Thursday, December 24, 2009

merry x-mas and a happy new year!

"Remember, if Christmas isn't found in your heart, you won't find it under a tree." (Charlotte Carpenter)

To all my lovely friends out there; I wish you a merry x-mas and hope you are having a wonderful time with your family and/or friends. For the new year I hope you get the chance to make most of your dreams come true, find time to make new friends, to pursue new goals, find time for yourself and your favourite past time activities and maybe some time to travel and see different places.

I am truly blessed to have all of you as my friends and I hope I can arrange to see most of yous in 2010 in one way or the other!

Enjoy yourselves and Take Care!

Katja

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

working fulltime!

There is finally good news; being patient paid off and I was offered fulltime employment by adecco, still working for VANOC, doing exactly the same thing that I have done over the last few weeks part time. I am working in the Volunteer Recruitment Centre, doing my outmost hiring Volunteers for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2010.

Against the background of the Winter Games many people came to Vancouver in the hope of finding work, as it is expected that thousands of people will be needed for the preparation and realisation of the Games. While this is true for the amount of people needed, job seekers had to realize quickly most of the Olympic workforce is made up of volunteers. People passionate about the Winter Games, about helping out at a big scale event like the Olympics, people who want to represent Canada, being part of a once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity, people who want to meet people from all over the world and quite a few hockey enthusiasts who signed up just to get close to their hockey team! VANOC (who organizes the Olympic and Paralympic Games) is hoping to sign up 25,000 volunteers to make both Games happen and a full success for British Columbia and Canada.

If you happen to have applied to volunteer during the Games, chances are high we'll be contacting you soon (or have already done so recently) as we are dealing with applicants from all over the world. Just today I was talking to people in Germany, the UK, Australia und New Zealand.

I must say I have been more than lucky to have scored a paid job during Olympics time and to be working in the security sector, to make the Games safe for everyone. Just now many employers have realized they need more staff for Games time, as many coffee shops, bars and restaurants are now hiring. So, Vancouver needs Baristas........

Last week I have witnessed first hand a film shoot in downtown Vancouver. What made it so interesting was the fact they were obviously shooting a scene in Germany's Frankfurt as they had replaced all the licence plates with German plates and had even made the effort to change the decals of an urban bus to make it look German (well, the destination sign in the front did it all, by saying: Kaiserstraße). They were shooting parts of a car-race-scene but it took them to long to wind up again the camera to its position up on the roof of a tower building and so I left the scene. Still an interesting experience and I hope I'll see more of it while I am in town!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

stocking up on tissues, vitamines and panadol

The Vancouver weather is really going to get me. In fact, it already got me - right yesterday. Having spent just another day in the rain I came home with a running nose and head ache which over night developed into a flu and all that comes with it: sinus and nose blocked, aches everywhere and feeling tired all day.

I finally managed to score a temporary job with adecco, signing me up for a job with VANOC, which today I had to cancel as it isn't advisable to go to work being sick. Right now there's kind of a panic about H1N1 here in British Columbia so nobody wants to have sick employers turning up at work. So I didn't and stayed in bed.

As mentioned earlier, weather is a bitch and out of 7 days it's raining 6. Whenever I get the chance to leave the house with my camera, I definitely do to take some shots and to avoid going insane. I also at least once a week meet up with a few Germans for coffee, breakfast or a drink and a bit of fun.

Ah and the good news is, I passed my BST exam with 85% what officially makes me a security worker now! Boo-ha!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

hitting the books again

I know it's been a bit silent around here lately but there is not much to write about. For the last few days I have been attending a BST (Basic Security Training) course in order to obtain a security licence. Interesting on the one hand for the opportunity to increase my English vocabulary and get to know some security related stuff but boring on the other hand as we've been talking about the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the difference between criminal and civil law, all sorts of offences and terms like actus reus and mens rea, when to apply force and how much of it; when the use of deadly force is allowed and how to respond to offenders in the right way so the use of force isn't necessary at all.

As I said, it's all quite interesting to a certain extend but after speaking about the whole issue for more than 16 hours (4 training sessions with each lasting 4 hours) I feel like I need to steady myself so not to fall asleep. Doesn't help much having the lessons in the evening and naturally being tired. Anyway, a few more lessons to attend and an exam this friday I need to sit and pass to get the security licence without I wouldn't be allowed to work as a supervisor at the Olympic Games. I am not too worried about the test as it will be a multiple choice test but the biggest challenge so far has been the officialese I must get used to. But I'll manage.

And once I've secured the licence there's a different world opening up to me with job opportunities like bouncer for a night club, security guard or private investigator. I heard you laughing! But you may have noticed I am not taking the whole thing too serious myself so who knows what happens next. Just had a thought though.... when's the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, 2011? I should send my application...

greetings from Vancouver!

Monday, October 12, 2009

short trip to Vancouver Island

Three cities, a total driving distance of 550 kms and two ferry rides each close to two hours and all that in not more than 4 days? You call that ambitious? Yes, that’s me!

My friend Amy, that I’ve met during my travels in New Zealand, lives and studies in Nanaimo and that made a visit to Vancouver Island (where Nanaimo is located) a must. We only had the Saturday as she had to work on Sunday and I made my way to Vancouver Island the conventional way, on board a BC Ferry, leaving Vancouver from Horsehoe Bay, approx. one hour north of Vancouver. The ferry ride only takes about one hour and forty minutes and you can either enjoy the views of the main land mountains, the declining skyline of Vancouver and lots of water or you line up at the buffet for an intake of calories.

After Amy had picked me up at the ferry terminal we dropped off my backpack and picked up her boyfriend Neil and sightseeing in Nanaimo started. It was more a photo session as Neil and I are both passionate photographers and Amy patiently followed the whole procedure. I can now claim I’ve seen Nanaimo’s beautiful waterfront with various little fishing boats, many inukshuk built of stones found nearby and Lantzville Beach that was particularly beautiful at sunset as all the taken pictures proof.

Next day Amy dropped me off at the Greyhound bus depot where I caught the bus to Tofino situated at Vancouver Island’s west coast that strongly reminded me of New Zealand’s south island and especially the Milford Road that I’d taken so many times to get to Milford Sound. High mountains covered my thick forest and beautiful lakes alongside the curvy and steep road, in need of some maintenance every now and then. Tofino is a laid back surfer’s paradise township at the end of the road. Whoever makes it here came for a reason: It might be the tranquillity of the many beaches, hiking or watching wildlife (whales, bears, birds).

Next morning I was back on the road with Greyhound. To make the whole trip a bit faster I changed buses in Port Alberni and boarded an Express Bus to Victoria, the provincial capital of British Columbia what saved me more than an hour. When I had arrived in Victoria I straight away set off to explore the city and to fill the memory card in my camera. Golden hour at Victoria’s picturesque Waterfront proved successful and I left with quite a few good shots.

Knowing the HI standards I was quite disappointed of the HI hostel in Victoria and I was wondering about two big dorms connected with each other (one room was a walk through), hardly any power points (where to plug in your laptop, camera chargers etc?) and just one light for the whole room making it a challenge late in the evening when everybody is going to bed at different times. Definitely not my port of call next time I’ll be in Victoria!
Early Tuesday morning I took the bus to Swartz Bay where the ferry would leave to go back to Vancouver. This time it would be going to Tsawwassen, what is about one hour south of Vancouver. Due to some problems with other ferries, my vessel had been delayed what made us miss the bus back into the city by approx. 15 minutes and a wait of another hour for the next bus. Back in Vancouver I caught up with Angela, my new flatmate, for a key hand over and I had officially moved in to my new place!

Thursday, October 8, 2009

some good news

There’s some good news I need to tell you about. First I’ll be moving into a flat, finally leaving hostel life behind. My intention was not to look for a flat before I had found a job (just to be sure it will be a job in Vancouver and not somewhere else) but one particularly morning with smashing doors and chatty roommates at 7am I made a decision that I had to get out of there, for my own peace of mind. I’ve checked the ads online, found one that interested me and rang up; two hours later I had inspected the flat and in the evening I received the call that I can move in. The location is great and exactly where I had hoped to live – near Stanley Park and just 2 minutes away from the beach English Bay, rent is a bargain and the girl I’ll be sharing with is Mexican and seems to be very nice. That will also be good for my Spanish as now I have somebody to talk to and practise what I’ve learned! I am still on Vancouver Island but as soon as I’m back I’ll be moving and reunite with my suitcase that has already spent a few nights there by itself.

