downunder-westernexcursion
downunder-westernexcursion
vakantio.de/downunder-westcoastexcursion

16th - 24th Dec: Back in Denmark

Pubblicato: 19.12.2016

So now I'm back in the calm and relaxed Denmark. But on the first day, things got really busy. The annual Christmas parade with a Christmas market took place. We also operated a stand where German-style sauerkraut with bratwurst was sold. The preparation was done using the 'Gulaschkanone Emma'.


Our Stand
Our Stand


Since it's summer here during the Christmas season, the Christmas market was a bit different from what's known in Germany. No mulled wine, no crepe stands, no clove or cinnamon smell. But there were frozen strawberries, an open-air concert by the river, or the aforementioned Christmas parade. However, the latter felt more like a carnival procession to me.

Christmas Parade
Christmas Parade
Christmas Parade


Open Air Concert
Open Air Concert


The initially mentioned 'calm and relaxed' will soon change. As it doesn't get as hot here in December/January as in the north, this place becomes the tourist hot spot after Christmas. My German hosts Matthes and Antje told me that the number of visitors easily exceeds 10,000. Roughly speaking, that means there are about 5 tourists per resident. For me, it means I can enjoy the magnificent coastlines in a peaceful atmosphere for the last time. We will only come here during the peak season between the years. So we could still enjoy the Denmark River, the Greens Pool, and the Lights Beach in their full idyll. But there were also unknown places to me, like the Elephant Rocks or the Boat Harbour, which can only be accessed by a 4x4. The latter was a great spot for snorkeling. Once you dived into the underwater rocks, you felt like being in a different world. Red starfish, fish with zebra-like stripes, and sparkling green water plants. I'm really looking forward to the Ningaloo Reef, which is said to be even more colorful. Unfortunately, my camera, like my phone, is not waterproof (see entry Cottesloe Beach), so there are no pictures of this. However, I took pictures of the landscapes above sea level.


Boat Harbour
Boat Harbour


The Elephant Rocks
The Elephant Rocks
The Elephant Rocks


I would also like to dedicate a section to the spiders that appear here, as I encountered larger or more extraordinary specimens this week. There were various species, from the small but colorful Christmas Spider (maybe named after a Christmas tree ornament?) to the Huntsman Spider. Don't worry, none of them are dangerous to humans.


Christmas Spider
Christmas Spider


Huntsman Spider
Huntsman Spider
Huntsman Spider


...and another spider
...and another spider

The species shown in the last picture reminded me a bit of the Kankra from 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'. To refresh that memory, there was nothing better than watching that movie. Since Thorben, the son of my hosts, is a big fan of the series, we watched all three parts over three days. And as a 'normal' movie length per evening wasn't enough, we indulged in the fun of watching the four-hour extended version. Thorben even wore a shirt that matched the theme, and to make me feel a bit at home, we had muesli as a snack, in the style of 'Matreux's/Seelein's Lord of the Rings evenings'.


The Lord of the Rings <3
'The Lord of the Rings' Evening


Just like the first time, the stay here was really great. I'm glad that after the somewhat disappointing first stop, two really good hosts followed. Now the working part is done and I'm heading back to Perth. Basti will visit on December 25th, and then the Western Australia trip begins. Since Denmark is on our route and Matthes also celebrates his birthday on December 29th, we will come back here once again.











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