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| Melbourne and Sydney |
maandag 31 december 2007
zondag 30 december 2007
Melbourne to Sydney
Feeling slightly sad, we left the YHA Oasis in Melbourne early evening on Christmas day to catch the overnight Greyhound bus to Sydney. After staying for 6 nights, the cosy hostel with its helpful staff, good facilities and friendly guests had really started to feel like home and it felt strange to leave it all behind again. We also left the hostel with a pretty bad hangover. For the first time in 3 months, we actually got really drunk on Christmas Eve.
It all started pretty low key (although frankly, it never really kicked off either). We went for a cheap Italian meal with Sven, a Dutch guy we got to know pretty well in the train from Perth to Adelaide and had bumped into on several occasions since. After the meal, we decided to go home and have a few beers in the hostel garden before going to bed. For the first time in 5 days, it had stopped raining so we thought we may as well enjoy being outside.
Whilst sitting outside, we got talking to this Irish guy, who had big carton of cheap red wine and the most annoying Canadian we have ever met. The guy was like a walking encyclopedia with verbal diarrhea and just wouldn’t stop spraying us with completely irrelevant facts. It didn’t matter what we were talking about, every conversation would be interrupted by one of his completely uninteresting monologues about some fact. So I guess we just kept on drinking the red wine to dull our annoyance. In the meatime, the Irish guy was getting drunker and quieter, occasionally just mumbling ‘Bullshit!’or ‘Who cares!’ to the Canadian guy. We were then joined by two German guys, who were also getting pretty fed up with the Canadian guy whilst polishing off a bottle of vodka. So when our verbal tormentor finally decided to go to bed, we just had to stay for a little longer to enjoy his absence and talk about how annoying he was. By the time we went to bed it was 3am and we were both pretty plastered. We paid for this the next day, especially as we had to get up and check out by 10.
Christmas day turned out to be a nice day, despite the hangover. For the first time in days it was sunny and reasonably warm. The hostel had organised a nice Christmas brunch, and then we left to meet Garrett and Andrea, the two Canadians we had met on our outback trip, and Andrea’s brother, who had invited us for a lovely seafood x-mas dinner, with an abundance of garlic prawns, mussles and salmon. Satisfied and stuffed, we left their place to pick up our stuff at the hostel and head to the bus station.
The bus trip passed reasonably well and fast for a 12 hour trip (nothing in comparison to a 45
hour train journey). Despite the fact that it was Christmas Day, the bus was surprisingly full, but we managed to both secure a double seat. This allowed us to sleep pretty comfortably until we got to Canberra at 4 in the morning, when more passengers got on and we had to revert to our original seats.
Upon arrival in a very quiet Sydney at 7:45 in the morning, we found out the hostel was only a 5 minute walk away from the bus station. Considering we have managed to collect quite a lot of luggage in the last 2 months in Australia, this was a very welcome surprise. We got a little shock when the girl at reception first claimed that our original reservation had miraculously been cancelled by another hostel (where the hell were we supposed to go when every place in Sydney has been booked up for 5 months already?!), but thankfully this turned out to be a mistake.
Not being able to access our room until noon, we decided to explore the Sydney and headed towards the famous Harbour Bridge and Opera House, which are both amazing sights. Sydney is by far the most photogenic city in Australia we have been to, and I’ve already taken at least 50 pictures of the skyline, bridge and Opera House from different angles. After a long orientation walk through the Rocks, Circular Quay and the beautiful botanic gardens, we headed back to the hostel to don our swimming gear. We caught the bus to Nielsen Park, which the Tourist Information had recommended to us as a place to get a good view of the harbour and a nice swim.
After an exciting bus ride with a chaffeur who seemed to be under the impression he drove a Ferrari (where had this happened before?), we arrived at the most crowded beach ever. Even Scheveningen on a hot summer Sunday afternoon offers no comparison, it was unbelievable. We managed to secure a tiny patch of sand and stretched out to enjoy the sun and our picnic lunch.
The next day, we found the best (and only?) bargain in Australia: for 38 dollars we purchased a travelcard that allows us unlimited access to all buses and ferries in Sydney for a grand total of 7 days! We decided not to wait any longer to explore the harbour and got on the longest ferry trip we could find, 1 hour to Parramatta with a superfast rivercat boat. Just to give you an impression of the distance, in the colonial days the trip from Sydney to Parramatta took 1 week! Parramatta itself is a pretty boring place with nothing to visit except for a supercheap supermarket that sells local produce, but the ferry trip was really cool. In the evening, we were invited by Caroline and Laurent (two old colleagues from CFS Brussels) for a BBQ at their lovely flat. After 3 months away from home it was so nice to see some people I knew from before and we had a great evening.
On Friday we took it pretty easy, as I was a little bit slow due to the drinks from the night before, but in the evening we walked to Darling Harbour and got on ferry to Circular Quay just before sunset to once again see the beautiful skyline and takes lots of pictures. Today we took another ferry (gotta get our money’s worth from the travelcard) to Manly Beach, which was nice, but completely overcrowded. In fact, the whole of Sydney is completely crazy with tourists, which is a little overwhelming at times. We have been warned that there will be around 2 million people around the Opera House area from as early as noon on New Years Eve, and that areas will be closed off when they become full. Not being a great fan of crowds in any situation, but especially not after nearly 2 months of relative solitude, we’re hoping to find a more quiet spot a bit further away from the center, where we’ll have a good overview of all the fireworks, which is promising to be amazing.
For the next couple of days we want to visit Paddy’s Market, the Sydney Aquarium, take a bus or walk across Harbour Bridge (as actually climbing the bridge costs more than $200 p.p. at the moment), take another ferry just after sunset, and maybe (if we have the courage) go to the probably even more crowded Bondi Beach (you just gotta see it). Let’s see how much of that we’ll really get done.
It all started pretty low key (although frankly, it never really kicked off either). We went for a cheap Italian meal with Sven, a Dutch guy we got to know pretty well in the train from Perth to Adelaide and had bumped into on several occasions since. After the meal, we decided to go home and have a few beers in the hostel garden before going to bed. For the first time in 5 days, it had stopped raining so we thought we may as well enjoy being outside.
Whilst sitting outside, we got talking to this Irish guy, who had big carton of cheap red wine and the most annoying Canadian we have ever met. The guy was like a walking encyclopedia with verbal diarrhea and just wouldn’t stop spraying us with completely irrelevant facts. It didn’t matter what we were talking about, every conversation would be interrupted by one of his completely uninteresting monologues about some fact. So I guess we just kept on drinking the red wine to dull our annoyance. In the meatime, the Irish guy was getting drunker and quieter, occasionally just mumbling ‘Bullshit!’or ‘Who cares!’ to the Canadian guy. We were then joined by two German guys, who were also getting pretty fed up with the Canadian guy whilst polishing off a bottle of vodka. So when our verbal tormentor finally decided to go to bed, we just had to stay for a little longer to enjoy his absence and talk about how annoying he was. By the time we went to bed it was 3am and we were both pretty plastered. We paid for this the next day, especially as we had to get up and check out by 10.
Christmas day turned out to be a nice day, despite the hangover. For the first time in days it was sunny and reasonably warm. The hostel had organised a nice Christmas brunch, and then we left to meet Garrett and Andrea, the two Canadians we had met on our outback trip, and Andrea’s brother, who had invited us for a lovely seafood x-mas dinner, with an abundance of garlic prawns, mussles and salmon. Satisfied and stuffed, we left their place to pick up our stuff at the hostel and head to the bus station.
The bus trip passed reasonably well and fast for a 12 hour trip (nothing in comparison to a 45
hour train journey). Despite the fact that it was Christmas Day, the bus was surprisingly full, but we managed to both secure a double seat. This allowed us to sleep pretty comfortably until we got to Canberra at 4 in the morning, when more passengers got on and we had to revert to our original seats.
Upon arrival in a very quiet Sydney at 7:45 in the morning, we found out the hostel was only a 5 minute walk away from the bus station. Considering we have managed to collect quite a lot of luggage in the last 2 months in Australia, this was a very welcome surprise. We got a little shock when the girl at reception first claimed that our original reservation had miraculously been cancelled by another hostel (where the hell were we supposed to go when every place in Sydney has been booked up for 5 months already?!), but thankfully this turned out to be a mistake.
Not being able to access our room until noon, we decided to explore the Sydney and headed towards the famous Harbour Bridge and Opera House, which are both amazing sights. Sydney is by far the most photogenic city in Australia we have been to, and I’ve already taken at least 50 pictures of the skyline, bridge and Opera House from different angles. After a long orientation walk through the Rocks, Circular Quay and the beautiful botanic gardens, we headed back to the hostel to don our swimming gear. We caught the bus to Nielsen Park, which the Tourist Information had recommended to us as a place to get a good view of the harbour and a nice swim.
After an exciting bus ride with a chaffeur who seemed to be under the impression he drove a Ferrari (where had this happened before?), we arrived at the most crowded beach ever. Even Scheveningen on a hot summer Sunday afternoon offers no comparison, it was unbelievable. We managed to secure a tiny patch of sand and stretched out to enjoy the sun and our picnic lunch.
The next day, we found the best (and only?) bargain in Australia: for 38 dollars we purchased a travelcard that allows us unlimited access to all buses and ferries in Sydney for a grand total of 7 days! We decided not to wait any longer to explore the harbour and got on the longest ferry trip we could find, 1 hour to Parramatta with a superfast rivercat boat. Just to give you an impression of the distance, in the colonial days the trip from Sydney to Parramatta took 1 week! Parramatta itself is a pretty boring place with nothing to visit except for a supercheap supermarket that sells local produce, but the ferry trip was really cool. In the evening, we were invited by Caroline and Laurent (two old colleagues from CFS Brussels) for a BBQ at their lovely flat. After 3 months away from home it was so nice to see some people I knew from before and we had a great evening.
On Friday we took it pretty easy, as I was a little bit slow due to the drinks from the night before, but in the evening we walked to Darling Harbour and got on ferry to Circular Quay just before sunset to once again see the beautiful skyline and takes lots of pictures. Today we took another ferry (gotta get our money’s worth from the travelcard) to Manly Beach, which was nice, but completely overcrowded. In fact, the whole of Sydney is completely crazy with tourists, which is a little overwhelming at times. We have been warned that there will be around 2 million people around the Opera House area from as early as noon on New Years Eve, and that areas will be closed off when they become full. Not being a great fan of crowds in any situation, but especially not after nearly 2 months of relative solitude, we’re hoping to find a more quiet spot a bit further away from the center, where we’ll have a good overview of all the fireworks, which is promising to be amazing.
For the next couple of days we want to visit Paddy’s Market, the Sydney Aquarium, take a bus or walk across Harbour Bridge (as actually climbing the bridge costs more than $200 p.p. at the moment), take another ferry just after sunset, and maybe (if we have the courage) go to the probably even more crowded Bondi Beach (you just gotta see it). Let’s see how much of that we’ll really get done.
zaterdag 29 december 2007
Grampians to Melbourne
Op weg naar de Grampians waren er weer erg veel bezienswaardigheden, waaronder een roze zoutmeer en goudgele velden tot aan de horizon. Een heel ander landschap als wat we tot nu toe gezien hebben. In de Grampians aangekomen hebben we een wandelingetje gemaakt naar de MacKenzie Falls. Jammer genoeg was een deel van het park niet open wegens schade veroorzaakt door een grote brand begin 2006. Na onze wandeling zijn we doorgereden naar Halls Gap waar we op zoek gegaan zijn naar onderdak voor de nacht. Omdat ons verblijf de nacht ervoor wel was bevallen, hebben we weer een caravan gehuurd in een caravan park in het ‘centrum’ van Halls Gap. ’s Avonds een heleboel kangaroes gezien die van het groene gras op de camping kwamen smullen. Ook hebben we na het eten een korte wandeling gemaakt om de zonsondergang te bekijken van één van de uitkijkpunten in de omgeving. Onderweg kwamen we een paar wallibis tegen.
De volgende dag hebben we een redelijk zware wandeling gemaakt naar ‘the Pinnacle’, een overhangende rots met uitzicht op Halls Gap. Na 1,5 uur klimmen en klauteren konden we van het mooie uitzicht genieten. Na de lunch zijn we vertrokken richting Port Fairy, het begin van onze Great Ocean Road tour richting Melbourne. ’s Avonds na het eten zijn we naar Griffiths Island gereden om te genieten van een nogal bewolkte zonsondergang, vele wallibis, de woeste golven en een oude vuurtoren.
Na de overnachting in Port Fairy was onze eerste stop op de Great Ocean Road aan de Bay of Islands, zoals de naam doet vermoeden een baai met rots eilandjes. Erg mooi. Verder hebben we nog stops gemaakt bij The Grotto, London Bridge, de Loch Ard Gorge en natuurlijk de beroemde 12 Apostles. Hoge kliffen en dramatische gele kalksteenrotsen die door de woeste golven op allerlei manieren gevormd en uitgehold zijn. Erg indrukwekkend, maar ook vrij toeristisch en heel veel vliegen. Op een gegeven moment voel je je ook een beetje een Japanner – parkeren, snel naar het uitzichtspunt, een paar foto’s maken en weer verder. En we hebben zo langzamerhand al zoveel mooie plekken gezien dat we alle twee een beetje verwend zijn. De mooiste plekken zijn toch degenen waar je als één van de weinigen van de natuur kunt genieten.
Wat wel weer erg leuk was is dat we bij de 12 Apostles nog een echidna, de Australische versie van het stekelvarken, in het wild gezien hebben. De echidna is een ontzettend leuk beestje dat rond hobbelt in het hoge gras en met zijn lange snuit naar insecten graaft. Aan het einde van de dag hebben we op een camping in Apollo Bay een huisje gehuurd met een eigen douche/toilet en een TV, tegenwoordig voor ons een ongekende luxe.
De volgende dag zijn we een stukje teruggereden naar Cape Otway om de vuurtoren te bekijken. Jammer genoeg hing aan een bezoekje weer een flink prijskaartje, en dus hebben we besloten de bezichtiging maar te laten zitten, en een kleine wandeling door de omgeving te maken. Onderweg hebben we nog een aantal koalabeertjes gezien, waarvan twee met een kleintje. Zulke ontzettend leuke beestjes, en voor ons de eerste keer dat we ze in het wild zagen. Veel doen ze niet, zeker niet overdag, maar ze zien er zo lief uit, dat je gewoon zin hebt om ze te knuffelen. Dat kan trouwens ook in een aantal parken en dierentuinen in Australie waar ‘Cuddle a Koala’ één van de grootste attracties is.
