• Australia
  • Australia

Australia

Et 188-dagers eventyr av Australia Les mer
  • Reisens start
    20. juni 2016

    On my way

    20. juni 2016, Belgia ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    Finally, after weeks/months of planning, it's really happening! I'm moving to Australia!
    It will take me 3 flights and 28 hours to get to Cairns. But I'm sure it will be all worth it!

  • Brussels - Doha

    20. juni 2016, Qatar ⋅ ☀️ 39 °C

    My first flight takes me to Doha, Qatar. After a smooth check in, I settle down for the first flight. About 6 hours, 3 movies and a chicken pomodore later, I arrive at Doha. Unfortunatly with half an hour of delay, which means I have to run to get my next flight.Les mer

  • Doha - Perth

    21. juni 2016, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    After the quick transfer, I manager to get to my next plane on time. This time it will take about 10 hours 50 minutes to get to Perth. I am very lucky and manage to have an entire row of seats to myself. Those 4 chairs make an excellent airplane-bed. My sleep is interupted for two lovely meals. There's not much more to tell.Les mer

  • Perth - Cairns

    21. juni 2016, Australia ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    In Perth, I have about 5 hours to change flights, which means alot of waiting. While waiting to check in, I ate some waffles. The flight was short (less than 4 hours), but also quite cramped.
    By the time I arrive in Cairns, it's 6 in the morning and the sun starts comming up. Leaving the airport it feels very humid and quite warm. You wouldn't say that this is winter!
    A quick ride with the shuttle bus and I'm at the hostel :)
    Les mer

  • Cairns

    22. juni 2016, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    At my first day in Cairns, I mainly try to stay awake. This way the jet leg should be less of a problem. In the morning I feel fine, so I start walking into town. Before I leave I quickly change into shorts and cover my white legs in sunscreen :-)
    I walk along the Esplanade to the centre. It's only a short walk. The weather is a bit cloudy, but still nice and warm with a soft breeze.
    After enjoying the scenery, I decide to get started on the practical things; Bank card, Medicare card and Tax File Number are quickly sorted out. I quickly buy some food and head back to the hostel. My feet are hurting and I'm starting to become very tired. The perfect time to start this travel blog so you can all enjoy my trip.
    I'll have an early night tonight so I can start doing some planning tomorrow.
    Les mer

  • Swimming Lagoon

    23. juni 2016, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    After a weldeserved rest, it was time to cool down. No better place to do that then a lovely swimming pool. Cairns had this lovely outdoor salt water pool that is free to use. It comes in handy since the beach is not safe to go. Something to do with crocodiles.Les mer

  • Botanical gardens and Mount Whitfield

    23. juni 2016, Australia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    This morning, I bumped into Janet in the hostel. She was planning to go to the botanical gardens. Since I wanted to visit them as well, i decided to join her.
    After we walked there, we startes by doing a short walk through Mount Whitfield conservation park. A beautiful hike through the rainforrest. All the way up the hill, which had a beautiful lookout.
    I have to say that I was really sweaty. A moist 30 degrees and heaps of stairs seem to have that effect on me.

    After we finished the trail, we visited the botanical gardens. It's amazing to see how many beautiful plants there live here. Defenitly worth seeing.

    After that back to the hostel for a bit of a rest. We ended up doing a nice 20 000 steps that morning :)
    Les mer

  • Shopping

    24. juni 2016, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    After half an hour in the sun this morning, it was time to cool down. No better place to do that than an airconditioned shopping centre. Since I was adviced to buy a hat (being white as I am), that was the perfect excuse.👒☀️☺️Les mer

  • Cape Tribulation day trip

    25. juni 2016, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Today, I went to visit Cape Tribulation. It's part of the Daintree rainforest.
    It was an amazing day full of wonderfull experiences.
    We drove out of Cairns early in the morning. The drive took us along the coastline, through Port Douglas, over the Daintree river, to Cape Tribulation.
    After morning tea, we went for a walk through the rainforest. It's amazing to see the rainforest up close.
    We continued our journey and drove to the beach, where we had lunch.
    The afternoon started with a short stop at an ice cream farm, where we had some tropical fruit ice cream, Then we traveled on to the Daintree river, where we enjoyed a crocodile cruise. We saw some big and small crocodiles and learned some more about the mangroves.
    We were picked up again at the end of the cruise and drove to Mossman Gorge. A lovely part of the rainforest where some of the mountain rivers come together. A great place to take a swim appartently, but I only stuck my feet in the water :-)
    That was our last trip on the tour, so we headed back to Cairns, enjoying some lovely views along the road. The last suprise before heading into Cairns, was a field full of Wallaby's.
    Les mer

