Thomas Christmas and New Year

First of all, we would like to personally thank our most loyal readers: You have always been behind us and have followed our adventures in detail (and reminded us to keep writing).

Thanks to

Petra

Annette

Benni and Trutz👍

We even convinced Trutz to visit us in January 2020 =)

About the blog:

From Byron Bay, we headed down to Sydney in 3 days. On the way, we spent a day surfing at Avoca Beach on the Sunshine Coast. Those were some huge waves. We spent more time getting into the ocean than actually surfing. ^^ And the waves had quite a lot of power.

We were able to stay for free at the beach.

So: pick up Thomas at the airport and explore Sydney...once again Botanical Garden, which was already quite dry by now, and Harbour Bridge and Opera House.

Then we headed down the East Coast. We couldn't stop at Royal National Park due to high bushfire risk.

Another day, the highway was closed and we had to spend the night at a remote campsite (the one right there scared us away with their exorbitant prices, 'you won't find any cheaper,' yeah right).

On the 24th, we went swimming first, and later on Christmas Eve, we had bratwurst with sauerkraut.

In the following days, we did some sports (Caro and Phil, Thomas relaxed) and chilled (as you can tell, Thomas avoided doing anything) =) Instead of a roast, we had kangaroo burgers on the first Christmas holiday. The meat was a bit redder but still tasty. You just shouldn't think about the cute kangaroos while eating it. After Merimbula, we went to Lakes Entrance. The guys had fun at the amusement park there. We saw our first blue bottle jellyfish at the beach: For Mama: it only hurts a lot, not deadly.

Next, we went to Wilsons Promontory: wildlife walk, Whiskey Bay, Lilly Pilly Gully Walk, and nearby, we slept at what is probably the best free campground: green meadow, it felt like being at a festival. And there were koalas too.

The best story of all is Thomas's: he came out of the toilet and heard a thud, as if something had fallen out of the tree next to him. When he turned on his phone flashlight, he saw a slightly confused-looking koala in front of his feet. It took a few seconds for the koala to gather itself before it got up and trotted away.

After Wilsons Promontory, we wanted to quickly get to the Great Ocean Road to celebrate New Year's there. In Torquay, we surfed for a day. Supposedly the best surf beach in Australia #maybe not that day. There were hardly any waves, maybe it was because it was 37 degrees, but that's just a guess =) But Thomas caught a couple of waves - not bad at all.

Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie

Definitely recommended! For $2, we got to taste some samples. Amazing! They even had chocolate with eucalyptus. And the white chocolate was fantastic.

For lunch, Caro had mushrooms on toast with delicious salad stuff.

Wreck Beach:

Straw Falls and Erskine Falls

A little detour from the GOR: Erskine Falls. For the brave, it's also a place to swim. About 5 minutes away, hidden, you'll find Straw Falls. Also very beautiful with a little climbing involved. And everything is so green there.

Apollo Bay and New Year's:

The question was: Where to celebrate New Year's? Apollo Bay seemed the sweetest place and they had a carnival too. We slept in the car at a hostel and used their facilities. It was a bit like a haunted house. Old wooden floorboards, everything creaking, cobwebs... And there was an old lady as the owner, who was a bit senile. It couldn't get any more creepy.

Well, maybe it could =)

But it was somehow cozy. All the furniture in the common room was mismatched and hardly any lamps were working. The floor was probably last mopped last year. =)

One day when Caro wanted to hang up laundry, she heard scratching and suddenly there was a koala with a joey on its back sitting on the wooden fence at the hostel. It looked at Caro like, 'Darn, she must have seen me,' stayed still for a moment, then quickly ran to the next tree and climbed up.

The New Year's night itself was quieter than we had hoped. The village's fireworks were already at 9:30 p.m., and the bar we were in closed at 1 a.m. Thomas couldn't even order a beer at 12:30 a.m... man oh man, we expected more from the Australian party people.

And the bar was like our beloved and hated student pub =) Twelve Apostles

THE must-see attraction that everyone knows. Unfortunately crowded with Chinese tourists, not as beautiful anymore. And every 10 minutes, a helicopter takes off for a scenic flight over the Apostles. Too bad - for the environment and especially because that was probably the reason for the drone ban.

The Bay of Martyrs is also very beautiful. Many small islands with impressive cliffs.

London Bridge:

Unfortunately collapsed years ago

When it collapsed, two were stranded on the islands =)

The Grotto:

Unfortunately, bathing is prohibited.

Loch Ard Gorge:

Also full of tourists:

But beautiful.

Sherbrook River:

Oh... The waves aren't that high =) 😀😀😀

In Warrnambool, we stayed in a hostel again and just used the facilities. Unfortunately, it rained and we couldn't go surfing again with Thomas. But we learned that there are penguins on Middle Island that are guarded by dogs to protect them from foxes. In 2005, there were only 10 penguins left on the island. A shepherd from the nearby town had the idea to use Maremma dogs as guardians to protect the penguins. These dogs are very good with sheep. Since 2006, 15 dogs have been stationed there every day. We also saw two sitting there. Nowadays, there are about 200 penguins living there again =). The story was also made into a movie called Oddball.

Tower Hill:

As a little outing, we visited a former volcano. Today, it's a little oasis for emus and koalas. When you drive through it, it feels like a little safari.

Port Fairy:

A little walk to a little lighthouse. Followed by a delicious breakfast!!!

Thomas's departure:

Off to the Grampians!!!!!