49th-56th day 03.11. - 10.11. Boat license & Magnetic Island

Saturday 03.11.

Freshly rested and well fortified, I said goodbye for the last time to Hanna Spencer and the children and drove to the harbor. I was surprised when I arrived because I had to repeat the theory test in writing with the same selection and number of questions. But since I paid close attention to the online videos, I passed the test with 50/50 correct answers and then moved on to the practical part. In this part, Brandon, the boat instructor, another man, and I were on a small boat with 40 horsepower and we drove around a bit. He showed us the technique behind the boat, what we had to watch out for, and we did a few maneuvers. After 45 minutes, the fun was over and I received a certificate that I could use to apply for my motorboat license at the Department of Transport and Main Roads. I noticed that I had forgotten my freezer batteries in the freezer at Hanna's, so I stopped by their front door again. But now really for the last time. Because now I started my journey south. Here I also reached my 300,000 km with María.

 I drove along the highway towards Innisfail and then into the hinterland and the tablelands of Atherton. The reason why this area is called tablelands is quite clear, because it is a plateau that carries an impressive landscape.

There, I went to visit the Milla-Milla waterfalls. Unfortunately, the weather turned into rain in the afternoon, so I didn't see the full beauty of the tablelands.

I continued my journey south towards Townsville. I stopped at a rest area on the side and decided to spend the night there. It was a quiet rest area, but I was bitten by many mosquitoes while cooking. In the tent and safe from the bites, I skyped with my parents and Karin & Alex were in Pauluszell. A few trains passed by about 5m behind me, which were very loud, but other than that, I slept quite well.

Sunday 04.11.

I got up well and continued driving. In Townsville, I searched online for a good awning and compared several stores. With a price of $115 for a good awning, I was very satisfied and bought it at BCF. However, the installation was more complicated because I had to go to the hardware store, buy screws and accessories, and then install it provisionally. During the day, I also decided to go to Magnetic Island and stay there for a few days. I found a free campsite in the CamperMate app and spent the night there.

Monday 05.11.

The next morning, I went shopping for a short time and then headed to Magnetic Island. I took the car ferry and arrived at a very inviting-looking island. Incidentally, the name Magnetic comes from a disturbed compass, which allegedly malfunctioned for a sailor. This sailor suspected a magnetic field, hence the name of the island. The ferry was very expensive at $220, so if I ever come back to the island, I will do it on foot with a backpack. I talked to two German girls who were doing the same: leaving their car in a secure parking lot for $5 per day and renting a hostel bed or a wooden hut on the island and doing a lot of hiking. When I arrived on the island, I drove straight to Horseshoe Bay. This is the only campsite on the island and I stayed there until Thursday, a total of 3 nights. After cooking a little, I went to the beach. A very long sandy beach opened up before me and I walked along it towards the north. After about 30 minutes and 2.5 km, I reached the northern end. There, I played around with the crabs and a dead fish. On the way back, I saw two marine boats conducting a training exercise.

It looked like they were practicing a beach landing and the necessary hand signals and movements. When I asked a small question, it turned out to be a special forces team of the Australian Army. It was very interesting to watch, as I made myself comfortable on a large piece of driftwood and tried to open a washed-up coconut with my big knife. In this attempt, a piece of the blade broke off. Knife 0 : 1 Coconut! Back at the car, I had dinner and then went to bed.

Tuesday 06.11.

On this day, I got up at 6:00, packed my fishing rod and a backpack, and walked to the beach. When I arrived there, I sat on the beach for 1.5 hours fishing, but I only got a few bites. In retrospect, using bread as bait is not very effective in Australia. At 8 o'clock, after a small breakfast, I set off for a hike. A hiking trail led me to Florence Bay, from where I climbed over the cliffs to the next bay. After a rather challenging cliff hike, I took a little swim in the water and then continued on the hiking trails. I went over Arthurbay and several small bays and then up a mountain. From there, a hiking trail led to a fort, an old World War II defense facility. This hiking trail was really pleasant, and until that point, I didn't know that you can encounter many wild koalas here. Out of nowhere, a man whistled at me off the trail and called out that he had koalas here. A little excited, I approached, and indeed, there were two big koalas hanging in a tree, and a little further away, a relatively small koala. I cut up a plastic bottle and tried to get the koalas to drink, but they weren't thirsty. Of course, the classic selfie photo is a must.

