Stop 6: Australia, Part 3: 2360 km (as the crow flies)

After our little fiasco with camper Kalle, you're probably wondering: Did Forest fare better and how did we continue with the new camper? So, to reassure you in advance: Forest had a slightly more battered interior than Kalle, but it held up well and safely took us to Brisbane. From there, we flew on to Cairns and spent 9 more nights in an AirBnB. When you consider that we covered a distance of 2360km (as the crow flies) in a single country from Sale to Cairns, and that the actual distance from Sale to Brisbane was even longer (about 3000km), you can imagine how much we've seen and experienced. Since it would be far too much to write and read about all of it, we decided to only report on our highlights here.

Most exciting animal experience: During a walk along the coast of Port Macquarie, we reached a lighthouse at Tacking Point with a wonderful view of the sea. From here, you can observe whales during their migration from May to November. In particular, humpback whales swim in the moderate warm waters during this time for mating and then return. Within minutes of arriving at the lookout point, we were already observing the first whales in the distance, engaging in courtship behavior, in which they hit the water surface with their fins, creating huge spouts. However, the absolute highlight was a young humpback whale, about 6 meters long, playing with a group of dolphins right at the base of the cliffs. A volunteer assisting with the annual whale count, who happened to be at the lookout point, told us that the whale was only born last year and was likely injured and unable to keep up with its group. Since dolphins are very social animals, they took him in and accompanied him for a while, and the whale seemed to thoroughly enjoy this companionship.

Best museum: In the town of Eden, which rightly bears its name because it is truly beautiful, with several deep bays and steep cliffs, there is the only Killer Whale Museum in the world. The reason for this is the absolutely fascinating history of the town as a former whaling capital. The Orca "Old Tom" played a very special role in this place, as whalers and Orcas formed a unique community here to catch large whales, such as humpback whales. The Orcas would hunt the whales together and separate one from its group. Then they would drive the poor whale into the bay towards the whalers. They would surround the whale, while Old Tom would swim to the whalers' hut and wake them up by loudly hitting the water with his fins. The whalers would board their boat and follow Old Tom, whom they often pulled the boat with a rope out of impatience, to the whale and kill it. Since Orcas only eat the lips and tongue of a whale, and humans had no use for these parts, the Orcas got their reward. This collaboration between humans and Orcas was already practiced by the Aborigines and was adopted by the settlers. It only ended when whaling was banned in Australia in 1978. Today, you can still see Old Tom's skeleton in good condition in the museum.

Most beautiful beach: At Hyams Beach, we experienced perfectly turquoise water on an immaculate white sand beach for the first time. We had previously only imagined beaches like this in the Caribbean, but Australia has nothing to hide in comparison!

Most unusual rock formations: In Bouddi National Park, we discovered an outdoor art gallery for lovers of stones (which is exactly the right place for Natalie). The so-called "Tessellated Pavement" stretches for hundreds of meters along the coast and was formed over millions of years. At the beginning of its formation, shells and various sea creatures at the bottom of the ocean formed a sediment layer. This layer was then compressed over a long period of time under immense pressure, forming different colored layers. Eventually, due to the sea level drop and plate tectonics, this layer reached the surface, where it burst open due to the decrease in pressure, leaving behind a pattern resembling tiles. This is how small and large works of art are created purely by nature, providing a fantastic backdrop for photography.

Most thrilling underground tour: To see something other than the sea, we drove inland a bit and explored the Buchan Caves with a tour. These are at least 5 million-year-old stalactite caves that form a gigantic tunnel system. Only a few cave entrances are accessible to the public, but what we were able to see there was impressive. Enormous stalactites (hanging from the ceiling) and sparkling stalagmites (rising from the ground), ceilings full of small straw-like baby stalactites, something they call "bacon" (you'll see why when you see the photo), underground lakes, and much more. The most fascinating thing, however, was the discovery of the skeleton of an ancient kangaroo in one of the caves. This kangaroo not only lived at least 46,000 years ago and was about 3m tall, but also appears to have been a carnivorous animal. The fascinating thing is that no one knows how this kangaroo ended up in the cave, as there was no access and no other indication of life, until the cave was discovered by drilling.

Sweetest and saddest animal experience: In the town of Port Macquarie, you can visit the world's only Koala Hospital. All koalas in the area that are injured or sick are brought here, and it is decided whether they will be released back into the wild after their recovery or if they will find a comfortable home in the hospital. Most koalas are brought in with chlamydia, which often leads to severe eye infections. Therefore, the hospital mainly houses blind or visually impaired koalas that would not survive in the wild. There are also very young koalas whose mothers have died, who live in the hospital until they are old enough to fend for themselves. Visiting the hospital is both very sad and a truly adorable experience. If you look at it from the positive side: All these animals have been given a second chance in life that they would not have had without the hospital.

Funniest animal encounter: After a beautiful day in Kangaroo Valley with 19th century houses and hikes through valleys and mountains with great views, we spent the night at a free campground in the Bendeela Recreation Area. We were kept awake at night by wombats, who must have been incredibly itchy. They kept rubbing against our camper all night, constantly waking us up and shaking us. These little balls of fur have a lot of strength!