There’s more news to come. I’ll be part of the Olympics 2010! Not as a competitor (Christ no!) but responsible for the security checks at entrance gates. There’ll be screeners checking tickets and X-Ray Operators checking baggage for dangerous items and there’ll also be Supervisors to make sure they do a good job and that will be me. Only for the duration of the Olympics though but still for almost 3 months with a fantastic pay and also paid training that will commence for myself in a few days. I am looking forward the challenge this new position presents, to working with all these people of different nationalities, and also the one in a lifetime opportunity of being part of such a worldwide event. Having scored that job I feel much better about the current job situation that is everything but easy not only in Vancouver but all over the country. I think finding a job that is flexible with hours is now my first priority and I don’t care if it will be a shop assistant selling jeans or newspapers (although I’d prefer the newspapers as I am not very much interested in fashion). I may get a response from one or the other hotel that I’ve applied with later in a few months closer to the Olympics but I am not sure if I can squeeze them into the schedule then.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

getting to know Vancouver

For the last few days I've been settling into Vancouver life and I want to share with you what I've been up to. Top priority is getting to know the city, of course, and so I've done the tourist stuff like

- walking around Stanley Park (the circuit is 9km and it takes about 2-2.5 hours to walk around the city park along the sea dam);
- been to Harbour Centre and took the elevator up to the lookout (impressive views esp. after sunset) and the elevator ride is fun, too (the funny feeling inside your stomach is mandatory);
- done two tours organized by the hostel I am staying with right now and got to see Canadian rainforest, a big suspension bridge some people were too afraid to enter (I wasn't!), and a Salmon hatchery (you get to watch the salmon jumping upstream - poor bastards!);
- been whale watching on a 5 hour long tour that took me to U.S. territory as whales have dual citizenship and they don't care if being in Canadian or American waters - I saw heaps of fins, one or two spy hops and very rarely fluke clapping but had a great time anyway;
- been up Grouse Mountain, 'the peak of Vancouver' with fantastic city vistas, Grizzly Bears in a refuge centre, paragliding for the adventurous (sorry, nothing for me), an entertaining lumberjack show and a sunburn that came as a surprise (well, not really, but I need an excuse for not having any sun lotion with me...);

I also had one or two days where I haven't done much at all except sitting in the hostel, doing online research for jobs, emailing applications, keeping my blog updated and working on my many pictures I've taken during the last few days. I've also managed to open a bank account what took surprisingly little time (only 20 minutes) compared to Melbourne where I've spent almost 2 hours in the bank (!) and I also have a cell phone number now what works quite different to New Zealand or Australia. Down under you just go for a stroll and find heaps of mobile shops selling you all kinds of sim cards but in Canada you actually need to look for them. Buying a prepaid sim card is more expensive than having a contract and so I've signed one for 12 months.

There's not much else to tell you and I am focusing on finding a job and a flat in either Vancouver or in one of the many ski resorts for the coming winter season. Hostel life starts to bore me as I don't like having the same conversations every two days (where are you from?, what are you doing here?, how long are you staying for?), I hate sharing toilet and shower with dozens of other people and the 3 Japanese girls in my room are lovely but don't speak much English. Free wireless internet is an awesome complementary and so I get to do all the stuff that you usually don't have enough time to do when you travel (like writing this blog).

Friday, September 18, 2009

next stop Vancouver

My last night in Germany I haven't spend at home but at my friends place near Frankfurt. I've known Tina from my travels through New Zealand and we've been in contact ever since. She dropped me off at the airport and when I saw her driving away my nervousness -that I had lacked over the last few days - suddenly appeared. As luck would have it I've also met a former travel companion from New Zealand, while I was strolling along the airport. It's a small world we are living in!

Soon I learned that the scheduled departure for my flight to London Heathrow had been moved from 11.20am to 12.15am clock. Reason being the heavy fog in London that had delayed departures from across the ditch. I've already feared the worst and when we finally arrived in London, I ran for my life. Delay was with me wherever I went: passport control (in transit!), re-screening of luggage and people over people. With the final boarding call I arrived at the gate and boarded my flight to Vancouver.

I had two seats for myself during the nearly 10 hours flight to Vancouver and so I made myself comfortable. As I had hoped for the entertainment system was truly awesome and I had the chance to view four current films: Wolverine (I've seen it before but hey, it's Hugh Jackman!), Terminator Salvation, Hangover and The Proposal. I would have loved to sleep but I couldn't as it was bright throughout the entire flight and hence my eyes stayed open.

The view from the window was worth it though and I saw many icebergs floating in the water, not sure if it was Greenland or East Canada. As we flew over the Rocky Mountains, I was blown away and so were the last doubts. I will like this country! The Rockies are stunning and I took heaps of pictures to prove it. After landing, I had the Immigration Service to finally approve my work visa. The Work and Holiday visa had been granted to me already by the embassy in Berlin but somehow the Immigration Officer on the ground speaks the last word. I had to answer many questions about my stay in Canada, my plans, friends or acquaintances, etc., and in the end it turned out that I did not have a bank statement to prove any existing funds to support my stay (bloody hell, I had just forgotten to print it off!). The officer kept me in suspense for quite a while before he issued the work visa. After 30 minutes I was done at immigration and my suitcase went round in circles all by itself.

The airport shuttle took me downtown, dropped me off quite some distance from the hostel what made me dragging my heavy suitcase along Vancouver downtown while looking for my hostel. After checking in, I've just showered quickly, bought food, and went straight to bed because I wouldn't be going anywhere else today!

staying at my brothers place and visiting Rothenburg o.d. Tauber

My last days in Germany had been quite busy; so many things I still had to do and other stuff that needed to be taken care off. But I wouldn't miss the chance of a photo safari in Rothenburg o.b. Tauber, where my brother is working and so I packed my bag to visit him and his girlfriend. Together we would be going home for the weekend to have a last gathering of the family for the next year or so.

My brother lives in the idyllic Vestenbergsgreuth and due to a tea factory in town there is always a light scent of herbal tea filling the air. Every day he commutes to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, where I arrived by train one nice afternoon to explore the city. What I did not know and was positively surprised by, was the city wall, which is fully accessible, and so I was running around the entire city - in stages of course. All buildings inside the city wall are historic old houses painted beautifully and fondly taken care off by their owners. Although, to be quite honest, if I lived there I did not want my house right next to the wall, having tourists taking pictures of my beautifully landscaped garden, plus deckchairs, plus me sunbathing. But anyway.

Rothenburg is very popular amongst tourists from all over the world and quite often I caught something other than German, mostly American English and Japanese. This goes so far that I was addressed in English while buying my fridge magnets in the souvenir shop, probably because no German buys souvenirs in their own country. The Christmas Museum (yes it does exist!) was full of kitsch and the Americans in the shop loved it, as they do! I even paid the 4 euros to get me into the museum itself, which is about the historical development of Christmas, where the custom of the Christmas tree came from (of course from Germany!) how and where the different tree decorations were created, when and where the first Christmas greeting cards where printed and much more. After all this information, I will see this Christmas, perhaps with different eyes.

The Crime Museum was recommended to me by different people and so of course I went out there. It's not only an exhibition that shows torture instruments and equipment for the execution of the body as there is more to see in the museum (it gives a comprehensive insight into laws and punishments of the past 1000 years) but the torture stuff definitely is an eye catcher. Anyone planning a visit to this museum, should bring a lot of time, because all items are described in detail and it takes time to read all the displays in the basement and two additional floors.

Last but not least I climbed the tower of the Town Hall for an exclusive view over the town. And that turned out to be a true adventure! While I was climbing the spiral staircase into the attic it became increasingly tight and narrow. I'm not a big person but even I had to constantly be careful not to push my head at the roof. The staircase was getting steeper and I had to haul myself up the handrail. When I almost reached the top I saw the little cashiers (you pay two Euros) and I felt sorry for her: She does that every day at least once but what happens when nature calls her? I paid my 2 euro, chuckled to myself, climbed the last few yards and then had to get on all fours to climb outside through a small opening that looked almost like a doggy door! The views are amazing but there isn't much space up there. So you waddle after the person infront of you once he finished taking pictures and if you're lucky the person next to him also just finished taking pictures and you eventually make it back down the tower.

If you ever make it to Rothenburg you have to try the local "snowballs", a shortcrust pastry, which looks like snowballs of course. Topped with either cinnamon or other delicious glaze of chocolate, vanilla, caramel, etc and they also come in different sizes if you are afraid of a big sugar rush.

I was very glad that I have squeezed the visit to Rothenburg into my tight schedule as the town is worth a visit and I also had some time with my brother and his girl friend before heading off to Canada.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Gruetzi mitanand.....

..... and that simply means "Good day" in that lovely Swiss German that I hardly understand.

