Australia 2010

Our activities...

2010-08-23T01:13:00.000-07:00

Here some words about our favourite activities

- Beaches
We enjoyed the wonderful beaches in Queensland and northern New South Wales. There were our favourits:
1. Whitehaven Beach
2. Dicky Beach
3. Byron Bay Main Beach
4. Ellis Beach

Whitehaven Beach is exceptional. The sand is so white one cannot imagine. Every step sounds like walking on snow. The beach is long and wide, the water very shallow. Unfortunately the beach can only be accessed by boat and there are many boats there everyday.

Dicky Beach
A nice wide beach with surf and life guard service even in winter. The beach is not very busy (at least in winter) and there are some nice small waves which make fun. The water is shallow enough but there may be some currents. The wreck of the SS Dicky makes is also visual attraction. There are fresh water showers and BBQ area. At the surf club there is also very good food available in the evening.

Byron Bay
There are several beaches in Byron Bay. The main beach is life guarded but only in summer. Main beach sand is very fine and water shallow. However, Byron Bay is a recognised surf spot so there are some great surfing waves. Main beach has less waves and is very good for swimming. As marine stingers and crocodiles are no issue in this area, swimming is safe.

Ellis Beach lies between Cairns and Port Douglas. It can certainly become busy in summer, when we were there it was not very frequented. At low tide the beach is very wide. It is a good beach to enjoy the sun and there is also a life guarded section with stinger nets. In winter it should be stinger safe anyway but from October you should really only swim in guarded sections with marine stinger nets.

- Tours
We did two boat tours. One with Whitehaven Express to the Whitsundays and Whitehaven Beach. The other to a platform on the outer Great Barrier Reef with Quicksilver. Our clear recommendation is the Whitehaven Express Tour. This is a family operated business with a small but fast vessel. There are no more than 50 people on board. Reasons for recommendation:
- small vessel
- various things to see and do
- free snorkeling on a small reef
- access to Whitehaven Beach
- very casual BBQ on Whitehaven Beach
- very suitable also for kids

If you ever wanted to be on the Great Barrier reef, then a tour from Port Douglas to the outer reef is a must. I would only recommend it if you want to snorkel or scuba dive. Although there are activities for the kids on the platform (fish feeding, snorkeling in a guarded area and semi subs (all included in the price), I think the tour is just to expensive. With a family you easily pay 600-700 AUS$.

There are also special scuba dive and sailing tours offered.

- Amusement Parks
There are quite a few amusement parts on Gold Coast south of Brisbane. With Surfers Paradise and Gold Coast being Australias main holiday areas, there are so many things to do. We chose a special offer with a one year pass allowing access to three differnt parks. We went to MovieWorld and SeaWorld. This was great fun for the kids. Certainly not a must do on a campervan tour...

- Other parks...
There are various wildlife sanctuaries and crocodile parks so one has to make a choice. For us it was most important to do the following two things:
- Rainforest SkyRail (north Cairns)
- Australia Zoo (north Brisbane)

SkyRail is a cable cabin across the rain forst. Wonderful views on the forest, really good.
Australia Zoo shows all the Australian animals and a crocodile show. It was owned by the famous "Crocodile Hunter" who has been killed by a sting ray some years ago on the Great Barrier reef.

- Other things...
Talked about beaches so far, there are also other things to do. The tour through the Mount Morgan goldmine was interesting, but perhaps not a must see. Some of the waterfalls are very nice:
Gossman Gorge is nice, but very popular as well.
Wallaman Falls are impressive, but relatively far off. If you have half a day you should definately go there.

Josephine Falls is a must. Although well accessible they are not to busy and there are natural pools where you can swim.

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Pimelea St,Everton Hills,Australien

Some general comments on our Australia trip

2010-08-22T05:41:00.000-07:00

Here are some general comments on our Australia trip:

- Airlines

We were flying Lufthansa (LH) and Singapore Airlines (SIA), both Economy class.
On our way back from Brisbane I am now while writing this, sitting on a SIA A330-300. The second and third section will be with Lufthansa. Lufthansa was, on our way out 4 weeks ago, using a very old B747 between Singapore and Frankfurt. The plane has no proper Entertainment System, only central old monitors - not much to do. Last night on our way back they had a 747-400 with modern seats and entertainment - but still far away from what SIA offers. LHs service is ok, but not really good compared to SIA.

On the SIA flight everyone in Economy has his own large monitor and entertainment system. There are about 100 on demand videos, movies, music compilations available and electronic games. The kids get very good kids meals, this time they even came with a little case the kids can retain. Service and food are excellent! SIA seats are very good as well.

Both airlines offer free headphones, kids meals and small toys for the kids.
Next time I would try to only fly SIA.

- Campervan (RV)

We booked a 5berth RV with Britz and only the basic insurance. However, when I picked up the RV it was a Maui. Britz and Maui are one company now, the RVs are exaxtly the same. I decided to additionally spend mony on a better insurance, otherwise I would have had to pay a deposit of 7500 AUS$ - and they really take it off your credit card account to refund it on return. But it impacts your credit card limits. So I reduced the deposit to 2500, many people choose to reduce it to 400. But this costs you a lot extra. On return there were a few small issues with the RV, one was a crack in the windscreen. The company only charged me 50 AUS$ for the repair which I feld was fair.

The RV was ok, well equipped with everything we needed. The Mercedes engine was very good, the car was not brand new but not to old either (71000 km). We travelled around 5000 km with the RV.

- Road conditions

We mainly travelled on Queenslands highways, only around Brisbane there were a few kilometers of motorway. Most of Queenslands main Highway No.1 is in very good condition. Speed limit usually is 100 km/h, sometimes 110. There are either overtaking lanes or long parts where the road is straight. Beyond Cairns the road becomes more windey and narrow. Roads besides highway No. 1 can be in varying conditions but highways are always tarred.

Other roads can be gravel and I cannot recomend travelling long distances on gravel roads with a large RV. However, some nice places can only be reached via gravel roads. When we travelled back from north to south we took some inbound roads through Queensland hinterland. These were small and sometimes windey.

- Campgrounds

Queensland is a holiday region and there are campgrounds everywhere. There are budget campgrounds as well as expensive resorts with large playgrounds and pools. Prices vary accordingly, with 2 adult and three kids we payed between 18 and 80 AUS$. In the main season around christmas, the prices are even higher. Queenslands prices are generally higher compared to other regions in Australia. The rental company (Maui/Britz) gave us an overview brochure of the main campgrounds. Big4 is a big chain of mostly expensive but good sites. Some campgrounds offer a much more comprehensive brochure with many campgrounds and directions. Our map also had the campgrounds marked. There are also many rest areas where camping is permitted and cost free. Some villages have a sign "RV friendly" which indicates that camping is permitted in many areas of the village and camping rest areas with toilets and often also dump points are available for free. Some of the National Parks also provide camping areas with very basic facilities.

It is also outside high season advisable to book all campgrounds in advance. Some beachfront campgrounds have been fully booked even though it was winter. Around christmas and during summer holidays in Queensland surely all campgrounds in the costal regions must be booked well in advance. Some campgrounds keep at least unpowered sites available for those who have not booked in advance.

Our favourite campgrounds have been:
-Dicky Beach (mainly because of the beach itself, but also the facilities have been excellent.
-Airlie Beach Resort

A great place for the whole family with large pool wth water slides and a large playground! This 5 star resort offers everything for a great holiday.

- BBQ

Australia is a BBQ country. There are public BBQ places in almost all public parks and near the beaches. The BBQs are electric and easy to use. All of them are kept in good condition. So for several times we stopped over for lunch to have a nice BBQ.

- Internet access
If you read one of my first blog entries you will know that I had bought a mobile hotspot which would allow me to have wireless internet access everywhere. On the first day in Brisbane I purchased a Telstra SIM card with 40 AUS$ worth of data volume. Initially they put me accidentially on a voice plan and I could not get any internet access. I had to go back and they changed the plan to data. The amount was enough for the full 4 weeks surfing, blogging and uploading photos.

Another way of accessing the web was the use of the WLANs on the campgrounds. Many campgrounds offer 3 hours per day free web access but often the access only works close to the offices. So very often the internet access on the campgrounds did not work and I used the Testra mobile access. Telstra has a very good coverage and I was able to access the web in every village. But outside Brisbane there was no UMTS access and internet speed varied very much.

I'll write another blog on the things we enjoyed most and those that one might skip...

