October, 2007

My very good friend Peter visited Australia for a month! We had planned the trip for a long time, so a major trip of the massive country was in store!

Here are links to the photoalbums:

1 Stanthorpe - Singleton
2 Sydney
3 Blue Mountains
4 Ayers Rock, The Olgas & Kings Canyon
5 Sydney - Hunter Valley
6 Hunter Valley
7 Newcastle
8 Newcastle - Seal Rocks
9 Seal Rocks - Port Maquarie
10 Port Maquarie - Coffs Harbour
11 Coffs Harbour
12 Coffs Harbour - Yamba
13 Yamba - Byron Bay
14 Byron Bay
15 Gold Coast
16 Brisbane
17 Fraser Island
18 Lady Elliott Island (Great Barrier Reef)

Panorama shots

Short summary of our trip:

I drove down to Sydney on the New England Highway through Stanthorpe, Armidale and Tamworth (3-5 Oct).
I welcommed Peter at the airport in Sydney on 5 Oct and we shortly met with Ashleigh and then took the train into Circular Quay [key]. This was Peter's first encounter with the magnificent Opera House and Harbour Bridge and we had a well-deserved beer on the waters edge. Then we met with Peter's friend Jesper when he finished work. That night we helped Jesper move in with Niels (another Danish awekat!) in Maroubra.
The next day we went to Bondi beach, but the weather was not great. At night Coogee Bay Hotel was the place for a great night out!
Sunday was not too action packed, however Niels took all of us for a drive around Sydney in his Audi. We had a nice steak for lunch with Ashleigh, Davina and Gianni at Coogee Bay!
Monday 8 Oct Peter and I went on a tour of The Opera House and afterwards to Manly for a swim in the sea. At night Jesper joined us for dinner at Wild Fire at the cruise terminal at The Rocks. An incredible meal with many kinds of meat and vegetables.
Tuesday was the day for a Blue Mountains day trip. 200 km inland from Sydney lies the fascinating montains. At night Peter invited me to a REAL opera in The Opera House!
Departure for Ayers Rock (Uluru) was in the cards for Wednesday 10 Oct. We arrived in Uluru airport and felt the heat stepping out of the plane (35 C), drove to the hotel in our Mitsubishi 380 rental car and then decided to relax for the rest of the day.
That night we had a nice buffet dinner with kangaroo, emu, crocodile and other delicacies.
The next morning we got up extremely early and went to Ulru to see the sunrise. The rock changed colour quite fast during the rise of the sun. We were lucky to be at the start of the climb just as a ranger opened the gate. We struggled a bit on the steep first half to the top, but made it and arrived at the summit. It was extremely windy on top of the rock and the climb was closed for new climbers when we descended. Then we walked the 10 km around the base, being attacked by flies in the heat! Then it was time for a nap at the hotel and later we went to The Olgas for a short walk and watched the sunset afterwards.
On Friday we drove the 350 km to Kings Canyon. It was driving in the outback, so the landscape was red with some bushes most of the way but we saw a kangaroo and a dingo on the drive. We walked on the 7 km ridge walk of the breathtaking Kings Canyon. The shear rock walls were at times cantilevering so we were looking straight down and couln't see the cliff below us!
Saturday we flew back to Sydney and the plane took off with a great view of Uluru.
On Sunday we went for lunch with Ashleigh in Coogee and afterwards a viking went for a swim!
Monday 15 Oct Peter and I left Sydney heading north. We visited all the amazing northern beaches all the way up to Palm Beach. Then continued on the central coast to Terrigal and ended up in Hunter Valley at night. We organised a wine tour for the following day when checking in.
The wine tour was fantastic! It was a great day and we got to taste a lot of different wine (in small doses) from 10 am to 5 pm. We drove on a bus enjoying the scenery and learning about the wines at the vineyards. We bought some great wine and cheese in the Hunter!
Then we went to Newcastle, which surprised me positively! The city was really nice with older buildings and right by the sea! We stayed in a hostel and at night went to Customs House (a pub) and had a good steak and a couple of beers and suddenly later the place got flodded with students - on a wednesday night. So we got to experience the night life in Newcastle!
The next morning we went to a free animal park, where Peter saw koala's for the first time! Then we drove north to Nelson Bay and further up to Seal Rocks, where we arrived at night and stayed in a cabin on a campground by the sea.
