German
Hallo ihr Lieben,
ich melde mich mal wieder von der südlichen Hemisphäre, um Bericht über meine letzten Wochen abzustatten. Da in den Osterferien recht viel passiert ist, werde ich in den kommenden Tagen (oder, wenn man mich und meine Bloggewohnheiten mittlerweile gewohnt ist auch Wochen) wohl den einen oder anderen Post verfassen.
Zunächst soll es um das eigentliche Osterwochenende gehen, welches mit einem Ostern in Deutschland wirklich nicht viel zu tun hatte. Zunächst ging es am Gründonnerstag nach der Arbeit zum Bahnhof in Ferny Grove, wo Marleen (ebenfalls ehemaliges Au Pair und eine sehr gute Freundin aus Canberra) kurz darauf mit dem Zug eintreffen sollte und von der Hauptstadt Queenslands gleich einmal mit Regenwetter begrüßt wurde. Gemeinsam wollten wir in den Osterferien zuerst die Glasshouse Mountains und Fraser Island und schließlich fast die gesamte Küste Queenslands erkunden.
Nach einem recht ruhigem Donnerstag Nachmittag und Abend (Marleen verbrachte die meiste Zeit schlafend) und einer Stadterkundung inklusive Kinobesuch in der Innenstadt Brisbanes am Freitag, ging es am Samstag dann so richtig mit dem Urlaubsprogramm für die Osterferien los. Meine Gastfamilie, welche über das Osterwochenende campen war, hatte mir erlaubt, das zweite Auto der Familie mal ein wenig auszuführen und so ging es für Marleen, Liz (Au Pair in Brisbane und Reisekumpanin für die Osterferien) und mich gen Norden, wo wir nach etwa 1.5Stunden Autofahrt in den Glasshouse Mountains unseren ersten Zwischenstopp einlegten.
View over the Glasshouse Mountains about an hour north of Brisbane
Wie Riesen ragen die Berge, welche einst durch heiße Lava geformt wurden, hervor und bieten sowohl einen atemberaubenden Anblick, den man leider mit einer Kamera nicht einfangen konnte, als auch ein hervorragendes Wandergebiet. Leider humpelte ich zu diesem Zeitpunkt recht stark, da mein Fußgelenk und meine Knien seit meinem 10km-Lauf in der Innenstadt Brisbanes Ende März mir starke Probleme bereiteten und so entschieden wir uns, nur einen kurzen Spaziergang zu unternehmen und uns dann auf den Weg in Richtung Sunshine Coast und Rainbow Beach zu begeben, wo wir den Nachmittag am Strand verbrachten.
Rainbow Beach coastline - the area was named after the different colours of the sand
Nach zwei weiteren Stunden Fahrt erreichten wir schließlich pünktlich zur Abendsessenszeit in Hervey Bay, wo wir die Nacht verbringen wollten und von wo aus unsere Tour auf die größte Sandinsel der Welt - Fraser Island - am Ostersonntag starten sollte.
Nach der wohl schlimmsten Hostelerfahrung meines Lebens (Doppelbuchung von Betten, laute Gespräche und zur Krönung auch noch ein Pärchen, dass es um drei Uhr nachts nicht lassen konnte, in der Dusche im Zimmer Liebe zu machen), ging es am nächsten Tag also auf die Insel an der Ostküste des australischen Kontinents.
Die Insel, welche übrigens zum Weltnaturerbe gehört, ist etwa 125km lang und ist ungefähr doppelt so groß. Bis auf ein paar wenige Felsenformationen besteht Fraser Island ausschließlich aus Sand, welcher durch die Erosion der Gebirgsketten an der Ostküste Australiens über die Jahre eine riesige Sandinsel geformt hat.
Aufgrund dieser einzigartigen Geologie kann man die Insel nicht wie viele andere Inseln mit dem normalen Auto befahren, sondern muss die Sandwege und Strände mit einem Vierradantrieb in Angriff nehmen. Eine Alternative zum Four-Wheel-Drive-Bus, welcher uns auf der Insel von einem Ort zum anderen brachte, stellt das Flugzeug dar.
Aufgrund dieser einzigartigen Geologie kann man die Insel nicht wie viele andere Inseln mit dem normalen Auto befahren, sondern muss die Sandwege und Strände mit einem Vierradantrieb in Angriff nehmen. Eine Alternative zum Four-Wheel-Drive-Bus, welcher uns auf der Insel von einem Ort zum anderen brachte, stellt das Flugzeug dar.
Fraser Island ist einer von nur zwei Orten auf der Welt, wo Flugzeuge direkt am Strand - und damit quasi direkt neben der Fahrbahn für Autos und Busse - starten und landen. Für Liz, Marleen und mich war daher schnell klar, dass es kaum einen besseren Ort für einen Scenic Flight gab als The Great Sandy Island und so fanden wir uns in einem Siebensitzer-Flugzeug wieder, dass uns etwa 15 Minuten lang über die Insel und den wunderschönen Strand gleiten ließ.