Before I"ll be heading off to Canada I had another mission on my mind. I kept my word that I gave to my long time school friend Claudia to visit her in Switzerland, where she is living now with her boyfriend. She is working on her diploma thesis at the moment so time is short but she still did some extra work beforehand to find some spare time for me - so lovely of her!

I boarded a train to get to Switzerland and it took me about 7 1/2 hours and two unperceived border crossings (Austria and Switzerland) and when Claudia picked me up from the train station she smirked at me and said I had just slipped past the customs officers. Customs officers? Honestly I haven't even seen them so how could I have slipped past? Their fault anyway I would say! Nothing serious as they usually know who they are looking for (have they been tipped off or do people look suspicious when they smuggle stuff??). Anyway, it was good to see Claudia again and we had a lot to talk about, what we've done in different locations (while shopping, on her balcony having a cup of coffee or while going for a short walk through 'Wildhaus' - the little township where she is living).

The next day we had to change plans (what was to go for a hike in the mountains) as it was too cloudy and grey and so we made our way to Chur, the oldest township in Switzerland. Chur had been constantly populated for the last 5000 years but is even older than that. Quite impressive hey? Especially for you folks down under ;-)! Back in Wildhaus we caught up with two of their friends and had an entertaining dinner in one of the many restaurants of Wildhaus. These friends are from Berlin and I loved to hear that hearty Berlin idiom again.

Sunday came and my train would leave in the early afternoon. Claudia had decided she no longer can fight her bad conscience so she had to keep working on her thesis. So her boyfriend showed me around. The weather was adorable and so we took one of the many cablecars to get up the mountains where we had a fantastic view into the Swiss Alps. We hired scooters to take us downhill and that was exeptionally loud thanks to the squeaking brakes but nevertheless fun! He also showed me a waterfall that would have been very pretty if it had carried water but for some time now it's been dry.

Back at base both had convinced me to stay a day longer as weather was too good not to utilize it for another walk and so Claudia's boyfriend and I headed off again up another mountain by the help of a cablecar. From there we started walking back to Wildhaus and as we had heaps of time at hand we stoped a few times for a bite to eat and a coffee. Back in Wildhaus we again caught up with one of their friends and played minigolf what I haven't been doing for many years. Of course I lost but I did so honourably ;-).

Monday came and it was time to say goodbye and catch a train back to Germany. Again I've spend around 7 hours at the train trying to kill some time by .... doing nothing. Not an easy task. But I managed!

Monday, August 24, 2009

trip up north (19.-23.08.2009)

Katja is having a fantastic life you may say as the only thing she seems to be doing is traveling or not doing much at all. Point taken. But opportunities to travel should be taken when they arise.

For 4 days I went up north to the Baltic Sea with my family for some sightseeing and to visit friends that live there. Wednesday morning we headed off in the most beautiful weather and it accompanied us throughout the day. In the afternoon we reached our destination, the seaside resort Nienhagen and our comfortable accommodation, the 'Inn Philipp'. To savour the sun we went to see the busy beach at Warnemuende and its famous lighthouse and in the evening we've been quite active too by going for a stroll through the so called ghost forest and along the beach. We were rewarded with a most spectactular sunset and with the absence of any annoying insects, mozzies etc.

In the upcoming days we had a lot on the agenda, and especially my camera was busy as hell to keep up with me. Molli, an old steam train is quite an institution in the northern seaside resorts and so we paid homage to the old Molli with a trip from Bad Doberan to Kuehlungsborn and back again with a stopover in Heiligendamm. Since it was the hottest day of the year, we did the only reasonable thing in Kuehlungsborn and went to the beach -together with I don't know how many other thousands of sunbathers. We bore the heat only for a certain time and to be honest, the ice scream we had later was more refreshing and the ride back on the Molli as well - yes air flow is something wonderful!

Approximately one hour away from Nienhagen lies Marlow and a bird sanctuary is located there. Actually, the park should be renamed, because in addition to birds of all shapes and size, there are also other animals to admire, from lively squirrel monkeys, three golden sweet otter siblings, kangaroos, alpacas, sheep and many more. Also Kea, New Zealand parrots, are represented in the park, but I felt sorry for the birds. To me they looked rather bored and listless, and I know from personal experience how lively and alert these little thieves can be. I had the feeling that this is not the best place for them to be.

Especially interesting and entertaining for children are the bird of prey show and the shows with close contact to various birds and animals. For a passionate photographer this presents a perfect opportunity to get close to them as well. The amount of pictures I have taken in the wildlife park is enormous but so was the discard. My praise to digital photography! My photo blog is the best bet so see some of the most beautiful pictures.

Our last day we devoted to the exploration of Rostock and we've been lucky again with the weather even though it was quite windy at the port. We have seen some of the many churches in Rostock (Nikolai Church, St. Peter's Church), admired the beautiful city hall, the market that is surrounded by historic houses and simply enjoyed the city's flair. Hunger drove us down to the harbor, where we ate fish before heading back to Nienhagen.

Sunday came quickly and that meant we had to go back home. We got stuck in quite a few traffic jams due to the ending of the holidays in some areas of Germany (we do have 16 federal states in Germany and not all of them are on holiday at the same time).

Thursday, August 13, 2009

new pictures online at 'my favourite pictures'

Hello everybody

I've downloaded quite a bit of new pictures into my picture blog so if you are interested please have a look at 'my favourite pictures' and let me know what you think (just leave a comment). I am in the process of adding more so please come by every now and then.

By the way, thanks to the 2 followers of my blog, I hope you'll like my pictures and I am looking through the thousands and thousands of pictures on my hard drive to present you with more.

Have a good weekend!

Katja - the happy snapper!

Monday, August 10, 2009

birthday parties without alcohol, preparing my Canada trip and food issues

Some of you may ask if there's any news here in Germany....
Alright, where to start. Ah, the inevitable happened a few days ago when I left the sphere of the twenties and celebrated my 30th birthday. A difficult date in every womans life but let me assure you that life goes on. And nothing really changes for me, neither did anybody believe I was 29 nor that I am 30 now.

What else? I have booked my flight to Canada. Yep, finally! September 15th I will leave Germany to get to Vancouver, via London Heathrow. Canada means a new start for me. New job, accomodation, friends, places to go etc. It won't be easy, I've already realised that after doing some online research regarding jobs. But I won't give up, keep sending applications and will be on the knocker once I am there.

Furthermore I am in the process of changing my diet. That's a hard job, trust me. You basically avoid everything you used to eat before (and what you really like) and start to eat a lot of healthy things that I didn't even know the name of or I didn't know how to prepare them or I wouldn't have thought they can be a satisfying meal (like tons of sprouts, cheese made of goat's milk, tofu etc). In combination with a good workout I've lost quite a few kilos and for the future I just need to practise what I've learnt over the last few weeks when it comes to food. Fingers crossed!!!

That's it for today. Talk to you soon again!

Katja

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Of mosquitos, moose and bright nights

Thinking about what to write for this entry a funny anecdote comes to my mind. When I worked on the boats in Milford Sound (New Zealand) and we were in the process of clearing tables from plates, cupes etc one of my workmates asked the customer "Are you finished?" whereon the customers replies "No, I am Indian!" .... Don't tell me you didn't laugh!

Alright, back to the real issue. Seems like I am on a mission....to see as much as possible from Europe while I am on home leave. And so I just came back from a week in Finland, visiting my brothers mate and his wife. The newly-weds have tied the knot just a week before our visit. After checking all means of transportation and the costs involved we've decided to take the long enduring inland route and packed up our car - right under the roof as Micha (the mate) had given us a long shopping list with things to take from Germany. If you don't fly the only way of getting to Finland from Germany is via ferry from Rostock right at the top end of northern Germany. We live in the middle though so it took us about 6 hours to get to Rostock, where the ferry wouldn't leave before 5am Saturday morning. We killed time by eating out and going to the movies and boarded the ferry at around 1am. If felt like ages until the ferry finally left the harbour and just a few minutes into the trip I had fallen asleep. We all were dog-tired!

Back in Australia I had believed that cruising to Tasmania takes a long time but 12 hours is quite tolerable seeing the fact that it takes 26 hours (!) to Helsinki/Finland. To kill time we played board and card cames, read, ate (and that quite a lot, what else is there to do when you're bored?) and slept. More than happy we left the ferry in Helsinki upon arrival on Monday morning and ...... yipee.... it was raining! Anyway, we had decided to do a sightseeing trip on a bus to get an idea of how Helsinki looks like and so we've done it. And we had the bus for ourselves! At lunch time we left Helsinki to drive north and at about 6pm we arrived at Michas place right in the middle of nowhere, deep in the forest. What is there? Just the house the couple is living in, a wood shed, a sauna, a BBQ area and a pit latrine. The longdrop wasn't that bad, it didn't smell or anything because you use a special mixture of earth and other stuff to cover what you've just done.

