G’day my friend,

I’M HERE!!!! Two long flights later and I’m in Sydney. Can you believe
it? It’s wonderful out here. The harbour, the ferries, the people, the beaches… I can’t believe that I’m here. I’ve wanted to visit Australia for so long.

I’ve been here a week and seen quite a bit of the city, as well as of the surrounding areas. I could see the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge from  the rooftop terrace of my hostel. After a long day hiking I loved going up there and enjoying the sunset. And the hikes along the coast…. the deep blue ocean, yellow sandy beaches, turquoise waters and the white waves… I’ve seen so many animals, met such nice people… the views…. It’s really worth the trip coming all the way out to Australia.

Now I’m heading into the Blue Mountains for more hiking. It’s much cooler here. And there’s more water: waterfalls, tree ferns and almost jungle like vegetation. The views are just as grand. Here the ‚ocean‘ is not blue but green. The cliffs offer wonderful views of the forest in the valleys. Hiking often involves a lot of sweat going down into the canyons and climbing back up. I loved it! I’m fascinated by the lyre birds. And of course I saw a few snakes basking in the sun on the paths.

I’m here almost two weeks and I make my way to Melbourne. There is so much to see and do here. When I’m new somewhere I often like to do a walking tour to get a first impression of the city and its history. And here in Melbourne I’m also interested in Phryne Fisher. You wrote me about two Australian series that you watch. And I love Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. It takes place in 1920s Melbourne and Phryne Fisher is a lady detective with a
sharp whit and fashionable clothing style. The houses from that era are magnificent.

After the city I’m heading out into nature again. The Great Ocean Road towards Adelaide is calling my name. I’m taking it slow as buses only run every three days. That gives me time to enjoy hiking along the beaches and seeing my fist koalas. Right there on a  hike, looking up and there they were. They are the cutest furry little creatures. One koala climbed down the tree right next to me. When he finally noticed me, we just stared into each others eyes. What an encounter. 
Further along in Port Campbell I hire a bike for two days and cycle parts of the rugged road. This way I get to see all the stony sights. The 12 apostles is the most famous formation along the coast, but there are many more. Again, biking gives me the opportunity to slow down, sweat a lot, talk to people and just enjoy the wonderful nature.

From the Great Ocean Road I travel by bus to Adelaide. It was wonderful to see quite a bit of the countryside of southern Australia. And I saw my first three kangaroos!! Hope to add many more to my list.

Adelaide is very small and laidback in comparison to Sydney and Melbourne. The two days here passed really quickly. Also because it rained a bit. But nothing a cup of tea and a good book won’t solve. Sometimes it’s nice to slow down a little while traveling. It’s almost been a month now.

Now I’m on Kangaroo Island. I rented a car for three days since the island is fairly big and has no public transport. I think it’s my first time driving on the left hand side and an automatic car. I’m always up for an adventure. There are tons of kangaroos and koalas here… I didn’t get to see the famous platypus, but an echidna, lots of birds… And on my last night I saw the famous little Australian penguin. It was magical. Nature is amazing out here. And I love to drive through the bush. The red earth, green eucalyptus, blue skies… After a short rain shower, a rainbow spreads across the sky. During the day I pinch myself, because I can’t believe that I’m actually here and seeing all this. This is a trip to remember.

Last night I stayed at a small campground directly at the beach. First, I had my dinner with the sun setting in the ocean. It was so dramatic and beautiful. Then, I strolled a little around and counted more than fifty kangaroos grazing behind the beach in the field. Later at  night the stary sky is quite indescribable.

From South Australia I take a flight to the other end of the country: Cairns, North Queensland. Here it’s tropical and the main attractions are the rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef. I enjoy the warmth, the sun, the adventures.
Snorkeling at the reef is a must for me. In advance I was both excited and worried. You hear so many stories of how amazing it is and at the same time how the corals are dying and there is not that much to see anymore. Well, we did see a lot. Galapagos will always be special, the sharks, the rays… but this was really good, too. I just love floating in the water among the colourful fish, diving down to take a closer look at corals, sea urchins and sea stars. Even a turtle visited us.

And now I’m in the rainforest. North of Cairns is the Daintree forest, which starts at the coast with mangroves and climbs into the hills. It’s lush and green and filled with wildlife. It’s amazing. Mangroves and especially the thick, dense air always remind me of Ecuador. That’s were I first saw this type of vegetation.
I rented a car and spent four days in the rainforest and the tablelands (where rainforest and outback meet). The hikes through the pristine rainforest were sweaty and dirty but wonderful. I did not see any crocodiles, but lots of birds and lizards, snakes, spiders and butterflies. The cassowaries are the biggest birds here, beautifully coloured but slightly aggressive. I always made sure to keep my distance.
In the Tablelands I stayed at a small campground with a resident group of tame rock wallabies. They are such cute furry little creatures hopping over the rocks as if it was nothing. I even saw a mother carrying a joey in its pouch.

You cannot leave Australia without having seen the outback and Uluru. So before the end of my travels I fly from Cairns to Ayers Rock airport for a four day tour through the red center. From the airplane I catch the first glimpse of Uluru from above, and also the Kata Tjutas, another famous rock formation in the area. It’s fabulous to see the desert from above. I always enjoy looking out of planes. Everything is red!

We camped in the desert under the most amazing stars. I’ve rarely seen the milky way this clear. And I saw quite a few shooting stars. Of course we went to see the sunrise and sunset out in the desert. Im still so much in awe of how the light and the colour of the stone changes during the day. We learned a lot about aboriginal life out in the desert, about plants and animals, we hiked along the rocks and through the bushland… It was really quite an experience. Everything is so red. And we were a fun group. That is always
important to me because I’m not much of a tour group person.

In autumn now it doesn’t get so hot during the day anymore. Which was really nice for all our activities. However, at night, we all huddled around the campfire and crawled into our sleeping bags early. I loved it! If you ever make it over to Australia, make sure to come out here.

And now I’m in Perth, which is my last stop on this amazing journey. I find Western Australia to be quite different from the east coast. Partly also because it is so remote from the rest of the country. For the last time I hire a car and drive north. In the Pinnacles desert you can hike and drive through the sand looking at thousands of rock pinnacles. There are lots of sand dunes in the bushland. I’ve come to enjoy driving on the sandy dirt roads. I stop along the coast on an amazing white sandy beache with crystal clear turquoise water. After walking along the beach I go for a swim with no one around. No deadly jellyfish and crocodiles here like in the tropical north. It feels like heaven!

I spend the night in a small fishing village. Once more I’m having my dinner at the beach with the sun setting in the vast Indian ocean. Just as the sun has disappeared two dolphins swim very close to the beach in the golden shimmering water. What an amazing sight. That felt like a proper farewell to Australia. The next day I go for one last bushwalk. Koalas and kangaroos pass my way and it couldn’t be more perfect. This last roadtrip was really something.

After six weeks out here I cannot say what I liked most. Everything was so perfect and always worked out perfectly. The mix of desert, rainforest, ocean, the animals, the people, hiking, snorkeling…… I hadn’t made a proper plan before I came. However, I did pretty much everything I wanted to see and did everything I wanted to do over here. Who knows when I’ll be back. When I get on that plane tomorrow,  then I’ll be very grateful for the amazing time Australia offered me.

I wish you all the best and hope to see you soon again back home,

Susanne