 145°46’51” E
Day 8
Cairns
December 15, 2016 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
Me and Roedolf got up early to squeeze in run before we go on the live aboard. After all the indulgence in Melbourne my body craved a decent workout. We ran to the promenade where the cruise ships dock, I left Roedolf behind where he utilized the outdoor gym while I logged a few more km's.

{Issy}Read more
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Traveler Australia
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- Dec 15, 2016, 8:00am
- ⛅ 26 °C
- Altitude: 1 m
- Australia Queensland Cook Shire Lizard Anchor Bay -14.666203, 145.44844114°39’58” S 145°26’54” E
Day 8
Lizard island
December 15, 2016 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
We got on a flight in a small aircraft from Cairns to Lizard island, where Spirit of Freedom, our live aboard dive boat awaited us in a pretty idyllic setting. The sight of the reefs made me incredibly excited of what we are going to experience.

{Issy}Read more
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Traveler Australia
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- Dec 15, 2016, 4:00pm
- ☀️ 25 °C
- Altitude: Sea level
- Coral Sea -14, 14514°0’0” S 145°0’0” E
Day 8
Mask clearance @ Princess Bommie
December 15, 2016, Coral Sea ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
First dive on the live-aboard Spirit of Freedom. This is only one of 2 dives we are going to do on the Great Barrier Reef, the rest will all be on smaller reefs further out from the coast.

The site is called Ribbon Reef #10 - Coral Princess bommie.

The crew are very safety conscious and therefore we have to do some skills on the first dive just to make sure everyone is comfortable and ready to dive. This gave me great joy as Isabel previously said she will never do a mask clearance again and here she has to do it again.

The other skills we had to do was regulator recovery, deployment of your safety sausage and life line radio.

Let the fun begin!

{Roedolf}Read more
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Traveler Australia
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- Dec 15, 2016, 4:00pm
- ☀️ 30 °C
- Altitude: Sea level
- Coral Sea -14, 14514°0’0” S 145°0’0” E
Day 8
Ribbon reef #10 Princess Bommie
December 15, 2016, Coral Sea ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
Dive #2

Die see is diep en die see is wyd en Jessie ek het jou so lief... Laurika se liedjie was in my kop die hele duik lank. Wat 'n voorreg om so vreesloos in die water te spring duisende kilo's weg van die vasteland af. Ek het nou 'n hupstoot van selfvertroue na ek sonder te veel dink my "mask clearance" gewrap het.

{Isabel}Read more
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Traveler Australia
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- Dec 16, 2016, 7:00am
- ☀️ 25 °C
- Altitude: Sea level
- Coral Sea -13.897223, 146.55194113°53’50” S 146°33’7” E
Day 9
Around the bend
December 16, 2016, Coral Sea ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
Dive #3
Osprey Reef

The small tender boat dropped us off and we drifted across the cleaning station to reach the coral wall. We haven't done the backwards drop since we last went diving in Sodwana. This is a bit harder work and more freaky than the usual giant stride of the big boat. The current was faster than expected and we thought we missed the reef. I spotted Loads of sharks hanging about. Roedolf thought I was mad because he kept drifting into me but in fact I was trying to indicate that we are going very deep, Misunderstanding each other under the water is less than ideal. The depth was 39.5m pretty much the max of what a recreational diver is allowed to dive. The visibility was great and we saw loads of fish, I thought it was a fantastic dive.

{Isabel}Read more
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Traveler Australia
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- Dec 16, 2016, 9:50am
- ☀️ 25 °C
- Altitude: Sea level
- Coral Sea -13.802222, 146.55473313°48’8” S 146°33’17” E
Day 9
Shark feed - North Horn
December 16, 2016, Coral Sea ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
Dive #4
Osprey Reef

As soon as we hit the water there was sharks all over the place. A guide showed us where to sit to enjoy this spectacle.

When everyone had a spot on the surrounding rocks they lowered a cage full of tuna heads. The sharks swamped to the cage and continued to circle around it after it hit the bottom. Then one of the guides had to swim into this school of sharks to cut the cage open to release the tuna heads. She bolted as soon as she opened the cage, and for good reason because seconds after the cage opened, the first tuna head popped up, it was a free for all shark feeding frenzy.

You don't want to be caught in the middle of that!

The white tip reef and grey reef sharks here seemed more aggressive than the ones in Fiji, I guess its because the Fiji sharks do that everyday, so they are "more tamed". While these sharks are completely wild!

{Roedolf}Read more
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