To relax a bit we instantly went to the sauna and spent more than an hour sweating. After dinner we noticed that light outside hasn't change much and we learned that it never gets really dark up there (they are quite close to the Arctic Circle). At 2am in the morning it was still dawning and you can go outside without needing a torch. Unfortunately that also means that in winter it never really gets bright and on cloudy days with no moon and stars it can be pitch black.

Over the next few days we experienced a mix of rain and sun and depending on the weather we either went sightseeing into the next bigger cities, went shopping, hiking in the forest, paddling on one of the many lakes, bbq-ing or just relaxing. We also spent quite a bit of time in the sauna. Doesn't happen every day that a sauna is located right infront of your door!

What about the title you may ask? Hm, unfortunately moose seem to be shy or busy or whatever so we haven't seen any. Mosquitos on the other hand aren't shy at all and like to be around humans a lot. Can't say I made a lot of new friends because they all had to die immediately!

As it's always the case time went by far too quick and on Friday we had to leave this tranquil place to go back to Helsinki where we made good for Monday's rain and not being able to take any pictures. We also had lunch before we boarded the ferry, leaving harbour at around 9pm. Saturday 11pm we hit German ground and although we were quite tired made our way home (remember, 6 hours drive down south!). With swapping drivers a few times we made it home and my brother and his girlfriend (ooops, haven't even mentioned yet they were with me...) kept going a bit longer to reach their home.

Monday, July 6, 2009

marathon sightseeing in Prague and relaxing in Mariánské Lázně

What I love about Europe is the fact that it's old, loaded with history and an impressive history of art. Seen not only in Germany on a few short city trips that I've talked my parents into when we went to see Erfurt and Dresden (photos can be enjoyed when following the link) but also in Prague. This beautiful capital of the Czech Republic is quite impressive with its Castle overlooking the hustle of modern life. Maybe even more famous than one of the biggest castles in the world is Charles Bridge that crosses the Vltava river and is decorated by a continuous alley of 30 statues who have to share the bridge with thousands of tourists every day plus traders who offer souvenirs, paintings, beautiful photographs and other craftwork. During the day the bridge is indeed a very busy place but so is Prague in general. My Czech friend Pavlina who did a brilliant job showing us around her town sometimes was the only Czech speaking person around.

I can't list all the buildings, attractions and sights we've visited as there is too many but to name only a few there's been St. Vitus Cathedral (sourrounded by Prague Castle), The Astronomical Clock, The Dancing House (don't expect too much, when you go to visit it), Old Town Square, Wenceslas Square, Vysehrad and the honorary cemetry next to it (here many famous Czechs are buried), an observation tower on Petřín hill called little Eiffel Tower (that offers wonderful views over Prague and Prague Castle) and many more churches and cathedrals whose names not even Pavlina knew. Considering our history (we've worked together on boats in New Zealand) Pavlina and I wouldn't miss the chance of going on a boat trip together and so we cruised the Vltava river. Only a short trip though we cruised up the river to see Vysehrad and then down to Charles Bridge to see Prague Castle and then we went back. We had to cross a watergate twice as the river level is changing and that was by far the most interesting part of our journey to see how they first pumped water out of it to reach the same lower level of the downstream part of the river and on the way back they pumped the water back in to get us back on a higher level.

The second last day I had been looking forward to for a very long time as this was the day we headed for one of the many sport venues to see Depeche Mode playing as part of their World of the Universe Tour. While the opener was performing in heavy rain the clouds disappeared as soon as Depeche Mode entered the stage. It was a great gig (as always!) although it took quite a while for the Czechs to warm up. They are also not the most passionate when it comes to singing out loud with the band (opposite to what I've seen during the boat trip when they sang and danced on tables) but in the end they've managed wonderfully especially the dude standing behind me and not hitting a note right.Well, I haven't been able to see much of the concert as every tall guy in the stadium must have decided to place themselves infront of me and so even the screens were hidden most of the time. But nevermind, the music counts. And afterall I was quite happy to be there at all as it was very likely for the concert to be cancelled after Dave Gahan (the singer) had fallen ill more than a month ago and they'd already cancelled quite a few shows. We were lucky Dave had recovered so quickly and he looked better than ever!

We've encountered quite a bit of rain while being in Prague and so we had decided to do some trips that didn't involve much walking but more driving in the car. Like everywhere else in Europe, the Czech Republic is blotched with castles, ruins and chateus so we only had to pick.

First we drove 50 km southeast where Konopiště is located. It is famous for being the last residence of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir of the Austro-Hungarian throne, whose assassination in Sarajevo triggered World War I. Seeing the huge and extensive gun collection Franz Ferdinand's in the large weapon chamber and as decoration throughout the house I guess it's only fair to call the Archduke a gun nut. He also liked to show off his numerous shooting trophies but I guess that's what rich men did these days. What else did they have to do all day?

The second trip led us to Karlštejn about 30km southwest of Prague. One of the most famous castles in Czech however very difficult to find and so it took as about an hour to finally pull up on the car park to start the ascent to the castle. The place used to house the Bohemian coronation jewels, holy relics and other royal treasures but they now live in Prague Castle.

We left Prague after a very eventful and walk-intensive week to spend two days in Mariánské Lázně, a spa town close to the German border. The top attraction of the town are its 100 mineral springs (53 of them are tapped) with high carbon dioxide content and often also higher iron content, both in the town itself and its surroundings. So don't be surprised seeing everybody walking about with water bottles, cups or ceramic mugs - that's part of the towns business as a spa town and you can drink mineral water until you leak, drop or whatever else. Every hotel with a good opinion of itself offers various treatments to spoil their guests, starting with massages, therapeutic baths, therapeutic applications, treatments to enhance beauty (or to restore it ;-) ) and many more. We devoted ourselves to a day of doing absolutely nothing but relaxing, enjoying massages etc and left Mariánské Lázně fresher than ever!




above or under the water?


Train rides are fun. And I am not aversed to fun so I took a train to Prague. Surprisingly it only takes about 6 hours including a lunch break in Dresden to switch trains. In the afternoon I arrived in Prague where my friend Pavlina picked me up and took me home. There we've spent a very entertaining evening with her mum and sister who don't speak much English. We still managed to communicate though.

The next day we've hooked up with the members of our boat trip and headed to Rozemberg, down south at the Austrian border. Our adventure down the Vltava river was about to start there and to finish in Cesky Krumlov, further north. Let me give you a short summary of how a day looked like as there were all alike anyway.

For some individuals of our group it took a bit longer to get up in the mornings (for various reasons) and so breakfast and taking down our tents dragged on till lunch time. Then a few of the guys left with the cars and all our stuff to set up the tents at the next campsite (12 members in 3 cars...) and took a taxi back to the old campsite where the other group members were waiting. Then we had a few more drinks (we already had quite a few while waiting....) and hit the road. In 6 boats we set off and started paddling, had a toilet/lunch/drink stop half-way and usually arrived at camp at 8pm. The perfect boating weather from day one wouldn't last the whole trip and left us during the first night when it started raining. Unfortunately it didn't stop until the end of our trip. Back in the camp we had dinner and quite a few drinks (to a greater or lesser extent) what led to singing and dancing on the tables. I was told that this is what 'troubled complicated Czech souls' like doing. Yeah, they really enjoyed themselves!

Being on the water was fun. Quite often we paddled in formation, drank vodka we cooled in the river, were overtaken by hundreds of other paddlers, watched hundreds of other drunk paddlers who hardly managed to stay in the boats and tried to stay in the boats ourselves while swimming through rapids. Going through these nasty rapids my boat mate Eva and I lost control over the boat twice and had to hold on to boat, paddles and other personal belongings. We lost water bottles and sunglasses and temporarily were one paddle short but it was found later. From these misfortunes I kept quite a few blotches, abrasions and sore muscles.

As mentioned before we've finished the trip in Cesky Krumlov after 4 days and being in this beautiful old town we took the chance to do some sightseeing - the sunshine had found us again and we enjoyed being dry. Then it was time to say goodbye and everybody went their own ways. Back in Prague in the late afternoon I made my way to the hostel, where my parents were already waiting for me.

New adventures were waiting for me....

Monday, June 15, 2009

musings on being home

Well, everybody keeps asking me how it is to be back home. It is so many things: nice (to see my family), different (to the way of life down under), annoying (because there is so many things to sort out), nerve-racking (because my mum can be a control freak), frustrating (because the weather isn't behaving in a summerly way), irritating (because a lot of things have changed but overall everything is still the same) and so much more. My feelings to being home change almost every day but I guess that's just the way it is. It also doesn't help that I miss so many people from down under. Life can be hard!

