Fraser Island

In Hervey Bay we change our camper van for a small red 4WD Suzuki for a couple of days. That’s the only way you can move around Fraser Island, a large sand island just in front of the coast. Harry wears a big smile tearing through the rough roads in the forest and when the low tides allow, hitting the beach that serves as the main highway. Late in the afternoon we set up our tent in the dunes for the starry night. Except some fishermen, we’re the only people on the beach as far as we can see. We throw a Frisbee between the dried up stingers on the sand. We see a dingo looking for food.The next morning we freshen up in Eli Creek, walking a bit upstream and floating in the sparkling clear water between tropical green banks back to the beach. Some more swimming in the white ringed deep blue coloured lakes, before we head back over the loose sandy roads to the ferry.

Noosa Heads culinair

We make a stop in Noosa Heads, the last beach to get a good surf. So Harry rents a board for the afternoon and hits the rolling waves, while I carefully work on some nice tan.
For dinner we head to the river, where my sister Hanneke recommended us to go visit the restaurant of a couple she met at the Terra Madre festival in Italy. When we ask about the owners, the waitress tells us they went bankrupt, but the restaurant manager has taken over the restaurant and keeps it up in their style. Inside the place it looks promising and smells very tempting, so we decide to eat here anyways. Seated outside overlooking the sunset over the river we enjoy a beautiful dinner.

Sint & Piet in Brisbane

The original idea to go to Australia was about visiting Mike, who moved to Brisbane two years ago. As I was sharing an apartment in Amsterdam with him for a couple of years, I miss him much.
And what better time to share together, than the traditional Dutch Sinterklaas’ celebrated birthday at the 5th of December. With a present of some delicious marsepein (almond paste delicatessen) we smuggled into the country and a traditional Sint & Piet poem we put together on the drive from Byron Bay to Brisbane.
Mike welcomed us with an Aussie tradition; a great barbie (vegan style at Mike’s). And for this very special night, an almost full moon sheds its clear light over the balcony.
It’s so good to see Mike and his boyfriend Dan again. And to see his new home at the funky valley in Brisbane.
Again we spend too short time together before Harry and I hit the road again.

Kayaking with the dolphins

Before we left for Australia, we kinda had planned to stay a while in or around Byron Bay. Now we changed our plans to drive up all the way to Cairns, we spent only one day in this mellow beach town. And how is the day better spent here than on the water. Not surfing this time, but on a sea kayak.
Before we head out, we get some instructions how to beat the surf and how you get back in the boat when you roll over. We start peddling around the surfers near the rocks to the bay where we can see the light house. Here we stop peddling and just bob with the waves, nice.
We don’t have to wait long, before a couple of dolphins are heading our way to check us out. They gently move their smooth bodies in the waves. Just beautiful. And so cool to be so close to them. A bit later we’re surrounded by a group of ten dolphins. Not very playful, just mellow. Maybe they get the vibe from the town.When we peddle back, a sea turtle sticks his funny head out of the water and looks surprised around. We must look like strange fish….

Penny Tweedie

Strolling through an Aboriginal art gallery in Cairns, I saw this photography book, Spirit of Arnhem Land, by Penny Tweedie. She lived and worked for several years closely with Aboriginal artists families and communities in Arnhem Land, resulting in intimate portrayals of aboriginal culture and customs. See more of her excellent work at www.pennytweedie.com

4005,6 km in the camper van

Seems the distance from Sydney to Cairns is exactly 4005,6 kilometers... well following our detours anyway.
Others say it's closer to 2900 km but this was just more fun.

From Melbourne our first trip on the Great Ocean Road and into the Grampians was a good 1236 km, then from Mel to Sydney was another 2100 or so.

And still we've only scratched the east coast of this massive continent!

What a life!

