24/1.4

Ahoi!

So here are my shots from our outback adventure last week. We had only 5 days planned for it and didn´t really know if we should book a tour or head out ourselves…We swore we´ll never ever book on a tour again but exploring the Outback for the first time…we didn´t really know what to expect so I had a look and found a nice tour which claimed to be off the beaten track and they had some good arguments for choosing them instead of the other backpacker tours, so we decided to give it a try! It was a good decision on the one side but still, not being able to stop whenever you want isn´t my sorta thing! Anyways, we had a good time and we slept under the stars in Swags (it´s an Aussie thing, google it!)! And that really is awesome! But enough talk, here are the photos:

Entering the plane in Melbourne. The uniformed lady didn´t like me taking a picture…yeeaaaaahhh like I´m a terrorist!

Approaching Alice Springs, Outback from above.

First stop on some stupid camel farm. They had Kangaroos as well. He wasn´t happy about me standing in his light.

Mt. Connor and Asians! Mt. Connor is in one line with Uluru and Kata Tjuta but is significantly older than the other ones, just so you know!

Uluru! Didn´t expect this rock to have such a big effect on me! It really is impressive in it´s size, just magical!

This is the way all the ignorants use to climb the rock. The Anangu people whish that noone climbs the rock because the path used for climbing is sacred to them. I don´t see the point in climbing the rock and the Base Walk (10km) is fascinating, but still many people don´t care about the Aboriginal people…

Sunset time…it´s hilarious: Tables with white table cloth and sparking wine, BBQ…they got everything for their customers!

But I have to say, Uluru during sunset is awesome to look at!

First night on the campground, almost alone (there were some other groups around, but the company we booked the tour with had it´s own campground a little further away than the other ones).

Next morning time for Kata Tjuta, the other and higher rock formation about 40km next to Uluru.

I love dead trees.

Valley of the winds. Breathtaking!

Mike, our guide, explaining how Uluru, Kata Tjuta and first of all Mt. Connor have been formed.

Everyone was asleep after the 4 hour walk!

Offroad firewood collecting.

Our second camp site. Bush, nothing else, we really were the only people around there! I guess in the end it was worth paying more for things like that.

The toilet!

Outback night art.

Time to get some rest in our swags.

Ulli and I felt adventurous so we placed our swags about 5m off the other ones! Everyone says it but its ture, you won´t see more stars than in the Australian Outback!

Kings Canyon, the next amazing site.

“The Garden of Eden”, a permanent waterhole in the desert.

Caroline, our swedish killerwoman helping out, we got bugged (I think our guide did it on purpose, for the experince…)

Last sunset in the Outback…

Alice Springs and the Outback have been a fantastic experience and we really enjoyed it. The Outback is so NOT how we expected it to be, so green and so many plants and animals out there, amazing! Next time we will come with a proper 4WD car and explore it ourselves, thats for sure!

That´s it for now, I need some rest before heading to the Bay of Fires tomorrow. We are travelling Tasmania at the moment (with a car we rent, not on a tour!) and it has been a pleasure so far. Today we stood at a beach and we haven´t been sure if it was snow or sand we were standing on, so white, unbelievable!
More to come soon!

Cheers to everyone and see you soon!

Howdy Folks,

The last week we stayed at the wonderful home of the Phillipsons in Maffra, East Gippsland, VIC.

We had a blast there, our host Heather was so much fun and the house with its views was just amazing. Lots of wildlife too…didn´t take too many pictures cause we had to work our butts off!

So here is what i got (please forgive me about the bad image quality but I cannot render them again cause there is no time! Next entry will have better and bigger photos!):

Moon with aura…this shot was taken in Tallangatta.

Feinschliff…

King Parrot…welcoming us at the house.

Lookout on Mt. … don´t remember the name.

Near the farm during sunset

This happens when someone wants me to fix something…

Echidna showing arse…all those damn animals are so shy here!

View from the climbing rocks back to the farm.

Short bushwalk next day…Heather showing us how to enter a new property in Australia.

Trailer Park in the bush…

Earth Festival in Stratford. Very funny. These are some award winning Brahma Chooks!

Desert for the kids!

Pizza oven which was built by Heather´s sister Beth. That woman is someone else though!

Me in young!

Ulli met Captain Koala!

Heather´s choir had a quick performance.

After Earth Festival Heather showed us the area, here we are on the ferry to Raymond Island. There are approx. 140 Koalas living on that island.

Real aussie bloke (=guy) in one of the first ever made Holden cars!

Ulli spotting a Koala with it´s baby on a tree! It made her real happy

Rainbow Lorikeet

Ha! The real Captain Koala…on a small tree so I didn´t had to climb high!

90Mile beach…it´s not exactly 90 miles long, but almost (around 88miles).

Glennmaggie Scottish Something Festival. Heather was performing with her choir. Lots of drag queens around!

Lots of old people as well!

Some ladies performing…that was really bad, haven´t seen anything like this before…should have taken a video!

I loved their outfits!

Family portrait! Tilly, Beth, Heather and their Mum and Granny.

Last evening at the Phillipsons. View from the house to the climbing rocks.

Main building.

Pool with Pool House.

Pool with amazing clouds.

Heather cooking. Her food was just fantastic!

So that was our 10days in East Gippsland! We loved it there but our time is running out and we have to see more of this magnificent country!

So in approx. 5 hours we are heading to Alice Springs into the red centre of Australia! WOOT!

Next entry in about a week with lots of Outback photos!

Cheerio!

Ahoi!

So the last 10 days we spent at Snowy River Camp which we left yesterday. Now we are in our apartment in Melbourne for the last night…

Heading off to another farm on Sunday. I will keep you updated!

But for now enjoy the last week´s happenings!

Merry and Ulli feeding Douglas! Right before putting him to bed…

Morning milk…

Peter in washing dishes…me not helping…

Ulli serving dinner…me not helping…

Next day at the lake…the light was phenomenal!

The “flying fox”

Landing zone!

Blurry asses…Douglas sat down in his own poo, hence the greenish mark…

He´s the best!

Peter and Merry chillin´

But not for long…one of their cattle got loose so we had to bring it back…

back with his buddies!

So I went horse riding…never would have thought of that! Luisa and Ulli preparing the horses…me still not helping…

Peter cutting nails…

Mei Alde und der Hengst. Really like this one!

So that was it with Snowy River Camp! We really had a great time and we do miss Merry&Peter and Douglas

If there is time we might go back for a week before heading back home…well see!

Alrighty, last night in our wonderful apartment…tomorrow we have to move out and have to sleep the next 2 nights in a hostel before heading to East Gippsland for some farming and rock climbing! WOOHOO!!

Oh an yeah, the Outback is calling! We´re flying to Alice Springs on the 13th! Juchee!

So long, all the bloody best from Down Under!

Cheers.