23 - 29 Nov 2016: Visiting Denmark

So now we went by bus to Albany, where I will stay at a hostel for one night and then leave for Denmark the next morning. The ride turned out to be more pleasant than expected and went by relatively quickly. It became clear to me why the trip takes a whole 10 hours. While it only takes about 5 hours to go directly, the bus in this case goes straight to Perth. In Wagin, a town in the middle of the Australian bush, you then switch buses and travel another 200 km south. But as I mentioned before, everything went surprisingly quickly. Albany is actually the first settlement in Western Australia and is not even 200 years old. With its 26,000 inhabitants, it is currently the third largest city in this state. That's quite something. The area of Western Australia is more than 7 times the size of Germany. But with over 25,000 inhabitants, a city already ranks in the top 3. The nearest town, 50 km away, is the town of Denmark with 3000 inhabitants. And this area is one of the most densely populated areas in Western Australia, apart from the metropolitan area of Perth. Usually, you have to travel even longer distances to get from one small town to another. But this should not be understood in a derogatory way. The traffic noise is minimal. Furthermore, you don't have the sensory overload like in big cities. Everything just seems more relaxed. Also here in the "metropolitan area" of the southwest coast. It was noticeable that even young people didn't walk around like "zombies" and only use their smartphones when they really need to. You can also do without it. When I arrived in the evening, I wanted to check in at the "Albany Backpackers", but unfortunately it was already fully booked. Another hostel, which somehow belongs to it, was available though. So that I wouldn't have to carry my luggage so far, the porter left his workplace and even drove me there. Australians just generally have the desire to help other people. It's wonderful. Without seeing much, I then went to Denmark the next day. But I will return next week.

Arriving in Denmark the next morning, the wife of the German host family called Antje picked me up. In addition to her husband Mattes, there are also the children Ronja, Lotta, Thorben and the dog Anuschka. In the car, I found out that it's Antje's birthday and that she will have a few guests coming later. Accordingly, the already warm welcome was sweetened with cake. The accommodation in the caravan was also a definite upgrade compared to the previous place. The house in country style also made a very cozy impression. I immediately felt comfortable and this time I was lucky with the hosts.

In the early morning of the first day, we went to the beach to wake up in the Australian way of "no worries" before we started working. Denmark is very well-known for its small size, which is attributed to its amazing coastal landscapes. And just like Esperance, I would say "Fucken A!" about it.

On Friday evening, we went to the end-of-year concert of the Denmark High School, where the children of my hosts, Lotta and Thorben, also played. And I was absolutely thrilled with this event. It was really entertaining to see a group of 12-year-olds giving their best not only musically, but also in terms of headbanging to "Sweet Child O' Mine". The music selection was mixed, which also brought up songs like "I See Fire" by Ed Sheeran or "Under The Bridge" by RHCP. But not only the setlist, but also the execution was really great. It was definitely worth going.

We did tree planting and fertilizing, repairs and woodwork during working hours (which of course was not music). Since the spring temperatures there are only slightly higher than in Germany, working outside couldn't have been better.

Since we usually didn't exceed 4 hours of work time, there was plenty of time for leisure activities. And with this brilliant landscape, there was a lot to do.

One afternoon, I rode my bike along a part of the "Munda Biddi Trail" to the coast to "Greens Pool". The Munda Biddi Trail is a 950 km long mountain bike trail that runs from Perth to Albany (or vice versa). The name comes from the language of the Aboriginal people and means something like "path through the forest". Riding this section of the trail was incredibly fun. If the remaining 925 kilometers are just as beautiful, the Munda Biddi is an absolute must-do for mountain bike enthusiasts.

But even my final destination, the coast "Greens Pool", was a feast for the eyes. It is one of the tourist hotspots in Denmark. But since the summer holidays haven't started yet, it wasn't really crowded. That made it very relaxing to spend time there with a round of "The Song of Ice and Fire". By the way, the slightly larger rock in the first picture on the right is used to train "bombing" skills. At least that's what it looked like.

On the way back, I encountered a snake for the first time. more precisely, it was a so-called black tiger snake, which, like many other things in Australia, can be deadly. But since it only bites in extreme emergencies, people here are quite relaxed about the large occurrence of this snake. The only recommendation on the topic was: "When you go into the bush, always stomp. Then the tiger snakes will run away in time."

But the Munda Biddi Trail also has a hiking counterpart that even reaches 1,000 km. The name of this trail is the "Bibbulmun Track". The Bibbulmun were the Aboriginal tribe that was native to the Southwest of Australia, the region through which the track runs. It means something like "men of plenty". The Aboriginal people familiar to us Europeans come from the Outback and were rather skinny. Antje explained to me that the people of the Bibbulmun tribe, due to the greater availability of food in this area, pushed around proper bellies. Therefore, the name comes from that. I walked the path from Lights Beach over Monkey Rock to Denmark. This section has some amazing viewpoints. Additionally, while hiking, you sometimes really feel like you're in the middle of the jungle and far away from any form of civilization. It was wonderful. While surfing the internet, I came across an article that somewhat exaggeratedly commented on the entire track:

http://www.travelbook.de/welt/bibbulmun-track-in-australien-auf-diesem-weg-droht-lebensgefahr-737669.html

Poisonous animals that this article warns about did not cross my path, though. I only saw a few cockatoos.

Otherwise, it was a really comfortable stay where everything fit. The food was good (the first time I had kangaroo steak), we could have good conversations, and the whole atmosphere was very relaxed.

I will always remember the topic of creating new words in German that should describe a situation in one word. My favorite was the "Tageslichtspielschock" (daylight game shock). It means the effect when you come out of a dark (cinema) room and suddenly find yourself in bright daylight.

When I thought about this word in more detail, I felt a little homesick. The reason for this was this thought: "Am I already looking forward to Carnival Sunday again, when we empty a few drinks at the Homburger Bocksbeutelbar and every time we leave, we experience a daylight game shock."

Nevertheless, I will now continue to the winery "OranjeTractor" in Albany where I will probably stay for 2 1/2 weeks. Since it was so nice in Denmark, I will spend the week before Christmas there again.