• Mates on tour
Apr – Jun 2018

Australia

A 67-day adventure by Mates on tour Read more
  • The Pinnacles

    May 9, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    After a short drive we came to one of the "Top Things to do in WA", visiting the pinnacles. They're a series of rocks scattered over a large area and until today it's not to a 100% clear how they were created.
    Afterwards we stopped at a salt lake which hosts the oldest living fossils in the world, called Stratolites. Some kind of bacteria algae lifeforms. We're not completely sure what that means but their remains are just round stone plates in shallow water...
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  • Shark Bay

    May 10, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Without breakfast we headed to Shark Bay, a big peninsula with large protected National Park areas. Our first stop was planned to be at a viewpoint about 2km off the highway. But the road got rougher and as there was a quite steep downhill ahead of us we decided to turn around. On the way back we lacked the speed that we had and got bogged (again). Luckily the 4WD worked after some tries and we were able to drive in a bit more stable terrain. But on this way the car overheated, so we spent about half an hour waiting for it to cool down. It was a good opportunity to get our breakfast coffee.
    Afterwards we stopped at Shell Beach, an isolated bay which is inhabited by zillions of mussels. Because of a natural sea grass border the salt level in the bay is twice as high as in the ocean. Therefore most other creatures had to abandon the water, just the mussel feels like a fish in the water :D Also the water was incredibly clear. From there it was just a short drive to a viewpoint with a boardwalk where you can often see dugongs and sharks. Not on our watch!
    Finally we arrived in Denham, a lovely little harbour town with a great esplanade. There we had breakfast at 12, the selfmade Breakfast Burger was well worth the wait!! Then we went for a swim directly at the jetty on the esplanade. The water is full of sea grass which is the reason why Shark's Bay is one of the last places on earth where the dugongs are living. Unfortunately we didn't see any of those here as well. Before we left we visited the local information centre where we watched a documentary called "Fire on the water". It was about the sunken cruiser HMS Sydney that was shot by a disguised German vessel named Kormoran. A really interesting story!
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  • Coral Bay

    May 11, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    From our overnight spot it was just some 150 kilometers to the township of Coral Bay. Basically it's just two big caravan parks and some facilities to provide entertainment and food for these guests. What makes it interesting is the vicinity to the Ningaloo Reef which extends right into the towns beach.
    Therefore we decided not to go diving but to rent snorkeling equipment. And it was definitely worth it, just a few steps into the water you could see big fish and colorful corals. We spent the whole day relaxing at the beach and snorkeling. But the water was a bit too cold to stay in there all the time without a wetsuit.
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  • Karijini National Park

    May 12, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    The Karijini National Park is located a few hundred kilometers off the main highway. It has been on my bucket list for here since I saw a picture of a natural pool in the middle of red rock. We arrived at the Visitor Center just before noon to check the walks available.
    The Dale Gorge with some of walks is located just 15km away and we decided to do the large loop which led down to the gorge. From there it followed the gorge for 4km to the Circular Pool, up to the rim and back to the car park.
    It was an amazing experience and different from other spots we saw in Australia so far. The mountain ranges in the background, the lush gorges in contrast to the arid plains above create a spectacular scenery. We went for a swim in the Circular Pool, a refreshing retreat from the heat of the day. But as beautiful it is, you should be aware that large areas of the rocks are full of Asbestos 🧐
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  • Broome

    May 14, 2018 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

    We stayed close to Broome and drove in the morning to Cable Beach for breakfast. It's a really pretty beach but not as spectacular as we expected it to be. Afterwards we went to the Visitor Center and the attached pearl museum which teaches a bit about the pearling beginnings of Broome.
    Later in the afternoon we went to Gantheaume Point a picturesque setting of red rocks and blue water. Besides that are there dinosaur footprints in the rocks which are only visible in low tide. They weren't as big as expected but still interesting. In the evening we went to Cable Beach to watch the impressive sunset.
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  • Kununurra

    May 16, 2018 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

    Kununurra is the Eastern gateway to the Kimberlys and our last stop for the day. Before we were at Wyndham, an unspectacular but charming port town which hasn't too much to offer. These few things are presented well so it feels bigger.
    The main reason why we made the 50km detour was to spot crocodiles in the wild. There are some locations nearby that are promising but we weren't lucky today. Instead we visited a lookout and the "biggest Baobab in captivity". We continued the search for crocs at Kununurra in the evening but still without any success.
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  • Katherine

    May 17, 2018 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    As we weren't successful yesterday, crocodile spotting was our priority except for driving further in direction of Darwin. Just after 50km we crossed the border to the Northern Territory. After four attempts to spot crocs in the waters or shores of Victoria River, we gave up for the day.
    In Katherine we treated ourselves with a dip in the hot springs until it got dark.
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  • Litchfield National Park

    May 18, 2018 in Australia ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    Two people on the way recommended going to the Litchfield National Park. While investigating what's there to do we couldn't find anything particularly interesting.
    Even more were we surprised by this beautiful place with waterfalls, swimming holes and termite mounds. We spent the whole day here doing some shorter walks and swimming in a waterfall.Read more

