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Australia

April - June 2018
A 67-day adventure by Mates on tour Read more
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  • TravelerAustralia
    Day 16

    Melbourne

    April 24, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    We followed the recommendation of a lady at an information center and made a detour to take the scenic route into Melbourne. It wasn't really worth it as there was just one viewpoint but the detour wasn't too long anyways.
    It was pretty easy to get into the city compared to the cramped roads in Sydney. We found a free parking spot close enough to the center to walk which took us about 45 minutes. There we got all the information we needed from the information center to get around the city. Especially useful proved the free tram network in the city center to be. But it not only offered transportation but also an audio guide to the sights along the way! Saves you 10$ for the Hop-on hop-off bus. A light (typical Londonish) rainfall had started in the afternoon but it wasn't a problem at all. We initially had planned to stay for the night in the city but we saw everything we wanted so we decided to move on. The next leg of our trip is the Great Ocean Road leading from Melbourne to Adelaide along the coast.

    Therefore we managed to escape the (now) cramped streets of Melbourne and headed West.    Read more

  • TravelerAustralia
    Day 17

    Port Fairy - Great Ocean Road

    April 25, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    We set the alarm to 5 in the morning so we have time to drive to the nearby Lake Elizabeth, walk some kilometers and hopefully watch Platypus in the dawn. After watching out for them unsuccessfully for half an hour we decided to walk a bit around the lake. Just as we intended to go back to the car and have breakfast we spotted one of the elusive animals just three meters away from us... After a few seconds it dove down and reappeared a minute later. We watched it completely enchanted until it didn't reappear.
    Happyily we made our way back to have a well deserved breakfast and plan our day. A short drive later we were on the Great Ocean Road again and drove in direction of Cape Otway with the "most important Lighthouse in Australia". At 19.50$ it is most probably the most expensive one... There were some walks nearby which sounded more appealing to us. So we just did a walk along the coastal cliffs nearby in hope of finding some koalas unfortunately without any luck.
    But back on the Great Ocean Road we saw some people who had stopped at a viewpoint and were looking up some trees. We guessed right that there was a koala. He just climbed up a think three and looked a bit scared but probably was just fine as he was eating :)
    The "main attraction" despite the road itself are the 12 Apostels, a series of distinctive limestone formations. Actually there are just 8 of them because one broke down in 2003 :D But it was very touristy and crowded. Therefore we enjoyed the "Wreck Beach" more, a hard to access parking about ten kilometers off the main road. It's also a climb down somewhat 500 stairs and only accessible in low tide. So we were almost alone there with parts of shipwrecks, perfectly rounded stones and magnificent shells.    Read more

  • TravelerAustralia
    Day 18

    Limestone Coast

    April 26, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    As always we got up early at around 6. The reason for the early rise is that there are only about 12 hours of daylight from 6 to 6. Therefore we have to make the best of the limited available time.
    We drove a bit for breakfast at a ocean inlet and then a bit more until we reached Mt Gambier. A small town which has quite a lot to offer:
    - Blue Lake, a volcanic crater filled with groundwater that has an intense blue glare at specific times of the year
    - Umpherston Sinkhole, a structure similar to the cenotes on the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. Here it wasn't filled with water but with a lush blooming garden
    - Lady Nelson Visitor Center, an admission free museum and visitor centre showboating (pun intended) a 1:1 replica of the ship that discovered Mt Gambier

    For lunch we drove onwards towards the coast to a small harbour village called Robe. It features several smaller lakes in the central area and an obelisk as a warning for ships coming too close to the shallow waters.    Read more

  • TravelerAustralia
    Day 19

    Adelaide

    April 27, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    In the morning we went to Adelaide CBD to get our 4WD checked at a car repair shop. They found an issue with the battery and that the light indicator wasn't working but besides that it should work fine. So we'll have to test it properly on a dirt road.
    Afterwards we went for a walk through the northern parks (the central city is completely surrounded by parks), the Adelaide Oval and the University. The city has a real special charm with lots of greens everywhere and mild temperatures.
    In the afternoon we went to the beach and tanned a bit in the sun but it was overall a bit too cold due to westerly winds.    Read more

  • TravelerAustralia
    Day 20

    Lochiel

    April 28, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    In the morning we hired bikes in the city center and explored the surrounding parks and buildings. We also went to the main shopping mall and checked out the stores there. Then we booked a tour at Haigh's Chocolate Factory where we got to see the process of making chocolate by hand. One of the early owners of the still family-run business went to Lindt-Sprüngli in Switzerland for a year to learn the art of chocolate making. Of course we also got some chocolate to taste :)
    Somewhen during the day I lost the car keys, so we spent about two hours re-tracing our steps but without success. Luckily we had a spare key so we could continue our travel northwards but we missed going to the Aussie rules football match...    Read more

  • TravelerAustralia
    Day 21

    Marree Station

    April 29, 2018 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 21 °C

    On our way North we stopped at Port Augusta to plan our way through the Outback. As we were reassured that our 4WD was working we wanted to take the route through the desert. The woman in the center said that it should be totally fine to take the Oodnadatta Track.
    This track used to be a camel trek run by Afghans to bring supply to the Outback towns. Then it was replaced by a railway leading from Adelaide to Darwin named 'The Ghan'. Nowadays its a pretty busy Outback route as it connects the East Coast to the Red Center.
    We restocked on food, fuel and water before we decided to drive to Marree Station for the night. It was only about 250km from Port Augusta so we thought we'd make it easily but the last 80km were unsealed and it got dark just as we got there. Which meant that there was another hour to drive with a road that was crawling with wildlife. Overall we saw hundreds of carcasses from emus and kangaroos during the day and it looked like we would definitely add another one. But luckily we made it there without any casualties!    Read more