Na een bezoek aan een aantal uitzichtspunten, watervallen en een vuurtoren die we wel gratis van buiten konden bezichtigen, kwamen we rond 7 uur aan in Melbourne, waar we een kamer geboekt hadden bij de YHA Oasis. Dit hostel is noord Melbourne is wat kleiner en knusser dan de meeste andere hostels in de stad, en bood met een tv kamer, 2 keukens, een grote tuin en binnenplaats, en een grote lounge waar we spelletjes konden huren, een fijne plek om een aantal dagen te verblijven. Erg belangrijk, met name omdat doordat het bijna de hele tijd regende en dus niet de beste tijd was om de stad te verkennen. Volgens de Melbournians de meeste regen die ze in 4 jaar, voor ons de meeste regen die we de laatste 3 maanden gehad hadden. We hebben het ‘sightseeën’ dus een beetje aan onze laars gelapt en gedaan wat de ‘locals’ in dezelfde omstandigheden zouden doen: uitslapen, internetten, een spelletje Triviant spelen, films huren van de receptie, naar het zwembad toe voor spa en sauna, lekker eten en naar de IMAX bioscoop voor een 3D film.
De volgende dag hebben we een redelijk zware wandeling gemaakt naar ‘the Pinnacle’, een overhangende rots met uitzicht op Halls Gap. Na 1,5 uur klimmen en klauteren konden we van het mooie uitzicht genieten. Na de lunch zijn we vertrokken richting Port Fairy, het begin van onze Great Ocean Road tour richting Melbourne. ’s Avonds na het eten zijn we naar Griffiths Island gereden om te genieten van een nogal bewolkte zonsondergang, vele wallibis, de woeste golven en een oude vuurtoren.
Na de overnachting in Port Fairy was onze eerste stop op de Great Ocean Road aan de Bay of Islands, zoals de naam doet vermoeden een baai met rots eilandjes. Erg mooi. Verder hebben we nog stops gemaakt bij The Grotto, London Bridge, de Loch Ard Gorge en natuurlijk de beroemde 12 Apostles. Hoge kliffen en dramatische gele kalksteenrotsen die door de woeste golven op allerlei manieren gevormd en uitgehold zijn. Erg indrukwekkend, maar ook vrij toeristisch en heel veel vliegen. Op een gegeven moment voel je je ook een beetje een Japanner – parkeren, snel naar het uitzichtspunt, een paar foto’s maken en weer verder. En we hebben zo langzamerhand al zoveel mooie plekken gezien dat we alle twee een beetje verwend zijn. De mooiste plekken zijn toch degenen waar je als één van de weinigen van de natuur kunt genieten.
Wat wel weer erg leuk was is dat we bij de 12 Apostles nog een echidna, de Australische versie van het stekelvarken, in het wild gezien hebben. De echidna is een ontzettend leuk beestje dat rond hobbelt in het hoge gras en met zijn lange snuit naar insecten graaft. Aan het einde van de dag hebben we op een camping in Apollo Bay een huisje gehuurd met een eigen douche/toilet en een TV, tegenwoordig voor ons een ongekende luxe.
De volgende dag zijn we een stukje teruggereden naar Cape Otway om de vuurtoren te bekijken. Jammer genoeg hing aan een bezoekje weer een flink prijskaartje, en dus hebben we besloten de bezichtiging maar te laten zitten, en een kleine wandeling door de omgeving te maken. Onderweg hebben we nog een aantal koalabeertjes gezien, waarvan twee met een kleintje. Zulke ontzettend leuke beestjes, en voor ons de eerste keer dat we ze in het wild zagen. Veel doen ze niet, zeker niet overdag, maar ze zien er zo lief uit, dat je gewoon zin hebt om ze te knuffelen. Dat kan trouwens ook in een aantal parken en dierentuinen in Australie waar ‘Cuddle a Koala’ één van de grootste attracties is.
Na een bezoek aan een aantal uitzichtspunten, watervallen en een vuurtoren die we wel gratis van buiten konden bezichtigen, kwamen we rond 7 uur aan in Melbourne, waar we een kamer geboekt hadden bij de YHA Oasis. Dit hostel is noord Melbourne is wat kleiner en knusser dan de meeste andere hostels in de stad, en bood met een tv kamer, 2 keukens, een grote tuin en binnenplaats, en een grote lounge waar we spelletjes konden huren, een fijne plek om een aantal dagen te verblijven. Erg belangrijk, met name omdat doordat het bijna de hele tijd regende en dus niet de beste tijd was om de stad te verkennen. Volgens de Melbournians de meeste regen die ze in 4 jaar, voor ons de meeste regen die we de laatste 3 maanden gehad hadden. We hebben het ‘sightseeën’ dus een beetje aan onze laars gelapt en gedaan wat de ‘locals’ in dezelfde omstandigheden zouden doen: uitslapen, internetten, een spelletje Triviant spelen, films huren van de receptie, naar het zwembad toe voor spa en sauna, lekker eten en naar de IMAX bioscoop voor een 3D film.
vrijdag 21 december 2007
Photos Perth to Melbourne
Please click on the link below and then click on the 'diavoorstelling' button, just above the photo labelled 'Pinnacles Desert'.
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| Perth to Melbourne |
Freemantle to Adelaide - 8-14 December
Omdat het YHA hostel in Perth maar voor 1 nacht plaats had, en alle andere hostels ook vol leken te zitten, verhuisden we zaterdagochtend naar de YHA in Freemantle, ongeveer 10 km ten zuiden van Perth. Freemantle is een leuk historisch plaatsje dat bekend staat om zijn relaxte sfeer en de Cappuccino strip, en ligt aan een grote haven en aan het strand. Na de zeer hygenische en goed georganiseerde YHA in Perth, viel het hostel in eerste instantie erg tegen. Rommelig, vol en oud, met douchekoppen die erbij afvielen, toiletten die niet altijd effectief doorspoelden en wastafels die niet goed doorliepen. Het feit dat we de eerste nacht moesten doorbrengen in een piepklein kamertje met stapelbed maakte het er niet veel beter op. Het is echter ongelooflijk hoe snel je je als backpacker aanpast aan je omgeving en al na 2 dagen voelde het hostel als een ‘home away from home’: we liepen rond alsof we er al jaren woonden, kenden alle medewerkers en ‘permanentere’ gasten, en nog belangrijker, zij kenden ons.
In combinatie met de relaxte sfeer van Freemantle en de lange reis die we net achter de rug hadden, is het ook niet verwonderlijk dat we die dagen eigenlijk weinig uitvoerden. Op mijn verjaardag hebben we nog wel een wijntoer in Swan Valley, net buiten Perth, gedaan. De toer had minder met wijn proeven dan met wijn zuipen te maken. Al om 11 uur ’s ochtends stonden we aan ons eerste glas wijn, en vanaf dat moment werden we van de ene naar de andere wijnboerderij gesjeesd, waar we in noodtempo de ene na de andere wijn geserveerd kregen. Na 5 uur en 40 wijnen waren we flink aangeschoten en proefden we nauwelijks nog het verschil tussen witte en rode wijn, laat staan de verschillende druivensoorten. Maar zoals we al eerder begrepen hadden, gaat het in Australië meer om kwantiteit dan kwaliteit, en dus was deze toer absolute ‘value for money’. Van René heb ik trouwens, heel toepasselijk, een nieuwe bikini gekregen.
Na vier dagen relaxen in Freemantle, begonnen we op woensdagochtend aan de langste treinreis van ons leven (44½ uur). Een reis die af en toe mooi en indrukwekkend was, maar vooral oncomfortabel en saai. Of zoals de Australische jongen die voor ons zat en door zijn vader op de trein was gezet voor de ‘ervaring’ bij aankomst in Adelaide zei: “Dit was de meeste verschrikkelijke reis van mijn leven. Ik dacht dat er nooit een einde aan zou komen. Ik ben zo blij dat het eindelijk over is!” Gelukkig zaten er twee onderbrekingen in de reis: de goudstad Kalgoorlie-Boulder, en de spookstad Cook. In Kalgoorlie hadden we de mogelijkheid om een toer te doen van het stadje en de ‘superpit’, een enorme goudmijn, waar 24 per dag naar goud gegraven wordt. De toer zelf stelde niet veel voor, maar de gids was des te beter, Hij vertelde ons, dat er tijdens de goudkoorts rond de 40,000 mijnwerkers, 100 pubs, 200 bordelen, en 3000 prostituees in Kalgoorlie waren. Een bezoekje aan een dame van lichte zeden kostte 1 shilling, in vergelijking met 2 shilling voor een bezoek aan het zwembad. Inmiddels zijn er nog maar 3 bordelen over, waar de gids met de bus langsreed, terwijl hij uitgebreid uitlegde hoe ieder bordeel in zijn werk ging. Ik denk dat wij één van de weinigen waren die zijn droge commentaar op prijs stelden, aangezien de rest van de passagiers bestond uit Engelse 65+ers en één of twee families met kleine kinderen. Cook stelde nog minder voor, maar daar waren we ook maar 30 minuten, aangezien we voor de verandering weer eens vertraagd waren, vanwege het vele stoppen en wachten op goederentreinen.
Na 2 nachten niet bijzonder goed geslapen te hebben op de zit/ligstoelen, kwamen we vrijdagochtend doodmoe aan in Adelaide. Gelukkig hadden we al een hostel geboekt, en na ontbijt en korte wandeling door de stad om een aantal dingen te regelen hebben we de rest van de dag in bed doorgebracht om een beetje bij de slapen. Vanochtend hebben we onze huurauto opgehaald, waarmee we de komende paar dagen naar Melbourne zullen rijden. Van een Landcruiser naar een Hyundai Getz is wel even wennen: we zitten met ons hoofd tegen het dak aan, en iedere keer dat we het gaspedaal aanraken, schiet de auto vooruit. Gelukkig is deze wel een stuk economischer. Vandaag zijn we via de Barossa Valley naar Bordertown gereden, waar we na een beetje zoeken, een stacaravan hebben gevonden die we voor een nachtje goedkoop konden huren. We zitten dus nu heerlijk in ons tijdelijke ‘huisje’ thee te drinken en TV te kijken. Morgen rijden we door naar de Grampians.
In combinatie met de relaxte sfeer van Freemantle en de lange reis die we net achter de rug hadden, is het ook niet verwonderlijk dat we die dagen eigenlijk weinig uitvoerden. Op mijn verjaardag hebben we nog wel een wijntoer in Swan Valley, net buiten Perth, gedaan. De toer had minder met wijn proeven dan met wijn zuipen te maken. Al om 11 uur ’s ochtends stonden we aan ons eerste glas wijn, en vanaf dat moment werden we van de ene naar de andere wijnboerderij gesjeesd, waar we in noodtempo de ene na de andere wijn geserveerd kregen. Na 5 uur en 40 wijnen waren we flink aangeschoten en proefden we nauwelijks nog het verschil tussen witte en rode wijn, laat staan de verschillende druivensoorten. Maar zoals we al eerder begrepen hadden, gaat het in Australië meer om kwantiteit dan kwaliteit, en dus was deze toer absolute ‘value for money’. Van René heb ik trouwens, heel toepasselijk, een nieuwe bikini gekregen.
Na vier dagen relaxen in Freemantle, begonnen we op woensdagochtend aan de langste treinreis van ons leven (44½ uur). Een reis die af en toe mooi en indrukwekkend was, maar vooral oncomfortabel en saai. Of zoals de Australische jongen die voor ons zat en door zijn vader op de trein was gezet voor de ‘ervaring’ bij aankomst in Adelaide zei: “Dit was de meeste verschrikkelijke reis van mijn leven. Ik dacht dat er nooit een einde aan zou komen. Ik ben zo blij dat het eindelijk over is!” Gelukkig zaten er twee onderbrekingen in de reis: de goudstad Kalgoorlie-Boulder, en de spookstad Cook. In Kalgoorlie hadden we de mogelijkheid om een toer te doen van het stadje en de ‘superpit’, een enorme goudmijn, waar 24 per dag naar goud gegraven wordt. De toer zelf stelde niet veel voor, maar de gids was des te beter, Hij vertelde ons, dat er tijdens de goudkoorts rond de 40,000 mijnwerkers, 100 pubs, 200 bordelen, en 3000 prostituees in Kalgoorlie waren. Een bezoekje aan een dame van lichte zeden kostte 1 shilling, in vergelijking met 2 shilling voor een bezoek aan het zwembad. Inmiddels zijn er nog maar 3 bordelen over, waar de gids met de bus langsreed, terwijl hij uitgebreid uitlegde hoe ieder bordeel in zijn werk ging. Ik denk dat wij één van de weinigen waren die zijn droge commentaar op prijs stelden, aangezien de rest van de passagiers bestond uit Engelse 65+ers en één of twee families met kleine kinderen. Cook stelde nog minder voor, maar daar waren we ook maar 30 minuten, aangezien we voor de verandering weer eens vertraagd waren, vanwege het vele stoppen en wachten op goederentreinen.
Na 2 nachten niet bijzonder goed geslapen te hebben op de zit/ligstoelen, kwamen we vrijdagochtend doodmoe aan in Adelaide. Gelukkig hadden we al een hostel geboekt, en na ontbijt en korte wandeling door de stad om een aantal dingen te regelen hebben we de rest van de dag in bed doorgebracht om een beetje bij de slapen. Vanochtend hebben we onze huurauto opgehaald, waarmee we de komende paar dagen naar Melbourne zullen rijden. Van een Landcruiser naar een Hyundai Getz is wel even wennen: we zitten met ons hoofd tegen het dak aan, en iedere keer dat we het gaspedaal aanraken, schiet de auto vooruit. Gelukkig is deze wel een stuk economischer. Vandaag zijn we via de Barossa Valley naar Bordertown gereden, waar we na een beetje zoeken, een stacaravan hebben gevonden die we voor een nachtje goedkoop konden huren. We zitten dus nu heerlijk in ons tijdelijke ‘huisje’ thee te drinken en TV te kijken. Morgen rijden we door naar de Grampians.
dinsdag 11 december 2007
Western Australia
Would I offend anyone in saying that Western Australians seem to be a cross between redneck Americans and working class English? Probably not, as we don’t have any friends that fall into either category. Western Australians are loud and obnoxious, they dress like they still live in the 80s and they are small mindeed, seemingly knowing little of anything outside of their country. They are often overweight, especially the younger generation. But, above all (and closely coinciding with the last point) they are culinary barbarians, as we found out on the few occasions we went out for something to eat. When you order fish, no matter how exquisite or expensive, they will, without fail, serve it to you with a greasy layer of batter around it. This is ok when you buy it at the local fish and chips shop, but when you order an €80 seafood platter, when you go out for a special dinner, it is rather disappointing.
Words like quaint or pittoresque were also not invented to describe any place in Western Australia. The nature is fantastic and overwhelming, but anything manmade is nothing aside from practical and, in most cases, downright ugly. The houses, the buildings, the streets – making something look pleasing to the eye is obviously not a high priority. And as soon as they do manage to have built something that looks reasonably nice, or has some kind of history to it, they charge you for it. Like the one mile jetty in Carnavon, which is a jetty that, you guessed it, is one mile long. Built over 50 years ago, this is obviously a major heritage site, so they charge you $4 per person just to walk it. However, this is a bargain compared to taking the historic tram, for which you easily play upto $10 per person. Imagine taking your family with 3 kids for a trip there! As soon as there is anything remotely interesting to see or do it costs you, and they charge a premium price for it. Boat trip - $50 or more, diving - $120 for 1 dive, 4 WD drive tag along tour (you bring your own vehicle, diesel and lunch) - $170, going fishing - $190 per line, $250 if you share! It really takes the piss.