As we're working our way up the east coast of Oz, it's time to sit down and write another piece in the blog. Not as productive as Lena but am enjoying it immensely.
Driving in different conditions, with the camper van on the unsealed gravel roads and with the 4WD little Suzuki in the sands of Fraser Island. What a great playground that place is!
Then on into the night to watch the turtles come up on the beach to bury their eggs in the sand. Since they are not all that smart we actually had to give them a hand in moving the eggs up, above the high-tide mark. Don't want those little ones to drown before they're even born.
These were definite high lights, as was meeting up with friends in Brisbane, camping out in all these beautiful places and taking in the enormous size of the place.
As we're approaching north Queensland's Cairns, I'm really excited to be going diving, on the Great Barrier Reef and over Christmas! I'm dreaming of a wet Christmas...
Also to prove that I actually do get some work done here, here's a picture of my mobile office, with ever-changing ocean and mountain views!

Treehugger

If we would stay here just a little longer, I would definitely become a treehugger ( nothing to be ashamed of these days, it's become very fashionable indeed: http://treehugger.com/).
I'm in love with all these beautiful giants. Already more than 600 variaties of gums, reaching straight up to the sky in their gorgeous camouflage trunks and smelling sooo good. Next to those the figs with their huge buttresses in amazingly sculptured shapes and the brilliantly colored hard wood trees.
I hope the many photos I've been taking of all these beauties (I'm almost talking to them and givin' them pet names ;-) have not bored you guys to death. By the way all the pictures of the lizards, crazy looking insects and other small animals is Harry's thing.

New ways of transportation

In Sydney we rent a campervan and are planning to drive all the way up to Cairns. We leave the city after Harry's last surf lesson. It's so good to wake up in the bush again. First we follow the coast which has great dunes around here. Then we had back inland and stay a night at the bottom of the Ellenborough Falls in Eland. We meet plenty of locals at the gas station annex store annex cafe annex the local hang out. Wanda who runs the place as a local mum, gives us the address of her son, who is a whitewater rafting instructor up in Mission Beach. Hopefully we'll get to meet him. We got the van from the rental company with almost an empty water tank and Wanda fills it up with tasty rain water. They have had enough rain lately, so she's happy to be able to give it away.
Camping with our little tent was a lot of fun, but this is much more comfortable; now we have a bed, a little table, a fridge, two pits to cook on, plenty of water, and a lot more space. And when we hook it on the electricity at caravan parks, Harry is pretty good set up in "his mobile office" to work on his developing stuff.

Sportive in Sydney

We see the city skyline from the balcony at the end of the street of our hotel in Potts Point. If you look a little closer, you can even see the Opera House. The first day we blend in easy with the bussy cosmopolitan crowd; we've plenty to do ourselves. First of all we're of to the Indian embassy to get our visa. Being in the center, it's a close walk to circulair quay. Looking out over the water, watching all the ferries leave, and of course taking a real close look at the Opera House. It's less white than we'd expected, but still pretty amazing on the water edge. It's funny, I've just read a novel about a Feng Shui detective who visited Sydney on a case and he didn't dare to go near the Opera House, because it had very bad feng shui (these broken rice bowls on their sides).
Harry signs up for a surf course in Bondi beach and I walk along the Woolloomooloo harbour to my Yoga class in a building over the water. We do the northern part of the harbour walk, crossing past upscale houses and through surprisingly pretty green bush areas. Near the Harbour Bridge we take the ferry back to the city.
Pitty we missed the great fire works over the Opera House for the Australian Idols finale. We are chilling in our hotel room when we hear a big noise like thunder storm. A bit later on TV we see the fire works. That evening we go to see some real live music. The "Dappled Cities" - a local band - in the Gaelic Room.

Blue Mountains detour

At the recommended surf beaches the swell is not so good at the time we arrive, so we decide to head back inland to make a stop at the Blue Mountains. The lady at the information desk tells us we can’t stay at the bush campground we wanted to go because of big bush fires in the area. So we end up in a nice historic hotel in Blackheath. But first we went to see the ‘must do’ sights in Katoomba: the Echo and the Three Sisters. Very impressive!
From a lookout point near Blackheath an interesting hike through the Grand Canyon starts, that was still possible to do according to the lady. So we went to the lookout the next morning and saw the fires at the other side of the valley. Many helicopters were flying back and forth with tons of water. There was a warning at the beginning of the track, but it only said that you weren’t allowed to cross the valley because of the fire danger. So we went down in the canyon and it was just another world; so green and like a fairy tale. The sight of a lyrebird even added to that special feeling. When we got back up on the ridge some hours later, a ranger stopped us. He told us to leave the area as soon as possible, because the wind had turned the fires in our direction. Heading back towards Sydney, we drive past a playground, where the firemen seem to have their head quarters. Lots of fire trucks and men dressed in their big protective outfit. One of these big guys is relaxing on a little swing.

