Travellog

Sydney was our last destination in Australia and we had some wonderful days walking around taking in the views of the opera house and the Harbor Bridge, drinking $1-coffee from 7-11, visiting Darling Harbor and the Rocks and doing the coastal walk between Cogee and Bondi beach. We also found time to take the train to the Blue Mountains (which actually do appear to be blue!) and meet up with some Icelanders that could teach us a bit about the Sydney life (thanks Halla Krístin ). One of the better accomplishments was when we managed to escape the crowds in the Blue Mountains by taking a path that was sealed off for construction. Here we finally found some piece to admire the pretty view without constantly being in the way of some ones picture-taking.
The 16th of April we left Australia after three amazing months. Next destination: Bangkok and travels in South East Asia

The 11th of April we took our final ride with Australia’s largest bus company Greyhound. With this 13 hour ride from Byron Bay to Sydney we had reached a total of 63 hours spend in Greyhound busses during 6 weeks so we were absolutely not sorry when we finally arrived in Sydney shortly after midnight. The highlight of all the rides was probably the morning where we left Mt. Isa 7 o’clock and the driver for some reason saw it fitting to put on music videos from the early 80’s! What more than a bit of very loud Queen, Abba, Roxette etc. could you wish for at that time of the day? The music was followed by two movies after which the driver changed and another two movies was played. If anyone had had the hope of sleep on this 12 hour ride they were much disappointed!

We found time in our busy schedule to spend a single day in the surf town of Byron Bay. Our luck with the weather had vanished but we still made it to the famous lighthouse and the most eastern point of Australia. Just as we reached the top a big storm was rolling in and we spend at least an hour observing the fascinating forces of nature. Byron Bay was a cozy little town but already the next morning we had to continue our journey to the last destination of our travels in Australia: Sydney

Fraser Island was the last of the big sights on Australia’s east coast that we had decided to see. With new sand constantly being deposited on the islands coast the place is an ongoing example of succession and therefore an ecologically very interesting place. Apart from all the nerd stuff it is also just a really, really beautiful place -as might be obvious from our pictures! One spectacular thing is that there are only sand roads on the island and “bumpy road” has therefore gotten a whole new meaning after this trip (it made the road to Dettifoss seem like a highway!). We were about 25 people on our tour. After meeting our guide Christie we all jumped onboard on the 4WD bus and set out on the sandy roads that ran through the interior of the Island. Christie was a great guide and provided us with lots of information about the Island and every time we were about to hit an especially bumpy piece of road she was sure to warn us and end with the words “ooh yea” just before she hit the speeder.
The first day we spend in-land walking along clear streams and lakes and finished with a swim in the famous lake McKenzie. On day two the ride became slightly less bumpy as we were driving on the beach the whole day. Again we were lucky with the weather and with the sea glittering on one site and the dunes on the other we moved up the coast and took in the sights of the Maheno Wreck and the champagne pools. The Island is also known for having a large population of free dingoes, but unfortunately the most exciting animals we saw was a huge spider and a shark/stingray that actually turned out to just be a piece of plastic moving in the waves close to the shore…
It was again a great tour with great experiences and the most delicious chocolate chip cookies that the earth have ever seen

The Whitsundays are a collection of 74 islands that offer some wonderful beaches and good sailing. We had bought a three day package which included a day of cruising around on a sailing boat and two days stay on one of the islands. The cruise was absolutely wonderful with great weather and with the highlight being a stop at Whitehaven beach. The sand on this beach consists of 98% silica and is therefore as white as sand can possibly be and as soft as flour to touch. A place you just never want to leave again. Apart from a great BBQ lunch there was also free bar and nothing is comparable to enjoying a glass of cool white wine while sitting in the afternoon sun, with the smell of the ocean and the sound of the wind in the sails -Just perfect. The tour also included snorkeling which however didn’t make a great impression after the amazing experience in Cairns.
We spend the night and the two following days on Long Island. It is one of these “honeymoon islands” with a fancy resort and beach with palm trees (there was even a wedding going on while we were there!) so we felt a tiny bit misplaced –and missed our Icelanders We had some good days of rainforest trekking and sunbathing on the beach though.