Thankfully, nature in Western Australia is still reasonable priced. Many National Parks and Nature Reserves are free, and for only $35 dollars you buy a holiday pass which gives you unlimited access to all the other parks for a period of four weeks. And even when you loose this pass, like we did when it blew out of the car in the Francois Perron National Park, a kind ranger will call the Tourist Office you bought it from to verify, and then issue you with a new pass. For free. Some things are good in Western Australia.
Words like quaint or pittoresque were also not invented to describe any place in Western Australia. The nature is fantastic and overwhelming, but anything manmade is nothing aside from practical and, in most cases, downright ugly. The houses, the buildings, the streets – making something look pleasing to the eye is obviously not a high priority. And as soon as they do manage to have built something that looks reasonably nice, or has some kind of history to it, they charge you for it. Like the one mile jetty in Carnavon, which is a jetty that, you guessed it, is one mile long. Built over 50 years ago, this is obviously a major heritage site, so they charge you $4 per person just to walk it. However, this is a bargain compared to taking the historic tram, for which you easily play upto $10 per person. Imagine taking your family with 3 kids for a trip there! As soon as there is anything remotely interesting to see or do it costs you, and they charge a premium price for it. Boat trip - $50 or more, diving - $120 for 1 dive, 4 WD drive tag along tour (you bring your own vehicle, diesel and lunch) - $170, going fishing - $190 per line, $250 if you share! It really takes the piss.
Thankfully, nature in Western Australia is still reasonable priced. Many National Parks and Nature Reserves are free, and for only $35 dollars you buy a holiday pass which gives you unlimited access to all the other parks for a period of four weeks. And even when you loose this pass, like we did when it blew out of the car in the Francois Perron National Park, a kind ranger will call the Tourist Office you bought it from to verify, and then issue you with a new pass. For free. Some things are good in Western Australia.
vrijdag 7 december 2007
Photos Broome to Perth
Please click on the link below and then click on the 'diavoorstelling' button, just above the photo labelled 'Seagull on Cable Beach.
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| Broome to Perth |
Carnavon to Perth
We hebben het gehaald. Na 4 ½ week is er een einde gekomen aan ons 4WD avontuur en zijn we veilig in Perth aangekomen. In 33 dagen hebben we hebben 8511 kilometer afgelegd, we hebben vele euros uitgegeven aan diesel, we zijn in 16 Nationale Parken geweest, we hebben 6 keer ‘ge-bush-campt’, we zijn 2 keer vast komen te zitten, we hebben 1 keer een lekke band gehad, we hebben de auto 1 keer moeten laten repareren, we hebben prachtige zonsondergangen gezien en hebben talloze ontmoetingen gehad met het Australische wildlife – krokodillen, kangaroes, wallibis, allerlei hagedissen en vogels, emoes, zeekoeien, en dolfijnen. Onze huid is bruin en ook onze kleren hebben een permanente bruinrode tint gekregen, die er zelfs na een paar keer wassen niet meer uit te krijgen is.
Na Coral Bay zijn we via de Blowholes doorgereden naar Carnavon. De Blowholes zijn een natuurlijk fenomeen 70 km aan de kust boven Carnavon. Door wind en water zijn er gaten uit de kliffen gesleten, waar met het inrollen van de golven, grote hoeveelheden water doorheen spuit. In Carnavon kwamen we Colin en zijn vrouw weer tegen. Colin is een Australier van zo’n 55 jaar die we op de camping in Point Samson hadden leren kennen, en we daarna nog zijn tegen gekomen waren in Exmouth en Coral Bay. Twee en een half jaar geleden besloten hij en zijn vrouw hun huis en inboedel te verkopen, en sinds die tijd reizen ze met hun caravan rond in Australië, waar ze af en toe een paar maanden op één plaats blijven om te werken en geld te verdienen. Want, zo zegt hij, zo zien ze nog een beetje van de wereld voordat ze dood gaan. Colin is trouwens niet de enige die zo denkt. Een hoop oudere en gepensioneerde Australiërs reizen rond met een caravan. Aan de contrapsies die ze om hun sleurhutten heen gebouwd hebben, lijken sommigen soms permanent te wonen in de caravan parken waar we regelmatig overnachtten. In Carnavon is een zelfs een Retiree Caravan Park, een camping speciaal voor gepensioneerden, waar regelmatig ‘gepaste’entertainment verzorgd wordt.
Na Carnavon zijn de doorgereden naar Monkey Mia, gelegen aan het Werelderfgoed van Shark Bay. Shark Bay is een grote, zeer ondiepe baai (op de meeste plaatsen maar een paar meter diep), die grotendeels begroeid is met zeegras, en daarom een thuisbasis is voor 10% van alle zeekoeien te wereld, en daarnaast bescherming biedt aan zo’n 300 dolfijnen, verschillende soorten haaien, zeeslangen en roggen. Iedere ochtend komen er aan het strand van Monkey Mia een aantal wilde dolfijnen naar de kust om daar, onder streng toezicht van de rangers, gevoerd te worden door toeristen en vrijwilligers. Een redelijk spektakel, wat tussen de 50 en 150 toeristen trekt. De dolfijnen krijgen maximaal 1/3 van hun dagelijkse behoefte aan vis gevoerd, zodat ze hun eigen jagersinstinct niet verliezen. Toen wij er waren was er net een jonkie geboren, die samen met zijn moeder iedere ochtend langs kwam. Ontzettend leuk om zo’n jong, speels dolfijntje te zien zwemmen en spelen.
Na 1½ dag Monkey Mia, waar we nog een zeiltocht gedaan hebben met de Shotover, een prachtige Katamaran die een aantal wereldrecords op zijn naam had staan, hebben we een bezoek gedaan aan het Francois Perron National Park. Het park is alleen toegankelijk voor High Clearance 4WD voertuigen en de tracks bestaan grotendeels uit zacht en diep zand. Er werd ons aangeraden om onze banden flink leeg te laten lopen, en het was ongelooflijk hoeveel verschil dat maakte! Op geen enkel moment kwamen we vast te staan, zelfs niet toen we vanuit stilstand uit 30 cm diep zand weg moesten rijden. Het park bood prachtige aanblikken aan de kust, waar dieprode kliffen samenkwamen met witte zandstrange en een helder blauwe zee. Vanuit het viewing platform bij Skipjack Point, hoog gelegen op de klifen, hadden we een prachtige uitzicht op de ondiepe baai van Shark Bay, waar we enorme roggen konder zien zwemmen – erg spectaculair! ’s Avonds overnachtten we op een bushcamping aan het strand, vanwaar we een direkt uitzicht hadden op de Big Lagoon.
We begonnen ook ineens te merken dat we verder naar het zuiden gingen aan de temperaturen. Overdag in de zon was het ineens lekker, en ’s avonds werd het ineens fris. Dat waren we niet meer gewend. Zo hebben de slaapzakken maar tevoorshcijn gehaald, en hebben we ’s avonds zelfs een aantal keer in de campervan gegeten omdat het buiten te hard waaide en te fris was. Het grootste voordeel was echter, dat we weer wat langer konden uitslapen, omdat we niet meer zo vroeg de campervan uitzweetten. Omdat het ook veel langer licht is in het zuiden, dan toen we begonnen in het noorden, is het ook niet zo erg meer, dat we ’s ochtends wat langzamer op gang kwamen, aangezien de dagen ook veel langer zijn.
Na nog 1 nachtje in Monkey Mia gebleven te zijn, reden we de volgende dag door naar Kalbarri, bij uitzondering een leuk kustplaatsje, dat toegang biedt tot het Kalbarri National Park, waar een aantal spectaculaire Coastal en River Gorges te bewonderen zijn. ’s Ochtends werd op het strand tegenover onze camping de pelicanen gevoerd, een leuk spektakel, hoewel niet zo bijzonder als de dolfijnen in Monkey Mia. Na 1½ in Kalbarri zijn we een flink stuk verder gereden naar het zuiden over de Indian Ocean Highway, waar we in de buurt van Sandy Cape tussen Leeman en Jurien Bay een prachtig plekje aan een baai vonden om te wild kamperen. Het plekje was door een aantal eerdere wildkampeerders ‘Champagne Bay’genoemd (zie foto), een toepasselijke naam.
De volgende dag zijn we de omgeving een beetje gaan verkennen. In Stockyard Gully National Park, konden we met zaklampen zelf door een ondergrondse tunnel van kalksteen lopen en in het Lesueur National Park hebben we een prachtige (maar enigszins regenachtige) wandeling gedaan langs allerlei mooie planten en bloemen – na al die weken in droogte wel even wat anders regen en heel veel verschillende soorten groen. ’s Avonds zijn we vanaf onze camping in Cervantes naar de Pinnacles desert gereden, een woestijn van geel zand vol met puntige, zandstenen rotsen. Erg mooi, maar een Sinterklaas gevoel kregen we er niet van.
De laatste dag van onze trip zijn we nog één keer naar de Pinncles gaan kijken en daarna via Yancep National Park naar Perth gereden. We blijven hier tot woensdag, en nemen dan de trein terug naar Adelaide, een reis van bijna 48 uur!
Na Coral Bay zijn we via de Blowholes doorgereden naar Carnavon. De Blowholes zijn een natuurlijk fenomeen 70 km aan de kust boven Carnavon. Door wind en water zijn er gaten uit de kliffen gesleten, waar met het inrollen van de golven, grote hoeveelheden water doorheen spuit. In Carnavon kwamen we Colin en zijn vrouw weer tegen. Colin is een Australier van zo’n 55 jaar die we op de camping in Point Samson hadden leren kennen, en we daarna nog zijn tegen gekomen waren in Exmouth en Coral Bay. Twee en een half jaar geleden besloten hij en zijn vrouw hun huis en inboedel te verkopen, en sinds die tijd reizen ze met hun caravan rond in Australië, waar ze af en toe een paar maanden op één plaats blijven om te werken en geld te verdienen. Want, zo zegt hij, zo zien ze nog een beetje van de wereld voordat ze dood gaan. Colin is trouwens niet de enige die zo denkt. Een hoop oudere en gepensioneerde Australiërs reizen rond met een caravan. Aan de contrapsies die ze om hun sleurhutten heen gebouwd hebben, lijken sommigen soms permanent te wonen in de caravan parken waar we regelmatig overnachtten. In Carnavon is een zelfs een Retiree Caravan Park, een camping speciaal voor gepensioneerden, waar regelmatig ‘gepaste’entertainment verzorgd wordt.
Na Carnavon zijn de doorgereden naar Monkey Mia, gelegen aan het Werelderfgoed van Shark Bay. Shark Bay is een grote, zeer ondiepe baai (op de meeste plaatsen maar een paar meter diep), die grotendeels begroeid is met zeegras, en daarom een thuisbasis is voor 10% van alle zeekoeien te wereld, en daarnaast bescherming biedt aan zo’n 300 dolfijnen, verschillende soorten haaien, zeeslangen en roggen. Iedere ochtend komen er aan het strand van Monkey Mia een aantal wilde dolfijnen naar de kust om daar, onder streng toezicht van de rangers, gevoerd te worden door toeristen en vrijwilligers. Een redelijk spektakel, wat tussen de 50 en 150 toeristen trekt. De dolfijnen krijgen maximaal 1/3 van hun dagelijkse behoefte aan vis gevoerd, zodat ze hun eigen jagersinstinct niet verliezen. Toen wij er waren was er net een jonkie geboren, die samen met zijn moeder iedere ochtend langs kwam. Ontzettend leuk om zo’n jong, speels dolfijntje te zien zwemmen en spelen.
Na 1½ dag Monkey Mia, waar we nog een zeiltocht gedaan hebben met de Shotover, een prachtige Katamaran die een aantal wereldrecords op zijn naam had staan, hebben we een bezoek gedaan aan het Francois Perron National Park. Het park is alleen toegankelijk voor High Clearance 4WD voertuigen en de tracks bestaan grotendeels uit zacht en diep zand. Er werd ons aangeraden om onze banden flink leeg te laten lopen, en het was ongelooflijk hoeveel verschil dat maakte! Op geen enkel moment kwamen we vast te staan, zelfs niet toen we vanuit stilstand uit 30 cm diep zand weg moesten rijden. Het park bood prachtige aanblikken aan de kust, waar dieprode kliffen samenkwamen met witte zandstrange en een helder blauwe zee. Vanuit het viewing platform bij Skipjack Point, hoog gelegen op de klifen, hadden we een prachtige uitzicht op de ondiepe baai van Shark Bay, waar we enorme roggen konder zien zwemmen – erg spectaculair! ’s Avonds overnachtten we op een bushcamping aan het strand, vanwaar we een direkt uitzicht hadden op de Big Lagoon.
We begonnen ook ineens te merken dat we verder naar het zuiden gingen aan de temperaturen. Overdag in de zon was het ineens lekker, en ’s avonds werd het ineens fris. Dat waren we niet meer gewend. Zo hebben de slaapzakken maar tevoorshcijn gehaald, en hebben we ’s avonds zelfs een aantal keer in de campervan gegeten omdat het buiten te hard waaide en te fris was. Het grootste voordeel was echter, dat we weer wat langer konden uitslapen, omdat we niet meer zo vroeg de campervan uitzweetten. Omdat het ook veel langer licht is in het zuiden, dan toen we begonnen in het noorden, is het ook niet zo erg meer, dat we ’s ochtends wat langzamer op gang kwamen, aangezien de dagen ook veel langer zijn.
Na nog 1 nachtje in Monkey Mia gebleven te zijn, reden we de volgende dag door naar Kalbarri, bij uitzondering een leuk kustplaatsje, dat toegang biedt tot het Kalbarri National Park, waar een aantal spectaculaire Coastal en River Gorges te bewonderen zijn. ’s Ochtends werd op het strand tegenover onze camping de pelicanen gevoerd, een leuk spektakel, hoewel niet zo bijzonder als de dolfijnen in Monkey Mia. Na 1½ in Kalbarri zijn we een flink stuk verder gereden naar het zuiden over de Indian Ocean Highway, waar we in de buurt van Sandy Cape tussen Leeman en Jurien Bay een prachtig plekje aan een baai vonden om te wild kamperen. Het plekje was door een aantal eerdere wildkampeerders ‘Champagne Bay’genoemd (zie foto), een toepasselijke naam.
De volgende dag zijn we de omgeving een beetje gaan verkennen. In Stockyard Gully National Park, konden we met zaklampen zelf door een ondergrondse tunnel van kalksteen lopen en in het Lesueur National Park hebben we een prachtige (maar enigszins regenachtige) wandeling gedaan langs allerlei mooie planten en bloemen – na al die weken in droogte wel even wat anders regen en heel veel verschillende soorten groen. ’s Avonds zijn we vanaf onze camping in Cervantes naar de Pinnacles desert gereden, een woestijn van geel zand vol met puntige, zandstenen rotsen. Erg mooi, maar een Sinterklaas gevoel kregen we er niet van.
