02.05.2023 - Back into travel mode

Here we go again, after three months in Melbourne, today I packed my bags and checked out of the hostel, and I will be heading to Sydney tonight. I have decided to take the night bus as my means of transportation. The journey from Melbourne to Sydney takes a whole eleven hours, which is just a hop, skip, and a jump in Australian terms. I am very curious to see what the night buses have to offer here. After four months in Southeast Asia, there shouldn't be any nasty surprises, but let's wait and see. The upcoming night can't possibly be more restless than the previous nights – greetings to my bed neighbor who needed ten snooze alarms from 5 am to 6 am to actually wake up (and the rest of the room as well).

Actually, I don't have much to tell from the past few weeks. Since the weather has been getting worse from week to week, many weekends have literally been washed out, so I have mainly spent my free time in museums, exhibitions, or at ice hockey games. Yes, you read that right, ice hockey is also played in Australia. The level might not be that high, but it definitely felt good to breathe in the smell of an ice rink and hear the scraping of skates on the ice.

And then I would also like to tell you about a little hiking trip. Australia, especially Melbourne, has so many national parks to offer that it's hard to decide where to go first. The problem, however, is often the distance, and without a car, you often have no chance. If an Australian tells you that there is a really great national park that is close and easy to reach, expect to have to embark on a little world tour. One national park that you can actually reach from Melbourne with public transportation and is really good is the Dandenong Ranges National Park, which is about an hour and a half away on the outskirts. The national park is mainly known for the 1000 Steps Walking Track or the Kokoda Memorial Trail. The track dates back to the 19th century and serves as a memorial for the soldiers of World War II who lost their lives on the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea. Panels along the way briefly tell the story of individual battles and where they took place on the track. The name "1000 Steps" is no exaggeration. Although it's not exactly 1000 steps to the top, you will definitely break a sweat. Most tourists only climb the steps and then go back down. However, since the track only takes about half an hour, I decided to take a little detour on the upper plateau. Overall, it was a very nice trip and a good opportunity to escape the hustle and bustle of the city for a few hours, even though the nature at this point is not as spectacular as in Southeast Asia.

In the coming weeks and months, you will hear from me more regularly again. The working time is over now, and I am ready for new adventures. And there are plenty of them waiting – starting in Sydney.