On the road

For four days now we have been on the road with our camper, which we lovingly named Hermy. 

We started in Cairns and have been exploring Australia's roads. 

I knew that they drive on the left here, but I actually didn't realize that the cars are also "backwards" equipped.

Shifting gears on the left, driving on the left and then braking, accelerating and looking - I was really overwhelmed at the beginning. But Tamy, as a good co-pilot, was always attentive and saved us from appearing as wrong-way drivers in Australia's news. 

Within these four days, we have also gotten used to the traffic and our Hermy, our home for the next three weeks.

During this time, we will drive along the east coast until Sydney. We will arrive there just in time for New Year's Eve and then start the new year 2020 together. On the 2,400-kilometer-long route, we still have some adventures and experiences, beautiful beaches, and lots of sunshine ahead of us. So far, we have made it from Cairns to Damper Creek. We slept in our Hermy at beautiful camping sites that we always spontaneously drove to and luckily always got a spot. 

So far, we have been to Kuranda, a small village near Cairns. We strolled through the Rainforest Market, which had a very esoteric and hippie vibe. Afterwards, we took a tour of the rainforest. With the knowledge of what lives in Australia's forests, it was a very exciting and fast-paced tour through the woods.

Yesterday, we went snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef at Fitzroy Island. I would not visit the island again, it is very touristy and I did not feel a nice atmosphere there. 

However, it was an important visit for me because I have now seen the death of the reef with my own eyes. The beach we were lying on consisted of dead corals and even in the water, everything was rather gray and dull. I still had images in my head of a glowing and colorful underwater world that I knew from the TV. But now it looks completely different, which was very sobering and sad.