Ozzie Ozzie .. beaches and dingos

Hi there mate!

I left the reader behind last time in Byron Bay. Supposedly the most famous, most relaxing and most beautiful beach and surfing place in the east coast. Within a small local community that uses alternative medication and herbs as a way of life and effectively kept out McDonalds it is a place surely different than the usual commercial beachtowns you'll find. Surfing and chilling on the beach in the daytime, having a party in the nighttime. That is in short the biorhythm down there. Because I stayed in this huge filthy 16-bed dormitory, I decided not to stay a night longer there. So I checked out. Which was a bad mistake because no accomodation could be found in the entire town for the next night. So after one night I was forced to go to Brisbane. Which is a big city just across the border in the provence of Queensland.

The funny thing about Queensland is that when you enter it, you actually go into a different timezone, even you are travelling straight from south to north. So upon arrival I had to set back my clock by an hour. Brisbane does not have a lot to offer for the backpacker or tourist traveling through. But is a nice city to work and live in. A lot of backpackers end up here doing work to make some money. The hostels here are filled by people staying there for weeks, or even months. Not for me, though, so after a good saturdaynight party and some sightseeing (the parks there are amazing, as in Sydney) I decided to travel up north to Noosa. To actually take my first little steps on a surfboard. And against all expectations I actually managed to stand on the board on my very first wave ride. And proud of it. Actually, it was a lot more fun than I expected! (It seemed quite boring: paddling, watching for wave, stand on board, fall, paddling, etc).

The next day I went hiking in the local natural park where there are supposedly many Koala's. Three hours and many miles later I still hadn't spot anything being near a Koala. So that is one I still have on my wishlist :)

What is not on my wishlist anymore however, is the dingo. For those who do not know the dingo, it is a typical australian wolf. But maybe looks more like a dog. And though there are not too many of them, I have spotted a few on Fraser Island..

Let me tell you a bit more about Frasers Island, because it is quite unique in the world. Imagine Australia as one big island in the pacific. Like any island the currents in the water will move aroumd sediments (sand, minerals) and in some places where for some reason the current is less, the sediments get the change to settle down. Imagine the sands of the eastcoast of Australia being transported by the ocean to a single spot. For millions of years. You'll get a lot of sand, right?! Well, that turns out to be Fraser Island. A huge quantity of sand deposited onto a volcanic bedrock (100km length, 15km width). It is now a natural park and you can only get around on four wheel drives, since everything .. everything is sandy there. Expect sand to be everywhere, in your shoes, bags, cars, tent, shirt, underwear, shorts, wallet, etc. Although the island has a large beach on one side, you are unable to swim there because of the jellyfish (ned: kwallen) and the sharks swimming around. But that is not a real problem since there are incredibly beautiful and incredibly clear freshwater high altitude lakes. In these lakes you will find fresh rainwater, filtered thoroughly by the sands. Swimming there is like swimming in your local swimmingpool, or bath tube. I can say it is one of the best places in nature I have been to so far. I spend three days on Fraser Island, with a guided tour. And it is during these three days we have spotted a few of the dingo's (wild dogs) that live there.

I have just returned when I am typing this. Tomorrow I will probably go to Rockhampton, a couple of hours up north.

I am a bit less on the internet here, because it is more expensive, but I will try to regularly keep you updated. Because this computer is heavily restricted I am not able to upload any new pictures, but I will as soon as I have the chance!

Cheers!

Bas

Blue Mountains and Byron Bay

Hi there mate! How are u doing?!

Well, one of the first things you'll learn in Australia is to actually kinda ignore this question. No, they are not really interested in how you are really doing. Just trying to be nice. Which is allright, although at first I felt like I had to answer this question. Untill I found out most australian people actually do not even reply to this, so as one step further to become a real ozzie I neglect it too now. But don't take this mistaken as being a weird or bad attitude. Actually the way Australians talk to each other is in a very amiable way. Always say 'mate' to somebody, even if you don't know, or like the other person. Ask how it is going, and speak in a cheerful way!

After spendings two days in Central Sydney, and two days in King's Cross area of Sydney (the sleezy drinking hole area), it was time to move out of town. So I went to the blue mountains, about 100km out of Sydney. This area is named after the blueish haze that is visible in the valleys. The vapor of the gumtrees below collide with the sunlight to create this color. It is a great place to do some hiking and jogging. The place I stayed at was a nice small hostel, with only about 10 guests present. Quite a difference compared to the huge hostels in Sydney, where I stayed over at the 11th floor! Here I did some hiking in the forrest, which is the home of many many different kinds of birds and parrots. And even for a unknowledgable biologist like myself, it is easy to spot the difference between the nature life here and in Europe. Ofcourse this is because Australia has been a seperate continent for millions of years, and in the course of time has developed it's own unique nature life. Not only in the remote mountains, but also the birds in the streets of Sydney are very different from what I am used to see in Holland!

But hey, this is Australia, and it has coasts in every possible winddirection. So it doens't take long before you end up on a beach. And I ended up in Byron Bay. Which is about a 14 hour busride north of Sydney. In this small town (about 17.000 inhabitants)you will find many tourists, families, backpackers and surfers! Actually there is not much to do here besides going to the beach and enjoy the waves. But hey, for many people that is all there should be to life! I have not yet done any surfing yet, but I am definitely going to. And this area is one of the best places to do it. (Or up north in Surfer's Paradise, which is an hour ride from here)

A bit about the traveling. It is quite different from what I was used to in Asia. A big factor is the audience In most guesthouses in Asia where I stayed most people were travelling around and stayed at one spot for one up to three nights. Sometimes up to a week on the islands. In Australia, however, people tend to stay around much longer at the same spot. Some stay for weeks of months, enjoying life and ocassionally doing some work for the money. I have met people that have been in Australie for five months, but only been to Melbourne and Sydney.

Second, it is still high-season and very busy. This means that many hostels are fully booked when I enter a new town. This makes it harder to travel freely, since you have to pre-book accomodation via the internet. Ofcourse there are some that go around this problem by buying a car or a camper. Which is a good way of travelling around in Australia for a longer time. However, for the few weeks I will be in Australia, I think it is not worth the fuzz.

I will travel up north to Cairns from here. Next stop is Surfer's Paradise, where I will be heading to tomorrow.

Cheers!

p.s. I put up some new pictures. And yes, I dyed my hair to black in Hong Kong :P

Sydney

Sydney! Leave your coat at home, put on your shirts and walk around on flip-flops.. aaah!! With temperatures now reaching thirty degrees (celcius) it may be even a little too hot. But it displays a nice contrast with Hong Kong, where the weather was very cloudy and humid all the time.

So, what have I been doing to get my tan back? The last days I just did some sightseeing: the opera house, harbour bridge, aquarium, wildlife exhibition and ofcourse just walking around. First impression? Nice city! The people here are open and friendly, and the audience is a wild mixture of ozzies, aboriginals, chinese, thai, europeans. That means after the past five months of travelling in Asia, I actually blend in with the local people and I can walk by unnoticed :) Yesterday Sydney was for one day also the world's home for the gaycommunity. With this weekend celebrating the Mardigrass festival, the city was filled with extravagant dancing, singing and provoking gay people in a parade. It made me almost feel at home ;) (gayparade in Holland)

Australia is big, so I have to decide how my trip will look like. I have not really figured that out yet. I'm probably going to travel up north from Sydney, with some parts travel more into the mainland, instead of just the beaches. But for now I stay another two nights in Sydney and experience this great Australian city vibe a bit longer!

I will upload some new pictures when I get the chance!

Cheers mate