Australia Adventure

Bye bye Australia, G'day kangaroos, koalas, dolphins, quokkas, and all of you. It has been an honor and incredibly fun to visit you.

Right now, we are sitting on the plane that is taking us from Perth to Singapore. We look back on almost a month of travel in Western Australia. A month with two very different halves. The first 14 days were extremely focused on driving and we covered nearly 6,000 kilometers. The following two weeks were all about 'slowing down' and we stayed within a radius of about four hours drive. But let's start from the beginning.

Heading North

We landed in Perth with the destination of Broome and picked up our campervan. We wanted to spend the first night in Yanchep National Park, so after a quick shopping, we set off north. This very small national park is about an hour's drive from Perth and is the only place in Western Australia where wild koalas live. Our expectations were not disappointed, and on our first evening, we saw several kangaroos. The next morning was just fantastic. Due to the time difference, we woke up relatively early (6:30 am on vacation!!!) and went for an exploration walk. It included more than we could have wished for: Countless kangaroos - including those with their babies in their pouches - and several koalas that we were able to admire. It was wonderful!

We continued our journey through the Pinnacles - really cool rock formations in the middle of a desert. Monkey Mia was the next stop. After already admiring the beautiful land wildlife, it was time for the marine wildlife: dolphins, pelicans, and sea turtles. The absolute highlight of our two-day stay was a kayak tour. Without a guide, we set off and explored the nearby national park. After four hours of paddling, what came next was the climax: wild dolphins swimming under our canoes, making us feel like we were right in the middle of it, instead of just being there.

In Exmouth, we were greeted by more marine creatures: From the lighthouse, we were able to watch whales! Exmouth also had beautiful sandy beaches - a paradise for snorkeling fans. However, we only moderately liked the place overall. This was mainly due to the crowded campsites here. In New Zealand, we traveled outside the season, and the same was true in Australia so far. However, even in winter, Exmouth has perfect beach weather, so tourists love this place, especially in the winter months, as it gets extremely hot in summer. Here, we heard Swiss German, French, and Standard German again for the first time in a while - yes, we were among tourists and no, we didn't particularly like this fact. The question of where to go next arose. A detailed internet search and extensive data analysis (data mining) later (keyword Industry 4.0), we made our decision:

- Entered 'Best time to visit Broome' in Google

- Google's Answer: Winter months (including August)

- Conclusion: No, we don't want to go there.

However, this whole process took more time than one might think after reading this report: Because internet access is not available at all campsites in Australia. The decision was made anyway: Broome and its tourists could stay away from us. We set off to conquer the Outback, the desert! And the Outback lived up to its name. At times, we drove 250 kilometers without encountering a gas station, let alone a town. Just our camper, plenty of purchased water, and desert on both sides of the road - that's how we spent a total of about five travel days. Suddenly, the sign 'Billabong - 100 kilometers ahead' appeared on the side of the road. We were excited, thinking that we would visit the birthplace of Billabong, finally some variety. Is there even a factory? Can we explore it? Perhaps there is a Billabong outlet village?

Three times no - Billabong was just a gas station ('roadhouse' as the Australians call it). Much anticipation for nothing.

Our drive was interrupted by a visit to Karijini National Park. Wow! It was really worth all the driving hours (seriously, no irony). This national park was unlike anything we had discovered before. This treasure of nature is literally located 'in the middle of nowhere.' We spent two nights in this park and climbed the highest mountain in Western Australia (upwards), and dangerously dove into the depths of the different gorges (canyons) with beautiful waterholes for swimming. An indigenous dude also held a small astronomy lesson in the evening with beautiful telescopes. We really enjoyed Saturn and Jupiter. However, the highlight was the photos of the moon that we were able to take.

In the end, we were back in Yanchep. If you don't know what's happening in Yanchep by now, then you have obviously only skimmed through this report and not read it properly (you might as well go back to square one). In any case, the second visit was just as great as the first. In addition, there was a spontaneous boxing match between two kangaroos.

It's funny how you can summarize two weeks of travel in just 1.5 A4 pages.

Slowing down and hiking

After fourteen intense travel days, we were exhausted. We were as exhausted as one can be. All the efforts throughout the day. We needed a break, couldn't go on anymore! A gem of a holiday home in Busselton, south of Perth, provided the rest we desired. We enjoyed it very much and took our time to prepare our dinners. We also enjoyed the wines from the Margaret River region. Don't worry, we didn't suffer from a wine sickness.

After the relaxing days, we wanted to go hiking for five days. The Cape to Cape Track, starting with an additional loop, was supposed to take us 150 kilometers along the coast from Dunsborough to Augusta. The first three days were generally beautiful, and the trail lived up to its promises! Unfortunately, the tides were not completely on our side, and we had to take several detours. After walking over 40 kilometers on the second day, our feet didn't feel quite right anymore. Therefore, after three days of hiking and about 100 kilometers, we decided to abort the hike. When we say the trail lived up to its promises, it also applies to its warning about snakes. On the first day, Karin saw one: it blocked our way. Thomas was like, 'One is not a big deal, don't be afraid.' Five minutes later, Karin said, 'Does two still count as not a big deal?' It sounds humorous now, but at that moment, Karin was not being funny. During the remaining walking hours on the partly only 20 to 50 cm wide walking trails (flanked on both sides by tall grass or knee-high bushes), Karin especially spent in a latent fear. Karin only noticed snake number four after Thomas had confidently and briskly walked past it. The snake didn't bother Thomas, and Thomas didn't bother the snake.

In retrospect, however, the trail was one of the most spectacular hikes we have been able to do so far. We were also accompanied by kangaroos, whales, and snakes. After that, we still did some other things:

- Visit to Gnomsville: a city of garden gnomes near a roundabout - it all started with one person placing a gnome, and another person somehow thought it was cool and placed a second gnome. Today, the village has thousands of garden gnome residents.

- Gloucester Tree: Climbing the 60-meter-high observation platform in the treetop was a special challenge for 'afraid of heights Karin.'

- Busselton Jetty: The jetty extends almost two kilometers out into the sea and we really liked it. The underwater observatory was also impressive, although the visibility in the winter months is limited.

- Fremantle: Old colonial town - this is where the Europeans conquered Western Australia in 1830.

- Perth: The largest city in Western Australia impressed us with its cozy vibe and was a worthy conclusion to our time in Australia. Remarkably, our night at the hotel: There was so much going on in the next room that the police showed up at 2:30 am and escorted our neighbors out of the room. From that point on, we finally found restful sleep.

We saved the best for last: We biked around Rottnest Island and spent a night there. The quokkas (small kangaroo-like creatures) have become Karin's favorite animals (rumor has it that it is partly because they don't make such special noises as the previous favorite animals - zebras). The island has countless small bays and beaches, as well as two lighthouses. In the evening, when the day tourists had left the island, the atmosphere was incredibly beautiful.

So here we are. Sitting on the plane heading towards Singapore. We just looked at the photos of the wedding and our journey so far. Unbelievable what we have been able to call our lives since mid-May. We are looking forward to Asia - to discover a completely new world for us. We are particularly excited about the Golden Bridge in Vietnam and Angkor Wat in Cambodia. From the final vacation in Thailand, we hope to get what we will surely need again by then: pure relaxation!

Update: We wrote this blog post on September 9th. Since then, we have spent four futuristic/fantastic days in Singapore and have already physically arrived in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. More about that in our final post at the end of September.