De laatste dag van onze trip zijn we nog één keer naar de Pinncles gaan kijken en daarna via Yancep National Park naar Perth gereden. We blijven hier tot woensdag, en nemen dan de trein terug naar Adelaide, een reis van bijna 48 uur!
Exmouth and Coral Bay
Exmouth
Na ons vliegenavontuur in de bushcamp en ontbijt tijdens het rijden (door de vliegenoverlast) waren we het allemaal een beetje zat, dus besloten we zodra we in Exmouth zouden aankomen een goed caravanpark op te zoeken. Aangekomen in Exmouth, voor Australische westkust begrippen toch wel een redelijk grote stad, hebben we eerst wat foldertjes verzameld bij het lokale toeristen informatie bureau. Alle activiteiten en bezienswaardigheden waren volgens de foldertjes allemaal het beste en het meest de moeite waard om te zien of te doen, maar ervaring heeft ons inmiddels geleerd dat dit meestal niet helemaal waar is. Zo ook hier, een hoop dure tours die weinig meer bieden dan dat we zelf konden doen. Dus hebben we op eigen houtje zo’n beetje alle bezienswaardigheden zelf bezichtigd. Ook hebben we gesnorkeld in Turqoise bay, een van de beste snorkel spots in de buurt van Exmouth, helaas konden onze verwachtingen niet worden waargemaakt. Een hoop beschadigd koraal en relatief weinig kleuren. Wel zaten er grote vissen, alleen waren deze nogal schaars. Al met al blij dat we niet betaald hebben voor een tour, aangezien met de huidige diesel prijzen ons budget toch al danig te lijden heeft. Van het geplande duiken hebben we ook maar afgezien, van verschillende mensen gehoord dat het allemaal niet zo heel spectaculair was, en gezien onze snorkel ervaring eerder besloten om het duiken maar te bewaren voor het Great Barrier Reef. Ons caravan park beviel erg goed, heel weinig vliegen en een beetje wind maakten het erg aangenaam. Ook de camp keuken en het sanitair waren erg goed. Ook de bezoekjes van twee emoes waren achteraf gezien wel leuk. In het begin schrik je nogal van zo’n grote vogel, zeker als het lijkt als of hij je achtervolgt. ’s Avonds zijn we nog naar een van de stranden in de buurt gereden om schildpadden te zien. In deze periode komen ze het strand op en leggen ze eieren. Op de weg naar het strand zagen we nog een slang over de weg kruipen, gelukkig zaten wij in de auto. Op het strand hebben we ongeveer 20 minuten moeten zoeken tot we een spoor vonden die ons naar een gravende schilpad leidde. Al met al hebben we bijna het hele proces van een gat graven, eieren leggen en de terugtocht naar zee gezien. Een unieke ervaring, maar je moet wel geduld hebben: ons exemplaar was toch wel 2,5 uur bezig…..maar ja we hadden toch niets anders te doen. Na 3 nachten besloten dat we Exmouth wel weer gezien hadden en zijn we verder afgereisd naar Coral Bay.
Coral Bay
Coral Bay ligt op ongeveer 150 km vanaf Exmouth eenkort stukje rijen dus vergeleken met eerder afgelegde afstanden. In Coral Bay hebben we ook weer een caravan park opgezocht, een beetje luxe is toch wel erg fijn, zeker omdat het allemaal al zo primitief is met onze campervan. Coral Bay is eigenlijk een zelfde soort stadje als Exmouth, ook gelegen aan het Ningaloo reef alleen een stuk kleiner. Hier hebben we gesnorkeld en een broedplaats voor rifhaaien bezocht. Een hoop baby haaien gezien een ook nog een paar grotere (vanaf de kant helaas….we mochten niet snorkelen omdat dit de haaien zou verstoren). We hebben nog zitten twijfelen of we een quad tour wilden doen, maar gezien de prijs hebben we besloten om dit tot Dubai te bewaren. Misschien is het daar net zo duur, maar ik denk wel een stuk spectaculairder met alle zandduinen. Het grote verschil met Exmouth (vooral veel rotsen en stroming) was het fantastische witte zandstrand met azuurblauw water. Na twee nachten zijn we verder gegaan naar Carnarvon, ongeveer 300 km zuidelijker.
Na ons vliegenavontuur in de bushcamp en ontbijt tijdens het rijden (door de vliegenoverlast) waren we het allemaal een beetje zat, dus besloten we zodra we in Exmouth zouden aankomen een goed caravanpark op te zoeken. Aangekomen in Exmouth, voor Australische westkust begrippen toch wel een redelijk grote stad, hebben we eerst wat foldertjes verzameld bij het lokale toeristen informatie bureau. Alle activiteiten en bezienswaardigheden waren volgens de foldertjes allemaal het beste en het meest de moeite waard om te zien of te doen, maar ervaring heeft ons inmiddels geleerd dat dit meestal niet helemaal waar is. Zo ook hier, een hoop dure tours die weinig meer bieden dan dat we zelf konden doen. Dus hebben we op eigen houtje zo’n beetje alle bezienswaardigheden zelf bezichtigd. Ook hebben we gesnorkeld in Turqoise bay, een van de beste snorkel spots in de buurt van Exmouth, helaas konden onze verwachtingen niet worden waargemaakt. Een hoop beschadigd koraal en relatief weinig kleuren. Wel zaten er grote vissen, alleen waren deze nogal schaars. Al met al blij dat we niet betaald hebben voor een tour, aangezien met de huidige diesel prijzen ons budget toch al danig te lijden heeft. Van het geplande duiken hebben we ook maar afgezien, van verschillende mensen gehoord dat het allemaal niet zo heel spectaculair was, en gezien onze snorkel ervaring eerder besloten om het duiken maar te bewaren voor het Great Barrier Reef. Ons caravan park beviel erg goed, heel weinig vliegen en een beetje wind maakten het erg aangenaam. Ook de camp keuken en het sanitair waren erg goed. Ook de bezoekjes van twee emoes waren achteraf gezien wel leuk. In het begin schrik je nogal van zo’n grote vogel, zeker als het lijkt als of hij je achtervolgt. ’s Avonds zijn we nog naar een van de stranden in de buurt gereden om schildpadden te zien. In deze periode komen ze het strand op en leggen ze eieren. Op de weg naar het strand zagen we nog een slang over de weg kruipen, gelukkig zaten wij in de auto. Op het strand hebben we ongeveer 20 minuten moeten zoeken tot we een spoor vonden die ons naar een gravende schilpad leidde. Al met al hebben we bijna het hele proces van een gat graven, eieren leggen en de terugtocht naar zee gezien. Een unieke ervaring, maar je moet wel geduld hebben: ons exemplaar was toch wel 2,5 uur bezig…..maar ja we hadden toch niets anders te doen. Na 3 nachten besloten dat we Exmouth wel weer gezien hadden en zijn we verder afgereisd naar Coral Bay.
Coral Bay
Coral Bay ligt op ongeveer 150 km vanaf Exmouth eenkort stukje rijen dus vergeleken met eerder afgelegde afstanden. In Coral Bay hebben we ook weer een caravan park opgezocht, een beetje luxe is toch wel erg fijn, zeker omdat het allemaal al zo primitief is met onze campervan. Coral Bay is eigenlijk een zelfde soort stadje als Exmouth, ook gelegen aan het Ningaloo reef alleen een stuk kleiner. Hier hebben we gesnorkeld en een broedplaats voor rifhaaien bezocht. Een hoop baby haaien gezien een ook nog een paar grotere (vanaf de kant helaas….we mochten niet snorkelen omdat dit de haaien zou verstoren). We hebben nog zitten twijfelen of we een quad tour wilden doen, maar gezien de prijs hebben we besloten om dit tot Dubai te bewaren. Misschien is het daar net zo duur, maar ik denk wel een stuk spectaculairder met alle zandduinen. Het grote verschil met Exmouth (vooral veel rotsen en stroming) was het fantastische witte zandstrand met azuurblauw water. Na twee nachten zijn we verder gegaan naar Carnarvon, ongeveer 300 km zuidelijker.
Broome to Karijini National Park
Maybe because we’ve been travelling for 2 months already and are suffering from the so called ‘travellers fatigue’, maybe it is because there was nothing of interest between Broome and Karijini or maybe we’re just suffering from the Australia blues – too many flies, too hot and too expensive - but the last couple of days have been more uncomfortable than enjoyabe. Whereas a lot of you have commented on the high ‘wish you were here’ factor of the stories and photos we have posted until so far, the following story will probably leave you with more of a ‘happy I am at home’ feeling.
It all started off on the day we left Broome. Not having seen everything the town has to offer, we decided to spend a couple of hours visiting some of the main sights, before heading further down south. Our first stop was the lighthouse, from where some dinasaurs footprints can be seen in the rocks down at the beach. However, just like the two other main phenonoma that Broome is famous for – the staircase to the moon and the WWII plainwrecks, these can only been seen at extremely low tide between March and October. Bummer! We also couldn’t find the concrete cast of the prints, which is just by the lighthouse, so returned to the car in the scorching heat to retrieve the map so that we could locate them. This was the second time we went back to the carpark, the first time being because I couldn’t find the keys, which I had stupidly left on the picknick bench.
After the lighthouse we drove around the residential area of Broome for at least 30 minutes looking for an unsecured Wifi network so that we could check our email and update the weblog, but to no avail. We then decided to get some petrol, quickly visit the pearl vessels and set off. But we found the petrol at the Shell rather expensive so decided to drive to the Caltexx, which turned out to be exactly the same price. As we had more discount tickets for the Shell (you get these every time you spend more than $30 at certain supermarkets), we returned to the Shell, only to find that they were refilling on Diesel, which would take at least another 20 minutes. So we decided to visit the Pearl vessels first, where I got told off for refilling my waterbottle from the water machine.
That night we had planned to bushcamp near the ruins of a farm along the road, but when we got there, the gate was locked and it said it was private property. We then returned to an overnight carpark, but that was a dump, so we decided to continue our journey to 80 Mile Beach, where we hoped we could bushcamp along the beach. However, no bushcamping was allowed at 80 Mile Beach and we didn’t want to spend another $30 on a caravan park. So we continued our journey and found a pretty good spot along a small unsealed road just before a parking spot. René made a nice bonfire, I cooked up a tasty salad, and after waiting for it to get dark enough for the flies to disappear, we enjoyed a nice meal at our secluded camping spot.
Until… I woke up in the middle of the night because I heard voices. Camping in the middle of nowhere completely on your own can be a little frightening at times, but it gets a lot more scary when it’s you and one stranger. My sleepy brain first was afraid it was the ‘bushcamp police’ (as if!), then I was worried it would be a couple of drunk Aboriginals, but finally we realised we heard an engine running and saw a couple of headlights. The voices and torch went past us, and then came back again, and then the high beams went on and we heard a lot of maneuvring for a long time. After discussing our little scare the next morning, we figured it was probably a roadtrain that had driven into our little road thinking it was the parking spot. Realising his mistake, the driver went to explore the road to find out whether it came back to the main road. When this turned out not to be the case, he must have disconnected the trailers and turned them around manually, taking over 1 hour of maneuvring. I guess he was a lot more p*d off than we were scared.
The next day we continued our journey to the Dampier peninsula, which had been recommended to us by our Australian neighbours in Broome. Expecting a couple of quaint seaside towns and villages, we were disappointed to have ended up in ‘Industry Central’, a bit like a widely spread Pernis. Thankfully the campsite they had recommended in Point Samson did not disappoint, with excellent facilities, such as Wifi (hooray!), indoor camp kitchen and recreation room (very important considering there were again about 1 million flies around). The campsite was only at 2 minutes walk from the Honeymoon Cove, which sounded promising, so we donned our snorkling gear and headed for the beach… to find the sea offered little visibility and was infested with sea lice.
After the continuing breeze allowed us a lovely sleep and a tiny lie in until 8 am, we set off the explore the rest of the peninsula which, according to the local tourist brochure, offered lots of interesting things to see and do. The brochure must have been written by someone that can sell ice to eskimos, because these attractions turned out not half as interesting as they sounded. The main sight in the tiny town of Wickam was a yellow steam engine and the ghost town of Cossack with its 100 year old ruins was a disappointment (old and culture have a slightly different meaning in Australia than in Europe). We couldn’t be bothered to do the 6 km heritage trail considering we were covered by 50 flies after 5 minutes outside of the car, but the lookout near Settlers Beach turned out to be pretty nice. Dampier was every bit as horrible as can be expected of a major industrial port (a bit like putting a beach in the middle of Rotterdam harbour), we couldn’t find the unmarked trail to the Gorge with Aboriginal art, and the Visitor Center of the Onshore Gas Plant wasn’t very amazing either. The fully airconditioned shopping centre in Karratha was pretty good though, even though we have no money to buy anything because Australia is even more expensive than Europe. And did I mention the temperatures are between 35 and 45 Celsius (hitting 49 in the shade yesterday) and that there are lots of flies? We decided to dodge the flies and the heat and spend the rest of the day by the pool in a Caravan Park in Roeburne.
The next two days we spent in the Karijini National Park, which was wonderful (despite the bottle of Cordial that broke and covered everything with a nice sticky layer – which happened on a campsite with no running water!). We travelled over a private road along the Iron Train Track, saw 3 big Iron Trains with an estimated length of 2 km each and 200+ carts, visited a number of amazing gorges (some with a depth of 100 metres), swam in natural pool and showered under a waterfall. I also managed some challenging 4WD going up Mount Nameless, which I’m very proud of. The incredibly steep unsealed, rocky track could only be taken in Low 4WD Gear, as we found out when we got stuck in the middle of the hill and even some pretty impressive gas clutch balancing only resulted in us rolling slowly backwards as soon as the handbreak was released.
Last night, we were suffering from the highest fly concentration until so far, being covered in at least 100 flies within minutes of exiting the car. Even our flynets didn’t offered enough protection, with some flies being able to get underneath it and into our noses, eyes, mouths and ears. Even nightfall wouldn’t bring enough relief. When we eventually retired into our oven of a vehicle, it took us 20 minutes to kill off at least 20 flies with our flipflops, before we could lay down and sweat without buzzing. So when you’re going to bed tonight, in your cool, comfortable and insectless bed, think of us and indulge in the luxury of being at home.
It all started off on the day we left Broome. Not having seen everything the town has to offer, we decided to spend a couple of hours visiting some of the main sights, before heading further down south. Our first stop was the lighthouse, from where some dinasaurs footprints can be seen in the rocks down at the beach. However, just like the two other main phenonoma that Broome is famous for – the staircase to the moon and the WWII plainwrecks, these can only been seen at extremely low tide between March and October. Bummer! We also couldn’t find the concrete cast of the prints, which is just by the lighthouse, so returned to the car in the scorching heat to retrieve the map so that we could locate them. This was the second time we went back to the carpark, the first time being because I couldn’t find the keys, which I had stupidly left on the picknick bench.