Three guys also came along, who were also impressed by the koalas. After a few short conversations, we continued our way up the mountain together.

When we reached the fort, we enjoyed the view and took some beautiful photos with chill indie music in the background. The information boards about the history and technology of the fort were interesting.

On the way back to the camp, I realized that I had done a lot of hiking today, and my phone confirmed this with a display of 28,000 steps. In the afternoon, I met a couple on their honeymoon next to me, Mohamed and Daniela from Stuttgart. Also next to me were an older couple and a good friend who were taking a nice trip along the east coast together. One of their daughters lives here in Australia, and together they are enjoying a nice vacation.

Wednesday 07.11.

After a relaxed night, I got up, had a good breakfast with coffee, and enjoyed the day at the campsite. I also went to the beach again and enjoyed the weather. With Theresa (Barbara's friend), I organized her birthday present. Otherwise, this day was quite leisurely.

Thursday 08.11.

On this morning, it was time to pack up again and head towards the ferry port. In the morning, I drove to Picnic Bay, where I fished together with an older man from the start. This was the first time I had good bait because the man shared his squids with me. I also had a total of 3 fish on the hook, but they were all too small to eat, so I set them free.

I then drove back to the jetty and took the ferry to the mainland. From there, I found a small free campsite nearby in a small town called Guru. This place consisted of a few houses, a small shop, and a large sugar cane factory that produced a sticky sugar mass. The place itself was very nice, but it was often smoky and had a smell from the factory in the air. It was a large meadow with toilets about 300m away. I had dinner and as soon as I started eating, a small van and two backpackers arrived who also wanted to sleep here. We started talking and that's when I first heard about "dumpster diving". The two of them had a very successful haul and showed me the food they had collected. A whole esky, which is what coolers are called in Australia, full of fruits, vegetables, and in the van itself, they had about 20 loaves of bread. These are all discarded leftovers from the big supermarkets like Coles and Woolworths (Edeka and Lidl in Germany). I finished eating my prepared meal, and they started cooking theirs. The end result was the best feast I had ever had in my life. And the unbelievable thing was the price of $2.50 for a pack of coconut milk. We talked about everything under the sun over a few beers and then went to sleep.

Friday 09.11.

In the morning, I went to the hardware store and bought a few small things. Then I drove back to Guru, explored the area a bit, and found a nice spot with locals fishing. Anthony and his friends were very friendly, and he told me about his Aboriginal heritage and life here. I didn't fish at this spot because I just read my fishing book and ate a little. Then I continued my journey and found a nice spot east of Ayr on CamperMate. It was a spot right at the beginning of a large saltwater river and therefore quite windy. I chatted with a local resident and he told me that this spot is completely underwater during high tide and rain. That corresponds to a height difference of more than 6 meters, unimaginable. I did a little job search online because I needed some money. I found a job on a backpacker job website and got the job to help a private man in his garden for about a week. We agreed that I could come to him on Sunday morning.

Saturday 10.11.

When I drove on the road in the morning, I was amazed. I had read and heard about road trains, but had never seen one before. And suddenly, a 40-ton truck with 5 large trailers turned onto a side road. Wow, what an amazing combination. As I drove to a rest area for breakfast early in the morning, I was surprised to see a girl in Adidas shorts. It turned out that she lives in Postausgang near Landshut and we have mutual friends. Overall, I drove many kilometers south, and my next small destination was Airline Beach. When I arrived there, I took a long walk and explored the town. I did not book a trip to the Whitsunday Islands, as I would start my job the next day and I didn't have any money saved up. These islands are supposed to be incredibly beautiful, and I will add this goal to a later part of my trip. While strolling through the town, I saw a guy wearing an FC Bayern Munich jersey, so I approached him because his backpack was open. And where is he from? From Geisenhausen! What a coincidence on the same day. The journey continued and I set up my overnight camp behind the Leap Hotel. This free campsite was very good, including the toilets in the hotel. I played some football with a few German guys, and then went to bed.