Needlessly to say that I am looking for a change and thanks to my lovely friends in the Czech Republic change is on its way. This Wednesday I'll head over to Prague to see my good friend Pavlina that I haven't seen for more than a year, when I said goodbye to her in Auckland, New Zealand. There is also Lenka and Eva, two other Czech girls that I've met in New Zealand and together we'll have an awesome time kayaking on the 'Vltava' (Moldau). I've just spoken to Lenka who told me it is more a drinking adventure with a bit of paddling in between so I don't know what more to expect than fun fun and more fun.

The trip can be done in 1 day but we take the liberty to do it in 3 days because well, girls just wanna have fun. On Sunday I'll catch up with my parents in Prague to explore the Czech capital. I am looking forward to the whole trip but also exeptionally to the Depeche Mode concert on the 25th June. It's been a few years since I last saw them and in my opinion they are one of the best life bands ever!

More details after the trip...

Friday, May 29, 2009

goodbye Australia - welcome home

My last few days down under were rather unspectacular and eventless. I´ve been working until my second last day and for the distraction I had been more than thankful. Tuesday night I've been to the movies to watch Wolverine and all I can say is that Milford Sound rocks! Most of you won`t get the connection but that`s fine, I don't blame you for not knowing.

Wednesday came and I was soo busy at work I didn`t get the time to really think about my last day- again I am not complaining about it. Thinking about my last goodbye from Milford Sound/New Zealand and the mess I was back then I've done pretty well this time. Don't say I'm getting used to it though.

Wednesday night it was time to say goodbye to Katrin and so we've decided to have dinner in the Hofbraeuhaus - an adequate location I'd say although as a non-bavarian I had a grin on my face seeing the decoration and listening the music. People seem to like it though, as I've spotted quite a few other patrons too. Good German food but a bit pricey for my liking.

Thursday meant packing, cleaning out my room and spending as much time with Monty as possible. The poor bugger knew what was going on as soon as he spotted he suitcase and tried all his best to stop my intentions by simply starring at me with big watery eyes, climbing onto the suitcase or placing himself between the suitcase and myself. Will miss him!!! At around 6.30pm Nat took me to the airport and there I've shown a bit of how close to the edge I really was by losing my 2nd boarding pass just a minute after check in. Quite embarrasing really.

And then the only thing left to do was duty free shopping, getting a few Euros to get me started (don't laugh but I've forgotten the PIN for my German EFTPOS card) and waiting to board the plane. By the time we had eaten I was dog tired and slept for almost 8 hours (on and off). The first flight to Abu Dhabi lasted 13 hours and 45 minutes and it was painful trying to sleep in minimalist seats. In Abu Dhabi I had to wait for about 6 hours to get onto the second flight and by then I was sick of it and the only thing I wanted is getting of the plane and go home. After another 6 hours I arrived in Frankfurt, grabbed my luggage, was checked by customs (did I look noticeable with my suitcase, all my carry-on luggage and the duty free shopping bags?) and was greeted by a friend who lives in Frankfurt and wanted to meet for a chat. Then my brother picked me up and we made our way to his home.

Saturday I`ve done nothing but relaxing and Sunday I found myself sitting in the car again on my way home to surprise my parents who didn`t have a clue I was coming. I had to wait in the car while my brother and his girlfriend got my parents to come outside to 'pick up a very big present' (only metaphorically speaking). When they saw me they couldn`t believe their eyes and my mum was asking, if I had to fly back (as she awaited me for next week). As Sunday was my mums birthday this was the best present ever, as she kept saying.

Now I am home again and try to get used to everything. Driving on the right side, differences on computer keyboards due to a few additional letters and different locations (very annoying!), German TV (synchronized movies and TV series and it all sounds so dull!) and to be mothered by my mum. I keep saying I am 30 soon but do you think she is listening?

outback trip from Adelaide to Darwin

01.05.2009 day 1

After months of planning, our Outback adventure should finally begin. Around 6:30am Katrin and I headed to the airport by taxi, where we ate breakfast and checked in. Due to a not exactly foolproof design of Melbourne airport's interior we went to the wrong terminal and had just 15 minutes time to rush to the right terminal and gate at the other end of the airport. A hurry it was and when we finally arrived at the gate, I already feared the worst. I waved my boarding pass to get the flight attendant's attention and while trying to catch some air I stammered whether the aircraft was still there (it was already 8 clock and the flight was shedulded for take off 8:05am). She calmly looked into my tomato red sweaty face and only said, we will begin boarding in 10 minutes. Phew - lucky again! The flight proceeded without any incidents and around 9am we touched down in Adelaide, picked up our luggage and trotted to the Britz branch. The branch was due to open at 10am, but Tyson still let us in, completed the paperwork very quickly and met all our special wishes very professionally - As it is appropriate amongst colleagues!

10:15am we left the carpark and headed to the next shopping center to stock up with food. The poor guy at the cashier patiently scanned article after article and I told him that we were not as greedy as it might look, but that all this should be sufficient for the next 2 weeks. Less than 2 hours we needed for shopping and storing all our things in our Bushi Campervan. We had a quick lunch and 12am we were on our way - through slow traffic and over every single red traffic light in Adelaide - heading towards Port Augusta.

Shortly after we had left Adelaide we left the cloud layers behind us as well. We felt the sun on the skin and were in good spirits. That was a wonderful feeling after the cold in Melbourne! Geographically, the trip had not much to offer, the barren and flat expanses were disrupted every now and then by mountain ranges or smaller groups of trees and after Port Augusta everything was just flat. Now we had to make some distance because we had a little more than 200 km to drive and in about 2 hours it would be dark. In Australia, it is not recommended to be on the road outside cities at dusk or after dark, because there lurks danger! How many of our customers have reported that all of a sudden they were attacked by kangaroos or cows who had nothing better to do than jumping infront of people's cars - the poor campers usually draw the short straw in confrontations like these. We on the other hand had this trip planned very well. When dusk appeared we reached our 1st destination in time: Woomera. The sky was a color palette of different shades of red and blue and we set up camp at the campsite at Woomera.

to sum up the day: 485km in just under 5 hours

02.05.2009 day 2

The first night in the camper was unusual: I slept in the upper bed and the available space is minimal. Turn around and you knock against the roof either with your knees or arms. I had problems falling asleep and woke up a few times during the night. Well, first night in a different bed ...
7 am we got up, and after a shower, breakfast and the obligatory photos of Woomera we continued with our trip. Many years ago Woomera was an important site for space travel until the entire program was taken over by the United States. Reminiscent of the place's story is the rockets, flying bullets and other remnants of this era standing around everywhere.

The first few miles we didn't advance much because the route was littered by lookouts and salt lakes. After devoting to the delusion of taking heaps of pictures we made kilometres. Between Woomera and Coober Pedy, there are no places or things worth to stop for and so we made it to Coober Pedy non stop. For the famous Opal - mining area, we had expected a lot of sights and things to see but we were a little disappointed. Unfortunately, the tourist information had already been closed for hours (the odd Saturday. ...!) and so we followed the signs to a lookout called the 'Big Winch'. There again we were surprised about what people call scenic! After a brief stop in one of the underground churches, we checked into a campsite and relaxed for the rest of the day.

Info: Since it is intolerably hot in summer and cold in winter, a large proportion of the population lives underground where temperatures remain constant all year round. Tourism adapted and most of the hotels / hostels offer underground accomodation too. You can even pitch up your tent in a cave if you feel like it.

driving performance of the day: 374 km in about 6 hours (with quite a few stops)

03.05.2009 day 3

Double of yesterday's mileage were up for the challenge today and to get an early start we left 7am on an empty stomach. While we departed Coober Pedy the sun came up - a beautiful sight and it was difficult to concentrate on the road. Still tired we were shaken awake on the 11km long gravel road to the Breakaways lookout. The way there was quite an adventure and everything not nailed down rattled and clanged loudly. Blind I also went because the sun was rising right infront of me. Hard to believe, but at both lookouts we spent almost an hour - in cool morning temperatures and clad in thongs! Well, sacrifices have to be made!

On the gravel road we rattled back to the highway and decided to not stop for the next one hundred kilometers or so, or only if Mother Nature wanted it otherwise. The state border between South Australia and the Northern Territory looked very unspectacular and Katrin was pleased that we were now allowed to drive faster -20km per hour, believe it or not! In Erlunda, we turned off the Stuart Highway onto the Lasseter Highway to get to Ayers Rock and we changed drivers. Quite mean actually because Katrin was driving now and bad roads and high winds forced her to slow down - and it was her who was happy about the new speed limit of 130 km per hour. Well, not here!