After the lighthouse we drove around the residential area of Broome for at least 30 minutes looking for an unsecured Wifi network so that we could check our email and update the weblog, but to no avail. We then decided to get some petrol, quickly visit the pearl vessels and set off. But we found the petrol at the Shell rather expensive so decided to drive to the Caltexx, which turned out to be exactly the same price. As we had more discount tickets for the Shell (you get these every time you spend more than $30 at certain supermarkets), we returned to the Shell, only to find that they were refilling on Diesel, which would take at least another 20 minutes. So we decided to visit the Pearl vessels first, where I got told off for refilling my waterbottle from the water machine.
That night we had planned to bushcamp near the ruins of a farm along the road, but when we got there, the gate was locked and it said it was private property. We then returned to an overnight carpark, but that was a dump, so we decided to continue our journey to 80 Mile Beach, where we hoped we could bushcamp along the beach. However, no bushcamping was allowed at 80 Mile Beach and we didn’t want to spend another $30 on a caravan park. So we continued our journey and found a pretty good spot along a small unsealed road just before a parking spot. René made a nice bonfire, I cooked up a tasty salad, and after waiting for it to get dark enough for the flies to disappear, we enjoyed a nice meal at our secluded camping spot.
Until… I woke up in the middle of the night because I heard voices. Camping in the middle of nowhere completely on your own can be a little frightening at times, but it gets a lot more scary when it’s you and one stranger. My sleepy brain first was afraid it was the ‘bushcamp police’ (as if!), then I was worried it would be a couple of drunk Aboriginals, but finally we realised we heard an engine running and saw a couple of headlights. The voices and torch went past us, and then came back again, and then the high beams went on and we heard a lot of maneuvring for a long time. After discussing our little scare the next morning, we figured it was probably a roadtrain that had driven into our little road thinking it was the parking spot. Realising his mistake, the driver went to explore the road to find out whether it came back to the main road. When this turned out not to be the case, he must have disconnected the trailers and turned them around manually, taking over 1 hour of maneuvring. I guess he was a lot more p*d off than we were scared.
The next day we continued our journey to the Dampier peninsula, which had been recommended to us by our Australian neighbours in Broome. Expecting a couple of quaint seaside towns and villages, we were disappointed to have ended up in ‘Industry Central’, a bit like a widely spread Pernis. Thankfully the campsite they had recommended in Point Samson did not disappoint, with excellent facilities, such as Wifi (hooray!), indoor camp kitchen and recreation room (very important considering there were again about 1 million flies around). The campsite was only at 2 minutes walk from the Honeymoon Cove, which sounded promising, so we donned our snorkling gear and headed for the beach… to find the sea offered little visibility and was infested with sea lice.
After the continuing breeze allowed us a lovely sleep and a tiny lie in until 8 am, we set off the explore the rest of the peninsula which, according to the local tourist brochure, offered lots of interesting things to see and do. The brochure must have been written by someone that can sell ice to eskimos, because these attractions turned out not half as interesting as they sounded. The main sight in the tiny town of Wickam was a yellow steam engine and the ghost town of Cossack with its 100 year old ruins was a disappointment (old and culture have a slightly different meaning in Australia than in Europe). We couldn’t be bothered to do the 6 km heritage trail considering we were covered by 50 flies after 5 minutes outside of the car, but the lookout near Settlers Beach turned out to be pretty nice. Dampier was every bit as horrible as can be expected of a major industrial port (a bit like putting a beach in the middle of Rotterdam harbour), we couldn’t find the unmarked trail to the Gorge with Aboriginal art, and the Visitor Center of the Onshore Gas Plant wasn’t very amazing either. The fully airconditioned shopping centre in Karratha was pretty good though, even though we have no money to buy anything because Australia is even more expensive than Europe. And did I mention the temperatures are between 35 and 45 Celsius (hitting 49 in the shade yesterday) and that there are lots of flies? We decided to dodge the flies and the heat and spend the rest of the day by the pool in a Caravan Park in Roeburne.
The next two days we spent in the Karijini National Park, which was wonderful (despite the bottle of Cordial that broke and covered everything with a nice sticky layer – which happened on a campsite with no running water!). We travelled over a private road along the Iron Train Track, saw 3 big Iron Trains with an estimated length of 2 km each and 200+ carts, visited a number of amazing gorges (some with a depth of 100 metres), swam in natural pool and showered under a waterfall. I also managed some challenging 4WD going up Mount Nameless, which I’m very proud of. The incredibly steep unsealed, rocky track could only be taken in Low 4WD Gear, as we found out when we got stuck in the middle of the hill and even some pretty impressive gas clutch balancing only resulted in us rolling slowly backwards as soon as the handbreak was released.
Last night, we were suffering from the highest fly concentration until so far, being covered in at least 100 flies within minutes of exiting the car. Even our flynets didn’t offered enough protection, with some flies being able to get underneath it and into our noses, eyes, mouths and ears. Even nightfall wouldn’t bring enough relief. When we eventually retired into our oven of a vehicle, it took us 20 minutes to kill off at least 20 flies with our flipflops, before we could lay down and sweat without buzzing. So when you’re going to bed tonight, in your cool, comfortable and insectless bed, think of us and indulge in the luxury of being at home.
zondag 18 november 2007
Photos Darwin to Broome
Please click on the link below and then click on the 'diavoorstelling' button, just above the photo labelled 'Small lizard in Darwin'.
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| Darwin to Broome |
Wyndham to Broome via the adventurous Bungle Bungles – 12-15 November
Today we drove from Wyndham to the Purnululu National Park. We had heard the road into the Park had been closed due to heavy rainfall a couple of days earlier, but were still disappointed to see that the entrance was still locked when we arrived. As luck will have it, we decided to have a quick break at the parking lot, and a few minutes later the Park Rangers appeared with another rental vehicle in their tow, to re-open the park. What we didn’t know yet was that this trip would be the most challenging so far.
The road into the Bungle Bungles is a 53 km long hard core 4 WD track, which took us 2 hours to complete. We nearly gave up already after a mere 15 minutes, when we were presented with a rather scary looking river, but after seeing the other two vehicles in front of it, cross it succesfully, we decided to give it a go as well. After arrival at the Visitor Centre, it took us another 30 minutes to drive to the campsite from where we decided to visit the first major atttraction of the park, the famous Cathedral Gorge. On the way there, we were confronted with another big river crossing, only this time, another Landcruiser was stuck in it, or ‘bogged’ as the Ozzies say. The driver was laying in the water with his head under the vehicle, trying to put some stones under the wheel, but without much success until so far. It turned out the unfortunate passengers were a deaf French couple, which rather complicated communication, but after a 10 minute hands and feet conversation, we agreed to pull them out. The vehicle had gotten so stuck in the mud, that we only succeeded on the fifth try. Not wanting to tempt faith, we decided to give Cathedral Gorge a miss and drove to Echidna Chasm, from where we also witnessed a beautiful sunset.
The next morning we decided to give the river crossing another go, together with a German couple, which we met on the campsite. This way, we reasoned, we could pull each other out in case one of us got stuck. Upon arrival at the river, they understood why we were so keen to embark on this journey together when we were confronted with a tourist truck (twice the size of our Landcruiser) which had got bogged at exactly the same place. After pulling them out, we proceeded to try the crossing by taking a detour around the water… and then it turned out our 4WD wasn’t working and we got stuck as well. However, with a little help from a couple of big guys from the tourbus, we got the car going again and managed to get to the beautiful Cathedral Gorge at last. On the way back, even after careful examination of an alternative route, we had again quick sunk into the wet, sandy gravel all the way upto the rear axel. Thankfully, we were pulled out by our German friends which we continued to follow for the rest of the way out of the park. And then we had a flat tire, so that had to be changed in the soaring heat, again with the help of our German friends (so there are also friendly German couples - see last travel journal). We managed the last river crossing succesfully on our own and were able to breath again.
Until, the car started making a strange noise, around the front left wheel, and a very strange noise when we turned to the left. We made it to Halls Creek, another 130 km down the road, went to a local garage and found out our front differential was damaged, disabling the 4WD and making the rumbling and scraping noises. Not wanting to wait for another week in this horrible place until the relevant spare part had arrived, we decided to take a small gamble and drive down to Broome (another 700 km from Hals Creek) as soon as possible, only stopping over in Fitzroy Crossing, to see the Geiki Gorge. Our car was fixed 4 hours after arriving in Broome, thanks to a very friendly staff member of the local car rental branch. We are now hoping to continue down south tomorrow with a car that really does 4WD and does not make any more noise.
The road into the Bungle Bungles is a 53 km long hard core 4 WD track, which took us 2 hours to complete. We nearly gave up already after a mere 15 minutes, when we were presented with a rather scary looking river, but after seeing the other two vehicles in front of it, cross it succesfully, we decided to give it a go as well. After arrival at the Visitor Centre, it took us another 30 minutes to drive to the campsite from where we decided to visit the first major atttraction of the park, the famous Cathedral Gorge. On the way there, we were confronted with another big river crossing, only this time, another Landcruiser was stuck in it, or ‘bogged’ as the Ozzies say. The driver was laying in the water with his head under the vehicle, trying to put some stones under the wheel, but without much success until so far. It turned out the unfortunate passengers were a deaf French couple, which rather complicated communication, but after a 10 minute hands and feet conversation, we agreed to pull them out. The vehicle had gotten so stuck in the mud, that we only succeeded on the fifth try. Not wanting to tempt faith, we decided to give Cathedral Gorge a miss and drove to Echidna Chasm, from where we also witnessed a beautiful sunset.
The next morning we decided to give the river crossing another go, together with a German couple, which we met on the campsite. This way, we reasoned, we could pull each other out in case one of us got stuck. Upon arrival at the river, they understood why we were so keen to embark on this journey together when we were confronted with a tourist truck (twice the size of our Landcruiser) which had got bogged at exactly the same place. After pulling them out, we proceeded to try the crossing by taking a detour around the water… and then it turned out our 4WD wasn’t working and we got stuck as well. However, with a little help from a couple of big guys from the tourbus, we got the car going again and managed to get to the beautiful Cathedral Gorge at last. On the way back, even after careful examination of an alternative route, we had again quick sunk into the wet, sandy gravel all the way upto the rear axel. Thankfully, we were pulled out by our German friends which we continued to follow for the rest of the way out of the park. And then we had a flat tire, so that had to be changed in the soaring heat, again with the help of our German friends (so there are also friendly German couples - see last travel journal). We managed the last river crossing succesfully on our own and were able to breath again.
Until, the car started making a strange noise, around the front left wheel, and a very strange noise when we turned to the left. We made it to Halls Creek, another 130 km down the road, went to a local garage and found out our front differential was damaged, disabling the 4WD and making the rumbling and scraping noises. Not wanting to wait for another week in this horrible place until the relevant spare part had arrived, we decided to take a small gamble and drive down to Broome (another 700 km from Hals Creek) as soon as possible, only stopping over in Fitzroy Crossing, to see the Geiki Gorge. Our car was fixed 4 hours after arriving in Broome, thanks to a very friendly staff member of the local car rental branch. We are now hoping to continue down south tomorrow with a car that really does 4WD and does not make any more noise.
Victoria River to Wyndham via Keep River National Park – 10&11 November
Today we travelled to the Keep River National Park, just a stonethrow away from the West Australian Border. Keep River National Park is a small park compared to most of the national parks. After 30 km unsealed road we arrived at the campsite to find out we’re the only ones there. A private campground just for the two of us. It was actually the first time that no other people were around and it was quite a strange feeling being completely on our own. I was also rudely reminded of the need to always check the pit toilets first before you use them when a smal gecko crawled out from between my legs. When the campervan was set up we went out for a walk to see the sunset. Again a very very nice view over the surrounding area, a spectacular sunset illuminating the hills to bright orange. After the walk it was almost dark and we had built up quite a sweat, so we decided it was time to try out our solar powered shower (we already prepared it while setting up our campervan). It turned out to work very well, with one of us standing on a stone picnic table holding the shower and the other standing underneath it. Nice warm water, enough to take a short shower each.
The next morning we got up at 6 and left our campsite. It is the only way to do some walking and not get scorched by the heat. On the way out of the park we did another walk to see some aboriginal art painted on the rocks. On our way to Wyndham, we stopped off at Lake Argyle and the Ord Dam, and got a brief taste of the Gibb River Road to find out El Questro was closed.
The next morning we got up at 6 and left our campsite. It is the only way to do some walking and not get scorched by the heat. On the way out of the park we did another walk to see some aboriginal art painted on the rocks. On our way to Wyndham, we stopped off at Lake Argyle and the Ord Dam, and got a brief taste of the Gibb River Road to find out El Questro was closed.
Kakadu to Victoria River via Katherine Gorge – 8&9 November
When you are travelling for a long period of time, you start noticing that there are different types of travellers.
The first category, the Bum Traveller, seems to hang around in hostels with no specific purpose for indefinite amounts of time. Because they are often there for quite a while, they may start to act a like they own the place with little regard for the other guests. A good example of this was a guy that stayed in our hostel in Darwin. His entire body covered in fluff, this guy never wore anything but a pair of shorts, and seemed to do little more than spend hours fiddling on a guitar, cook, watch TV or hang in the swimming pool. In the evening, he would treat everyone to very loud heavy metal, which he played on the DVD player in the living room.
Then there are the Young Travellers. In their late teens or early twenties, these travellers do exactly what they would do back at home. Surrounded by their peers, they talk about supposed ‘cool stuff’, drink beer, and most importantly, do nothing unusual or out of the ordinary. There were quite of few of these kind of travellers in our hostel in Adelaide, which reminded me a little too much of living in student halls. There was a Dutch girl who told us that she didn’t like Asia, because “her Australia tour had stopped over in Hong Kong for 1 day and the people were too rushed and everything was in Chinese”. And a German guy, who had decided to grow his first beard, which resulted in a very blond, very fluffy goaty.
Then there are the Hardcore Travellers, of which we met quite a few in Malaysia. These people find any place that is too clean, easy to travel or slightly Westernised ‘boring’ and always seem to be looking for the most uncomfortable off-the-beaten track experience, which they can then boast about afterwards. They also make a point of carrying as little luggage as possible (around half of the luggage that any other backpacker is carrying), including only 1 t-shirt and 1 pair of shorts. If you’re lucky, they will wash these overnight, otherwise you just have to cope with the smell.
The final, and to a certain extent, most unpleasant type of traveller, is the Unfriendly Couple. Unfortunately we have come across a few of these since we embarked on our own 4WD adventure. Seeking independence and solitude by travelling around in their own vehicle, these couple seem to take it as a personal offense that you have decided to take the same walk, stay on the same campsite or travel the same route. We reasoned that they are probably on a short holiday from their busy, hectic lives at home and are therefore looking for privacy, but that it still no reason not to greet someone back. There was one couple that we came across at least 6 times in 2 days, but even the sixth time, when we thought it was getting quite funny and absurd, they could barely utter hello. Or our German neighbours on the campsite in Kakadu NP. When we saw them again on the Yellow River Boattrip and accidentally touched his arm, he could only hiss irritatedly for ruining his perfect photo opportunity. You can imagine we weren’t particularly thrilled when we spotted them again on the campsite at Katherine Gorge, but thankfully we haven’t come across them again since.