  • Darwin

    May 20, 2018 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 29 °C

    Before heading to the next National Park we wanted to make a quick stop in Darwin to see the highlights and then move on. But unfortunately our car overheated on Friday evening and we were stuck with a leaking radiator there until Monday afternoon. So we figured the entertainment for the weekend... First a relaxing afternoon at the city beach, then an Indonesian-Australian festival. For the next day, Deadpool 2 in the movies and in the evening the famous Sunset Market with buskers, didgeridoo, sunset and lots of food. Besides that we spent some time with planning the next leg of our travels.Read more

  • Kakadu National Park

    May 24, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    The Kakadu National Park is the largest one in Australia and is approximately the size of Israel. It's famous as an Aboriginal art site. So our first stop was at Ubirr with a large amount of ancient paintings dating back more than 5000 years. There we met a German guy who comes from a small village just about half an hour away from Bad Waldsee, my hometown. The world really is a village... We spent the afternoon at a waterhole looking for crocs and we were finally successful but unfortunately it was too far away to get a good picture. For the night we stayed at a campground which was crazy crowded with mosquitos. I've never seen so many of them, they were crawling inside the car through the smallest possible spaces!
    After a restless night we were glad about the dawn and a bit of relief from the horrors of the night. First we did some walks, then we participated in a cooking masterclass. It was made by an indigenous chef with local ingredients, so we could taste some barramundi fish with lemon myrtle. Afterwards we cooled off at a pool and then went early to a campground to set up our tent so we can finally get a good rest again. And it worked pretty good!
    So we were ready for the third and final day in the park which we spent with traditional weaving, Aboriginal arts and tasting ground-oven cooked turtle. An interesting experience!
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  • Edith Falls

    May 25, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    As we were out of the National Park we could camp freely again, so we stayed about 20km before Edith Falls. The waterfall is a popular tourist spot as it is comfortably located just off the highway and offers nice walks and swimming holes. So we did the loop track starting early to be the first ones to enjoy the scenery for ourselves :)
    Then we went back to Katherine and spent hours in the Hot Springs relaxing and enjoying the light refreshment. Just 100km South is Mataranka where we joined an event of Campdraft, a unique Australian sport where you have to lead cattle on horseback. For the night we went on to Daly Springs, a tiny roadhouse with a famous Outback pub where we had a beer and some live music.
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  • Tennant Creek

    May 26, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Today we basically just drove except for two stops on the way. One was to visit the Devils Pebbles. A smaller version of the Devils Marbles and overall pretty unspectacular. The other stop was for lunch but as we are coming closer to the center the flies increased as well and wouldn't allow us to have a relaxed meal...Read more

  • Porcupine Gorge

    May 28, 2018 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 23 °C

    From Tennant Creek the Flinders Highway leads all the way to the East Coast stretching for most of the time just through desert. It also led us back to Queensland for the last leg of our Australia discovery. We stopped several times on the way to go to Visitor Centers. A highlight was a nightly encounter with an Echidna that was sitting in the middle of the street.
    Besides that there wasn't much to see until we reached Hurghada, an old mining settlement where we took a turn off the Highway and north. After about an hour drive we reached the Porcupine Gorge which is a pretty secluded spot. We enjoyed a short walk there before hitting the road again.
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  • Mount Molloy

    May 29, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Initially we hadn't planned to drive that far but it "International Burger Day" and to celebrate McDonald's gave away free BigMacs. Therefore we decided to drive another 100 kilometers :)
    But in the early afternoon we were shocked by a sudden rainfall, something we hadn't seen in the last two months!! It was especially critical because we drove on an unsealed road which becomes impassable after longer rain falls. But luckily we made it out just in time... As we reach the top end of Queensland we're trying to cross off one of our last animals of the spotting list, a Cassowary. A colourful, flightless bird similar to an emu but closely related to Raptors (yes, the ones from Jurassic Park ;))Read more

  • Port Douglas

    May 30, 2018 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

    In the morning we went to the Mossman Gorge which is part of the Daintree National Park. Here we are in the 'Wet Tropic' climate and the park consists mainly of rainforest. There we had to walk for two kilometers from the Visitor Center until we reached the park itself. Even though there was a shuttle bus available we saved ourselves the 20$ :D The park was nice and diverse with interesting vegetation and some wild boars.
    Next stop, Port Douglas and finally reached the cost again. The town has a good vibe even though it's very touristy. For the evening we joined the free sunset sailing tour from the local yacht club. They do this every Wednesday in exchange for drinks and food at the club house. The sea was pretty rough so Julia feared to vomit several times but she made it through the trip! It was a pretty cool experience being on a smaller sailing ship during rough weather.
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  • Cairns