  • Rainforest walk

    25. juni 2016, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    A 45-minute walk through the heart of the rainforest. This rainforest is the longest living forest of it's kind. Being millions of years older than the Amazon. I learned about the different plants and the trics they use to survive, as well as the animal population.
    In the pictures: a mahogany tree uses these slates to keep upright (they have very shallow roots), A blue cassowary plum, a Boyd's Rainforest Dragon and some other lovely views.
    Les mer

  • Mossman Gorge

    25. juni 2016, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Our last stop on the Cape Tribulation trip was Mossman Gorge. A lovely area in the rainforest where two rivers from the mountains come together. The water was very clear and you could see the fish swimming in it.
    Some people even take a swim in the river :-)
    Les mer

  • Lunch at the beach

    26. juni 2016, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    A lovely lunch at the beach, with some lovely views of cape Tribulation itself. The cape Captain Cook saw when he crashed into the great barrier reef with his ship, while discovering Australia.
    There also lived a massive golden orb spider on the side of the toilet building (about the size of a hand).Les mer

  • Rain and crocodile sausage

    26. juni 2016, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Quiet day today, perfect to get behind my laptop and do some planning. I now got a general idea of what's happening in the next month :-)
    This afternoon it rained pretty heavily for about an hour. After that it luckily dried up so I got to go for a walk to the city.
    End of the day was a free bbq at the hostel :-)
    I got to eat crocodile sausage. Very tasty, but mostly because of the herbs in it. If i had to guess, i would say it was chicken.
    Les mer

  • Diving on the Great Barrier Reef

    27. juni 2016, Coral Sea ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    This morning I got up early for what was to become an amazing day!
    After a quick check-in, I got on board of the Passions of Paradise sailing boat. The weather a bit grey, bit still nicely warm. We sailed out to our first stop on the reef. On the way there, we got a short diving lesson and got to fit on our wet suit and flippers.
    I was in the third diving group, so once we arrived, I got to go snorkling first.
    I was amazed! The reef sits just below the surface and you get to see the most amazing coral and fish.
    After about half an hour of snorkling, it was time to dive. We got all geared up (that stuff is heavy!) and jumped in the water. 10 minutes at the rope to practice some basic skills and off we were. 4 people to each instructor. I got to hold on to Simons hand for the dive as he guided us around the reef.
    Suprisingly, diving was much easier then I thought it would be. It was an amazing experience.
    After the dive we had a lovely lunch, while we sailed to the next location.
    I chose to do a second dive, this time a bit longer and a bit more free (less hand holding this time). The rest could go snorkling again or could go enjoy the sand on pristine beach (a massive sand bank).
    This dive was even more amazing then the first. We saw sea turtles, sting ray, clown fish and so much more!
    We sat down on the ocean floor to watch an entire school of fish swim by just over our heads. I can't even describe what it felt like.
    Back on board to head back to shore, where it was luckily very sunny (it had rained quite a lot that day, but you don't really notice that in the water😉).
    I'm defenitly considering gettig certified as a diver now (if my budget allows it).
    Les mer

  • Waterfalls

    29. juni 2016, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    At breakfast, I bumped into Janet again. She was telling me how some friends were picking her up for a trip to some waterfalls. Since I had no real plans, I asked if they had a spare seat for me. And they did!
    It turned into an amazing day!
    We visited 3 different waterfalls. Crystal cascades, fairy falls and Barron Gorge. We were lucky to have a local as a guide, so we got to see some really nice places away from all the tourists.
    It involved a bit of hiking and some rock climbing, but it was defenitly worth it (even though my legs still hurt a day later).
    We ended the day at Palm Cove beach, relaxing a bit after all that hiking.
    Les mer

  • Cairns - Townsville - Magnetic Island

    30. juni 2016, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    After a week in Cairns, it is time to move south to see a bit more of the east coast. At 8 in the morning, I get on the Greyhound bus. A six hour drive will bring me to Townsville, where I will get a ferry to Magnetic Island.
    The hostel I'm staying at, has a koala sanctuary, so it's guaranteed that I'm going to be seeing some of them :-)
    More news later!
    Les mer

  • Bungalow bay koala village

    30. juni 2016, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    I just arrived on Magnetic Island and checked in to my home for the next 6 nights. It is pretty cool out here.
    I sleep in a six bed bungalow which has its own bathroom inside. It's in the middle of nature, so you hear the birds around you all the time.
    The next three days I will be learning how to dive, after that I will have some time to explore the island. Apparently there is loads of hiking tracks and I'll surely have a meeting with the koala's. Can't wait for that!
    Les mer