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Between Australia and Singapore

Departure from Brisbane - 30 mins to go

2010-08-21T20:54:00.000-07:00

In less then 30 mins we will be on the plane. This morning we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast buffett at the Mt. Cook-tha lookout.

We were invited by our friends, who had almost all their family at the breakfast.

Some farewell pictures and ... Goodbye Australia!

Our plane is already waiting for us...

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Brisbane Airport,Australien

Way back to Brisbane (340km)

2010-08-19T03:36:00.000-07:00

Größere Kartenansicht

I get up early in the morning to catch a beautiful sunrise at 6am.

At 8am we go to the Byron Bay lighthouse where one has a great view over Byron Bay. Is is also the most easterly point on the Australian mainland.

There is only a small road up to the lighthouse and at the end there is a parking right next to the lighthouse.

The last bit of the road only opens at 8am.

Parking costs 7AU$ from 9am. We were lucky as we arrived just after 7 and left at 9.

Stunning view to the south of Byron Bay.

View from lighthouse on Byron Bay.

Tatjana, Jeremia and Jonah at the most easterly point of Australia.

Nimbin mountains in the Hinterlands of Byron Bay.

Gold Coast is full of tourist cities which carry names like Palm Beach or Miami. The skyline above is not Manhatten but Surfers Paradise!

The building in the middle with the big antenna is Australias tallest flats building with 77 storeys - Surfers Paradise.

In the Tambourine Mountain there is the Rainforest Skywalk.

A nice walk through the tree tops of the rainforest.

The kids enjoyed it.

A large tree fern.

Even the moon was out - can you spot it.
So this was our last day on the campervan which we will return tomorrow. This night we stay with our friends in Brisbane again and on Sunday we fly back to Europe - good bye Australia!

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Sunset at Byron Bay - Purely Gold Coast!

2010-08-18T02:54:00.000-07:00

Just enjoy the photos :)

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

A Day on Byron Bay beaches...

2010-08-18T02:47:00.000-07:00

Another lazy day before we head back to Brisbane tomorrow to return the RV on Friday. We start off with a little shopping tour through the town centre.

Nice little shops everywhere, lots of alternative/hippie stuff as well as souveniers, surf and swim gear.

The people here are layed back and there are many young people (and those who think they are young).

We find a really good ice cream parlor with handmade italian style ice cream.

The ice cream is very delicious - with gourmet price tag as well...
The day will be beautiful, sunny at 23c.

A view on "The Wreck" and Belongil Beach.

Stretching from Byron Bay north to Belongil Creek and beyond, Belongil is partly dog-friendly beach. Belongil Creek harbours a colony of rare Little Terns, and care must be taken not to disturb them in any way. Just north of the rock wall at Byron Bay is the wreck of the SS Wollongbar, a great place to explore with a mask and snorkel when the sea is calm. Parts of Belongil beach are 'clothes optional'.

The Wreck (beach)
More a surf break created by the wreck of the SS Wollongbar. Located just off the Main Beach car park at the end of Jonson Street.

Main Beach
This is the main beach directly in front of the town of Byron Bay, and continuing southward (actually eastward) to Clarkes Beach. Main Beach is dominated by the Surf Club and is patrolled by Surf Lifesavers in summer. Swim between the flags and always wear a hat and sunscreen. From here you can snorkel out to the Tassie II, a wreck off the coast.

This is where we will spend most of the day.

Other beaches towards the ligjthouse:

Clarkes (Clarks) Beach
Filling the space between Main Beach and The Pass, Clarkes Beach is north-facing and idyllic most of the year. Only when the northerlies blow does Clarkes become less than perfect. An extra surf-lifesaving team patrols this beach in summer. The Bay here is ideal for windsurfing, bodyboarding and paragliding. In winter humpback whales have been known to frolic with their calves on their way back to the Antarctic.

The Pass
The Pass is a gap between Fisherman's Lookout and the headland. It is the most popular surf break on the north coast, but also where the dive boats launch, so be careful. Fisherman's Lookout is a wooden platform from where you can check out the surf as well as the fish.

And a short film on the iPad before the kids go to bed. Don't miss the next blog entry on teriffic Gold Coast sunset!

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Bay Ln,Byron Bay,Australien

Dicky Beach - Brisbane - Byron Bay (260km)

2010-08-17T02:50:00.000-07:00

The first half of the day we spend at Dicky Beach and much of it on the beach and in the water.

Although only 22c air temperature the sea is fresh but not really cold.

And here are some more beach photos from Dicky Beach.

The beach which, besides Newhaven Beach on the Whitsundays and Ellis Beach south of Port Douglas, we enjoyed most.

The beach has the right mix of everything:
- a bit of waves
- nice clean sand
- (relative) shallow water
- not busy
- life guard

And should the waves be to high, there are the Currimundi Lakes just a few minutes away. Specifically for small kids the lakes are very recommended.

And here is a goodbye picture from Dicky...

After 260km on busy roads around Brisbane, we reach Byron Bay just at sunset.

Here is what Wikipedia knows about Byron Bay...you read our view in the next blog tomorrow, when we had a little walk in the village.

Byron Bay is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of the state of New South Wales in Australia. It is located 772 kilometres north of Sydney and 165 kilometres south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a headland adjacent to the town, is the easternmost point of mainland Australia. At the 2006 Census, the town has a population of 4,981 people and is the nucleus of Byron Shire, which has in excess of 28,000 residents. Captain James Cook named Cape Byron after circumnavigator of the world John Byron, grandfather of the poet, Lord Byron.

The town has several beaches which are popular for surfing. It is a resort popular with both domestic and international tourists, including backpackers, who travel along the Australian coast, and the scenery attracts sky divers. The area is also noted for its wildlife, with the whale watching industry a significant contributor to the local economy.

An oceanway runs from the centre of town to the Cape Byron lighthouse. Visitors are encouraged to use sustainable options for moving around town like walking and cycling.

Temperate and tropical waters merge at Byron Bay, making it a popular area for scuba diving and snorkelling. Most diving is done at Julian Rocks which is part of the recently established Cape Byron Marine Park and only a few minutes boat ride from Main Beach.

History:

For thousands of years Aboriginal people came to the Bay to swap stories, find marriage partners and trade goods. They called it Cavvanbah.

European history began in 1770, when Captain James Cook found a safe anchorage and named Cape Byron after John Byron, who had circumnavigated the world and who was later the grandfather of English poet Lord Byron. In the 1880s, when Europeans settled more permanently, streets were named for other English writers and philosophers.

The first industry in Byron was cedar-getting, the "Red Center" from the Australian red cedar, Toona australis. The timber industry is the origin of the word "shoot" in many local names – Possum Shoot, Coopers Shoot and Skinners Shoot – where the timber-cutters would "shoot" the logs down the hills to be dragged to waiting ships.

Byron Bay has a history of primary industrial production (dairy factory, abattoirs, whaling until 1963, fishing) and was a significant, but hazardous, sea port.

The first jetty was built in 1886, and the railway was connected in 1894, and Cavvanbah became Byron Bay in 1894. Dairy farmers cleared more land and settled the area. In 1895, the Norco Co-operative was formed to provide cold storage and manage the dairy industry. The introduction of paspalum improved production, and Byron Bay exported butter to the world. The Norco factory was the biggest in the southern hemisphere, expanding from dairy to bacon and other processed meat.

The lighthouse was built in 1901 at the most easterly point on the Australian mainland. In 1930, the first meatworks opened.

Despite this success, Byron Bay struggled to become a viable community, and was always a poor working town. The smell from the meat and dairy works was, by all accounts, appalling, and the annual slaughter of whales in the 1950s and 1960s made matters worse. Sand mining between the World Wars damaged the environment further, and one by one all these industries declined.

After all the factories and industries closed, surfers discovered the wonderful natural breaks at The Pass, Wategos and Cosy Corner and the longboarders arrived in the 1960s. This was the beginning of Byron Bay as a tourist destination, and by 1973, when the Aquarius Festival was held in Nimbin, its reputation as a hippy, happy, alternative town was established.

Today Byron Bay is no longer a secret and so the development of mass tourism takes its turn...

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Shirley St,Byron Bay,Australien

Australia Zoo

2010-08-16T03:56:00.000-07:00

This blog entry consists of wikipedia content and my pictures with some remarks.

