Published: 19.12.2025
Tomorrow the day starts early.
Meeting at 6:45 AM for breakfast, departure at 7:20 AM in Port Douglas. The whole group will be there – the goal is the snorkeling tour to the Great Barrier Reef.
The ginger tablets are ready. I have respect for the ocean. It will be a long day on the water, with snorkeling, vastness, colors – and that special feeling of truly being outside. Tomorrow is another absolute highlight of this trip.
The dramaturgy of the trip – no coincidence
What has become very clear to me on this trip:
This is well planned. One can sense the background of an American tour operator. The dramaturgy is right.
The biggest highlights are purposefully placed at the end.
Not by chance – but strategically. The last impressions last the longest.
In New Zealand, it was Queenstown; here it is Queensland with the Great Barrier Reef. Places and experiences that are clear:
You never forget them in your life.
I notice how present my first week traveling alone still is to me. This intensity. This clarity. And this is exactly what the program is now tying into – for a conclusion.
Images you won’t forget
I have already posted the first pictures for you.
And yes: It really looks like this here.
You can hardly imagine it – but it is incredibly beautiful.
The tour lasts the whole day:
from 8 AM to 5 PM, going back and forth to Port Douglas. Everything is organized: catering, schedule, breaks. You don’t have to take care of anything – except to be there.
The tour isn’t cheap; you can see that immediately.
But it is included. And that also belongs to the planning: In the end, you don’t save, you invest – in memories.
This is well thought out. Until the end.
And concurrently: thoughts of home
At the same time, I have noticed since today – actually already yesterday – something very clearly:
I think very intensely of my wife and my two children. Of course, also of the rest of the family, but these three are clearly in the spotlight right now.
Being away for five weeks is a long time for me personally.
The anticipation is growing to hold them in my arms again, to feel that feeling again, which is most important to me.
This trip has been fantastic, intense, educational. I have seen and learned an amazing amount. There will be a separate review of this – also the week in Australia as a whole. Stay tuned for what I make of it.
The conclusion
After the reef excursion, there’s still a free day left. We want to approach that day calmly. Maybe one more trip to the beach – even though I am very reserved when it comes to swimming. The topic of crocodiles is a real presence here, not a routine warning sign. I won’t take that risk.
Excitement. Gratitude. Anticipation.
It is incredibly beautiful. Really wonderful.
And at the same time, I am very much looking forward to home – to my family and to a very special Christmas season.
A conclusion that fits:
Once more in awe.
Once more being outside.
And then returning with a full heart.