  • Magnetic Island - Day 1

    1. juli 2016, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    It's my first full day on the Island, and after a good night sleep, I headed off to Pleasure Divers to start my diving course.
    After filling out some paperwork, we head straight for the pool. 10 laps and 10 minutes of floating to start off with (to prove that I can swim). After that we get started on the material and a bit later get back in the pool (this time fully geared up), to start on some basic diving skills.
    I bump into a family I met the night before in the hostel and join them for lunch (a BLAT burger - bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato). In the afternoon, I take time to read all the theory, which takes me a couple of hours.
    I decide to head to Nelly Bay afterwords to get some groceries, but since it was still nice and sunny, I decided to head out on to the pier, where I was surrounded by rock wallabies :-) There even was a mum with a baby in her pouch (you can see it if you look closely to the picture).
    What better way to enjoy a sunset!
    Les mer

  • Magnetic Island - Day 2

    2. juli 2016, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Up bright and early to head to the diving centre again. We get straight into the pool again to practice some more skills and finish up with some theory and a test. I passed, so Monday and Tuesday, we'll head into the ocean to put all these skills into practice!
    By the time we finish, it's almost lunch time. I decide to explore one of the many walking tracks on the island and head back from Arcadia to Horseshoe Bay, where my hostel is located. The sign shows me it will be a 4km hike. It is a beautiful walk all through the forest, and up over some hills. It is very sunny and warm, and all the hiking up and down over rocks is exhausting, but it is definitely worth it! I had some lovely views along the way and even got to see a couple of koala's hanging in a tree.
    After all that hiking, it is time to grab my e-reader and find a comfortable place for the rest of the afternoon!
    Les mer

  • Magnetic Island - day 3

    3. juli 2016, Australia ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Again a nice and sunny day on the island.
    This morning Heidi, Simon and Emile showed me some hidden secrets on horseshoe bay. The butterfly foreat and a beautiful lagoon. I met this lively family from Melbourne on my first evening at the campers kitchen, and I am happy they wanted to show me around.

    In the afternoon I went on the forts walk. A lively hike that shows the leftovers from WWII. A walk also well known for spotting koala's. And I got lucky. I saw 4 koala's, of which one with a baby. They were just sleeping in the trees and weren't even bothered by all the tourist.
    The walk itself was amazing too. You climb up to one of the highest points of the island. From inside the old bunkers, you get the most spectacular views!

    Now I'm ready for a calm night so I am ready foe my dives tomorow!
    Les mer

  • Magnetic island - day 4 & 5

    4. juli 2016, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    I did my four qualification dives! Three on Monday, one more on Tuesday. Despitw the rain Monday morning, we got All geared up and we walked into the ocean at Alma bay.
    All the dives went well as well as all the diving skills we had to practice.
    The visibility was quite bad under water due to the weather the day before, but we went for it anyway. We even saw a little shark hiding under the reef and a stingray and some other fish as well as all sorts of coral.
    Monday afternoon was spent relaxing and reading a book. Tuesday afternoon I went for a big hike from Horseshoe bay, over radical bay to Florence bay and then around back to the hostel. A beautiful walk again with some lovely views.
    And for the people complaining about bad roads in Belgium, these potholes weren't even the worst ones I came across.
    Les mer

  • Magnetic Island to Townsvillle

    6. juli 2016, Australia ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    After a calm morning, I headed back to the main land with the ferry. It's hard saying goodbye to such a beautiful island!
    Once arrived and settled in the hostel in Townsville, I headed out to the strand. I had a lovely afternoon/evening walk before heading grabbing a bite to eat and heading back to the hostel.
    Tomorrow I'm gonna climb castle hill, and maybe visit the aquarium.
    Les mer

  • Castle Hill

    7. juli 2016, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    This morning, I walked up castle hill (apparently only a few metres short of being called castle mountain). I knew that it was going to be quite a climb, but once I started, it seemed to be never-ending. I took the goat track up, which is a very steep walk with lots and lots of stairs.
    Once you get to the top, the views are amazing though! Definitely worth the effort.
    Les mer

  • Reef aquarium + Townsville

    7. juli 2016, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    In the afternoon, I went to the reef aquarium. It has a massive piece of reef inside, where you can see all kinds of tropical fish. When you walk through the glass tunnel, you get to see predators on one side, all other fish on the other side. I found Nemo (and his entire family) as well as Dory (and her entire offspring) ;-) I also went on a tour to the turtle hospital.

    Afterwords, I just walked around Townsville until the sun set.
    A tiring but lovely day!
    Tomorrow I'm off to Airlie Beach, to go on a two day/two night sailing trip on the Withsundays.
    Les mer