    May 31, 2018 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 24 °C

    In Kuranda we had a big breakfast in the local park. Afterwards we explored the local markets which are usually crawling with people but today the trains from Cairns weren't going so we had them almost for ourselves. So we talked to many shopowners, got free samples and checked out all items in the booths. We really enjoyed the hippie flair that is over the stalls. A woman from Switzerland told us that it used to be a lot more about 20 years ago. Afterwards we went to the Barron Falls, the highlight on the train ride from Cairns. A nice boardwalk leads through a rainforest area to a viewpoint. But the view isn't that impressive in the dry season because its just a sparse flow of water.
    Then we came to Cairns, the so called gateway to the rainforest and the Great Barrier reef. We felt directly comfortable around the city with a reasonable level of traffic. Directly at the beach is the Esplanade with an artificial lagoon and plenty of gas BBQs. We made good use of the facilities and got ourselves potatoes and Schnitzel for a nice lunch. Overall the city has a good ambient and it was a great spot to relax in the late afternoon's sun. In the evening we checked out the night markets but they weren't as big as expected, still a nice entertainment.
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  • Mission Beach

    June 1, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    After spending the night at an overcrowded camp site just outside of Cairns we went to the Josephine Falls for brekkie. We were almost on our own there except for a nosy turkey that kept circling us in search for some food. The falls are a really nice spot with a swimming hole and a scenic boardwalk. Afterwards we drove back for a few kilometers to a swamp where there are supposed to be some crocs but we just saw five turtles. Not for lunch this time ;)
    Next stop: Mission Beach. A pretty small stretch of beach that is busy with tourists. For us it was of special interest because it's also a busy spot for the elusive Cassowary. Despite all our efforts - overall more than 12km walking - we didn't see any of the heaviest birds in Australia. Tomorrow we'll have another try, probably the last one because they're exclusively in the Wet Tropics of Northern Queensland.
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  • Townsville

    June 3, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    From Mission Beach led our journey further South. Unfortunately we still couldn't find any of the elusive Cassowaries so we ultimately said goodbye to the region. Next stop: Townsville!
    A pretty town and local center with all amenities. Especially remarkable was the large lagoon next to the beach. Even though it's artificial, it still has a great ambient. The sea is either too cold or inhabited by potentially deadly stingers! Another highlight of Townsville was the Castle hill that reached up right in the middle of the city and offers spectacular views to the sea and the mountainous inland.Read more

  • Whitsunday Islands

    June 4, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    We had spontaneously booked a day trip to the Whitsunday Islands. They consist of 74 islands scattered over a large area right next to the Great Barrier Reef. We stayed in the harbour town of Airlie Beach for the night which offers a lot for travelers in terms of nightlife and activities. There's also a large lagoon right in the middle of the town with lovely amenities.
    The trip started at 8 in the morning when we boarded our small fast boat. The first two stops were at snorkeling spots. The first one was magically crowded with a school of colourful fish and a large groper. The second one was at the side of a shallow reef and offered stunning views of the corals. Still impressed by these views we stopped for lunch at Whitehaven Beach, known for the 99% pure silica sand. The lunch I got was partly stolen by a sweeping seagull 😡 We also had the opportunity to see one of the curious goanna roaming around our spot. The rest of the time we spent relaxing at the beach...
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  • Town of 1770

    June 6, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Another spontaneous decision later we were on our way to the "Town of 1770" and the nearby Agnes Water. The Town of 1770 was named in honour of Captain Cook's landing at the location in 1770. We underestimated how far it is so we needed to drive quite a lot to cover the distance to the surf school in Agnes Water. Before coming to Australia this was on our to-do list so we were excited to get into the water. And overall we were happy with the results, we stood for some time on the boards and surfed :)Read more

  • Maryborough

    June 7, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    On our way back to the start/end of our journey we stopped in Maryborough. I had read that the markets are worth a visit but then it wasn't very big and additionally it started to rain, so after a short walk through the town we decided to go to the cinema to watch 'Solo'. Maryborough is known for the world-famous Mary Poppins, whose author was born there.Read more

  • Currumbin

    June 10, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    We still had some days left until our flight leaves and we just waited for someone to buy our car. So we decided to complete the circle tour of our roadtrip and go to Currumbin, the Wildlife sanctuary. It was recommended by the amazing staff at "Friends of the Koala" and it's a non-profit organisation, so we thought it's something good to do. Besides that we haven't seen some animals in the wild, like the cassowary and the tree kangaroo.
    It was overall a bit of a disappointment, there were lots of animals that are not native and the native ones wouldn't have to be caged... But we spent the whole day there, watching feedings and the animals - after all we paid for it ;) So we left there with mixed emotions.
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  • Brisbane

    June 14, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    After more than 22.000km we finished our roadtrip in Brisbane, a metropolitan with a special charm. We enjoyed our time there and even the driving in the city was quite convenient unlike Sydney or Melbourne. We explored the city and the river flowing right through it by foot because parking is very expensive in the center. It was nice to see the botanic gardens and the old buildings in the center. But the parks, like Kangaroo Point are definitely one of our favourites!!
    It was a worthy end of our amazingly interesting exploration of Australia! Especially the wildlife has a special place in our hearts with all the lovely marsupials... And - surprisingly - there were no visible deadly animals around!! Farewell Australia 🇦🇺
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    Trip end
    June 14, 2018