However, most people that we have met are very friendly and fun, and we often find ourselves chatting away for a few minutes with complete strangers, exchanging travel tips and experiences.
On Friday morning we decided to do a half day canoo trip through the beautiful Katherine Gorge, which offered plenty of fantastic swimming opportunities. We then continued onto Victoria River, where we stayed at the campsite of the Victoria River Roadhouse. After a bit of relaxing in the afternoon, we walked to a lookout point which offered an amazing view over the red sandstone clifs of the Gregory National Park. At moments like that Australia is just so huge, and it was really awe-inspiring when we were standing there with just the two of us. Even though still hot, it is much less humid here and at night it even got quite pleasant. Combined with the fact that the campsite offered electricity, this inspired us to set up our own open air cinema and watch a couple of episodes of Scrubs on the laptop under the starry sky!
This morning, after I nearly dislodged an electricity and water point by driving off with the cable still plugged in, we set off for the Keep River National Park, just on the border with West Australia, where we’re hoping to see some more awesome nature and maybe meet some friendly travellers.
The first category, the Bum Traveller, seems to hang around in hostels with no specific purpose for indefinite amounts of time. Because they are often there for quite a while, they may start to act a like they own the place with little regard for the other guests. A good example of this was a guy that stayed in our hostel in Darwin. His entire body covered in fluff, this guy never wore anything but a pair of shorts, and seemed to do little more than spend hours fiddling on a guitar, cook, watch TV or hang in the swimming pool. In the evening, he would treat everyone to very loud heavy metal, which he played on the DVD player in the living room.
Then there are the Young Travellers. In their late teens or early twenties, these travellers do exactly what they would do back at home. Surrounded by their peers, they talk about supposed ‘cool stuff’, drink beer, and most importantly, do nothing unusual or out of the ordinary. There were quite of few of these kind of travellers in our hostel in Adelaide, which reminded me a little too much of living in student halls. There was a Dutch girl who told us that she didn’t like Asia, because “her Australia tour had stopped over in Hong Kong for 1 day and the people were too rushed and everything was in Chinese”. And a German guy, who had decided to grow his first beard, which resulted in a very blond, very fluffy goaty.
Then there are the Hardcore Travellers, of which we met quite a few in Malaysia. These people find any place that is too clean, easy to travel or slightly Westernised ‘boring’ and always seem to be looking for the most uncomfortable off-the-beaten track experience, which they can then boast about afterwards. They also make a point of carrying as little luggage as possible (around half of the luggage that any other backpacker is carrying), including only 1 t-shirt and 1 pair of shorts. If you’re lucky, they will wash these overnight, otherwise you just have to cope with the smell.
The final, and to a certain extent, most unpleasant type of traveller, is the Unfriendly Couple. Unfortunately we have come across a few of these since we embarked on our own 4WD adventure. Seeking independence and solitude by travelling around in their own vehicle, these couple seem to take it as a personal offense that you have decided to take the same walk, stay on the same campsite or travel the same route. We reasoned that they are probably on a short holiday from their busy, hectic lives at home and are therefore looking for privacy, but that it still no reason not to greet someone back. There was one couple that we came across at least 6 times in 2 days, but even the sixth time, when we thought it was getting quite funny and absurd, they could barely utter hello. Or our German neighbours on the campsite in Kakadu NP. When we saw them again on the Yellow River Boattrip and accidentally touched his arm, he could only hiss irritatedly for ruining his perfect photo opportunity. You can imagine we weren’t particularly thrilled when we spotted them again on the campsite at Katherine Gorge, but thankfully we haven’t come across them again since.
However, most people that we have met are very friendly and fun, and we often find ourselves chatting away for a few minutes with complete strangers, exchanging travel tips and experiences.
On Friday morning we decided to do a half day canoo trip through the beautiful Katherine Gorge, which offered plenty of fantastic swimming opportunities. We then continued onto Victoria River, where we stayed at the campsite of the Victoria River Roadhouse. After a bit of relaxing in the afternoon, we walked to a lookout point which offered an amazing view over the red sandstone clifs of the Gregory National Park. At moments like that Australia is just so huge, and it was really awe-inspiring when we were standing there with just the two of us. Even though still hot, it is much less humid here and at night it even got quite pleasant. Combined with the fact that the campsite offered electricity, this inspired us to set up our own open air cinema and watch a couple of episodes of Scrubs on the laptop under the starry sky!
This morning, after I nearly dislodged an electricity and water point by driving off with the cable still plugged in, we set off for the Keep River National Park, just on the border with West Australia, where we’re hoping to see some more awesome nature and maybe meet some friendly travellers.
Darwin to Litchfield and Kakadu National Park – 5-7 November
On Monday 5 November we left Darwin to embark on a 33 day journey to Perth, via Lichfield NP, Kakadu NP, part of the Gibb River Road through the Kimberleys and all the way down the coast from Broome. During this time we should cover more than 6000 kilometres, which, at a fuel consumption of 5km per liter, will cost us more than half of our daily budget on diesel. The gas guzzling machine that we’re taking on this journey is a Toyota Landcruiser, a vehicle which René has dreamt of driving since Top Gear showed how indestructible its even sturdier sister, the Hilux, is. This particular Landcruiser has been converted into a so called ‘bush campervan’, which means that you should be able to cook, eat, live and sleep in it. However, we have hardly any storage space for luggage as the a roof that folds up to reveal a ‘double bed’ needs to be folded back again when you’re driving. As a result, ‘bush campervanning’ is such a cramped space has already turned out to be quite a challenge, although we are getting more of a hang of it now. This challenge is made even greater with temparatures of around 35+ Celsius that hardly drop during the night, and a humidity of between 70 and 90%. So when we’re trying to do anything inside the van, such as cooking or making the bed, sweat will be pooring off our bodies like the water trickling down the Gunlom falls during the dry season. No wonder that whenever you ask an Australian in the Northern Territory whether they think it might rain later they all reply ‘I hope so’.
The first day we travelled to Litchfield National Park, about 170 km south of Darwin, and home to some beautiful waterfalls and massive termite mounds. Water, unfortunately, also brings musquitos, so after 2 blessed itch free weeks, we are now covered in bites again. The first night we stayed on a rather primitive campsite near the Wangi Falls, which offered cold showers, but no electricity or light. So when we wanted to have a wash before going to bed, we took turns in shedding light with our headtorch, which the other was taking a shower.
Because the sun sets around 18:30 and it’s pitchblack by 19:30, we have slightly adapted our daily routine by setting alarm at 6:00, so that we can enjoy some of the slightly cooler – or more appropriately: slightly less scorching - hours of the day. Depending on how long we are able to entertain ourselves outside in the dark, we go to bed between 21:00 and 22:00. Reading inside the campervan with the lights on is too hot, unless you open the doors, which means hosting an insect disco within minutes.
So after getting up very early on Tuesday morning, we took a short walk to the beautiful Wangi falls, and saw a Kookaburra (a strange bird with a ridiculously large head), a large white Cackatoo and a tree full of Flying Foxes (bats). Whilst continuing our journey to Kakadu NP, we came across lots of kangaroos and wallibis, who were munching on the fresh new grass along the road which comes at the beginning of the wet season. Kakadu is the largest National Park of Australia and home to an amazing variety of birds, as a result of the many permanent rivers and billabongs (small waterholes). During the wet season the freshwater from the rains collected in the river clashes with the saltwater brought in during high tide. As a result, the large plains next to the river are completely flooded, blocking many of the roads and tracks. The park is also renowned for its cultural heritage, with lots of Aboriginal rock drawings, some of which go back thousands of years. We went to see some of these rock drawings at the end of the afternoon at Ubirr, and climbed to the viewpoint, from which we had an amazing view over the park and the floodplains and the border of Arnhemland.
On Wednesday, we went for an early morning walk through layered sandstone outliers, before continuing to the visitor centre near Jabiru, where we viewed a very interesting film about the wildlife in the park and the culture of the Aboriginal people that still live here. To be honest. until so far, we hadn’t been too impressed with the Aboriginals, as most encounters had been in the cities, where you see many unemployed, drunk and/or slightly crazy Aboriginals. The visitor centre, aboriginal culture centre and ranger talks in Kakadu have brought a much better understanding of these people and their way of life. Their knoweldge about the bush, and their ability to live in such close harmony with nature is impressive and it made me realise how far removed we are. If I were put in the bush for 1 day, I would have no idea how to make a shelter or create a fire or what plans to eat and where to hunt. It made me really sad to hear how most of the Aboriginal culture will be lost very soon, as their are no new generations to learn from the elderly.
After the visitor center, we put our Landcruiser to the test by taking a real 4 WD track to the Sandy Billabong. We then decided to take it easy and choose a campsite with a nice swimming pool, where we spent the rest of the afternoon.
On Thursday, we took a 2 hour sunrise boattrip on the Yellow River, where we were presented with an amazing variety of birds – the white-bellied Sea Eagle, the Pied Heron, the Egret, the Black-Necked Stork, the Azure Kingfisher and the Comb-crested Jacana, whose toes are so long that they can walk on waterlillies, and, lots of Saltwater Crocodiles! We then continued our journey towards Pine Creek, before taking a detour to the Gunlom Falls (made famous by Crocodile Dundee!), again a pretty challenging track. We are now on our way to Katherine, where we’re planning to get the shopping, re-fuel the car and spend the night.
The first day we travelled to Litchfield National Park, about 170 km south of Darwin, and home to some beautiful waterfalls and massive termite mounds. Water, unfortunately, also brings musquitos, so after 2 blessed itch free weeks, we are now covered in bites again. The first night we stayed on a rather primitive campsite near the Wangi Falls, which offered cold showers, but no electricity or light. So when we wanted to have a wash before going to bed, we took turns in shedding light with our headtorch, which the other was taking a shower.
Because the sun sets around 18:30 and it’s pitchblack by 19:30, we have slightly adapted our daily routine by setting alarm at 6:00, so that we can enjoy some of the slightly cooler – or more appropriately: slightly less scorching - hours of the day. Depending on how long we are able to entertain ourselves outside in the dark, we go to bed between 21:00 and 22:00. Reading inside the campervan with the lights on is too hot, unless you open the doors, which means hosting an insect disco within minutes.
So after getting up very early on Tuesday morning, we took a short walk to the beautiful Wangi falls, and saw a Kookaburra (a strange bird with a ridiculously large head), a large white Cackatoo and a tree full of Flying Foxes (bats). Whilst continuing our journey to Kakadu NP, we came across lots of kangaroos and wallibis, who were munching on the fresh new grass along the road which comes at the beginning of the wet season. Kakadu is the largest National Park of Australia and home to an amazing variety of birds, as a result of the many permanent rivers and billabongs (small waterholes). During the wet season the freshwater from the rains collected in the river clashes with the saltwater brought in during high tide. As a result, the large plains next to the river are completely flooded, blocking many of the roads and tracks. The park is also renowned for its cultural heritage, with lots of Aboriginal rock drawings, some of which go back thousands of years. We went to see some of these rock drawings at the end of the afternoon at Ubirr, and climbed to the viewpoint, from which we had an amazing view over the park and the floodplains and the border of Arnhemland.
On Wednesday, we went for an early morning walk through layered sandstone outliers, before continuing to the visitor centre near Jabiru, where we viewed a very interesting film about the wildlife in the park and the culture of the Aboriginal people that still live here. To be honest. until so far, we hadn’t been too impressed with the Aboriginals, as most encounters had been in the cities, where you see many unemployed, drunk and/or slightly crazy Aboriginals. The visitor centre, aboriginal culture centre and ranger talks in Kakadu have brought a much better understanding of these people and their way of life. Their knoweldge about the bush, and their ability to live in such close harmony with nature is impressive and it made me realise how far removed we are. If I were put in the bush for 1 day, I would have no idea how to make a shelter or create a fire or what plans to eat and where to hunt. It made me really sad to hear how most of the Aboriginal culture will be lost very soon, as their are no new generations to learn from the elderly.
After the visitor center, we put our Landcruiser to the test by taking a real 4 WD track to the Sandy Billabong. We then decided to take it easy and choose a campsite with a nice swimming pool, where we spent the rest of the afternoon.
On Thursday, we took a 2 hour sunrise boattrip on the Yellow River, where we were presented with an amazing variety of birds – the white-bellied Sea Eagle, the Pied Heron, the Egret, the Black-Necked Stork, the Azure Kingfisher and the Comb-crested Jacana, whose toes are so long that they can walk on waterlillies, and, lots of Saltwater Crocodiles! We then continued our journey towards Pine Creek, before taking a detour to the Gunlom Falls (made famous by Crocodile Dundee!), again a pretty challenging track. We are now on our way to Katherine, where we’re planning to get the shopping, re-fuel the car and spend the night.
zaterdag 3 november 2007
Photos Outback Adventure
Please click on the link below and then click on the 'diavoorstelling' button, just above the photo labelled 'DAY 1: Coober Pedy...'
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| Coober Pedy to Alice Springs |
Coober Pedy to Alice Springs - 25-31 October
After 3 rather boring days in Adelaide, we hopped on the Greyhound bus to Coober Pedy on Wednesday 24 October at 18:00. It’s amazing how your concept of time changes as you are travelling. You get so used to waiting or doing very little, that a 12 hour busride passes quickly and you arrive on your place of destination before you know it. So after a bit of reading, watching a film, a dinner stop and a couple of hours of sleep, I woke up at 5:30 when the busdriver announced we would be in Coober Pedy in 5 minutes.
So there we were at the Coober Pedy busstation, at 5:40 in the morning, when it was just getting light. We were greeted by a friendly man that was responsible for running the busstation and distributing the freight that came in with the buses. He kindly allowed us to store our bags in the station, whilst he went to the post office to drop off a couple of parcels and directed us to the Coober Pedy bakery, the only place in town that was already open. After coffee, tea and breakfast he dropped us off with his postvan at the Umooja opal museum, where we were supposed to meet our tour group at around noon. The owner of the museum, who also ran a couple of backpackers’ dorm caves kindly offered us a couple of hours of sleep in one of the bunks. So after 2 hours of sleep and a quick tour of the town, we met our tour group at noon. After lunch, we did a tour of the opal mine and underground houses, which was very interesting. The majority of people in Coober Pedy live in underground homes, which are a consistent temparature of 20-25 Celsius, compared to the temperatures outside that range between 0-50 Celsius. All you need to do a purchase a piece of land – after that you can excavate the house that you want. This can either be done by hand – a cheap but timeconsuming option (about 2 months for 1 room) - or automatically (about 1 day for 1 room at $1000 per day). Any opal that is found in the process of creating your house is yours, which means people keep on expanding and expanding their home once opal is found. As a result, the biggest underground house in Coober Pedy counts 44 rooms but accomodates only 1 person. Some people even take it a step further. When they find opal, they start illegially digging underneath their neighbours, and occasionally end up breaking through their neighbours’ wall.