Scenic Flight over Fraser Island
Durch die Vogelperspektive konnten wir einen wesentlich besseren Eindruck von der Größe und der Schönheit der Insel erlangen, als dies vom Bus aus möglich war. Die vielen Süßwasserseen, die nicht endenden Wälder sowie die spektakulären Sandstrände und das azurblaue Meereswasser machten den Flug zu einem definitiv einzigartigem Erlebnis.
Taking off at the beach
Just a few of the many (200!!!) freshwater lakes on Fraser Island
Nach unserer Landung führte uns unser Bus, der uns vorher durch den subtropischen Regenwald geschaukelt hatte, entlang des schlicht endlos scheinenden Sandstrandes. Wir machten zwei kurze Stops am Maheno-Schiffswrack, welches seit Jahrzehnten am Traumstrand vor sich hin rostet und zugegebenermaßen ein wirklich beeindruckendes Bild abgibt, und an den Pinnacles, eine Gruppierung von Sandklippen, welche durch Eisenoxide faszinierende Farben annehmen.
Nach einem Zwischenstopp an Eli's Creek, einem kristallklaren Bach, der über den Strand direkt in den Ozean führte, und einer kurzen Mittagspause, führte uns die Tour nun wieder weg vom Strand und hinein in den uralten subtropischen Regenwald. Hier machten wir eine kurze Wanderung an der sogenannten Central Station, welche entlang eines Baches, dessen Wasser nicht klarer hätte sein können, führte.
Unser letztes Ausflugsziel des Tages war einer der größeren Süßwasserseen auf Fraser Island - Lake McKenzie. Ich glaube ich habe noch nie in meinem Leben einen See mit so glasklarem Wasser gesehen. Dank eines recht hohen pH-Wertes leben in dem See so gut wie keine Fische oder Algen und dank des Sandes wird quasi kein Boden im Wasser aufgespült. Das Resultat ist Wasser, dass wahrscheinlich reiner ist als das Trinkwasser in einigen Ländern der Welt.
Lake McKenzie
Ich muss auch zugeben, dass es nach so langer Zeit in Australien auch mal wieder schön war, in einem Süßwassersee zu schwimmen, wo man weder von Wellen erschlagen wird, noch wegen des Salzwassers Augenschmerzen bekommt. Ja, ich gebe es zu, ich freue mich jetzt schon darauf, im Sommer in einen der vielen Badeseen in der Heimat zu springen.
Auf der Rückfahrt zur Fähre, hatten wir neben einer ellenlangen Erzählung unseres Tourguides zur Namensgebung der Insel (sie wurde nach Captain Fraser benannt) dann noch ein ganz besonderes Erlebnis. Zwei Dingos hatten sich entschieden, direkt an unserem Bus vorbei zu marschieren und so hatten wir das Glück, den Wildhund, für den die Insel so bekannt ist, in freier Wildbahn zu bestaunen. Zugegebenermaßen war ich aber dennoch ganz froh, im Bus zu sitzen - mit wilden Hunden legt man sich ja bekanntermaßen nicht an :)
A wild dingo at the side of the "road"
English
Hello again,
after two looong Easter holidays and lots of travelling going on, it is definitely time to write about my most recent adventures. As I was lucky enough to visit quite a few places over the school holidays, I am going to post a couple of blog entries on here within the next couple of days...or, let's be realistic, within the next couple of weeks (I promise, I'll do my best xD).
At first, let's focus on the actual Easter weekend which did not have much to do with the Easter weekends I am used to from Germany. On the Thursday before Easter I walked to the train station in Ferny Grove after my last shift at work before the holidays. Marleen, also a former au pair and very good friend from Canberra, was gonna spend the Easter weekend as well as the whole school holidays with me as we wanted to first visit the Glasshouse Mountains and Fraser Island and then go on a road trip up Queensland's east coast. The capital of Brisbane of course had to welcome her with heavy rain and super humid 30 degrees.
After a nice and quiet Thursday afternoon and evening (Marleen spent most of the time sleeping in my room after travelling New Zealand and Australia's west coast) and a tour around Brisbane as well as a visit to the movie theatre on Friday, it was definitely time to head off on vacation. My host family who went on a camping holiday over the Easter weekend, had allowed me to borrow the family's second car and Marleen, Liz (an American au pair in Brisbane and travel mate over the Easter holidays) and I were very keen to take it to some nice places a bit north of Brisbane.