  • TravelerAustralia
    Day 22

    Coober Pedy

    April 30, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C

    After a savoury breakfast at chilly temperatures next to the Marree Station we started our journey on the Oodnadatta Track. The track was pretty well formed and we were able to average about 70 km/h with rising temperatures. After about an hour en route we stopped at a viewpoint over a small southern part of Lake Eyre, a massive salt lake in the middle of nowhere. We didn't drive on it as it was strongly adviced not to do, so we just had a walk over the salt crust.
    Then Julia got to drive for the next two hours. We made a short stop at Coward Springs, a series of water holes. But the incredibly annoying flies made us flee the scene in no time. After another 80 kilometers we reached William Creek, a tiny village along the track. First we considered driving on but instead went to stop. Just as we got out of the car Julia heard a noise... Our tyre must have been punctured right when we entered the town!!! What a bummer!! But luckily there was a garage in town which was run by some bush pilots, he offered to fix the tyre on the spot. Half an hour later and with some dollars less, we were good to go and went on in direction of Coober Peddy.
    The 170km drive was uneventful which was a relief :) So we arrived in Coober Peddy which is famous for the Opal mining and underground dug houses. First we visited the Orthodox Church, a stunning example of the underground building. Then we stopped at the first Opal shop we saw and got to talk to the owner, George. We spent almost an hour in his shop and he explained us a lot about the opal business, his mining operations, living underground and the family history. For the last stop of the day we visited John's Pizza House for its famous 'Native Pizzas'. We decided to get a Pizza topped with kangaroo, emu, camembert, spinach and cranberries. An excellent meal!    Read more

  • TravelerAustralia
    1
    Day 23

    Ayers Rock (Uluru)

    May 1, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    First thing in the morning we drove for 200km to have breakfast at the state border from South Australia to the Northern Territory. We were brutally attacked by millions of flies and barely managed to eat our breakfast. So we were glad to be back on the road and safe. With just a short stop at a gas station, we arrived to Uluru in the early afternoon.
    Uluru is an impressive sight standing tall and red out of the vast dessert. We decided to visit the Olgas first (Named after the Queen of Württemberg) which are a series of stone formations, formerly a huge monolite similar to Uluru but now eroded. Once again we were welcomed by a heap of flies trying to drink our souls so we decided to have lunch inside the car, with outside temperatures of 32 degrees, was more like trying to eat lunch inside of a sauna.
    Afterwards we went to explore the cultural center where the aborígenes explain a little bit their legends, stories and a brief introduction to their culture and beliefs.
    It was getting late, so we hurried to the sunset viewing point were we spent like 3 hours watching the sunset and waiting for the moonrise. During the day Uluru changes its colors several times depending on the sun's position, our favourite color was an intensely glooming red which can be appreciated at sunset.
    Some may say it's just a big rock in the middle of the desert, but the contrasts, colours and patrons are quite mystical, overall an amazing experience.    Read more

  • TravelerAustralia
    Day 24

    King's Canyon

    May 2, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    We got up at 5:30 in the morning to see the sunrise over Uluru. Although it was pretty early, there were already like a 100 persons waiting with us. Maybe these crowds influenced our perception negatively, but we thought the sunrise wasn't as spectacular as we were expecting it will be. We did hear a bunch of dingoes howling in the distance. Our highlight was our English breakfast right below the rock.
    There's quite a controversy about climbing Uluru, mainly the local aborígenes are against it because they think you should listen to the surroundings instead of trying to conquer the rock. Also it is sacred according to their beliefs.
    We didn't intend to climb up because of several reasons but by the time we arrived at the base we changed our minds. We didn't climbed it all, we just reached the first plateau, although the views were quite nice, we really think Uluru is better appreciated from below so we decided not to continue until the top. The climb is suppose to be closed next year.
    Next stop on our itinerary was King's canyon 250km away from our current location. When we arrived there, we decided to do the 6 km Canyon rim walk that led us on top of the Canyon with stunning views over the red rock formations. There were also steep cliffs and the Garden of Eden right on a permanent water hole. We found the rock formations quite impressive as they looked like beehives. We enjoyed it like 90%,the other 10%was ruined by those bloody flies. 🐝    Read more

  • TravelerAustralia
    Day 25

    Alice Springs

    May 3, 2018 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 27 °C

    Today we had the last lap of our Red Center discovery tour on our agenda, the desert township of Alice Springs. But first we made a stop at a roadhouse to habe breakfast right next to a group of emus that looked interested in our food :)
    After some duties (resupplied, refilled oil, checked tyre pressure) we drove up to ANZAC Hill in the middle of the town. From there we had a lovely view over the whole town as it's not so big and the surroundings. Just a short drive out of town is "Simpson's Gap". A base for walks along the canyons and a significant landmark. Its also home for a colony of Rock Wallabies, unfortunately they weren't out at that time. Initially we had planned to stay for the night but we decided to move on as a friend we wanted to meet didn't have time. So we're on the way back South now...    Read more

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