Tag 42: Thor the Viking

10.08.3026

Thor the Viking

And the cheerful camping continues. Today, we start the day by using the various recreational facilities of the Australians, which are really the only thing in this country that doesn't cost anything. Gudi stretches her muscles while I try to prove that I still have my gymnastics routine from three years ago on the bar. The good news is that I do (and there is almost nothing more beautiful than a morning gymnastics course in such a dreamlike setting like Lake Tinaroo). The bad news: rusty children's gymnastics bars don't agree with my delicate princess palms. Pain and bloody fingers are the result.

As a reward, we spontaneously visit a Woodwork Museum. We spend about five minutes there, as impatient Gudi can't wait. Later, I realize that I spent over an hour in the sacred halls of Australian carpentry and also took about forty photos. Hoopla, time flies when you're having fun. In addition, I take the liberty of buying 4 pieces of tropical leftover wood, as I want to realize some of my visions at home.

We pass the time in the car mostly with poorly received radio rhythms. As authentic as we are, we almost exclusively listen to country music. Sometimes I sneak in an Austrian pop CD, mainly to annoy Gudi. By the way, it's really great to drive on Australian roads while listening to Fendrich's 80s wisdom about cocaine nose.

Our intellectual tour is interrupted by some waterfalls that must be visited according to the map. In one of the countless visitor information centers, after some back and forth questions, we find out that only one of them is actually exciting, while the others are more like hotspots for pensioners and meeting places for anti-adrenaline junkies.

After extracting this information from the friendly Australian information officer, we now head straight to the supposedly very exciting and tropical MilaMila waterfall, located very close to Cairns. And indeed, this place has a lot to offer. The moment I realize that you can obviously go into the water here, I quickly take off my clothes and jump into the water, along with the other crazy people (mainly Asians). What I first notice is that crocodiles only eat Chinese people (just kidding, there are no crocodiles here). Secondly, even in Australia, water can be cold, rumors have it that it's winter here. Nevertheless, as a Viking that I am, I bravely swim with relatively suspicious much blood in the thoracic area towards the 15-meter-high waterfall. It crashes onto the calm water so hard that you can only dive through it. On the other side, I discover a fascinating curtain of water flowing down, which makes Gudi (who stayed on the other side) appear as if in a different world. The euphoria over this unexpected discovery leads me to climb around on the wet stones so much that I unintentionally do a headfirst dive right into the waterfall. Even today (a few days later), besides some seawater, freshwater from the waterfall still comes out of my ears.

After surviving the continental transition and returning from the Niagara Falls, we slowly but surely head towards a free campsite located very close to Cairns. After too strong self-brewed coffee (I bought a coffee machine a few days ago), I am overly excited and revitalize my highly curvaceous vein. Especially Gudi gets to enjoy this, as she pretends to be asleep - she gets jokes, attacks, and spontaneous screams. Next time, maybe I'll stick to tea.

A little explanation in conclusion: As you may have noticed, we are on a strict budget in Australia - not only in terms of our car. This means, among other things, no electricity, as we mostly aim for free "camping sites" which are basically just meadows where you can stay overnight. But since I haven't discovered a 240V connection on any cow yet, I sometimes have to be quite creative to get my laptop running. Furthermore, Australia is partly a very WiFi-free territory. So it happens that I have written several reports but can't publish them. Therefore, I ask you to check regularly. I will try to update at least every 3rd or 4th day.

At this point, I would like to express a heartfelt thank you for your numerous reading and encouraging feedback. Without them, it would probably not be possible for me to stick to something for a duration of now 42 days in my life.

Gudi's Glorious Laws:

Matthias, don't keep running over dead kangaroos all the time!

It is not surprising to see a dead animal on the road here. Especially rabbits, wallabies, and kangaroos are more than common to see, but we have also come across a fully grown dead cow blocking our path. Gudi believes that our car is not capable of handling such obstacles. On the other hand, I consider the dead animals as a welcome change and enjoy it when the car is shaken a bit, as the roads can be incredibly long and monotonous.