One, if not the, highlight along the East Cost are the Whitsundays (group of islands). One of the best ways to explore the region is by sailing boat - so off I went and booked myself on a 2 days, 1 night tour.
I don't know where to start, but I enjoyed every minute. Sailing (or cruising along thanks to the motor most of the time) was fun and allowed to see the sea and islands. The whole group on the boat was good fun to be with and after 2 days on so close quarters we knew each other pretty well!
The best part was our stop at Whitehaven's beach. This beach, composed of silica (quartz) is so white and smooth, it is unbelievable. I stop trying to explain it - have a look at the pictures...you will understand what I mean!
Just for those to whom EMCG means something: I was on Whitehaven beach on a Monday morning and I suddenly remembered how I used to spend my Monday mornings - I don't miss EMCG's at all - but miss you all (let me know how you are!)
And here the link to all my pictures from the Whitsundays
During my stay on Magnatic Island (opposite Townsville) I spent a day diving the SS Yongala. Getting to this top dive spot was long and not very pleasant (3 hours on a small diving boat, with lots of wind and waves). But the reward were 2 magnificent dives.
Already before jumping in the water, we had a turtle swimming around the boat and watching us. Below water there were so many fish (rays, groper, many don't I recall the names) that I spent more time watching the fish than looking at the wreck.
During the second dive I concentrated more on the wreck itself. It sank in 1911 and makes for a very special dive site because (i) it is still in one piece and (ii) it is home to many fish and corals as it is the only place to live and hide in a wide area of only sand. Not many pictures (have still no underwater camera...) but if you want to read more about this dive site have a look at the Maritime Museum of Townsville and the dive shop I went diving with.
If you enjoy diving, this is for sure a place to go to if you are in the region!!
From Cairns I did a three day, two night excursion to Cap Tribulation and Port Douglas. Cap Trib is in the Daintree National Park and a wonderful spot, where the rain forest meets the sea. You are walking in the rain forest and suddenly you are just standing directly on the beach! Wow! The scenery is wonderful and there are many, many trees and plants in the forest I had never seen before.
In the morning I did a tour spotting some saltwater crocodiles on the Daintree river. They were just lying in the water, hiding and sleeping. Difficult to imagine that they suddenly can attack so quickly! The afternoon I spent walking from beach to beach through the rain forest (no chance to get lost - there are prepared walks, well paved and signaled for all the tourist). I stayed the night at PK Jungle Lodge. Funny place in the middle of nowhere, but with a life band playing excellent music. This made for a nice and relaxed evening. In the morning I headed off for one more walk through the rain forest.
In the afternoon I travelled to the Port Douglas, stopping off at the Mossman Gorges. To many people swimming in the same place (aaaah we tourists!) but the water there was unbelievably clear!
Evening and following day I had time to explore Port Douglas: a fishing village turned into a tourist village. One main street full of small shops and restaurants, water and beach at both ends, all in a lovely setting!
From Alice Springs I flew to Cairns. One my first day here I intended to plan my upcoming weeks travelling the east coast. But while speaking to the travel agent, she told me of a great four day diving trip to the Great Barrier Reef - which was due to leave in two hours. The price was very attractive - so off I went, packed my things and ended the day aboard the dive boat!
These days diving were fantastic: the dive sites were great, with lots of beautiful hard and soft corals and lots and lots of animals and fish. We did feed the potato cods (big fish, which enjoy playing with the divers), swam along black tipped sharks, watched sea snakes, turtles and many more fish. In between dives we did eat (delicious food, prepared by an excellent cook) and relax on the sun deck. It was the first time I spent did a live aboard diving tour and I enjoyed every minute. Although doing four dives a day was tiring, having all equipment so close and always ready made it very easy - very different from the usual diving, where you carry your dive gear from the shop to the boat and back again to change your tank....
The people on board where also most my age, which was a nice change from the 20 to 30 age group, which I usual meet on the various tours. Not many pictures to share here because I have still not invested in an underwater camera... but maybe the day will come. Many of my fellow divers did take some amazing pictures - may be I will start one day as well?! Here are the few pictures I took from the boat...
I made to glad to be back on shore and even though it has been 24 hours now, I still feel as if I was still on board - rocking along all the time...
Tomorrow I leave to Cape Tribulation and Port Douglas.
From Alice Springs I did the classic three day excursion to Uluru (Ayers Rock), Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) and King's Gorge. The group I travelled with was once more full of nice people and we had again a lot of fun.