Australia Zoo is located in the Australian state of Queensland on the Sunshine Coast near Beerwah/Glass House Mountains. It is owned by Terri Irwin, the widow of Steve Irwin, whose wildlife documentary series The Crocodile Hunter made the zoo a popular tourist attraction. Steve Irwin and nicknamed "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian television personality, wildlife expert, and conservationist.

Irwin achieved worldwide fame from the television series The Crocodile Hunter, an internationally broadcast wildlife documentary series co-hosted with his wife Terri (née Raines).

Irwin died on 4 September 2006 after being fatally pierced in the chest by a stingray barb while filming in Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

Australia Zoo was opened by Bob and Lyn Irwin on 3rd June 1970 under the name Beerwah Reptile Park. Bob Irwin is a world renowned herpetologist, who is regarded as a pioneer in the keeping and breeding of reptiles. His wife Lyn was one of the first to care for and rehabilitate sick and injured wildlife in southeast Queensland.

(The birds were part of the crocodile show at the Crocoseum - very impressive free flights!)

Bob and Lyn passed on their love and respect for wildlife to their children, Liam Stephen James but mainly to their other son Steve, who had helped his parents since childhood to care for crocodiles and reptiles and to maintain the growing number of animals in the zoo.

Over a decade later the park was renamed to the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park and the area was doubled with the purchase of another 1.62 hectares. In 1987 the Crocodile Environmental Park was opened in an effort to aid saltwater crocodile protection.

By the 1990s the Crocodile Environmental Park had become very popular and was seen as unique for its display of crocodile feeding within the park.

In 1991 Steve Irwin overtook management of the zoo. In 1992 the park was renamed again, becoming Australia Zoo. Currently, the zoo maintains more than 2000 animals and over 600 staff.

Australia Zoo won the Australian Tourism Awards for 2003-2004 in the category Major Tourist Attraction. Australia Zoo Retail has also won the Tourism Retailing Award from Qantas Australian Tourism Awards.

On 16 March 2008 the Brisbane-based newspaper, The Sunday Mail, claimed there are plans to sell Australia Zoo to Animal Planet and create a $100-million Disney-style wildlife theme park. However, these claims appear to be unfounded with Terri publicly announcing she has no plans to sell the zoo and in fact is looking to expand the park from 28 hectares to over 400 hectares.

(Jonah feeding a kangaroo)

Zoo development

In the meantime, the zoo has encompassed a large area of 100 hectares, (this will be expanded to over 2 km2 - 202 hectares - in due course), in which many animals live. In order to reduce long walks, a 'modified trailered bus' has been utilised, named Steve's Safari Shuttle, which operates on a bitumen roadway circuit.

(Joshua feeding a kangaroo)

At the zoo there is also a stadium, named the 'Animal Planet Crocoseum', which has a capacity of approximately 5000. At the time of its construction, it was the first in the world where snake, bird and crocodile shows were conducted. Australia Zoo calls these shows 'Wildlife Warriors 101'. Visitors can also view a crocodile feeding and participate in an elephant feeding (the elephant feeding can be participated in during the mornings on the roadway circuit at the first crossover to the internal section of the zoo or in the afternoons at 'Elephantasia' (Australia's largest Elephant exhibit) around the back of the zoo near tiger temple).

There is a running space for kangaroos that visitors can feed, and there is often an opportunity to pet a koala.

The zoo's sponsored charity Wildlife Warriors also run a rescue operation and care station for any native wildlife who may be injured in accidents outside the zoo.

As of the end of 2008, the elephant enclosure and water pool has been completed and 'Elephantasia' officially opened on December 26, 2006. Furthermore, a construction of an artificial island (to represent the Island of Madagascar), began in 2006, which will accommodate African animals such as tortoises, lemurs and other species not yet represented, This section will open Mid 2009.

The South-East Asian Precinct will also be improved with the introduction of Orangutans, and transfer of the Komodo Dragons and Otters, which inhabit an enclosure near to the entrance to create a more complete Bio-Climatic Asian Region.

Construction on the Australia Zoo Safari Lodge began mid 2008 and was due to be finished and operational by the end of 2009. However due to the economic situation, Australia Zoo decided to put all of its expansion plans on hold, as well as terminate employment of 26 staff members (mostly guest services staff).

A number of high-profile people have contributed to or supported Australia Zoo, including Justin Timberlake and the Dalai Lama.

(A baby wombat in his mothers pocket)

(All Australien snake species are present, too)

(Sleepimg Tasmanian Devil)

(A Cassowarry)

(Koalas everywhere in the Zoo)

(The kids with the croc...)

(Jonah the new crocodile hunter :)

(All kids on the croc)

(Finally the playground)

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:1638 Steve Irwin Way, Beerwah, Queensland, Australia

Train Spotting

2010-08-15T04:41:00.000-07:00

That was a cold night in the campervan at 4c outside with no heating inside!
Australia is a cold country :)

We leave Goomeri to drive the 80km to Gympie to arrive just in time for the departure of the Mary Valley Rattler steam train.

Jeremia and Jonah join me to the station to watch the train departure, the rest of the familiy is not interested. The kids are allowed to jump on the steam engine.

There is a group of people who join the train ride and do a show later at Imbil being dressed up as in the Old Victorian times.

Instead of spending a lot of money for the train ride, we decide to follow the train to Imbil where it will arrive at lunchtime.

Imbil is on our way anyway and we will take the very nice Mary Valley tourist drive. So there is something in it for all of us.

First stop on our train spotting tour is a crossing in Gympie before the train leaves the town into the Mary Valley.

In the valley there are several occasions where the train either crosses the road or comes close to it.

The Rattler will need 2 hours for the 45km to Imbil. This includes a 30mins stop in Kandanga.

On arrival in Imbil the train is welcomed by the group of Victorians.

After the passengers left the train, the engine has to be turned around.

Therefor there is a steam driven turntable at Imbil station.

The turntable is driven by the steam from the engine.

The kids follow the whole process with fascination.

There is also historic motorcar in Imbil.

This will leave the station back to Gympie before the steam train. It had been hired for a birthday party.

Near to the Railway Hotel another "historic" piece of technology has been parked. An Australien 70s sportscar.

The Purvis Eureka was a sports car produced in Australia from 1974 to 1991. First exhibited at the 1974 Melbourne Auto Show, the car was based on the British Nova design of 1971. The Eureka, which was manufactured by Purvis Cars at Dandenong in Victoria, utilised a Volkswagen Beetle chassis, a fibreglass body and, most commonly, an air-cooled Volkswagen engine. Examples using 1.6 Litre Ford 4 cylinder engines and others with Mazda rotary powerplants were also produced. The Eureka was offered both as a kit car, to be assembled by the buyer and as a fully assembled vehicle. The coupe body had no doors, entry being made by manually raising a one piece canopy, although a power operated canopy was offered as an option. A Targa top version was also available from the early 1980s. (Wiki)

Enough of sportscars. The rest of the journey is a relaxed drive through beautiful landscape. Next settlememt is Brooloo.

Whit nice tree-lined roads...

and sometimes gravel roads...

The gravel road was due to a detour on Obi Obi road just behind Kenilworth because of a land slip. Later on we get back on Obi Obi road through Kidaman Creek.

We drive from one Tourist Drive (Mary Valley) to the next (Kenilworth) and another one with even more beautiful landscape.

Then we have to climb a 10% steep and very windy road up to the very nice village of Mapleton which allows a great view over the valley.

via Nambour and Mooloolaba we finally reach Dicky Beach

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Beerburrum St,Dicky Beach,Australien

Not much to write... (440km to drive)

2010-08-14T13:34:00.000-07:00

This morning we had another look at some of the sites in Mount Morgan.
A few more words about the mine. On the picture below you see the large chimney, it is the highest chimney in Australia. It has been even higher before the top fell of because of a thunder stroke. The actual mountain has once even been higher than this chimney - now it is digged away.

There have been several rope bridges over the Dee River. These bridges were built by the mining company to ensure workers had no excuse not to come to work when there was a flooding.

Here is another view of the old gold storehouse.

After a walk on the graveyard we head on towards Gympie. We decide to take the inbound route through the mountains following Highway 13. This is a windy road not always in good condition. So we cannot drive so fast.

But there are many wonderful views.

On the way there is tiny little restored train station in the middle of nowhere.

And nearby this bridge...

Today we see so many bush fires, that on part of our way there is a dust over the whole landscape - from the fire smoke. Most if not all of these fires are man made - as the big one below. Sometimes we almost have to drive through these fires.