Seal Rocks is a fantastic place fairly remote with headlands and cliffs and beautiful beaches! The next day had sun and blue skies and we went to the lighthouse, drove on the beach and went swimming/surfing. I saw a dingo and both of us saw many dolphins. Afterwards we drove up to Crowdy Bay NP where there were some almost tame kangaroos living. Then to Port Maquarie and stayed in a hostel again. We walked around the town centre and found a nice restaurant for dinner.
Saturday 20 Oct we drove into the land (north-west) to go through the New England mountain-valley scenic landscape. It was an amazing drive on steep unsealed roads with spectacular views. We saw nice waterfalls on the way east again towards Coffs Harbour. That night we went for a very nice mexican dinner and then to the Coast Hotel for some drinks. Unfortunately, we became victims of the 12 o'clock lockout and had to go back to our Zebra motel room...
The next day we moved motels to Carribean closer to the sea. We did some sightseeing and also just relaxed as much as we could as we needed a non-driving day. We also went whale watching and saw two middle sized whales in the water surface.
Next morning it was time for an early morning surf and then off towards Yamba. We had yet another superb self-prepared breakfast, this time by the beach, before arriving in Yamba. Here we checked out the beaches and went swimming/surfing at Angourie Bay. At night we had a bbq at the campground (kangaroo of course!) and Peter beat me in giant chess.
Off to Byron the next morning with short stops to check out the coastline as usual. We were very happy with our rental unit for the next two nights, since it was high quality. We went to Clarke's Beach and then Jenna and her friend Carol came to stay for the two nights. It was a fun night with great food and nice red wine. We found a surfboard for Peter and all went to the beach. The conditions were not good for surfing, but Peter was determined and stood up on the board! In the afternoon we went for a walk at the lighthouse and at night we went out at Cocomangas and Cheeky Monkeys!
The next morning we had a nice breakfast in town, did a little bit of shopping and then drove to the Gold Coast. My old roommate Kym let us stay with him and his friend Kieren for the night. We went to the viewing deck in Q1 (tallest building in Aus) and I can recommend anyone to go up there on a clear day! The views were simply fantastic! A late lunch was had by the bridge I had worked on at Macintosh Island. At night we had another great bbq with Kym. Arrival in Brissy was then Friday 26 Oct. I showed Peter my office and we went for a coffee at Jenna's coffee shop at UQ. Jesper and Mads arrived from Sydney late and we went out on a big night at The Met in the Valley!
The next day we cured our hangovers by taking the citycat in hot Brissy weather to Southbank for breakfast. At night we all had another good bbq on the balcony with Jenna, Graeme and Nicole.
Sunday we left for Fraser Island. Packed the car and headed north. By 2pm we arrived at Fraser and about 1½ hour later at Lake McKenzie, which the guys meant was the whole trip worth! We drove back out to the east coast and camped on the beach. Putting up the un-familiar tent up in the dark proved challenging, but we made it and Peter cooked a nice dinner.
The next morning we drove north on the coast and saw another inland freshwater lake, visited Maheno wreck, the champagne pools and ended the day at Waddy point campground. There was a heavy rainstorm that night, but the tent kept us dry. There were footprints of a dingo next morning, but not in sight. We drove south to Eli Creek and passed on to Lake Wabby lookout. The last hours was spent at the un-describeably beautifulLake McKenzie again. The water, the sand, the surroundings etc. just all comes together to make it seem like paradise... Everyone had a good chance to try four wheel driving in the Hilux (or tank as it was named!). Ferry to the mainland and check-in to our backpackers in Hervey Bay.
Departure from Hervey to Lady Elliott Island was at 10 am on Wed 31 Oct. The plane was for 10 passenger, so quite small. It was exciting to see the island and surrounding reef from the sky. We landed on the bumpy landingstrip and then we were on a deserted island in the most southern part of the reef! We enjoyed snorkelling and the island atmosphere on the day of arrival. At night there was entertainment and competitions, which were very funny.
The next day we went diving/snorkelling and just relaxed. We played beach-volley in the late arvo.
The last day on the island went with a glassbottom boat and after that we had time to go snorkelling further out in the insane current, which was quite an experience. A great island stay was over and we headed back to Brisbane by plane and then tank.