Our first stop were the Glasshouse Mountains about 1.5 hours north of Queensland's capital. The mountains which were bizarrely shaped out of hot lava thousands of years ago truly seem like giants wandering around the subtropical forests and the beautiful walking and hiking trails in that area. Unfortunately, my ankles and knees were aching quite badly after a 10k run in Brisbane at the end of March and so we only went for a short walk and then continued our journey to Queensland's beautiful Sunshine Coast and Rainbow Beach where we spent the afternoon at the beach.
After a nice swim and a beachwalk along the multicoloured beach which the area was named after, the three of us headed off towards our final destination of the day - Hervey Bay where we wanted to spend the night and start our Fraser Island tour early in the morning on Easter Sunday.
The night was probably the worst night I've ever spent at a hostel thanks to a double booking, loud conversations in the hostel room as well as a drunk couple who thought it was a good idea to make love in the shared bathroom of our hostel room at 2:30 in the morning. Luckily our bad mood was soon disappeared into thin air as the world's largest sand island on Australia's east coast welcomed our ferry with 29 degrees and beautiful sunshine (despite a rather bad weather forecast).
The island which belongs to UNESCO's world heritage area is about 125km long and about twice as big as the German island Rügen. Apart from a couple of rock formations along the beaches, the whole island consists only of sand. Erosion and wind along the east coast have transported many layers of sand into the area and, thus, over thousands of years a huge sand island was shaped.
Due to this spectacular and unique geology of the island, normal cars cannot traverse it and only cars and busses with a 4WD can travel on the dirt tracks and sandy beaches. One alternative to the 4WD bus which was taking us from one place to the other on the island is to travel by plane.
Fraser Island is one of only two places in the world where planes can start and land directly on the beach and, thus, pretty much right next to the main "road" for the cars and buses. For Liz, Marleen and I it was therefore pretty clear that there was no better place in the world to go on a scenic flight than the Great Sandy Island and so we soon found ourselves sitting in a small plane with only seven seats that took us all the way to the sky where we got a breathtaking view over the island's beautiful forests and the never-ending beaches.
The bird perspective allowed us to get a much better idea of the size and beauty of the island than it would have been possible if we had stayed on the bus all day. The many freshwater lakes, the huge forests as well as the beautiful sand beaches and the azure blue water of the ocean really made this flight a unique experience that was worth every cent spent.
After landing on the beach again, our tour bus which had before taken us across the subtropical rain forest now took us along the beautiful beaches which truly seemed endless to us. We had two little stops at the Maheno shipwreck which has been rusting away on one of the world's most beautiful for decades now and admittedly looks pretty cool on the beach and the Pinnacles, a group of multi-coloured sand cliffs.
A further stop at Eli's Creek (a crystal clear creek which leads directly into the ocean) later, our group stopped at one of the resorts for lunch and then headed back into the rain forest. Here we went for a short walk at the so-called Central Station which took us along a creek with water so clear that it was hard to see it. And not only the water was pretty impressive. The vegetation with huge fern trees, trees that seemed to reach the clouds in the sky and trees growing around other trees was also quite unique.
Our last stop of the day was one of the better known of the over 200 freshwater lakes on Fraser Island - Lake McKenzie. I don't think I have ever seen a lake with such clear water before. Due to a slight acidity there are hardly any animals or plants in the lake and the sand on the lake's ground allows hardly any soil to mix with the water (not there is much soil on the island anyway). As a result the water is probably clearer than the drinking water in some countries of the world.
I also have to admit that it was really nice to swim in a freshwater lake again. After so many months in Australia I am ready to go swimming without drinking salt water or getting it washed in my eye by the waves. Yes, I have to admit that I am already looking forward to going swimming in one of the many lakes around my hometown this summer.
On our way back to the ferry we did not only get lucky enough to listen to a never-ending story about how the island got its name by our tour guide (it was named after Captain Fraser), we also got to see two dingoes which had decided to go for a walk along the dirt track that was called road. Apparently not many tourists get to see the wild dog that is native to Australia. I was still quite happy to be sitting in a bus as I really had no desire to meet a wild dog in the wild. It's a wild animal after all.
Until next time :)
Kristina
after two looong Easter holidays and lots of travelling going on, it is definitely time to write about my most recent adventures. As I was lucky enough to visit quite a few places over the school holidays, I am going to post a couple of blog entries on here within the next couple of days...or, let's be realistic, within the next couple of weeks (I promise, I'll do my best xD).
At first, let's focus on the actual Easter weekend which did not have much to do with the Easter weekends I am used to from Germany. On the Thursday before Easter I walked to the train station in Ferny Grove after my last shift at work before the holidays. Marleen, also a former au pair and very good friend from Canberra, was gonna spend the Easter weekend as well as the whole school holidays with me as we wanted to first visit the Glasshouse Mountains and Fraser Island and then go on a road trip up Queensland's east coast. The capital of Brisbane of course had to welcome her with heavy rain and super humid 30 degrees.