Due to the road condition and some other issues, we travel slow and will not reach Gympie today. We enjoy the beautiful sunset and rest in the village of Goomeri.

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Hodge St,Goomeri,Australien

Mount Morgan

2010-08-13T02:38:00.000-07:00

Mount Morgan is a town located in central Queensland, Australia. It is situated on the Dee River, 38 kilometres south of the city of Rockhampton, and is 680 kilometres north of the state capital, Brisbane.

The Burnett Highway passes through the town. The town has a population of approximately 3000 people. The picture above shows one of more than 18 hotels that had been around in the gold rush times, today there are only 4 left. The population at its hights had been up to 16.000!

The town was the administrative centre of the Mount Morgan Shire until March 2008, when it was amalgamated with neighbouring local government areas to form the Rockhampton Regional Council. It is also the site of Queensland's most polluted river (the Dee River).

Mount Morgan was founded as a gold mining town in 1882, and has over time produced gold, silver and copper. Among those making a fortune from this mine was William Knox D'Arcy. D'Arcy used his fortune to finance oil exploration in Iran, which led to the formation of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (now BP).

The Gold Mine

The lookout, named after a former Mount Morgan Shire Chairman, Mr. Arthur Timms, provides a dramatic view of Mount Morgan and the mine landscape.

In the foreground of the mine is the Gold Room where the gold was stored. It was never robbed. The north wing of this building formed part of the Chlorination Works, constructed in 1884. The first, not very successful attempts to seperate the gold from the ore by the Morgan brothers had been with mercury.

Behind this is the General Office. This building has three stages of construction and has served as both general office and accommodation quarters.

Moving to the left we see the second and main stack. Completed in 1905, is stack was originally constructed using 750.000 bricks which were locally manufactured.

(picture below shows the old owners building)

Left of the stack are the mounds of tailings, all that remains of the vast quantity of rock and earth dug from the mine, then discarded after the precious ore was removed. Once there were bush, gullies and gently flowing creeks...

The picture above shows a part of the hole that the miners dug in 100 years. Left is a remaining bit of the original mountain. The top of this mountain was compelety dug away and the hole filled with water. This water is very acid with a pH value of 2.8

The mine finally closed in 1981, having produced vast quantities of gold during its lifetime. Mined for over one hundred years, the Mount Morgan Mine produced 225,000 kilos of gold, 50,000 kilos of silver and 360,000 tonnes of copper. During the mining operation, most of the mountain was mined away, and the town now lies adjacent to a 300 m deep acid-water filled pit. Mining companies still prospect today in the area, and plans to extract further gold from tailings at the mine site are always under development. The Queensland Government, through its Department of Natural Resources Mines and Water have begun a rehabilitation project of the minesite.

Excavated by Mount Morgan Miners in the late 1800's, the fire clay caverns supplied fire bricks for the mine.

The roof of the caves reveal a number of dinosaur footprints, discovered in the early 1950's and authenticated in the mid 1950's.

The caverns are also home for up to seven species of bats, including the bent wing bats. A truly unique experience where heritage meets paleontology.

Tourism plays a large part in the economy of the town today. A number of historic buildings still exist in the town, and tourists can take excursions to the remains of the mine.

"Running the Cutter" is a local custom showing a gold miner in the area between 1900 and 1918 buying beer in billy cans and each drinking his can.

The area was host to one of the few rack railways (as part of the line from Mount Morgan to Rockhampton) to operate in Australia.

Between 1898 and 1952 the railway operated as rack railway. The rack portion of the line was replaced by a conventional adhesion railway in the 1950's. In turn, the replacement line was closed in 1987, and the town no longer has a rail connection.

Today there is a small railway museum at the train station but unfortunately there is currently no train operation.

A fire destroyed the bridge behind the railway station and the engine needs an overhauling.

The kids are allowed to play on the given up second engine. A third engine, a rack engine, has been left behind in the mine.

We then have a short visit at the dam behind Mount Morgan.

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

A Long Way To Go (Ayr - Mackay - Grass Tree Beach - Sarina - Rockhampton - Mount Morgan (700km)

2010-08-12T05:52:00.000-07:00

Größere Kartenansicht

Today we have a long way to go, about 700km. We leave the campground in Ayr around 9:30am back onto Bruce Highway south. On our way we are suddenly stopped by a police car. My immediate thought was - damned, another accident that will hold us up. But luckily it was just an oversized truck.

At around 2pm we leave the Highway to head to the seafront. North of Sarina we choose the remote village of Grasstree Beach. This small village lays in a bay with a long beach (which is at high tide fully covered with water.

Along the whole beachfront there is a nice park with playground, picknick areas and two BBQs. We can put our campervan almost next to the picknick area.

The kids go straight to the playground - and call us. They cannot use the slide because of "some animal".

Which turns out to be a little caudate.

So nothing for the BBQ and we have to stick with what we've brought :)

Prawns, Steak and Aussi Burgers...

After lunch we spend some time on the beach...

And Jeremia writes a warning in the sand: "Achtung Möwe" (Attention Birds)

This is for good reason. When the kids went to the toilet, they were attacked by a pair of birds that wanted to protect their nest.

They came extremely close and even picked on Joshua (who after that experience decided to stay in the campervan for the rest of the picknick)

Everytime we tried to cross their territory we have been attacked.

Jeremia and Jonah were fascinated and slightly scared.

After about two hours we leave this nice remote spot to head back to the highway.

We now drive till the sun goes down and the moon can be seen - looks different to the moon view in the northern hemisphere

At about 8:30pm we reach the camoground in Mount Morgan. About this spot more by tomorrow, just this much; man have digged in 99 years the biggest hole into the earth of the southern hemisphere.

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Mount Morgan, Australien

Wallaman Falls

2010-08-11T03:00:00.000-07:00

Größere Kartenansicht

The falls are about 50km off the highway from Ingham in the Girringun National Park. In the region and in Ingham time seemed to have stopped about 50 years ago. The region is also known as the Tyto Wetlands named after the Eastern Grass Owl and is home to over 160 bird species plus mamals, reptiles and insects.

Stoney Creek tumbles 70m off the Seaview Range at 540m above sea level before plunging 268m in a clear, single fall to the 20m deep pool below.
This is Wallaman Falls, the highest, permanent, single-drop waterfall in Australia.

The beginnings of Wallaman Falls are anything bit humble. Several geological events created the landscape that you see today.

About 50 million years ago, movdment of the Earth's crust formed the edge of the continent that lies against the Coral Sea and the present day landforms began to form. An earlier Herbert River flowed towards the west. It is not known when it reachex its present east flowing course.

Continuous erosion caused the Herbert River Falls to retreat by around 40cm every 100 years. As the gorge became longer, it passed tributaries like Stoney Creek, which were then suspended. This created waterfalls like Wallaman, which in turn eroded their own gorges.

Our way back is again partly on slippery gravel roads, and due the heavy rain last night, even some trees have come down.

Further down the road a clear view on the mountain and the cost opens up.

The steep winding road gets even smaller...

...before we reach the flater costal land...

Short after we are back on the highway heading towards Townsville and further south. Although we had planned to travel a long distance today - ideally back to Airlie Beach, we have to change our plans as Bruce Highway gets closed just in front of us due to a heavy accident of two trucks on a bridge. As there is no suitable detour, we have to wait for more than two hours till the road is open again. So we decide to finish early and go to a nice campground in Ayr - with only 240km travelled today.

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Wallaman Falls, Australia

From Port Douglas via Mission Beach to the Wallaman Falls (400km)

2010-08-10T19:18:00.000-07:00

Größere Kartenansicht

Today we are heading back south, goodby Port Douglas, goodby North.
Our first stop is at Mission Beach. Between Bruce Highway and Mission Beach there are a lot of Cassowary roadsigns.

This is for good reasons as these birds, which are endangered to be extinct, are crossing the roads here quite frequently - Mission Beach is one of the few areas where you are likely to see one. We saw them on the entry to the Mission Beach settlement on the roadside. Cassowaries are birds that can become as tall as men and they cannot fly. The have unusual black feathers almost like rats. They are vital for the rainforest ecosystem as for 70 species of plants they are the only way to survive. The bird swallows their fruits and spreads their seeds with their pooh.

Mission Beach itself is a smalll but quite busy village. There is a lot of development here, many holiday cattages being built right at the seafront at outrages prices.