Before you reach Ayers Rock, you need to pass Mt Connor, who regularly happenes to be confused for Ayers Rock by tired tourists. Quite amusing really, because the two do not really look similar. In the afternoon we arrived at the Ayers Rock Resort Campground, checked in, showered, cooked and let the evening end harmoniously. The campground is huge and the only place to stay overnight far and wide, and therefore well attended all year. The resort can be compared to Milford Sound a bit: an eternally long journey from civilization (well, for Australian conditions is still almost a stone's throw away) and almost everything that the tourist heart desires is available: camping, hotel, restaurant, souvenir shop and gas station. And the odd busloads of tourists that come with it!

740 km in 8 hours and we kept going and going and going!

04.05.2009 day 4

You may hardly believe it, but for today we had only little driving on the agenda. Just a bit of walking and that gave our Bushi its well deserved break. However, this meant torture to us as we had to get up at around 5:30 clock in the morning to make our way to Uluru (Ayers Rock) and watch the sunrise- yes I am deliberately using the word torture because that's what it is! - Why taking on a madness like this you may ask. Uluru is known for his frequent change of clothes and, depending on the time and light it appears in different colors. So there we stood along side the road, waiting for the sun. I got very upset about the rude backpackers who decided to stand only 1 meter away from us and that with an empty road to their disposal. That ended in them almost tipping my tripod, almost falling over our feet and they've also managed to be infront of my camera. I was annoyed and I had enough! Katrin was also annoyed, but more from her camera, which had developed a life of its own. Soon my things were stowed away in my backpack and we walked a few yards further up the road, where we were undisturbed by immature youngsters.

The sun came, saw and conquered, and after a few photos we went back to the car and the Visitor Center, where we had breakfast before we started our mission for today: Basewalk around Uluru! The Walk is advertised for 4 hours and although we both shot pictures as our life would depend on it we made it within that time. The sun was still low, but already burning hot. Most vexing are the many small flies that settle on peoples faces on their search for moisture. The later it got, the more we were surrounded by flies. Annoying!

The afternoon we spent back at the resort with well-deserved relaxation. After all we had sat in the car for the last 2 days. At sunset time, we again joined the hordes of tourists who had gathered at the 'Sunset Viewing Point' to capture the last rays of sun on Uluru. We enjoyed this more than in the morning because visibility was better, and the colors appeared stronger. When you associate sunset with peace and tranquility you will be disappointed as this is the time also for sightseeing flights in helicopters to view the spectacle from the air. I felt like being in an air raid, engine nose everywhere!

Mileage: only around 50km

05.05.2009 day 5

Before we went to bed yesterday we were faced with a difficult choice: either to get up even earlier than today to watch the sunrise at the Olgas (and it would take us about 1 hour to get there), or to finally have a sleep in and enjoy a hearty breakfast. Well, the decision was made for the benefit of convenience and we stayed in bed. Then to a pleasant time we got up, showered, did our washing and enjoyed our breakfast. Life can be so wonderful! Especially after the departure of two buses fully loaded with teens. Two busses full of girls who knew nothing better to do with themselves, as to spend every evening on the campground toilet, before the mirror, sharing stories from their young lifes, enjoying the good air, straightening their hair (in the desert! ?!?!?!). John Doe had to fight their way through the girls when mother nature called.

About 11 am we left for the Olgas and while stopping for photos and going up to a lookout, we were attacked by hundreds of flies and we got a first taste of what we had to expect later. Today was quite a bit of walking to be done in the 'Valley of the Winds'. The name is quite appropriate and we benefited from the cooling wind on an otherwise rather hot day.

The Olgas are a rock formation of 36 domes that have been lying around in the area for about a few million years, probably as a single huge stone 10 times bigger than Uluru and over time by the action of wind and weather it was transformed into what it is today. The 'Valley of the Winds' Walk covers only a very small part of the Olgas, most of Kata Tjuta (what the Olgas are called by the natives) is not accessible for tourists. Like Uluru, the Olgas have a great spiritual value for the local Aborigines still living here today. After the beginnings of tourism, tourists started trampling everywhere but aborigines finally prevailed, and have achieved a closure of the cites that are most sacred to them.

For 4 hours we've climbed around in the heat and were proud of us to finish the walk as we originally only intended to do half of the walk. But it is boring to go back the same way so we kept going. Back at the carpark we fled the many flies and for lunch we locked ourselves in the camper. Even though our tired bones already started complaining we went to attempt the Olga Gorge Walk (Tatintjawiya) and in 20 minutes we walked into the imposing gorge with its very high rock walls and then out again. Not nearly as spectacular as the Valley of the Winds, but we were there!

The day was drawing to an end and we drove back to the sunset lookout, where again we waited for the sun to set. 10 minutes before the showdown, the coaches were unloading their passengers and half of them joined right next to us, because a camera tripod somehow always looks professional and the people think when they are next to a tripod, their photos automatically become better. The number of chatter abruptly broke the silence that we had enjoyed till then. Eventually we've put our staff together, and left the scene to drive back to the resort. We did a bit of food shopping and had a delicous dinner: sauerkraut and sausages! Yummy!!

Driving performance today: about 100km

06.05.2009 day 6

After 2 days in Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park we had to pack things and move on. The first part of the route was familiar to us, as we had come the same way a few days earlier. Later we took the turn off to Luritja Highway which is heading towards Kings Canyon. The plan was to shortcut via the Ernest Giles Road heading to the east, to get back on the Stuart Highway. A few month ago, when we planed the trip we had already decided against Kings Canyon because we didn't have enough time for it. Being at the intersection now that would take us to one of Australias major attractions made us turning off in the opposite way with a tearful eye.

Ernest Giles Road was a big challenge for us as it was our first trip off the road. The track is a 100km long 4WD track, which is not developed very well. At first glance the condition of the road didn't look so bad, but during the next 2 hours it clanged, banged and crashed, so you could barely hear your own words. Somewhat shocked and in disbelief, we looked at oncoming traffic which was sometimes just a normal rental car. The inmates apparently had no idea what to expect or they were hopelessly reckless. Just before we reached solid ground again we stopped at the Henbury meteorite craters, 12 huge holes in the ground formed about 20,000 years ago and 2m to 180m in diameter.

Back on the Stuart Highway, we soon reached Alice Springs in the heart of the outback. First official act was a detour into the Britz branch. Not because we had problems with the car, but to get rid of things that we did not need. We also chatted a bit to Paul, a mechanic in our Melbourne branch who had to be in Alice to train new staff.

Alice was just a stop over to stock up our supplies and to send emails home. We had a delicious dinner at our campsite and were looking forward to a tranquil evening but it turned out differently. A notorious wanna be Johnny Cash began to sing songs very close to our camper and 2 tour buses full of cackling teenager girls stopped a few hundred metres away from us to set up tents and to seize the toilets and showers. Gotta bell ringing? Yeah, the same airheads as from Ayers Rock Resort. I truly hoped they would not go the same route!

Conclusion: 420km in 5 hours

07.05.2009 day 7

Nice to see that nothing has changed. This morning the wannabe queens again gathered in their favourite toilet and shower wing, cackling and small talking. While Katrin dared into the lion's den, I took a little detour and took advantage of empty showers.

Before leaving Alice Springs, I had to buy an additional memory card, because I was not sure whether the remaining 6 GB would be enough. Sounds a lot, I know, but so far I had already used 7 GB! Problems of a photographer...!
During the next hours there was no surprises in landscapes as it was mostly flat with some trees and bushes and a few hills in the middle from time to time. The colour palette had my heart beating faster: Red sand, yellow (dried) grass, green trees and a blue sky with full fluffy clouds. Just incredible! Lunch we enjoyed outside without being hassled by flies as the wind was blowing quite strong and kept the beast away.

We just had to stop in a small town called Wycliffe Well. Why? They claim to be haunted by UFOs and they have set aliens a small monument at the gas station. They also call themselves the 'UFO capital of Australia'. In the 'museum' you can find all sorts of alien gadgets and diligently compiled newspaper articles around the subject of aliens, UFOs, kidnapping and conspiracy theories. A funny place to be especially for The X-Files fans!

So far our cameras haven't had much to do, but that changed with pulling up at the Devils Marbles. The evil's balls are boulders in different sizes and it seems as they were left lying around carelessly. A very nice place but as with almost all recent attractions, the best time to visit is either at sunrise or sunset, when the light enhances the colour of the red rocks.