After a nice and quiet Thursday afternoon and evening (Marleen spent most of the time sleeping in my room after travelling New Zealand and Australia's west coast) and a tour around Brisbane as well as a visit to the movie theatre on Friday, it was definitely time to head off on vacation. My host family who went on a camping holiday over the Easter weekend, had allowed me to borrow the family's second car and Marleen, Liz (an American au pair in Brisbane and travel mate over the Easter holidays) and I were very keen to take it to some nice places a bit north of Brisbane.
Our first stop were the Glasshouse Mountains about 1.5 hours north of Queensland's capital. The mountains which were bizarrely shaped out of hot lava thousands of years ago truly seem like giants wandering around the subtropical forests and the beautiful walking and hiking trails in that area. Unfortunately, my ankles and knees were aching quite badly after a 10k run in Brisbane at the end of March and so we only went for a short walk and then continued our journey to Queensland's beautiful Sunshine Coast and Rainbow Beach where we spent the afternoon at the beach.
After a nice swim and a beachwalk along the multicoloured beach which the area was named after, the three of us headed off towards our final destination of the day - Hervey Bay where we wanted to spend the night and start our Fraser Island tour early in the morning on Easter Sunday.
The night was probably the worst night I've ever spent at a hostel thanks to a double booking, loud conversations in the hostel room as well as a drunk couple who thought it was a good idea to make love in the shared bathroom of our hostel room at 2:30 in the morning. Luckily our bad mood was soon disappeared into thin air as the world's largest sand island on Australia's east coast welcomed our ferry with 29 degrees and beautiful sunshine (despite a rather bad weather forecast).
The island which belongs to UNESCO's world heritage area is about 125km long and about twice as big as the German island Rügen. Apart from a couple of rock formations along the beaches, the whole island consists only of sand. Erosion and wind along the east coast have transported many layers of sand into the area and, thus, over thousands of years a huge sand island was shaped.
Due to this spectacular and unique geology of the island, normal cars cannot traverse it and only cars and busses with a 4WD can travel on the dirt tracks and sandy beaches. One alternative to the 4WD bus which was taking us from one place to the other on the island is to travel by plane.
Fraser Island is one of only two places in the world where planes can start and land directly on the beach and, thus, pretty much right next to the main "road" for the cars and buses. For Liz, Marleen and I it was therefore pretty clear that there was no better place in the world to go on a scenic flight than the Great Sandy Island and so we soon found ourselves sitting in a small plane with only seven seats that took us all the way to the sky where we got a breathtaking view over the island's beautiful forests and the never-ending beaches.
The bird perspective allowed us to get a much better idea of the size and beauty of the island than it would have been possible if we had stayed on the bus all day. The many freshwater lakes, the huge forests as well as the beautiful sand beaches and the azure blue water of the ocean really made this flight a unique experience that was worth every cent spent.
After landing on the beach again, our tour bus which had before taken us across the subtropical rain forest now took us along the beautiful beaches which truly seemed endless to us. We had two little stops at the Maheno shipwreck which has been rusting away on one of the world's most beautiful for decades now and admittedly looks pretty cool on the beach and the Pinnacles, a group of multi-coloured sand cliffs.
A further stop at Eli's Creek (a crystal clear creek which leads directly into the ocean) later, our group stopped at one of the resorts for lunch and then headed back into the rain forest. Here we went for a short walk at the so-called Central Station which took us along a creek with water so clear that it was hard to see it. And not only the water was pretty impressive. The vegetation with huge fern trees, trees that seemed to reach the clouds in the sky and trees growing around other trees was also quite unique.
Our last stop of the day was one of the better known of the over 200 freshwater lakes on Fraser Island - Lake McKenzie. I don't think I have ever seen a lake with such clear water before. Due to a slight acidity there are hardly any animals or plants in the lake and the sand on the lake's ground allows hardly any soil to mix with the water (not there is much soil on the island anyway). As a result the water is probably clearer than the drinking water in some countries of the world.
I also have to admit that it was really nice to swim in a freshwater lake again. After so many months in Australia I am ready to go swimming without drinking salt water or getting it washed in my eye by the waves. Yes, I have to admit that I am already looking forward to going swimming in one of the many lakes around my hometown this summer.
On our way back to the ferry we did not only get lucky enough to listen to a never-ending story about how the island got its name by our tour guide (it was named after Captain Fraser), we also got to see two dingoes which had decided to go for a walk along the dirt track that was called road. Apparently not many tourists get to see the wild dog that is native to Australia. I was still quite happy to be sitting in a bus as I really had no desire to meet a wild dog in the wild. It's a wild animal after all.
Until next time :)
Kristina