The first day we set of driving to King's Gorge (and that took half of the day, because Uluru is not located next to Alice Springs... there are a few hundred km to drive first!). At King's Gorge we did a nice walk - this will say most of the group climbed up the Gorge and walked around it. Personally I opted for the easy walk along the the dry riverbed: there was some shade from the trees and the sights of the Gorge from the bottom is also very impressive!
We then spent the night at a bush camp, with a nice campfire and sleeping in swags. We started the second day with exploring Kata Tjuta. These are some rocks or hills sticking strangely out of the desert landscape - quite impressive and funny round rocks.
In the afternoon we visited the Uluru visitor center and did a small walk at the base of Uluru. This allowed me to learn something about the culture of the Aboriginals. At the end of the day we watched the sunset from the official sunset viewing point for coaches. The pictures are of lovely nature and showing the rock all by itself. But in reality we were hundreds of people, on about 15 different coaches, having a drink and watching the sunset. It was more like one big party than the peaceful and quite enjoyment of nature the pictures seem to show.
After a nights sleep at the Uluru camp site, the same buses and people regrouped again - this time at the sunrise viewing point. There was not much space to get in that perfect picture and people were sticking out there elbows quite far to ensure that they could capture Uluru in full and without anyone disturbing the picture. I must confess I walked a way enjoyed the amazing colors from a different location - I did not get to take that perfect picture, but got to enjoy the wonderful colors on Uluru in peace.
Aaah and I must mention: I was so lucky to have booked my tour at full moon. This was pure coincidence and luck. This added an additional touch to the whole tour: when the sun went down, the moon came up on the other side at the same time - and vice versa. And during the night, there was no need for any torches, the moon provided light enough!
On the last day we spent the morning walking around Uluru before travelling back home to Alice Springs. All in all a very nice tour, with great sights and a lot of interesting information about the aboriginal culture - I enjoyed it a lot!
And for those who want to see the far too many pictures I took - they are located here.
From Broome I flew to Darwin, where I stayed for 2 days. Did not much like the city... but did probably not explore it properly either.... I left Darwin on a train journey to Alice Springs on The Ghan. The Ghan runs from Adelaide to Darwin, via Alice Springs. However I was very surprised that the section from Alice Springs to Darwin was only completed in 2004! Having not researched this journey in advanced, I thought I would go on a kind of nostalgic, old fashioned train. And here I was sitting in a very modern and comfortable train! I was a bit surprised - but nevertheless the journey was great fun. The train leaves twice a week (Wednesdays and Saturdays from Darwin) and takes 24 hours to get to Alice Springs. It makes a stop in Kathrine in the afternoon, allowing the tourists on board to make one of many tours available. I opted for a lovely boat ride on the Katherine Gorge - the scenery was lovely there was no rock climbing involved in this gorge!
In the evening we continued the journey and arrived next morning at 9.10 in Alice Springs.
Following my tour through Western Australia, I spent almost a week in Broome. Broome is a strange little city divided into two separate areas: one one side a small city center, with a few historic buildings and all stores and conveniences you usually find in a city. On the other side, 4km away from the city centre is Cable Beach - famous for its ......Beach and location of many hotel, hostels and backpackers. Except a few bars and restaurants there is only... the Beach. This however is huge and a very popular place for many of Broome's visitor!
Between relaxing and sunbathing on the beach or playing in the big waves in the ocean, I had two main highlights during my stay in Broome. One was going to the "Opera under the Stars": this is an annual event, where for one evening Opera singers perform famous songs from various operas: this year there were bits and pieces from Carmen, Rigoletto and many more. The singers (four of them) where excellent, but most impressive was the pianist: by himself he managed to give the impression of a full orchestra supporting the singers. The whole evening got a touch of magic through the outdoor location, next to the famous Cable Beach and under the stars. I very much enjoyed this evening and did not regret one moment to have stayed in Broome a few extra days to be able to attend this event!
The second highlight of my stay in Broome, was a day tour to Cap Leveque. This cap is locate north of Broome and offers some wonderful landscapes - as you can see on the pictures below. On the way there we visited a church built in 1914, decorated with mother of pearls throughout the whole church. Simply impressive! Getting there and home again was a bit of "hard work": 90km one way on unpaved road is quite a distance.... especially on the way home! But worthwhile, as the scenery was exceptional:
