From Singapore to Rockhampton - 1 week on tour

On 29.12.2018 we arrived in Singapore healthy and lively. Lion City was fantastic. A mixture of European and Asian metropolis with countless amazing food markets. We ate our way through the city for 3 days. Hawker Centers are simply amazing. And in Singapore, you can enjoy Michelin-starred cuisine for only EUR 3.00. Highlights: Food, Food, Food, New Year's Eve party at Marina Bay; one-hour fireworks from 23:00 to 00:05 (yes, it sounds strange, we didn't understand it either) and no toilet in sight. So we started the new year 2019 with about half of Singapore. A definite must-visit: Gardens by the Bay. Simply unique. And we enjoyed our last evening on the rooftop terrace of Marina Bay Sands. Great drinks and amazing food.

On 2.1. we hopped to Down Under - Brisbane. Brisbane is an upcoming city with 2.5 million people. We were particularly impressed by its modern South Bank Waterfront. On 4.1. we picked up our car. We are still thinking about its name but we will let you know as soon as it's decided. Kai is doing well with driving on the left side of the road. I mostly look for death on the wrong side :-). From Brisbane, our route led us to Byron Bay. What can we say: we definitely increased the average age. Backpacker after backpacker and the beer flows. In our hostel, there was no air conditioning at 36 degrees, but yes, that's complaining on a high level. The food in Byron also stayed in our minds - the best tacos ever. Beautiful beach, nice atmosphere, young people, cool spots, and a nice Sunday market. After the market and 2 days in Byron, we continued our journey towards Rainbow Beach. The destination was Fraser Island. On 6.1. our day trip to Fraser started. We crossed over by ferry and raced across the island in a off-road bus. It had everything; miles of beach, tropical rainforest, pirate shipwreck from Pirates of the Caribbean, and to top it off, a scenic flight over the largest sand island in the world. Kai, me, 2 others, and the pilot. We took off and landed on the beach. Simply unbelievable. In Rainbow Beach itself, there wasn't much going on. 7 pm - everything closed. Endtime atmosphere. A fairground with no people at the end of the world. Therefore, the next morning we continued further north to Rockhampton (about 370 km). We arrived in the afternoon but if you think the party is on here.... No. Everything was closed at 5 pm here too. We then went to an excellent Thai restaurant. That made up for everything. And the highlight: Rod Lawer was born in Rockhampton. So it was worth it for Kai. In pouring rain, we visited the Botanic Garden as the only ones and cruised through the city. Today we hit the road again and drove about another 350 km towards Airlie Beach. The gateway to the Whitsundays. With pouring rain and cyclone warning, I was a scaredy-cat but Kai mastered the drive. We arrived healthy and lively in Airlie at 5 pm. The beer tasted fantastic afterwards. In summary, what we can report from the last week is: everything is bigger in Australia. The distances, the people, the animals, and the nature. As the Aussies say: everything wants to eat, bite or kill you. But hey: it's the only country in the world where you are allowed to experience that. So, see you soon.