Fresh oysters for lunch

It’s good to be back at the coast (and under the sun). The parks along the coast are stunning. We get to see lots of kangaroos, a pair of black cockatoos and even a breaching whale! The colours of the ocean are very intense, the beaches are gorgeous with mysterious lagoons and there is bush up to the breaking waves.
Some neighbours at the bush camp caught a big salmon from the ocean (over seven kilos) and are grilling parts of it. This inspires Harry to buy a fish grill (he even thought about getting himself some fish gear too). Now we can grill fresh fish we get at the harbour on the bush camp fire pit. At the harbour fish store they also have a little terrace where we eat a dozen super fresh rock oysters. They are different from the ones we get in Holland, much more bite and a little sweet. Again the good life!

Snow in summer

Back to the beautiful National Parks and wonderful bush camps. Avoiding the freeways and taking mostly country roads, sealed or unsealed. Making stops at little lunch places where they serve their food with much passion and taste (in Jamieson I had the best muffin ever!).
During the day it’s mostly sunny, unless we are at a lookout and it gets totally overcastted, so there’s not much to look out to. At night it is still cold and I’m wearing all my clothes in my sleeping bag. We thought we were skipping winter this year, spending these months in Australian summer. So we weren’t prepared for the big shock of waking up one morning and finding snow on our tent! I guess the Snowy Mountains wanted to show us what they were worth. A hike at Mount Kosciusko was not possible in this snowstorm. Taking the short cut on an unsealed road wasn’t much fun either in this weather.But back at the coast, at Ben Boyd NP, the sun is shining again.

Being social in Melbourne

It’s becoming a travel tradition to meet up with my brother Stan. You would think I plan my itinerary especially around the routes of the cruise ships of the Holland America Line, on which Stan works as hotel manager. I went to visit him on board in Los Angeles and San Diego, Recife (Brazil) and now we meet again in Melbourne. Stan gives us the grand tour of the Statendam and we have an Asian style lunch in one of the restaurants (not at the pool deck, it’s too cold!).
We don’t have time to see the ship set sail, as we’re meeting up with Lynn for drinks and dinner. Lynn used to live in Amsterdam for a while and seeing her again feels very comfortable, like we’re still living in the same city and not on opposite sides of the world. We go for drinks near our hotel, on the south side of the river Yarra; the more yuppie side. It’s the week of Melbourne Cup (horse races) and all the women wear flimsy summer dresses and feathery hats. For dinner Lynn takes us near her place in Fitzroy, the more funky area. Later that week we return to Brunswick Street to check out the fun young designer shops and mellow cafes.
Another great reunion was visiting my friend Delia at her sweet home in Kensington and meeting John and their sons Eli and Jasper. Delia used to live in Los Angeles when I was living there too. We hadn’t seen each other for twelve years and had a lot of caching up to do. She is working as a freelance architect and showed us a beautiful project with which she just won an award (http://www.timber.net.au/awards/media.htm). It’s a pity we don’t have more time to stay in Melbourne and enjoy all the good company. We still have a lot to see in this big country and even with two full months we have to make tough choices. So we arrange another rental car and head north.

No refreshing springs

Exiting the Grampians, we have to stop for a big emu on the road. Funny looking birds…Zigzagging through some scenic old goldmine cities we make a culinary stop at the Taltarni Vineyards. They have some excellent wines, especially the pink sparkling brut tache we enjoy much. We finish our wine tasting with a nice glass of white, with some tapas at their terrace overlooking a lovely rose garden; what about the good life!?! But the very same evening we go back to basics in this very alternative vegan guesthouse in Hepburn Springs. We hoped to enjoy the public mineral springs there, but the centre is under construction. The only alternatives are very luxurious spas around, which are not really what we were after. Instead we spent the whole morning in a great second hand bookstore at the lakeshore, the Book Barn. Also very relaxing.