Both pictures show the main beach at Mission Beach. Aperantly at high tide the water reaches to the palm trees and no beach is left. There is a large park right behind the beach.

But unfortunately we could not find a BBQ there so we move on to South Mission Beach.

The small settlement is much more remote and there is an acceptable BBQ.

A 650gr Australian rumpsteak, pork medallions, cheese burgers and onions as well as bred, salad and very delicious marinted goat cheese, mhhh!

A walk on the beach and off we go.

Ooops, Joshua gets some bits by green ants, I think the also call them electric ants.

It feels like touching stinging nettles. By the way, there are warnings signs on marine stingers everywhere. And a part of the beach is protected by stinger nets.

Near the beach we have a chat with this guy who is on an around Australia tour by bycicle. He started in Perth nine month ago, went around the south and is now heading north. He expects to be back in Perth in about six month, good luck mate! By the way, the bike bags are German Ortlieb bags - they are simply the best.

Right behind Ingham we leave the Bruce Highway inbound to go to the Wallaman Falls. On our way we observe a caine train in operation.

Jeremia loves all sorts of trains and so we have to stay until all caine waggons have been coupled and the train leaves.

From Bruce Highway it is appx. 50km to the waterfall. This does not sound to much but in the end it took us more than an hour to get there. This is because of different road conitions. It starts with good rural roads, then some smaller roads with cattle grid. Then very narrow, steep roads up into the mountain (a roadsign warns that this is unsuitable for caravans). While we drive up the hill we hit the clouds and later on get through them and see the blue sky for a short while.

At the sign "10km to Wallaman Falls" the gravel road begins, this takes another 30 minutes! The road is very slippery from the rain.

Finally we make it just before sunset. We will visit the falls next morning and we stay on the nearby National Park cqmpground.

Very basic campground with some facilities you do not really want to use. Also there is no electricity and mobile phones don't work up here, too. So I will post this blog entry once we are back to civilisation.

This night we have extremely heavy rain and even a small thunderstorm. Hopefully the weather will be much better tomorrow. Now I say good night for today.

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Wallaman Falls, Australia

Great Barrier Reef (Part 2)

2010-08-09T03:57:00.000-07:00

So here are some more pictures of the reef, enjoy!

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Agincourt ribbon reef, Australia

Great Barrier Reef - Outer Reef (Part 1)

2010-08-09T03:37:00.000-07:00

So today shall be another (if not the) highlight of our Australia trip: we visit the Great Barrier Reef!

We chose the biggest enterprise, Quicksilver, for our tour as they provide a variety of activities for the whole family on the reef. They actually have a platform out on the Agincourt ribbon reef, part of the outer Great Barrier reef.

The company operates a large fleet of catamarans on different tours. We take the Quicksilver 8, sistership of the Quicksilver 5 which is shown below.

The ship can carry up to 450 passengers - today we were about 350.

The day starts sunny but will soon become much more cloudier with even some rain in the afternoon.

So we leave Port Douglas and we head towards the reef.

The kids enjoy the 1,5 hours boat trip.

Arriving at the platform there is a large choice of actities, many of which are included in the (quite expensive) cruise price. For the whole family of 5 we paid about 650 AU$.

Joshua and I will go for a snorkel swim. To be absolutely safe, although no marine stinger season, we wear stinger protection suits.

The platform has a very comfortable swim platform and snorkeling gear is provided for free.

Joshua does not like the snorkel after his first snorkeling last time.

Snorkeling right at the platform already offers a variety of marine live...

Joshua enjoys the swim...

And after lunch the kids go in a semi-submarine tour - all on their own!
(this activity is also included in the price)

They skipper said they had been "angels" and indeed Jonah clearly seemed to have enjoyed it:

I then go on my booked guided one hour snorkel tour out on the reef.

Taking the hired digital underwater camera with me - so all photos I am posting here have been taken by myself.

Besides the coral and the fish, we see some giant claws...

There is also a professional camera man with us...

The tour is a real big fun and so much fish and coral.

There is one species of coral that can be picked up without destruction.

On the snorkel we even found Nemo, the clownfish, in his home, the anemone...

They always come in pairs as many of the reef fishes who stay together for the whole of their lifes.

At the end of this blog I will add some more photos of the snorkeling tour, here a view from the reef on the platform:

While I was on my tour, the kids were allowed to feed the fish from the platform...

...and so much fish came along...

Swimming everywhere between your legs...

...Jeremia had so much fun...

Take a look at some more of my underwater reef pictures in the second part of this blog...

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Agincourt ribbon reef, Australia

Rainforest Skyrail and Beach

2010-08-08T00:29:00.000-07:00

We leave the campground right after breakfast for a short trip back to Cairns. Initially the plan was to go to the Cairns Tropical Zoo first and do the SkyRail after. We adhoc decide to skip the zoo and just go for the Cableway (http://www.skyrail.com.au/). SkyRail is a 7,5km cable way over the rainforest.

From their website:

"Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, Cairns Australia, is a world first in environmental tourism taking you on an amazing experience over Australia’s World Heritage listed Tropical Rainforest canopy and deep into the forest.

The Skyrail experience, spanning 7.5kms over pristine rainforest, allows you to explore the wonders of an ancient tropical rainforest and learn about one of the most botanically fascinating and diverse areas on earth.

Gliding just metres above the rainforest canopy in comfortable six-person gondola cabins, the Skyrail journey immerses you in an intimate rainforest experience where you’ll see, hear, smell and become part of the tropical rainforest environment."

We all enjoyed the day over the rainforest. We took impressive views of the landscape. We had a stunning view on the hugh Barron falls and glided over the large Barron river.

At the top station in Kuranga we took a break. At first we went to the train station and the kids were invited onto the locomotion.

At the historic Barron Hotel & Bar we had our lunch before we took the cableway back to Cairns.

From the cabin one has a far reaching view over the Cairns costline with the mountains in the background.

On our way back to the campground in Port Douglas we enjoyed a refreshing bath in the Pacific Ocean at Ellis Beach.

This is a wonderful beach and very quiet in winter - in summer it will certainly get much more busy here!

So while writing this blog entry we are sitting on the beach, listening to the waves and waiting for the sunset.

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Nylander St,Parap,Australien

Rainforest and Waterfalls

2010-08-07T04:14:00.000-07:00

Only about 20km on Bruce Highway north of Innisfail, we take a small road 8km west to the Josephine Falls in the Wooroonooran National Park. There are a series of waterfalls and pools on the slopes of Queenslands highest mountain, Mt. Bartle Frere (1622m).

There are also loads of interesting rainforest plants like tree ferns and even white orchids growing on the trees.

The crystal clear water fed by rain invite to a refreshing swim in the Golden Hole.

Although not a very warm day, the water was not very cold and even Joshua and Jeremia enjoyed it.

The waterfalls are far less busy than for example Mossman Gorge (which I will report on further down).

North of Cairns there a many great and remote beaches.

One of the more busy ones is Ellis Beach - but only a very little bit busy...

A bit further on the Captain Cook Highway 44 there is the Rex Lookout.

The Lookout is named after Raymond David Rex chairman of the Douglas Shire Council from 1933-1955 and advocat of the 1933 opened Captain Cook highway.

We drive further north on the highay to Gossman. Only a few kilometers west of the settlment there is the Gossman Gorge.

The gorge is much more busy and there are also pools with people swimming.

A rope bridge...

The family sitting in the dark rainforest.

Our final destination for today is Port Douglas, the picture shows the Old Courthouse near the harbor. From here we will start our mabe biggest adventure on Monday, tomorrow we will visit the Cairns Tropical Zoo.

Stay Tuned ;)

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Kurrimine Beach - Josephine Falls - Cairns - Mossman Gorge - Port Douglas (280km)

Another Long Day Driving North

2010-08-06T02:58:00.000-07:00

Just after breakfast we prepare the campervan for the next long distance while the kids enjoy the jumping pillow again. We want to get as close to our final destination, Port Douglas, as possible. On the other hand the roads do not allow to go any faster than 100km/h and the kids need their breaks, too. We have to fill up our food stocks which we do at a mall on the outskirts of Townsville. The city is an industrial center in north Queensland with sugar cane mills, copper and zinc works. So we head further north till just before sunset. On our way there are again some bush fires...

...some are just aside the road...

We drive through Tully, the city that claims to be the most wet in Australia. So we reach the tropical rainforsts

Finally we reach the campground in Kurrimine Beach, a few kilometers south of Innisfail.

A walk to the beach with the coconut trees to the one side...

...and to the rainforst on the other.

Although it is a pictoresque view, a swim is not recommeded:

The kids enjoy their time on the playground.

They all have lots of fun before it is bed time...

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Airlie Beach - Kurrimine Beach (510km)

Whitsunday Islands / Whitehaven Beach

2010-08-05T04:20:00.000-07:00

For today we booked a full day boat trip to the Whitsunday Islands. So we wait for being picked up at our campground. The kids are playing with the fish - they will get a much more thrilling experience later in the day.

In the port the boat is waiting for us and 40 others.

The Whitehaven Express is a rather fast boat, tours with this family business company can be booked on http://www.whitehavenxpress.com.au/.

Jeremia is looking out for whales...

And yes, there were small pilot whales and dolphins.

Jonah felt a bit sea sick.

Our first stop is at a coral reef on Hook island to do some snorkeling.

The corals were beautiful and the snorkeling was much fun. There also were some colourful fish and a large Baramundi. While Joshua and I snorkeled, Tatjana, Jeremia and Jonah had a tour with a small glass bottom boat.

After two hours we move on to our main target, the Whitehaven Beach.

Everyones looking forward to this.

So we arrive there and take the dingi to the beach, which is amongst the worlds best beaches.

Whitehaven beach is comprised of 98% pure white silica sand which surely makes it one of the top ten beaches, of it's kind, in the world.

The shallow waters of Whitehaven Beach are crystal clear, full of marine life and make for an ideal swimming location.

And some of the marine live came very close to us...

Lots of Stripey Sea Perch just at our foot.

Which made Jonah a bit scared.

Everybody is waiting for the BBQ being prepared...

Even these Goannas...

They were really just below the BBQ waiting for some meat.

The BBQ was delicious and after a some more time at the wonderful beach...

Before we leave the island, here are some facts (thanks Wikipedia):

Whitsunday Island is the largest island in the Whitsunday group of islands located off the coast of Central Queensland, Australia. Whitsunday Island is located at 20°15′S 148°58′E. The island contains many popular destinations for both day visitors and overnight sailors, including the magnificent pure-white sands of Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet, the secure anchorage of Cid Harbour, and the sheltered waterway of Gulnare Inlet. Whitehaven Beach was rated as the top Eco Friendly Beach in the world by CNN.com in July 2010.

The island is accessible by boat from the mainland tourist ports of Airlie Beach and Shute Harbour.

Captain James Cook named the island in early June 1770. This island should not be confused with Pinaki in the Tuamotu group which was named "Whitsunday Island" by Samuel Wallis in 1767.

Whitsunday Island covers 27,508 ha (275.08 km2) in area. The island has six campgrounds.

Around the northern bays of the island are seagrass beds which support a diverse range of marine life. Unadorned Rock-wallabies are found on the island.

We had to head back to the boat. Some of us took the dingi...

...and others, like Tatjana and Joshua swim...

Our last stop is a lookout in Tongue Bay...

...which allows a postcard view on Whitehaven Beach and the Hill Inlet.

The only bit missing for the postcard picture was the sun as it now became cloudy.

Jonah still suffering from a cold now had a nap on the boat while we were heading back.

In the evening we all played some mini golf before we all went to bed.
Tomorrow we will be heading north again to get as close to Cairns as possible. And I will have to cure my sunburn which I got despite the sunscreen - but at least the kids are fine.

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Whitehaven Beach, Australia

Airlie Beach Resort - a day at the pool

2010-08-03T21:56:00.000-07:00

Today we stay the whole day at the resort, relax at the pool and have a BBQ.

Although sunny with only some clouds, it is quite cold at 22c. So only a short swim.

And some fun on the water slide

The pool area is really nice - a true holiday resort!

The kids enjoy the jumping pollow:

Although having great fun on the pillow, Jonah is not so well today and has an afternoon nap.

And now we prepare the BBQ...

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Proserpine Shute Harbour Rd,Cannonvale,Australien

2010-08-03 Olsen's Capricorn Caves

2010-08-03T04:06:00.000-07:00

This morning just after breakfast we go to the Capricorn Caves, a limestone cave system right at the campground at the settlement The Caves.

Capricorn Caves are located 23 km north of Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia. It was first discovered in 1882 by a Norwegian migrant John Olsen. He went on to claim the land under a lease hold title and open the attraction publicly in 1884. The property was later reclassified to free hold land and is today one of the largest privately owned caves system in Australia. The attraction is one of the longest running tourist attractions in Queensland (from Wikipedia).

The cave system has various entries, this one is in 5mins. walking distance from the car park.

There are some spectacular views up the limestone walls...

...the stalactites in the cave are maybe not as spectacular as in some other caves e.g. the Attendorn cave in Germany. But still quite impressive...

...and some steep stairs to climb...

...to then get into the cathedral cave. This cave is also used for wedding ceremonies as it represents a natural cathedral:

The kids had lots of fun...

...and loved also the rope bridge at the exit of the cave.

Some final words on the caves. When Olsen discovered them it was obviously not so convenient for him to make his way through as it is today. He only had some candle light and could not so well see that he walked on a thick layer of bat poo, the bats, spiders and other creatures not to mention. The guano was later removed from the cave and used as ferilizer in the early 20th century. However, when a company wanted to start mining the guano in large scale, the Olsen family saw the cave system endangered and stopped the whole mining. This will have saved this cave system from destruction as it happened to other caves in the area.

Our first contact with wild (kanga)roos we have in front of the cave where they are fed.

For the rest of the day there is not much to write as we are driving almost all of the day from 11am to 6pm.

On our way we saw (again) many road trains as they are typical for Australia...

And a couple of smaller bush fires.

After sunset we reach the BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort at Arlie Beach. Although so late, the kids insist to test the adventure playground - which is fully understandable after such a long time in the car.
(the picture below is from the internet)

And tomorro we take a rest and enjoy the resort facilities :)

For Thursday we have made some special arrangements, wait and see...

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Rockhampton - Mackay - Arlie Beach, Australia (450km)

Birthplace of Queensland - some facts

2010-08-02T04:08:00.000-07:00

What is now the "Town of 1770" is also called the Birthplace of Queensland. This is because on Wednesday 24 May 1770 James Cook anchored his ship the Endeavour about 3km off that part of the coast.

The ship was 32 metres by 9 metres and weighted 374 tonnes. Cook went ashore near Round Hill Head with botanist Joseph Banks and his assistent Daniel Solander. The party landed within the south point of the bay where they found a channel leading into a large lagoon. Cooks landing party noted many pelicans and, upon the shore, a species of bustard one of which was shot. They considerd it the best bird they had eaten since leaving England, and in honour of it they called the inlet Bustard Bay. Cook's party did not see any Aborigines during their shore visit but they did find campsites, fires and artifacts. From the ship, however, members of the Endeavour's crew observed about 20 members of the Meerooni tribe on the beach. The Endeavour set sail at 4:30 the following morning.

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Town of 1770, Australia

2010-08-02 Town of 1770

2010-08-01T20:51:00.000-07:00

Sitting here at a nice picknick area in the Town of 1770 and enjoying the quietness, wind and sun.

So we had an early start today to get to our todayy target, the Caves of Rockhampton. From Hervey Bay back to Bruce Highway No.1 travelling through some remote small villages.

Then reaching the sugar cane region around Bundaberg.

They collect the cane and transport it with small railways which are almost everywhere.

Actually the first time I see sugar cane.

There are also lemon trees everywhere.

Now we head towards Agnes Water to then go to the remote village "Town of 1770". Probably the most curious name for a town. But there are already so many Cook Towns around, I guess.

So this is the place where Captain James Cook landed in 1770.
Actually Very nice spot with a very nice picknick and BBQ area and of cause a playground for the small ones.

We do have our lunch break here with some crisps and sandwiches.

Joshua and Jeremia enjoy playing on the rocks at the beach.

Now another 250km to Rockhampton...

...at 6:30pm we reach our campground north of Rockhampton at The Caves. More about this place next time.

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Hervey Bay - Bundaberg- Town of 1770 - Rockhampton (550km)

August 1 - Beach n'BBQ

2010-08-01T02:09:00.000-07:00

Another relaxing day on the beach, this time in Hervey Bay. We drive the 1,5km to the pier in Hervey Bay to put the camper van in the shade of a large tree right at the esplanade.