Another 200km and we stopped in Renner Springs, where we spent the night in one of the well-known Australian roadhouses. It's no more than a gas station, small bar and a couple of hotel units and camping area. Enough for us as long as we have toilet, shower and electricity to recharge our batteries. The only drawback: The campground is located right at the Stuart Highway where troad trains rumbled by at night: it felt like shaking the cobwebs out!

Driving performance today: almost 600km in 6 hours

08.05.2009 day 8

Renner Springs felt like a farm holiday. Cows roamed freely, geese cackled all night (and I admit I consoled myself with the thought of roasted goose) and the Ravens had to add their two cents as well. Next to us a young family slept in a tent, 2 adults and one and a half children (the other one almost hatching). What is so appealing to camping while pregnant?

About 8 clock we left Renner Springs. The new day would be mainly dominated again by driving. The only photo highlights today: Peacocks during a fuel stop and termite mounds that can be found everywhere along side the road in this part of the country. Upon the recommendation of workmates we stopped at the historic Daly Waters pub, to admire the sometimes ancient exhibits. I'd prefer to call it a dumping ground, because everything one could find no further use, found a spot in Daly Waters. Some people find 'Australia's most remote traffic light' quite amusing and others prefer to stick around in the pub to admire the women's lingerie that was left there by their former owners for exhibition purposes.

We also stopped at Mataranka: Katrin for a dip in the hot springs and I just made myself comfortable in the shade with my book and an ice-cold Coke. We are now officially in the tropics and temperatures and humidity have risen detectably. After lunch we made our way to Katherine. Approx. 60km from Katherine flames blazed on the left side of the road and I feared the worst. Very soon I realized though that this is only fire management as only a vegetation strip of about 20m from the highway was burning.

Katherine was only a short stopover for Internet and shopping and then we headed to Nitmiluk National Park. On arrival, Katrin finally got to see her first Wallabies which she had waited for all week and later at the campsite they pinched part of her supper due to a lack of attention on her side.

what we've done today: 550km in 7 hours

09.05.2009 day 9

Actually, had I already mentioned that we are staying in the tropics? No? Well then again, we find ourselves in the tropical climate zone, which is characterized by very .... tropical weather. That means it's hot, very hot! Last night we hardly slept for all the sweat and even after sunset we found no cooling off - even the brief nightly rain did not help.

We woke up to an ornithological concert. I can't remember ever hearing so many different birds singing! When we arrived at the Visitor Center yesterday, it was closed unscheduled and so we had no information about cruises and timetables when we made our way to the information desk just before 9am. A decision had to be made quickly because 2 Cruises were about to leave at 9am. We opted for the longer cruise, which took us to 3 of the 13 gorges in about 4 hours. Now we had to rush to the car to get our cameras and then rush down to the pier where the cruise was about to start soon.

The main attraction of Nitmiluk National Park is the Katherine Gorge, which strictly speaking, is a single gorge through which the Katherine River paves its way. In the dry season the river has less water and so stones and rocks make the gorges impassable for boats. Only then Katherine Gorge seems to be divided into 13 separate gorges.

So how does boating work, the interested reader may ask? Thanks for asking! The boats are tied up at the first obstacle and queues of tourists walk a few meters to get to the next gorge where another boat is waiting to take them up the second gorge. And the same scene happens at the second obstacle: the boat docks, tourists get out, hop over some rocks and into the nearest boat that cruises up the third gorge. This gorge is quite short compared to the second one but we still found interesting things to do as we went for a short walk over rough and smooth - dressed in slippers! - to discover a waterfall and beautiful pool beneath it (called lily pond). Anyone who needed to cool down had the chance to go for a swim but as for me I didn't have time for such spanks. Swimming with a camera is no fun you see and so I stayed dry and shot pictures.

Half an hour later we had to get ready to leave paradise and we went back over rough and smooth, into the boat and to the beginning of the 3rd Gorge. And then ... well who is paying attention? We left the boat, did a bit of climbing, back into the boat and back down the second gorge and the same with the first gorge back to the jetty. By now it was 1 clock midday and the heat unbearable. Greg, the tour guide, incredibly said this was the first warm day of the season and yesterday it would have been COLD. Yeah whatever! Nevertheless we decided against the heat stroke and took no walks and rather enjoyed the afternoon in the shade and in the pool.

Mileage today: nothing!

10.05.2009 day 10

Sweat. Everywhere. Torrential flows, I might add. I have never sweated that much in my life, not even at 47 degrees Celsius in Melbourne's super summer. Bloody tropics! It is not even so bad temperature wise because it's just around 30 degrees celsius. BUT humidity is the real evil and makes it difficult to adapt to the climate change.

Nitmiluk National Park we said goodbye today and headed towards Edith Falls, just one of many waterfalls, which we will be visiting in the next days. Size does matter I was about to learn because Katrin was not thrilled with the size of the waterfall and refused to swim in it. And that says a lot as she usually jumps into every waterfall available. So we continued our journey and eventually arrived at Kakadu National Park, one of the largest national park in Australia. Anybody with enough time, crazy ideas and who doesn't mind the weather and all the walking can walk all the way from Nitmiluk NP to Kakadu NP, what is just about 66km. For us that was out of question so we drove about 200km from one national park to the next one.

Two major seasons prevail in the tropics. The rainy season, from January to March / April and the dry season from April / May to September. During rain season, the rivers swell over their banks, some valleys are completely under water and many camping sites and other facilities are completely flooded and hence disappeared from earth temporary. Along the highway one can find flood markers everywhere that indicate the water level of the rainy season -that ranges from 1m to 4m! At the moment we are still in the transition of rain to dry season or better said in an early stage of dry season. That means that some roads and camp sites in Kakadu are closed because they are still unpassable.

Over a long gravel road we reached Gunlom Falls, where water is already only trickling down and it will only take weeks for the waterfall to dry out. Impressive enough this time, Katrin went for a swim, despite all the warning signs about the existence of crocodiles swimming in Kakadu's waterways and pools. That's far too boring for myself so I climbed the steep waterfall, sweltering and swearing during the steep climb why again I have been so stupid to engage in such activities. Surprisingly, I reached my destination quite quickly and after a short breather I went further to explore the pools feeding the waterfall. Quite a few people made their way up here to enjoy the pools and the view and after having taken enough pictures I headed back downhill, what was more painful than uphill, especially for my knees. Katrin was waiting for me and luckely she was still in possession of all her four extremities. After relishing a short shower under the lawn sprinkler I was ready for lunch!

The seemingly endless shaky -er- gravel road led us back to the Kakadu Highway and we went to stay at Muriella campsite. Having arrived at the campsite, the mosquitos bugged us immediately so we hurried ourselves with dinner and entrenched in our Bushcamper.

Driving performance today: 600km in 6 hours
Quote of the Day: Can I put my clothes in the fridge?

11.05.2009 day 11

Before we hit the sack, the Bushi had to be hermetically sealed against all pests from outside. Vast quantities of insecticide were used and physical violence also had to be applied. Then we gloried in our rest. I'd like to award the inventor of mosquito nets and insect repellent with the Nobel Prize subsequently!

This morning I took my 2nd Shower within 10 hours but refreshment only lasted for a short time. Due to the many mosquitos we dined in the car and it didn't take us long to pack our stuff and leave the campsite. First we stopped just a few meters away from our bivouac and started a short walk at Nourlangie Rock that we had for ourselves. Kakadu NP has 2 main areas of Aboriginal Rock Art: Ubir in the north and Nourlangie Rock. On display there are several so-called galleries (caves), which are connected by a circular walk. Sweat was dripping from me after only a few meters although most of the time we were walking only in the shades. Right at the end of the walk we had to climb a little but steep hill to get to an impressive lookout. The hot flushes during the climb were worth it! We also stopped at a Billabong nearby but there wasn't much to see and we headed further to Jabiru.

In Jabiru we bought fresh food and rewarded ourselves with take-away dinner as one cannot always be cooking or eating sandwiches. Since I have definitely earned too much money over the last few months in Melbourne (you may sense the irony here), I have booked a scenic flight over Kakadu to get a better view over the park. The flight was booked for 4:30 in the afternoon and we still had a few hours to kill. As there isn't that much to do in Jabiru and it was far to hot anyway we went to the swimming pool where one doesn't have to worry about crocodiles. Later we headed to the small airport where I boarded my scenic flight. My plane was not up to full capacity, of possible 6 passengers flew just 4, and I would be allowed to sit up front next to the pilot (after he accepted my promise not to press any of the many buttons ;-) ). Soon we lifted and in front of us perhaps one quarter of Kakadu NP opened up, which is still huge! We flew over the plateau of Arnhem Land (which is dotted with sandstone rocks), the East Alligator River and the huge Magela floodplain (a vast marshy area which still holds enough water from the last rainy season). From up there, we also cast a brief glance at two remote Aboriginal communities who have deliberately withdrawn into no man's land to pursue their traditional way of life. As always, the pleasure was too short and after 30 minutes we touched down again at the airport. Katrin picked me up and we went to Kakadu Aurora campsite to set up for the night. Again we fled from the mosquitoes and in the camper we razed everything to the ground, that was not invited!

Driver performance today: perhaps 200km

12.05.2009 day 12

A little later than usual we drove off the campsite and to the Mamukala Wetlands, what is a perfect bird watching location. If only we had arrived there earlier. Now it was getting too hot for the birds and there wasn't much to see. Today's destination was Litchfield National Park that you access via the Arnhem Highway towards Darwin. We took a shortcut using a 40 km long gravel road, which initially didn't present itself as a problem. UNTIL we had to cross two rivers. Experienced 4Wdrivers may laugh about this, but don't forget this was our first 4WD trip. Margaret River was the first crossing and only a puddle. But at the 2nd crossing, the Adelaide River, Katrin had to wade through the water in order to explore its depth. The water was knee deep and had it been more we wouldn't have been able to cross the river. We made it through without any incident and my heart was beating so much faster than usual!

In Batchelor, the center of Litchfield National Park, we first sought information about the condition of the tracks, campgrounds etc and for Katrin it was important to know where it was safe to go for a swim. To get one's bearings is easy in Litchfield as there is only one highway and all the attractions are lined up along this main street. First we visited the huge Magnetic Termite Mounds standing around widely spread around the park (much smaller than at this special location though).

We stopped at the Buley Rockhole and Katrin was looking forward another swim but the location was crowded with tourists thus we switched to Florence Falls, where I only shot pictures from the lookout, while Katrin descended 135 steps down to the pool. I did not go swimming anyway and avoided the steps by resting in the shade, reading my book. When Katrin came back from the bottom of the waterfall with a bright red face I knew I had made the right decision! The campground was only a few metres away and we set up for the night, enjoying a beautiful sunset.

Conclusion: about 340km in a good time ;-)

13.05.2009 day 13

My responsibile alter ego had laid awake during most of the night because only a few miles away a controlled fire was burning and the wind increased considerably. Whenever I looked out the window I saw the fire and just could not relax and sleep. No idea what I hoped for by staying awake, as I wouldn't have been able to stop the fire from spreading anyway, but very heroically and selflessly I would have aroused all campers, would have thrown our equipment into the car and would have blustered away. There was no need for heros that night and eventually I fell asleep because the fire had died down. We woke up to a beautiful sunrise but it took me ages to get off the upper bunk of the camper and by the time I had found my camera, it was too late for the sensational shot.

First thing we did this morning was stopping at the Buley Rockhole in order to shoot the pictures we weren't able to do yesterday due to all the tourists at the pools. We were early enough and for a few minutes we had the pools for ourselves. Second destination today was Lost City, accessible only over a rough 4WD track. Lost City is not an ancient lost city as the name may suggest but remains of a huge sandstone plateau that over the time had been eroded by the weather and left bizarre rock formations. It is a very special place, also because of its remoteness and the few tourists that get astray to this place. If I had the time I would have spend all day here as there was so much to take photos of and the light constantly changed as well. Definitely one of my highlights of this trip!

Back on the highway we went to see our third destination: Tolmer Falls. The bottom of the waterfall is closed for onlookers due to being the habitat of an endangered bat species and so most of the visitors only come for the lookout, take their pictures and head off again. Katrin and I decided for the Tolmer Falls Creek walk that took us to the pools above the falls where the water crashes down into the deep gorge. With our legs in the pools we enjoyed the refreshment and stayed there for quite a while before we headed back to the carpark for lunch.

To get to destination number four, Tjaetaba Falls, we had to climb during midday heat along a 3km long trail. It was going uphill most of the time and I was pleasantly surprised by my condition. The regular swimming in Melbourne has done me good! At the pool we cooled off and then basked on the rocks (yes, the white belly wants to see some sun).

And because we still haven't seen enough waterfalls we headed to another one, Wangi Falls. Due to dangerous undercurrents and the well-known croc danger the waterfall was closed for swimming, but it did not detain us from taking photos and enjoying some ice scream before we headed back to Litchfield Highway. At Litchfield Tourist and Caravan Park we checked in for the night, had a wonderful shower with many crawling visitors and enjoyed a late dinner in the hotel's small restaurant before we went to bed very early to get some rest. Seeing so many waterfalls is hard work!

Driver performance today: about 100 km with every possible swimming and photo break!

14.05.2009 day 14

Oh God, I can't believe it but time's been flying and the trip is coming to an end. I will miss the sun, but not the oppressive heat.

We decamped very early to get back on the Arnhem Highway (planning error on our side, but the only one) to reach Fogg Dam to observe birds in a sort of wildlife park. A causeway leads through the Wetlands and everywhere on the left and right you can watch thousands of birds. We intented to walk the dam but were stopped and alerted by a ranger. A saltwater crocodile had been seen in the waterways! Anyone who has seen documentaries about crocodiles, knows how quickly they jump out of the water and run on land. It was an easy decision to drive the dam and that saved us quite some time as well. However, we did not face a crocodile, but that would change later ...

We were heading towards the Adelaide River Jumping Crocodile Cruise and even getting there was quite an adventure. At 11 clock boarding started and we entered the vessel that lacked a reliable appearance - Katrin and I looked at each other in disbelief. While boarding we were observed by a crocodile in the water nearby, which was probably looking forward having lunch and picking one of the passengers as his prey. Morgan, the tour guide, parked the boat right next to the crocodile and by holding meat right infront of its jaws tempted it to jump out of the water. He did this several times, until everybody had taken their photos. We drove up and down the Adelaide River, looking out for crocodiles and doing the same scenario when we found one: tempting it with meat for a few times, taking pictures and in the end rewarding the animal by allowing it to have the meat. The methods might have been disputable but for us it was the only -safe- way to observe crocodiles in their natural habitat. The tour finishes after 1 1 / 2 hours and we headed back to the highway and made our way up to Darwin.

When we arrived at our last destination, we had lunch, went into a visitor centre to get some ideas what to do and see in Darwin and checked into a BIG 4 campsite. It was far too hot to do anything so Katrin went for a swim and I checked my emails.

Conclusion: 250km in 5 hours

15.05.2009 day 15

This morning, our Bushi underwent a thorough cleaning, because we had to separate from it and return it to the Darwin Britz branch. A little bit sad really as it had been a very reliable car and home that took us all the way from Adelaide up north to Darwin. Well done Bushi!

Before returning the car, we enjoyed the merits of having a car for the last time and checked out the Botanical Gardens and the Darwin Wharf District to look around a little. Then we checked into a backpackers hostel, stored our luggage and started looking for the Britz branch, which lies just outside the city. After we had returned the van, we were looking into taking the bus to get back into the city centre and so there we were standing in an awful heat waiting for a bus. Heaps came but none of them stopped - having a 'not in service' sign seems to be obligatory for most of Darwin's busses. We finally succeded in getting into a bus and paid only 2 dollars, what was a bargain (compared to Melbourne)!

It was just too hot for us and there isn't much to do in Darwin so we went into a well airconditioned cinema to watch the new Tom Hanks movie "Angels & Demons". I will never understand why aircons are so extremely set up here: you go into a shop, petrol station etc and the cold gives you goose bumps. Then you exit the shop and it feels like running against a fire wall. That can't be good for the human body! Back in the backpacker hostel I realized that I'm getting too old for these hostels and being around all these 18 year olds and their superficial talk. I prefered to just sit in a corner reading an interesting book.

16.+17.05.2009 day 16 and 17

Our list of 'things to do and see' in Darwin was ticked off very quickly and in order to get as much sun and a nice tan before going back to cold Melbourne, we've spend our last two days at the Esplanade, laying in the sun, reading, listening to music and having naps.

On Sunday 17/05/2009 we called upton the service of the airport shuttle that picked us up at the hostel and then the only thing left to do was waited for boarding and departure. With just under 4 hours I found the flight very annoying: I was tired and could not sleep and television had to be paid for (Virgin Blue) what was out of question for me. My ipod rescued me from dying of boredom. After having arrived in Melbourne we jumped into a cab and quite some time later I was home. It was only 10 degrees (20 degrees less than in Darwin) but I was tired and I didn't really notice. .

Total figures

We have gone a total of 4695 km, we have filled up 725 liters and with $999.65 we just remained under $1000.00 fuel costs!