After the tour, we headed to our first outback camp at Mount Barry. I won’t go into massive detail about everything we saw and did on a daily basis, but will let the photos speak for themselves. However, here’s a general impression of what a day of our tour looked like. We would wake up anywhere between 4am and 6:30am (travelling can be really tiring) to breakfast with bread toasted on the campfire. After clearing away all our gear, we would head to the next spot for a morning walk. Our vehicle consisted of a Toyota Landcruiser with 3 people squeezed in the front and another 7 in the back – all pretty cosy, especially considering we had 2 very big guys on our tour. The battered trailer behind the vehicle carried all the luggage, including cooking equipment, food for a couple of days, water for 10 people for a couple of days, all our bags and sleeping bags. After the morning walk, we’d do a couple of hours more driving or have lunch straight away (freshly made salad and sandwiches) followed by some more driving and sometimes a swim in a waterhole, or when available, a swimming pool. We would usually arrive at our next camp at 6pm, when everyone would start the required tasks to set up camp and prepare dinner before sunset. After dinner, we would sit around the campfire for a while, before retiring to our swags, big canvas sleeping bags with a matras in them. Sleeping under the stars in the middle of nowhere was really an amazing experience and something we won’t forget easily. We first night we were both rather cold towards the morning, but once we figured out how to put the swags together so we could connect our sleeping bags, we were able to keep each other warm.
Because we were camping in the middle of nowhere every night, there were no toilets, which meant peeing in the wild. We also had a special shovel to dig a hole and cover it up in case you needed to go for ‘a big one’, as Eric, our French group member called it. Because of the lack of showers and the enormous amount of dust generated by driving on unpaved road, our clothes, bodies and bags all had a red glare after less than 2 days and our hair felt like rope. This ‘outback look’ was particularly apparent when confronted with the tourists that travelled in airconditioned buses and stayed in hotels at some of the more touristy attractions. This tour has definitely been one of the highlights of our trip until so far and an experience to remember!
So there we were at the Coober Pedy busstation, at 5:40 in the morning, when it was just getting light. We were greeted by a friendly man that was responsible for running the busstation and distributing the freight that came in with the buses. He kindly allowed us to store our bags in the station, whilst he went to the post office to drop off a couple of parcels and directed us to the Coober Pedy bakery, the only place in town that was already open. After coffee, tea and breakfast he dropped us off with his postvan at the Umooja opal museum, where we were supposed to meet our tour group at around noon. The owner of the museum, who also ran a couple of backpackers’ dorm caves kindly offered us a couple of hours of sleep in one of the bunks. So after 2 hours of sleep and a quick tour of the town, we met our tour group at noon. After lunch, we did a tour of the opal mine and underground houses, which was very interesting. The majority of people in Coober Pedy live in underground homes, which are a consistent temparature of 20-25 Celsius, compared to the temperatures outside that range between 0-50 Celsius. All you need to do a purchase a piece of land – after that you can excavate the house that you want. This can either be done by hand – a cheap but timeconsuming option (about 2 months for 1 room) - or automatically (about 1 day for 1 room at $1000 per day). Any opal that is found in the process of creating your house is yours, which means people keep on expanding and expanding their home once opal is found. As a result, the biggest underground house in Coober Pedy counts 44 rooms but accomodates only 1 person. Some people even take it a step further. When they find opal, they start illegially digging underneath their neighbours, and occasionally end up breaking through their neighbours’ wall.
After the tour, we headed to our first outback camp at Mount Barry. I won’t go into massive detail about everything we saw and did on a daily basis, but will let the photos speak for themselves. However, here’s a general impression of what a day of our tour looked like. We would wake up anywhere between 4am and 6:30am (travelling can be really tiring) to breakfast with bread toasted on the campfire. After clearing away all our gear, we would head to the next spot for a morning walk. Our vehicle consisted of a Toyota Landcruiser with 3 people squeezed in the front and another 7 in the back – all pretty cosy, especially considering we had 2 very big guys on our tour. The battered trailer behind the vehicle carried all the luggage, including cooking equipment, food for a couple of days, water for 10 people for a couple of days, all our bags and sleeping bags. After the morning walk, we’d do a couple of hours more driving or have lunch straight away (freshly made salad and sandwiches) followed by some more driving and sometimes a swim in a waterhole, or when available, a swimming pool. We would usually arrive at our next camp at 6pm, when everyone would start the required tasks to set up camp and prepare dinner before sunset. After dinner, we would sit around the campfire for a while, before retiring to our swags, big canvas sleeping bags with a matras in them. Sleeping under the stars in the middle of nowhere was really an amazing experience and something we won’t forget easily. We first night we were both rather cold towards the morning, but once we figured out how to put the swags together so we could connect our sleeping bags, we were able to keep each other warm.
Because we were camping in the middle of nowhere every night, there were no toilets, which meant peeing in the wild. We also had a special shovel to dig a hole and cover it up in case you needed to go for ‘a big one’, as Eric, our French group member called it. Because of the lack of showers and the enormous amount of dust generated by driving on unpaved road, our clothes, bodies and bags all had a red glare after less than 2 days and our hair felt like rope. This ‘outback look’ was particularly apparent when confronted with the tourists that travelled in airconditioned buses and stayed in hotels at some of the more touristy attractions. This tour has definitely been one of the highlights of our trip until so far and an experience to remember!
maandag 22 oktober 2007
Adelaide - 22 October
Naar een voorspoedige, maar vermoeiende reis van Singapore naar Brisbane, en Brisbane naar Adelaide, zijn we gisteravond aangekomen in Adelaide. Na een maand in Azië, is het wel even wennen in Australië: alles is zoveel duurder! We moeten nu echt op ons budget letten en kunnen niet zo maar alles doen en eten, zoals we gewend waren. Ook het weer valt een beetje tegen: het is hier vandaag koud en regenachtig! Zo hadden we ons Australië niet voorgesteld. Gelukkig zijn de vooruitzichten goed en wordt het woensdag al weer beter. Waarschijnlijk zullen we binnenkort wel terug verlangen naar de kou en de regen, want vandaag hebben we onze reis naar Alice Spring en Uluru geregeld! We gaan 7 dagen bushcampen in de outback! Met een groep van 10 mensen in een 4WD, en slapen in de woestijn onder de sterren. Dat wordt wel een beetje afzien maar ook een geweldige ervaring. En zolang er geen bloedzuigers zijn of 100% luchtvochtigheid, zoals in de jungle in Borneo, zal het allemaal wel meevallen. Een compleet overzicht van onze trip kun je vinden op http://www.headingbush.com/. We gaan woensdagavond met de Greyhound bus naar Coober Pedy, en worden dan donderdag aan het einde van de ochtend opgehaald. Omdat de reis al begonnen is en wij pas later opstappen, hebben we een erg goede deal gekregen. Binnenkort kun je dus foto’s van ons onder het rode stof bewonderen op de weblog!
Semporna to Singapore - 17 October
It is amazing how much your standards, expectations and perceptions can change over the course of 3.5 weeks. Tonight we arrived back in Singapore after travelling through Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo for 24 days. Had we felt slightly concerned about the safety of our belongings, the hygiene of the hawker’s stalls or the tropical odour of the durian during our first visit, now we are amazed by how clean, efficient and Western Singapore really is.
This morning we set off just before 10 from Seporna, which easily beats Kota Bharu to the number 1 spot of most horrible towns in Malaysia. Only popular because of its vicinity to some of the best diving spots in the world, Semporna is busy, poor and dirty, and the first place in Malaysia we have been to where children are begging on the street. Fortunately, Vincent (the hostel owner of the Tropicana Lodge in KK) had recommended an excellent hotel, the Sipadan Inn, on oasis of peace, quiet and hygiene in this otherwise so unappeling town.
Even though our flight was only at 16:05, and the busride to Tawau Airport only 1.5 hours by minibus, we decided to set off early because we had been told that there was no set schedule and the buses to Tawau only leave when full. Having read about the Asian habit to stuff as many people as possible into a rackety minibus, and the likeliness of a breakdown, we expected at least 1 hour waiting time befoe the bus left, and calculated about 2.5 hours for the journey. However, as soon as we arrived at the busstation, we were assigned the last 2 seats in an already full minibus, and we took off only a few minutes later, after they managed to squeeze a fourth passenger on the backseat of the bus. At 11:15 we arrived at the airport, with nearly 5 boring hours to go before our flight left. Thankfully, even though it there’s about the same amount of daily flights leaving from it, Tawau Airport has quite a few more facilities than Coventry Airport, (for those who are unfamiliar with it: a large shed with a landing strip next to it), so we could at least get something to eat and even managed to buy a final souvenir before we took off.
At 18:15 our flight landed in Johor Bahru, just over the border with Singapore. Even though not much further away from Singapore than 20 km, it took us over 3 hours to make it to our hostel, due to excessive security and customs procedures at the border. But wow! The roads are so well maintained here, the people so used to foreigners, the women clad so much more skimpily, and everything just so much more organised and clean, that we’re nearly suffering our first reverse culture shock.
This morning we set off just before 10 from Seporna, which easily beats Kota Bharu to the number 1 spot of most horrible towns in Malaysia. Only popular because of its vicinity to some of the best diving spots in the world, Semporna is busy, poor and dirty, and the first place in Malaysia we have been to where children are begging on the street. Fortunately, Vincent (the hostel owner of the Tropicana Lodge in KK) had recommended an excellent hotel, the Sipadan Inn, on oasis of peace, quiet and hygiene in this otherwise so unappeling town.
Even though our flight was only at 16:05, and the busride to Tawau Airport only 1.5 hours by minibus, we decided to set off early because we had been told that there was no set schedule and the buses to Tawau only leave when full. Having read about the Asian habit to stuff as many people as possible into a rackety minibus, and the likeliness of a breakdown, we expected at least 1 hour waiting time befoe the bus left, and calculated about 2.5 hours for the journey. However, as soon as we arrived at the busstation, we were assigned the last 2 seats in an already full minibus, and we took off only a few minutes later, after they managed to squeeze a fourth passenger on the backseat of the bus. At 11:15 we arrived at the airport, with nearly 5 boring hours to go before our flight left. Thankfully, even though it there’s about the same amount of daily flights leaving from it, Tawau Airport has quite a few more facilities than Coventry Airport, (for those who are unfamiliar with it: a large shed with a landing strip next to it), so we could at least get something to eat and even managed to buy a final souvenir before we took off.
At 18:15 our flight landed in Johor Bahru, just over the border with Singapore. Even though not much further away from Singapore than 20 km, it took us over 3 hours to make it to our hostel, due to excessive security and customs procedures at the border. But wow! The roads are so well maintained here, the people so used to foreigners, the women clad so much more skimpily, and everything just so much more organised and clean, that we’re nearly suffering our first reverse culture shock.
Diving at Sipadan Island - 15 & 16 October
On 15 and 16 October we went snorkling and diving around Sipadan Island. Sipadan Island is a very small tropical island located in the Celebes Sea on the coast of North Borneo. Sipadan was declared a national park in 1997. This means that there’s limited access to the island and only 150 people per day may enter Sipadan and its surrouding waters. This is strictly regulated by the Malaysian government and a small regiment of soldiers stationed on the island. These are the only people that are permanent residents. Before 1997, there were a couple of small resorts to accommodate the tourists. Now these buildings are abandoned and no longer in use.
On the morning of the 15th we needed to be at the North Borneo Divers diveshop in Semporna at 8:00. Even when we’re travelling we have to get up early sometimes ;-). At 8:30 we went to the boat, which was quite big compared to the other boats we’ve been on so far, but it was equipped with 2x 200 HP engines, so it was very fast. Still, it took us little over one hour and approximately 100L (fuel tanks were transparant 25L jerry cans) of fuel to reach the Island. On the first day I did three dives, all around 45 minutes and between 22 and 15 meters deep. Marjolein went snorkling along the beach and the coral. About 50 meters from the beach there was a huge drop off, dropping down to at least 50 meters. Who thought you could have vertigo when you’re snorkling…? During the dives I saw a wide variety of sealife including huge turtles (too many to count), white tip reef sharks, barracudas, a huge school of travellies and lots and lots more.
After the diving we went to Mabul Island to spend the night in a Longhouse. We stayed with a family who participated in the homestay program, which was very interesting because you get a view of how the local people live their lives. The village on the island was one of the poorest vilages we’ve seen so far. It was rather crude to watch children play in the water, just metres away from where our toilet flushed directly into the sea. A rather strange contrast with the two super expensive resorts that are on the Island as well. Local people may not even enter the premises of these resorts. Our room was very basic with electricity only available from 18:00 till 06:00, which meant we woke up very early from the increasing heat when the fan had stopped working. We know that in Bora Bora there are some very expensive resorts that have glass panels in the floor, which allow you to see the sea and sealife underneath. At Mabul, we had a very budget version of this, with holes in the linoleum and cracks between the floorboards, which allowed us to see the aquamarine water underneath.
The next day, we did the same all over again. I did three dives, Marjolein snorkeled and we were back at Semporna harbour around 16:30 hr. Sipadan Island is known as one of the top ten best divesits in the world. I can only say that I fully agree. It is the best dive site I’ve seen so far since I got my license back in 2001.
On the morning of the 15th we needed to be at the North Borneo Divers diveshop in Semporna at 8:00. Even when we’re travelling we have to get up early sometimes ;-). At 8:30 we went to the boat, which was quite big compared to the other boats we’ve been on so far, but it was equipped with 2x 200 HP engines, so it was very fast. Still, it took us little over one hour and approximately 100L (fuel tanks were transparant 25L jerry cans) of fuel to reach the Island. On the first day I did three dives, all around 45 minutes and between 22 and 15 meters deep. Marjolein went snorkling along the beach and the coral. About 50 meters from the beach there was a huge drop off, dropping down to at least 50 meters. Who thought you could have vertigo when you’re snorkling…? During the dives I saw a wide variety of sealife including huge turtles (too many to count), white tip reef sharks, barracudas, a huge school of travellies and lots and lots more.
After the diving we went to Mabul Island to spend the night in a Longhouse. We stayed with a family who participated in the homestay program, which was very interesting because you get a view of how the local people live their lives. The village on the island was one of the poorest vilages we’ve seen so far. It was rather crude to watch children play in the water, just metres away from where our toilet flushed directly into the sea. A rather strange contrast with the two super expensive resorts that are on the Island as well. Local people may not even enter the premises of these resorts. Our room was very basic with electricity only available from 18:00 till 06:00, which meant we woke up very early from the increasing heat when the fan had stopped working. We know that in Bora Bora there are some very expensive resorts that have glass panels in the floor, which allow you to see the sea and sealife underneath. At Mabul, we had a very budget version of this, with holes in the linoleum and cracks between the floorboards, which allowed us to see the aquamarine water underneath.