Only a few steps away from... a German flag...

...and of cause a wonderful sandy beach...

...right at the pier...

The bay is well known for its sandy beaches with shallow and calm water. Ideal for the kids to take a bath..

...and play on the beach.

In the late afternoon we return to the campground to enjoy one of the most common australian leisures - a BBQ!

We are cooking local specialities like king prawns and (kanga)roo.

Delicious :)

Tomorrow we will do our longest distance on a day - we are driving to Rockhampton, which is about 400km north.

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Hervey Bay, Australia

A Messy Museum

2010-07-31T03:39:00.000-07:00

Today we have to "make some kilometers" otherwise we will never reach our target - Cairns. We prebooked the next campground in Hersey Bay / Scarness next to Frazer Island. This is about 230km from Dicky Beach.

On our way we plan to visit the Gympie Goldmining and Historical Museum (http://www.goldmuseum.spiderweb.com.au/). Gympie claims to have saved Queensland from bancrupy with their gold mining activities. Most mines are closed today and on the land of one of them the museum was established. The museum is at first a collection of old buildings from the old home of the second Australian prime minister, school, barns, blacksmith, train station, shaft to a converted water tank and more.

And then there is the actual collection - which one could also call a bit of a mess. There is just everything that is old. Of cause some mining stuff, typing machines, telephones, bottles, kitchen machines, hospital equipment, pianons, organs and so on.

And then the machineries; old engines, boats, chaises, waggons, lorries from the 20s and 30s, a hughe ore crusher, an old bus and so forth.

One can easily spend a whole day on the grounds of the museum. On our way through Gympie we then found the old train station.

The only train departing here is the historic Valley Rattler Steam Train through the Scenic Mary Valley.

At the time we arrived the train had just left the station and only an old diesel train was there.

Next to the station is the old historic railway hotel which can be reached from the station over a very old frail wooden bridge.

So back to the camper van now and another 120km to go. On our way we stop by an Aldi shop - quite surprised to find them almost everywhere here down under. And the shop layout is exactly the same as in Germany!

In Hervey Bay we stay on the Australiana campground - which has WiFi everywhere;-)

We will see what we will do tomorrow, potentially another day on the beach. Initially our plan was to go to Frazier Island. But it seems this is only senseful if we book a full day tour with boat, 4wd bus, BBQ buffet etc. This would cost us as a family between 600 and 900 AU$ - quite a lot and not sure the kids would like it. So we might save the money for a Great Barrier Reef tour...

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Shelley St,Scarness,Australien

A Day on the Beach

2010-07-30T02:54:00.000-07:00

This morning we decided to stay another night at Dicky Beach. The weather is so good that we spend the whole day on the beach. So there is not much to write, just enjoy the pictures.

Jeremia took the next picture this evening, showing daddy saving the pictures of the day to the harddisk.

In the evening we went to the beach again to watch the stars and the dark sea.

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Dicky Beach, Australia

UnderWaterWorld - another rainy day down under

2010-07-29T02:06:00.000-07:00

This night we had loads of rain again and the forecast for today is not good either. After an extensive breakfast in the camper van we head to our todays target, the UnderWaterWorld in Mooloolaba (http://www.underwaterworld.com.au)

The kids had a lot of fun and we spent the whole day watching various kind of fishes, seals and otter.

The long shark tunnel with its conveyor belt was a real attraction.

And the seals played with the kids...

Even the spider craps were posing...

And suddenly the kids themselves become part of the underwater world...

On our way back to the campground we stop at one of the many nice playgrounds.

Finally a last stop at the see before the sun set at only 5pm...

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Mooloolaba, Australia

First Day On The Road

2010-07-28T00:45:00.001-07:00

So today is our first day on the road with the camper van.
After a last night staying at our friends house, we hit the road.

After some shopping in the large Westfield Chermside mall, we leave Brisbane heading north to the Sunshine Coast. The coast does not yet show us why it carries its name as we still see rain for most of the day.

Our first stop is at the Caboolture War Plane Museum. A small museum in a hangar on the Caboolture airfield.
(http://www.caboolturewarplanemuseum.com/)

Joshua, Jeremia and Jonah sitting in a Mig 17 fighter plane from the 50s.

From there we leave to the Dicky Beach Family Holiday Park in Caloundra. The beach is named after a ship wreck. "S.S. Dicky", carrying 11 crew and 40 tonnes of sand, was forced onto the beach during heavy seas in 1893.

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Caloundra, Australia

Campervan and Internet Access

2010-07-27T03:06:00.000-07:00

Today I picked up the camper van from the Britz / Maui rental station near Brisbane airport. Due to a music festival in the regon, the station was very busy and we had to wait for more than an hour. The van looks fine and there should be sufficient space for us - although not too much.

After this I had sort out my Telstra pre-paid sim card. Returning to the shop they told me I was on a text and voice plan without internet - although I had specifically asked for internet. Now they told me I had to purchase another Sim card for 2$. This did not sound very plausible but for 2$ I did not mind. However, after handing me out another sim card he figured out how to reconfigure the other card. So after 30 mins. I was able to access the net through my MiFi device.

Tomorrow we will start our camper van trip - possibly with a visit to the large Westfield Chermside shopping mall.

By the way, Brisbane is currently rainy and cold and the forecast doesn't look too well for the next days.

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Pimelea St,Everton Hills,Australien

Jeremias 7th Birthday

2010-07-26T17:29:00.001-07:00

On July 26 we celebrated Jeremias 7th birthday. At breakfast he opened his presents and had his birthday cake. Then we went to Gold Cost to go to Movie World which he chose to celebrate his birthday party with his Australian friends Kathleen and Leo and the family.

Jeremia really enjoyed his birthday party at the park...

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Pimelea St,Everton Hills,Australien

Arrival in Brisbane

2010-07-24T16:03:00.000-07:00

So here we are Brisbane. Yesterday we tried hard to stay awake to get across the jet lag as quick as possible. I bought a pre-paid sim card for my mobile hotspot. But unfortunately the so far I was not able to get internet access with it. So later I need to go back to the Telstra shop to sort it out.

The first night at our friends house was very relaxing - finally a bed :)

Joshua and Jonah just had breakfast with Kathleen and Leo. We will have a nice brunch with other friends of the family as it is Adeles birthday today. And tomorrow we will celebrate Jeremias 7th birthday...

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Pimelea St,Everton Hills,Australien

In the Air...

2010-07-23T15:22:00.000-07:00

Just 2 more hours to go and we are landing in Brisbane. So far this travel has been exceptionally good and thats what I want to report on now.

About 22 hours ago our start in Duesseldorf was not so relaxing as the airplane that should bring us to our first stopp over at Frankfurt arrived 30 minutes late. But finally we arrived only 10 minutes late in Frankfurt as this little trip only took 30 minutes - really fast. When we had to wait for our plane in Duesseldorf, Joshua became extremely eagerly - this made me quite a bit worried about what could happen on a 12 hours flight...

In Franfurt we had to change Terminal but not really necessary to worry although we only had 40 min. Between arrival and boarding for the next destination to Singapore. The Lufthansa 747-300 was a really old worn out plane (I was told it was a converted old cargo plane). Absolutely no entertainment (just some music channels and old TV screens somewhere far away). But we were prepared: iPad, iPod, 2x Nintendo DS and spare batteries to survive the 12 hours trip. Dinner was disgusting as well and seats uncomfortable. However, the kids did really well! Jonah, needless to say, was doing extremely well and caught some 10 hours of sleep. Jeremia had some difficult moments when he woke up some times but fell asleep again. Our biggest worry Joshua though has shown that he is now a big boy and behaved extremely well. So the 12 hours passed by without major incidents and we all were happy to get off the plane.

We immediately took the SkyTrain from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1 at Singapore Changi Airport to go the rooftop pool of the transit hotel. At nice temperature we took a refreshing bath with a view on the planes at the gates and on the runway. A very special experience. After three hours we went to Terminal 3 where after a burger dinner we visited the butterfly house. This is a nice little garden in the Terminal where you can observe various kinds of butterflys. Would we have had more time, there would have been many more things to do as there are kids playgrounds and a 12 meter slide and more. This is a really good transit airport.

