What happened so far

I spent Christmas in the relaxed surfer town of Byron Bay. Unfortunately, the contemplative mood did not set in as hoped, due to 30 degrees and splashing in the waves with a surfboard. 'At the latest on Christmas Eve' I thought to myself, when Kate, my host mom, hung up the pink-blue flashing lights on the glittering plastic Christmas tree decorated with tinsel in mid-November, and David, her husband, rummaged through the top shelf in the closet for a singing Santa Claus hat.

On Christmas Eve, we cooked delicious food and later sat together under the starry sky at the beach with music. Not a Christmas celebration as I was used to, simple, not really contemplative, but still uniquely beautiful.

Here are two tips for East Coast travelers who want to make a stop in Byron Bay (and you definitely should): away from the crowd, to the west, shortly before the cape, lies Wategos Beach, which is simply more beautiful and quieter than the city beach. For a bit of romance, walk the approximately 25-minute walk along Cape Byron, past spectacular rock formations and the most beautiful view of the open sea, up to the lighthouse and enjoy the sunset with a small picnic.

After Christmas, Leo and I drove the whole way to Sydney in almost one night. With Kalle, an old pickup truck that Leo bought from a farmer for 950 AUD. 'aussie as it gets' in a nutshell.

The accommodation for New Year's Eve was booked and since we were not particularly interested in the East Coast, we wanted to arrive in Sydney as quickly as possible and move into the shared flat.

We spent the whole New Year's Eve day waiting in Sydney's Royal Botanical Gardens at 32 degrees, and we were rewarded at night with a fireworks display that we had never seen before.

Sydney on New Year's Eve is really worth a spot on your bucket list, and if you want to snag one of the places with the best view of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, it is highly recommended to wake up very early in the morning, bring a blanket and plenty of provisions, pack sunscreen and a hat, and spend the long day in the hustle and bustle until midnight. Just like we did.

With a lot of wanderlust and little camping equipment, we soon headed to the Blue Mountains, where we admired the overwhelming biodiversity and beauty of the overgrown mountains in 7 days, which also made them a World Heritage Site.

Until we had better equipment ourselves, we were allowed to sleep in a friend's car because it rained so much in the first few days that our tent was completely submerged in water. After 2 hours and 100 dollars at K-mart, we were well prepared for all subsequent adventures.

Raging rivers, lonely waterfalls, idyllic hikes through eucalyptus forests, and challenging climbs.

We were able to enjoy many breathtaking views and push our limits.

You are particularly close to nature in the free campgrounds (for example, Perry's Lookout / Evan's Lookout), where there may be no showers and only moderately good toilets, but who needs that when you decide to be on tour in the wilderness for a few days. For those who can't do without, there is Bulls Camp Reserve on the Great Western Highway with free but icy showers.

We will tell you in part 2 of 'What happened so far' which places we have visited so far on our travel route, how we set up our camp on Kalle's loading area, and what bizarre people crossed our path.