Most impressive hike: The Blue Mountains had already impressed us during our short visit from Sydney, so we wanted to return with the camper and do some longer hikes. We hiked part of the National Pass, which was partially closed, and explored the Grand Canyon of the Blue Mountains. The best part of the National Pass was the path at the upper part of the cliffs, which was carved into the rock face and almost gives you the feeling of flying. The Grand Canyon, on the other hand, offered a completely different experience, as you hike at the bottom of a deep and narrow gorge through rainforest and over rivers. Overall, these were simply fantastic hiking trails that made our return worthwhile! A little extra was the beautiful autumn foliage and the perfectly organized campground.

Most romantic and funniest sunset: We could hardly believe it when we were told that there are sand dunes north of Newcastle that resemble the Sahara, but they actually exist. So, we walked through huge sand dunes in the sunset at Anna Bay, danced in the red evening light, and jumped into the soft sand. In the dunes, you just feel so free!

Biggest waste of taxpayer money in Australia: In Ballina, a small town just before famous Byron Bay, a huge statue was restored for a whopping $400,000. The "Big Prawn," a giant shrimp, serves no purpose and is not even a special artwork, but the residents of the town did not want to dispose of it when it was completely worn out and deteriorated, so it was renewed and now stands in front of a hardware store.

Most adrenaline-pumping excursion: On our last day before flying to Cairns, we wanted to treat ourselves to something special and visited one of the many amusement parks on the Gold Coast. "Dreamworld" has some unusual and super fun roller coasters, but the absolute highlight was the world's tallest (at least according to the Guinness World Records in 1999) freefall tower, which stands at a height of 119m (that's 39 stories). Additionally, there is a water park and a zoo, which sweetened our day with baby tigers and joeys (that's what baby koalas are called).

Most impressive sporting event: Coincidentally, the Ironman was taking place in Cairns on the weekend we were there. So, we took the opportunity to cheer on and admire the athletes. During an Ironman, participants have to swim 3.8km in the ocean, then cycle 180km, and finally run 42km. That alone seems completely impossible, but it becomes even more impressive when we tell you that the New Zealand winner of the Ironman in Cairns completed the whole thing in 8 hours and 4 minutes and then gave an interview with a smile on his face. But everyone else who participates in something like this also deserves our utmost respect, because it really requires pure willpower (and a bit of madness).

Most extraordinary excursion: What would a vacation in Cairns be without a trip to the Great Barrier Reef? So, we booked a full-day tour on a catamaran to two reefs in the middle of the ocean, where we explored the Great Barrier Reef while snorkeling. At first, it took some getting used to breathing through the snorkel, and of course, the rented equipment wasn't perfect for us, but once you see the reef and its biodiversity, you forget everything around you. The corals were less colorful than we expected, but we saw plenty of colorful fish, starfish, and anemones, and had a lot of fun fooling around and swimming in the 26°C warm water. That was definitely not our last snorkeling trip!

Most beautiful rainforest exploration: In the southern part of Daintree National Park lies Mossman Gorge, a valley that is still inhabited by an Aboriginal tribe and has a beautiful hiking trail that leads deep into the rainforest. Walking through this dense, quiet, overgrown forest with green rivers, towering roots, and seemingly floating plants, you can easily understand why the Aborigines did not leave this place. The rainforest here seems almost enchanted.

Nicest and coolest Australians: For our time in Cairns, we booked a room with a bathroom with a four-member family on AirBnB. The parents, Nik and Rob, were simply the greatest Australians we had the pleasure of meeting. They greeted us a little tipsy because there was a very important football game that night, but with their hospitality, humor, and genuine interest in our activities, we immediately felt at home. Our room was in the converted garage of their gigantic house with a pool. The property was the size of a soccer field and housed chickens, a cat, a fat caterpillar of the national butterfly, and many birds. Every day when we saw each other, Nik and Rob showed us new things around the house, like a tiny frog that had wandered onto the terrace or a bird's nest, or they brought us fresh fruit from the garden. You could feel how much they love and appreciate their home, and they infected us with this enthusiasm. A truly unforgettable couple.

To conclude our Australia adventure, we reflected on what really surprised us in Australia. So, here are 10 things we didn't expect in Australia:

1. A huge number of East Asian tourists and immigrants

2. The most beautiful autumn foliage we have experienced so far

3. Experiencing bushfires every day, even though it's already autumn

4. An incredibly rich biodiversity, consisting not only of the classics like kangaroos, koalas, and spiders, but also plenty of wild penguins, colorful birds, platypuses, and wombats

5. Being able to observe whales migrating north from the coast

6. Camping in tents seems to no longer exist on the east coast, as we mostly saw motorhomes and caravans (of which there were plenty)

7. Campgrounds here are often more like large residential areas than natural retreats

8. Even here, there are icy cold nights with frost, where you wish for a warm bed (which is maybe why there are more motorhomes than tents)

9. Australians are obsessed with war memorials and build them everywhere (we even saw swimming pools serving as war memorials)

10. Australia is home to the most warm-hearted and talkative people you can imagine

Australia was a wonderful and exciting experience, with many surprises and unforgettable encounters with animals and humans! And life here is just relaxed. But now it's time for us to embark on new, unknown adventures, because with our departure from Australia, we say goodbye to two things for the rest of our journey: Western culture and, much harder, camping. Our beloved tent and the rest of our camping gear are already on their way back home in a package, and from now on, we'll be backpacking through Asia and sleeping in hostels.

Song of halftime (since we reached the halfway point of our trip in Australia at the beginning of May): "Live while we're young" - Johnnyswim