So we walked very relaxed to our departure gate where we only had to wait a few more minutes till we boarded on our Singapore Airlines Airbus 330-300 to Brisbane. What a difference! Brand new interior with very well designed seats (still economy though) and a great entertainment system with hundreds of films on demand, thousends of songs and loads of games. And then a flatscreen of the size you only find in Business Class on other airlines. Dinner was very good - a traditional Singapore porc and rice dish with a lovely sauce, some cheese and an icecream as desert. The kids had really good kids menues as well. Joshua showed again that he is now a big boy - sitting next to little Jonah he took care of him even during dinner. Just, he couldn't sleep on the 7 hours flight as he had to try out all the games.
So we are now looking forward to arrive in Brisbane at 6am and then try to stay awake throughout the day.

Photos of the flights and our relaxing in the pool will be uploaded soon on www.frantzen.de/australia.

...and now we are only two hours away from Brisbane...

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:11235m above Northern Territory Australia

Photo Slide Show

2010-07-21T23:32:00.001-07:00

fotocommunity

Only a few days to go...

2010-07-18T01:16:00.000-07:00

Just sitting on the plane to... England - my last business trip before we start the long journey.

This weekend we will start packing the luggage and will see how much we will have to leave at home. The kids are also getting very excited now - Wednesday was their last day at school.

-------- Deutsche Version ------------

Sitze gerade im Flieger nach... England - letzter Arbeitsbesuch bevor es auf die lange Reise geht.

Am Wochenende fangen wir an zu packen - und werden sehen was wir da lassen müssen. Die Kinder sind auch schon ganz aufgeregt und Mittwoch war ihr letzter Schultag.

Position:English Channel / Englischer Kanal

How to get online? The mobile WiFi Hotspot!

2010-06-24T12:19:00.000-07:00

On our 2002 travel to New Zealand, I have posted by first travel blog which was called a travel diary in the old days. Comfortable blog-software was unknown at the times and all had to be coded in HTML and uploaded via FTP to the own website. The result of this is still online under http://www.nzphoto.net/tagebuch2002/

Updating this diary was a (technical) nightmare as well and required a full size laptop, floppy disk or memory stick and important - an internet cafe with not too much security. The stick contained the prepared data (jpeg and html) plus the FTP software. Most Internet cafes at this time only had analog internet access points (telephone lines) and sometimes one line had to be shared with three others (e.g. on the very remote Westcoast of New Zealands South Island). Just the technical upload process could under such conditions take hours!

You can imagine that this drove my wife almost crazy and the stressfactor was just to high to ever have this again. So I have never done a travel diary since.

How to avoid this?

Now, obviously technology has progessed massively and there are many solutions out there to make this much more comfortable.

So how to go online? iPad 3G? Not available, not flexible. Surfstick for the netbook? Does not work with the iPad and iPodTouch.

After some internet research I found the ideal and simple solution: a mobile WiFi Hotspot. Two devices are suitable: Novatel MiFi 2352 and Huawei E5.

Comparing a couple of tests and looking at a YouTube video comparing the devices the decision is clearly for the Novatel. It is:
- very small (smaller than a Blackberry)
- very easy to configure (mostly preconfigured)
- very good WiFi and UMTS signals
- up to 5 WiFi devices can go online at the same time
- no SimLock
- full compatible with iPad and iPod touch
On the negative there is only the price of 250 Euro.

Next time read about the final preparation...

------------------------------------------------
German Version / Deutsche Version:

Auf unserer Reise nach Neuseeland im Jahr 2002 habe ich bereits mein erstes Reiseblog geführt. Damals hieß das noch Reisetagebuch und bequeme Blogsoftware gab es noch nicht. Also habe ich eine Website angelegt und diese dann per FTP möglichst regelmäßig mit Texten und Fotos aktualisiert. Das Ergebnis ist noch immer online unter http://www.nzphoto.net/tagebuch2002/

Damals war das Update des Tagebuchs nur über Umwege möglich; Laptop, Diskette oder Stick, Internetcafe. Die FTP Software war mitsamt der Daten (html und jpeg) auf dem Datenträger. Dieser Prozess war sehr langwierig und manchmal mußte man sich im Internetcafe einen analogen Telefonanschluß mit drei anderen Surfern teilen (Neuseelands Westcoast auf der Südinsel). Das Procedere hat dann (nur der technische Upload) mindestens 30 Minuten, bis zu zwei Stunden gedauert. Meine Frau ist fast wahnsinnig geworden und der Streßfaktor war so hoch, dass ich kein weiteres Mal ein online Reisetagebuch geführt habe.

Das darf nicht nochmal passieren!

Nun habe ich also diverse neue technische Errungenschaften wie Netbook und iPad. Was aber noch fehlte war der Internetanschluß.

Warum nicht gleich 3G iPad?
Zwei Gründe:
- nicht verfügbar
- unflexibel

Nach ausführlicher Internet-Recherche war eine überraschend einfache Lösung gefunden: ein mobiler Hotspot! (auch WLAN UMTS Router genannt)

Hier kamen zwei Geräte in Frage:
Novatel MiFi 2352 und Huawei E5

Nachdem ich diverse Test gelesen und auch einen Youtube Vergleichsvideo angesehen hatte stand fest daß es der MiFi 2352 wird:
- sehr klein
- extrem einfach zu konfigurieren
- sehr gute Sende und Empfangsleistung auch bei schwachem Netz
- bis zu 5 WLAN Geräte gleichzeitig online
- selbstverständlich ohne SIMlock
- 100% iPad kompatibel
Einziger negativer Aspekt - der Preis von 250 Euro.

Nach Bestellung bei Amazon (kann z.B. auch im Gravis Shop erworben werden) war das Gerät nach zwei Tagen da.

Letzte Reisevorbereitungen im nächsten Eintrag...

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Herentalsweg,Viersen,Deutschland

Getting prepared...

2010-06-20T15:38:00.000-07:00

On July 22 we will start our long journey to Australia! The whole family (2 adult and three kids) take the plane from Dusseldorf via Frankfurt and Singapore to Brisbane. After a few days stay with friends we will have campervan to travel north to Cairns and back.

Besides the normal preparations, a couple of electronic devices need to be setup (such as the one I am now writing this article on). The mobile navigation device received Australia maps, the ipad and the netbook receive some additional software and the mobile internet access is being tested (more about later).

Shall I take both, ipad and netbook to Australia? Not sure. All the photos I intend to take will require a large harddisk to be stored on. So the netbook is a must, also for the image processing and upload to www.fotocommunity.de. However, the ipad shows its advantages since I have it only a few days - very flexible and ideal for blogging!

The internet access will be crucial for updating the blog and the photos. Now, I have found the ideal solution for that as well: a mobile WiFi / UMTS Hotspot (Novatel 2352) which lets you connect up to 5 WiFi devices to the mobile internet. So not only the iPad and the netbook can go online, but also e.g. the iPod touch.

Read more about the Novatel 2352 in my next blog...

German Version / Deutsche Version:

Am 22. Juli soll es los gehen. Mit der ganzen Familie ab Düsseldorf über Frankfurt und Singapur nach Brisbane. Von dort dann nach einigen Tagen Aufenthalt mit dem Wohnmobil nach Norden voraussichtlich bis Cairns und zurück.

Neben den üblichen Vorbereitungen müssen noch diverse elektronische Helferlein vorbereitet werden. Fürs Navi wurde Australien-Kartenmaterial beschafft. Außerdem gibt es einen Netbook und ein iPad. Sollen beide Geräte mit oder doch nur das Netbook? Da die vielen Bilder einen großen Speicher und auch eine gute Bearbeitungsmöglichkeit erfordern, wird hier wohl kein Weg am Netbook vorbei führen. Andererseits zeigt auch das iPad bereits nach wenigen Tagen seine Flexibilität - diesen Blog-Eintrag schreibe ich gerade darauf. Wichtig wird die Möglichkeit überhaupt ins Internet zu kommen. Nach einiger Recherche habe ich die - hoffentlich ideale - Lösung gefunden: einen mobilen UMTS-WLAN Hotspot von Novatel (MIFI 2352). Eine nicht ganz preisewerte aber sehr flexible Lösung da man hiermit bis zu 5 WLAN Geräte parallel betreiben kann. Ich werde also mit Netbook, iPod touch und evtl. iPad online gehen können - nun noch einen preiswerten Datentarif für Australien finden...

Demnächst mehr zu den Vorbereitungen...

—-- Artikel wurde erstellt auf meinem iPad

Position:Oedter Straße,Viersen,Deutschland