The Grampians

From the Great Ocean Road we turn inland on small roads. Stop in a roadside café in the middle of nowhere, where local youths are shooting pool. Eventually we hit the south side of the national park The Grampians. After stopping at Halls Gap to get the park /camp permits and some groceries we follow some unsealed roads to the bush camp near Mount Difficult, which we’re planning to scale the next morning. Luckily, the hike is not as hard as the name of the mountain suggests. After we get to the top and enjoy marvellous 360° views, we follow the rim to the Roses Gap. It’s a real treat to soak our feet in the Beehive Falls after the steep descent. On the way back to the bush camp we see wallabies skip away from the curb. We hear them also flop-flop around the campsite during the night. In the morning a wallaby is trying to steal some brekkie from our neighbours. Compared to them we look very bleak with our tiny tent and one pit fuel stove. Aussies are very professional campers. They jam pack their 4x4 with all these supplies and special camp tools, half their kitchen in containers and cool boxes, fishing gear, satellite dish and tellie. It’s truly a sight!

On the road

Al weer een dikke maand in Australie. De tijd gaat snel maar we hebben al een hoop mooie plekken gezien. De steden Melbourne, Sydney en nu Brisbane. Daar tussenin grandiose en uitgestrekte natuur. Van te voren had ik niet dit beeld van Australie maar het is erg afwisselend. Vooral het bergachtige is lekker om doorheen te rijden. Daarna weer afbuigen naar de kust, bij het strand zitten een een bord verse oesters eten...
Het leven is behoorlijk goed hier als je op vakantie bent.
Een van de leukste dingen zijn de vele national parks waar je zo je tentje op kunt zetten in een bushcamp, hout sprokkelen en daarna een visje grillen op de kooltjes. Vaak zijn er maar een paar andere kampeerders en soms sta je er helemaal alleen.
Wel een groot voordeel dat er in zo'n enorm land maar 20 miljoen mensen wonen, dan moeten we het in nederland met heel wat minder ruimte stellen en nauwelijks nog stille natuur.
Het weer is natuurlijk lekker in het voorjaar en met de zomer voor de deur maar met wat freak uitschieters: in de Snowy Mountains (what's in a name) bij Kosziuskow, de hoogste berg van australie hadden we mooi wel sneeuw op de tent 's morgens.
Sydney is een toffe stad waar ik het wel een jaar uit zou kunnen houden. Op Bondi Beach 3 dagen surfles gedaan van 2 uurtjes per dag, erg leuk om te doen en vooral nog veel oefenen.
In Sydney hebben we ook besloten om na Brisbane nog even door te rijden naar Cairns (dik 2000 km) en voor dit stuk rijden we nu in een pop-top campervan, een goeie manier om te reizen in australie en je ziet ze dan ook overal.

Binnenkort meer dus blijf de blog volgen en check af en toe even voor de nieuwe foto's.

see ya later!

Great Ocean Road

When we arrived in Melbourne it rained... Luckily the hotel was close to the train station as was a sports pub where we had an aussie beer and enjoyed a local cover band impersonating Cher with wigs and sailor hats.
The next day we got a rental car and hit the road, hoping it would take us to a sunny coast.
The first beach we left our foot prints was Torquay. Some kite surfers were doing their stunts. Following the coastline on to our first night camping at Otway National Park. We camped at Bimbipark under the kolala's that were lazying around in the gum trees. It's amazing the sound that comes from these too sweet looking animals!
The gum trees we saw the next day in all their glory doing the tree top walk in the park. How tall and straight up to the sky they are! And what glorious odours, like walking in a sauna.
That evening we hit the Twelve Apostles just before sunset. Very impressive! We waited a long time after the sun had set for the mini pinguins parade (as was mentioned in the guide book), but the only one we got to see was a dead one on the beach.