The next day, we did the same all over again. I did three dives, Marjolein snorkeled and we were back at Semporna harbour around 16:30 hr. Sipadan Island is known as one of the top ten best divesits in the world. I can only say that I fully agree. It is the best dive site I’ve seen so far since I got my license back in 2001.
dinsdag 16 oktober 2007
Photos Sipadan
Even though the boat to Sipadan was pretty modern with 2 x 200 horsepower engines, the petrol tank was rather primitive. A couple of jerrycans full of fuel that needed to be swapped during the boatride.
Welcome to Sipadan, one of the 10 best divesites in the world!
Sipadan seen from the diving boat
René in full diving gear
Going overboard
Everything ok!
Tiny lobster in the sand
Mabul homestay, where we slept in between our 2 days at Sipadan
Taking a shower outside
Sunset at Mabul homestay
zondag 14 oktober 2007
Photos Kinabatangan National Park
Kinabatangan riverfront
Monitor lizard on the riverbank
Silver leaf monkey
White bird or Egret
Kinabatangan river cruise
A tree full of probiscus monkeys
Sunset over the river
At our jungle lodge
A tree full of probiscus monkeys
Sunset over the river
At our jungle lodge
Kinabatangan National Park - 12 & 13 October
Op vrijdag vertrokken we om half negen ’s ochtends voor een lange reis naar Kinabantangan National Park, één van de beste nationale parken van Maleisië in het noordoosten naar Sabah. We werden vervoerd in een minibus, die door backpackers ook wel ‘flying coffins’ – vliegende dooskisten – genoemd worden. Waarom werd ons al snel duidelijk. Onze minibus vloog met flinke snelheid de bochtige bergweggetjes over, terwijl de chauffeur bij voorkeur andere voortuigen inhaalde voor een blinde bocht of net voordat we bovenop een helling kwamen. De route voerde ons door de bergen van Sabah heen, langs de zeer indrukwekkende Mount Kinabalu, met 4200 meter de hoogste berg van Zuidoost Azië. Na ene flink hobbelige weg, waarbij we regelmatig bijna een halve meter in de lucht vlogen (we zaten dan ook boven het wiel achterin de bus), sloegen we een onverharde weg in. Toen we een half uur echt goed door elkaar geschut waren, kwamen we aan op de plaats van bestemming waar we met de boot afgeleverd weren in ons junglekamp.
Ons onderkomen hier is het meest primitieve dat we tot nu toe meegemaakt hebben. Een piepklein kamertje met twee beden, en een badkamertje met WC, wastafel en koude douche. We kunnen ons nog net langs de bedden wringen. De jungle is prachtig en er is hier enorm veel wildlife te zien. Gisteren hebben we eerst een rivercruise gedaan van 1.5 uur, tijdens welke we een krokodil, een aantal makaken en 3 bomen vol de befaamde probiscus apen hebben gezien! Na het eten was er een night walk in de jungle georganiseerd. Al vrij snel wist onze gids een schorpioen te vinden, en daarnaast liet hij ons een aantal grote insecten, hagedissen, gekko’s en een paar slapende vogeltjes zien. Tijdens de ochtendcruise vandaag zagen we heel veel prachtige vogels, waaronder de neushoornvogel en de kingfisher, een aantal ‘silver leaf’ apen en een grote varaan.
Waar ik het tot nu toe nog niet over gehad heb, is het minder prettige ‘wildlife’van Maleisië, namelijk het ongedierte. Na de eerste kakkerlak gespot te hebben in de Kota Bharu, schrok ik me in de Perhentians de tandjes toen ik ’s nachts op de WC een enorm rood beest zag lopen. Ik had op dat moment geen bril op dus schreeuwde heel hard ‘Kakkerlak!’, maar bij nadere inspectie door René bleek dat het om een mier van 4 cm ging. Deze mieren zijn hier in de jungle geen uitzondering en daar kijken we dus al lang niet meer van op. Ook de muggen zijn op sommige plekken echt heel vervelend. In tegenstelling tot Nederland, waar het gezoem vaak irritanter is dan dat ene kleine bultje wat je er aan over houdt, merk je de muskieten hier nauwelijks op, maar ze laten wel enorme, flink jeukende bulten achter. Vooral in de Perhentian Islands en Kuching zaten we helemaal onder. Dankzij Mosiguard, valt het hier gelukkig wel mee. De kakkerlakken, mieren en muggen zijn echter niets vergeleken bij de bloedzuigers waarmee het hier vol zit. Kleine zwart-rode slijmerige beestjes van zo’n 2 cm lang, die zodra ze bloed ruiken wel 5 cm lang kunnen worden om dan op je huid te kunnen springen en zich eens lekker even vastzuigen. Je komt ook lastig van de krengen af als ze eenmaal op je zitten, zelf als ze zich nog niet vastgezogen hebben. Na onze jungletrek vandaag, had René ineens een bloedvlek op zijn broek zitten – een teken dat een bloedzuiger zich onder zijn shirt had vastgezogen. Gelukkig voor Marjolein, aan wie de taak zou vallen de het beest weg te halen, had hij zich al volgezogen en weer laten vallen, zodat er alleen een bloedend wondje overbleef. Bloedzuigers hebben daarnaast de vervelende gewoonte om een soort van bloedverdunner achter te laten, waardoor je wond nog makkelijk een half uur door blijf bloeden.
Ondanks al dit afzien, genieten we wel met volle teugen van al het moois om ons heen. Het is hier nog zo ongerept en er is zoveel leven, dat je je als mens echt ondergeschikt voelt aan de natuur. En dat is voor ons Nederlanders wel eventjes wennen.
Ons onderkomen hier is het meest primitieve dat we tot nu toe meegemaakt hebben. Een piepklein kamertje met twee beden, en een badkamertje met WC, wastafel en koude douche. We kunnen ons nog net langs de bedden wringen. De jungle is prachtig en er is hier enorm veel wildlife te zien. Gisteren hebben we eerst een rivercruise gedaan van 1.5 uur, tijdens welke we een krokodil, een aantal makaken en 3 bomen vol de befaamde probiscus apen hebben gezien! Na het eten was er een night walk in de jungle georganiseerd. Al vrij snel wist onze gids een schorpioen te vinden, en daarnaast liet hij ons een aantal grote insecten, hagedissen, gekko’s en een paar slapende vogeltjes zien. Tijdens de ochtendcruise vandaag zagen we heel veel prachtige vogels, waaronder de neushoornvogel en de kingfisher, een aantal ‘silver leaf’ apen en een grote varaan.
Waar ik het tot nu toe nog niet over gehad heb, is het minder prettige ‘wildlife’van Maleisië, namelijk het ongedierte. Na de eerste kakkerlak gespot te hebben in de Kota Bharu, schrok ik me in de Perhentians de tandjes toen ik ’s nachts op de WC een enorm rood beest zag lopen. Ik had op dat moment geen bril op dus schreeuwde heel hard ‘Kakkerlak!’, maar bij nadere inspectie door René bleek dat het om een mier van 4 cm ging. Deze mieren zijn hier in de jungle geen uitzondering en daar kijken we dus al lang niet meer van op. Ook de muggen zijn op sommige plekken echt heel vervelend. In tegenstelling tot Nederland, waar het gezoem vaak irritanter is dan dat ene kleine bultje wat je er aan over houdt, merk je de muskieten hier nauwelijks op, maar ze laten wel enorme, flink jeukende bulten achter. Vooral in de Perhentian Islands en Kuching zaten we helemaal onder. Dankzij Mosiguard, valt het hier gelukkig wel mee. De kakkerlakken, mieren en muggen zijn echter niets vergeleken bij de bloedzuigers waarmee het hier vol zit. Kleine zwart-rode slijmerige beestjes van zo’n 2 cm lang, die zodra ze bloed ruiken wel 5 cm lang kunnen worden om dan op je huid te kunnen springen en zich eens lekker even vastzuigen. Je komt ook lastig van de krengen af als ze eenmaal op je zitten, zelf als ze zich nog niet vastgezogen hebben. Na onze jungletrek vandaag, had René ineens een bloedvlek op zijn broek zitten – een teken dat een bloedzuiger zich onder zijn shirt had vastgezogen. Gelukkig voor Marjolein, aan wie de taak zou vallen de het beest weg te halen, had hij zich al volgezogen en weer laten vallen, zodat er alleen een bloedend wondje overbleef. Bloedzuigers hebben daarnaast de vervelende gewoonte om een soort van bloedverdunner achter te laten, waardoor je wond nog makkelijk een half uur door blijf bloeden.
Ondanks al dit afzien, genieten we wel met volle teugen van al het moois om ons heen. Het is hier nog zo ongerept en er is zoveel leven, dat je je als mens echt ondergeschikt voelt aan de natuur. En dat is voor ons Nederlanders wel eventjes wennen.
Photos Kota Kinabalu
Huge cinnamon sticks on the central market
Scraping out the cocunut
In the balcony kitchen of the hostel whilst the chickens are hanging to dry
Vincent cooking the salty baked chicken
Kota Kinabalu - 11 October
Na twee drukke dagen dinsdag en woensdag, en een jungletrip in het vooruitzicht, besloten we het donderdag maar rustig aan te doen. Na lekker uitgeslapen en ontbeten te hebben, heeft René Vincent (onze hosteleigenaar) een tijdje geholpen met het downloaden van muziek en het branden van CDs. Vincent was Bob Marley toch wel een beetje zat aan het worden, en wilde weer eens wat andere muziek voor in zijn auto. Daarna zijn we een beetje rond gaan lopen in KK. De lokale markt bezoeken is altijd leuk, en staat garant voor een groot scala aan geuren, kleuren en indrukken. Zo zagen we kaneelstokken van wel 1.5 meter lang, en ook hoe kokos machinaal uit de noot wordt geschraapt, om vervolgens in zakjes verkocht te worden (zie foto’s).
Terug in het hostel stelde Vincent voor om zijn beroemde ‘Salty Baked Chicken’ te maken, en nam ons mee naar de Chinese markt om een aantal echte scharrelkippen te kopen. Terug in het hostel werden de kippen aan het balkon gehangen (zie foto’s) om te drogen, in speciaal papier verpakt, om vervolgens in een enorme wok bedekt met zout te garen. Heerlijk! Met 1 kip per persoon zaten we wel voller dan vol.
Terug in het hostel stelde Vincent voor om zijn beroemde ‘Salty Baked Chicken’ te maken, en nam ons mee naar de Chinese markt om een aantal echte scharrelkippen te kopen. Terug in het hostel werden de kippen aan het balkon gehangen (zie foto’s) om te drogen, in speciaal papier verpakt, om vervolgens in een enorme wok bedekt met zout te garen. Heerlijk! Met 1 kip per persoon zaten we wel voller dan vol.
woensdag 10 oktober 2007
Photos Kota Kinabalu
View from Mamutik beach at Abdul Rahman Marine Park (watch the clouds coming in)
Vincent, René and Dave
Tropical storm hits the island
With our self made ponchos
Having an Indian with Vincent and Dave
Kota Kinabalu - 10 October
In Dutch we have a saying that goes ‘Zo dronken als een Maleier’ which translates into ‘As drunk as a Malaysian’. Until so far, we found no evidence to support this saying in any way – in fact, the only people that we have really seen drinking alcohol in Malaysia have been foreigners. Until we met Vincent. Vincent is the very jovial owner of the Tropicana Lodge, the hostel we are staying in in Kota Kinabalu. Also called KK, it is the capital of Sabah on the Northeastern point of Borneo. Vincent used to work for pharmaceutical companies and sold medication all over Brunei and Malaysian Borneo, but so he says, he hated his job, his boss and the company. So he quit his job and set up a backpackers hostel. Vincent is now a free spirited soul. He likes to listen to Bob Marley and take care of his guests. He’s incredibly knowledgeable about Sabah and takes on the role of your personal travel agent / tourguide when you stay with him. He also loves to dive, drinks like a fish and smokes like a chimney.
Already last night, after he picked up from the airport and we arrived at the hostel, we were noticing the apparent ease with which Vincent was knocking back the Tiger beers. This only became more clear today, when he took us and Dave, an Australian guy, for a snorkling trip at the Abdul Rahman Marine Park, just off the coast off KK. After starting the day with a spliff, Vincent drove us to the pier at 9:30, from which we took the boat to one of the islands. We went for a snorkling trip, lounged around, had a buffet lunch and went for another snorkling trip. By the time we left the island at 16:15, he had knocked back a total of 8 cans of Tiger Beer and smoked another 3 spliffs.
Leaving the island was quite an adventure in itself, as the tropical island was hit by a tropical storm at about 15:00. We managed to find some shelter under a large canape, but by this time it was raining so hard and the wind was blowing so fiercely that we were still getting wet. Not to worry though, Vincent got us all a binbag from which we fabricated a poncho. This kept the top half of our bodies dry and therefore reasonably warm. Despite the booze and the weed, Vincent turned out to be the most switched on of all of us.
Vincent has also managed to sort us out with a pretty cool trip around Sabah. This is a huge achievement, considering that the Hari Raya (the end of the Ramadan) will virtually paralyse all transport and services in Sabah on the 13th and 14th. Tomorrow we are having a relax day in Kuching, then we are taking a 3 day activity packed trip into the Kinabantan jungle, from which we’re transferring straight to Seporna. There René can dive at Sipadan, one of the world best diving site, whilst I’m going snorkling. In a week’s time, we will be flying back to Singapore from Tawau.
Already last night, after he picked up from the airport and we arrived at the hostel, we were noticing the apparent ease with which Vincent was knocking back the Tiger beers. This only became more clear today, when he took us and Dave, an Australian guy, for a snorkling trip at the Abdul Rahman Marine Park, just off the coast off KK. After starting the day with a spliff, Vincent drove us to the pier at 9:30, from which we took the boat to one of the islands. We went for a snorkling trip, lounged around, had a buffet lunch and went for another snorkling trip. By the time we left the island at 16:15, he had knocked back a total of 8 cans of Tiger Beer and smoked another 3 spliffs.
Leaving the island was quite an adventure in itself, as the tropical island was hit by a tropical storm at about 15:00. We managed to find some shelter under a large canape, but by this time it was raining so hard and the wind was blowing so fiercely that we were still getting wet. Not to worry though, Vincent got us all a binbag from which we fabricated a poncho. This kept the top half of our bodies dry and therefore reasonably warm. Despite the booze and the weed, Vincent turned out to be the most switched on of all of us.
Vincent has also managed to sort us out with a pretty cool trip around Sabah. This is a huge achievement, considering that the Hari Raya (the end of the Ramadan) will virtually paralyse all transport and services in Sabah on the 13th and 14th. Tomorrow we are having a relax day in Kuching, then we are taking a 3 day activity packed trip into the Kinabantan jungle, from which we’re transferring straight to Seporna. There René can dive at Sipadan, one of the world best diving site, whilst I’m going snorkling. In a week’s time, we will be flying back to Singapore from Tawau.
Photos Kuching and Matang Wild Life Centre
Kuching Sunday Market
Posing at the Kuching cat statue
Young Urang Utan returning from a couple of hours in the jungle
The waterfall we hiked to
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