Discovering the World 2017

Discovering the World 2017
Portugal 2018
Iceland 2022
Crete 2022

Legend

Driving
Bus
Hiking
Boat
Ferry
Plane
Train
Kayak
Cycling

Walenstadt, Switzerland ‐ Nov 8, 2017

We are back in Switzerland with Dominions parents, to start our new life in Switzerland. During the coming days we will start to move to our new apartment and arrange the transfer of our things from the Netherlands.
Schloss Neuschwanstein, Germany

Today we went to visit the beautiful fairy tale castle Neuschwanstein. This is the castle that Walt Disney used as an example for his icon. It was really dutiful and built on an amazing place up the mountain. Unfortunately the weather was cheap, but it's not that far from home so we can come back again some time.
Bad Aibling ‐ Nov 7, 2017

We stopped on the way to Switzerland at the Spa in Bad Aibling. It was a cheap resting place, and in addition we had the opportunity to spend the evening in their Spa and Sauna area.
Graz, Austria ‐ Nov 3, 2017

After Serbia we crossed Croatia and Slovenia and arrived finally in Graz to visit our koubaroi and our godchildren. Zafeiria and Konstantinos have grown so much! They are cute, but they are also quite tiring. They don't talk yet, but they are fun to play with.
Niš, Serbia ‐ Nov 2, 2017

Sharing the long drive, we arrived in Nis for the night. The way was interesting, as we crossed almost all of Greece, drove through F.Y.R.O.M. (the worst part of the route, but the cheapest too) and entered Serbia. In Nis we met a common friend of ours from the time Dominik did his traineeship in Athens. Bojan and his beautiful family hosted us during our stop.
Athens, Greece

A month in Athens comes to an end. It was full of both good and difficult moments. We married Katerina's sister, we met old friends of Katerina and we had fun times with Stephania, Giannis, Fotini and Ilias. We went for bowling and for solving a crime scene in an escape room! But we also went through the most awful procedure of unburying Katerina's mom... Time to start heading home to Switzerland now, through the Balkan route, another adventure!
Porto Katsiki ‐ Oct 19, 2017

Our small excursion in Lefkada is coming to an end but before we leave we just have to pass from Porto Katsiki. Amazing water, no wind and much less crowded than last time we were here more than 10 years ago. Oh and Lukas had his first bath in the sea!
Desimi ‐ Oct 16, 2017

There was no camping open in Palairos so we headed towards Lefkada, an island accessible without the need of a ferry. We had been there once before for our first excursion together when we first met! We ended up at Desimi bay at a cute small camping. We had a spot right next to the sea and we could enjoy the summery weather and swim in the sea.
Palairos

Following the scenic route away from the highway, we passed interesting towns around the Messologi lagoon, the salines in western Greece and nice views over the Ionian islands. Our first stop was in Palairos, the hometown of Katerina's friend Fotini. We had lots of insider information about this village from her, including the best tip ever: to eat lunch at karaflou :) Karaflos means bold in greek and the guy was quite bold indeed! We had an amazing dish of grilled liver! Thanks Fotini!
Antirrio
Rio

We decided to go for a short holiday and started heading towards western mainland Greece, a part neither of us has explored before. The way goes through Rio - Antirrio, past the giant hanging bridge. But having travelled over the bridge already, this time we chose to cross it by ferry!
Metamorfosi ‐ Oct 7, 2017

The wedding of Stephania and Giannis was in a pretty church close to their house in Metamorfosi. It was nice to see the ceremony from the outside this time :D last time we were too busy to notice a lot :D
Athina ‐ Oct 4, 2017

Another 5 hours drive, over almost new and empty highways, and we arrived in Athens.
Igoumenitsa

We took the ferry to cross over to Igoumenitsa. The crossing was overnight, so we could get some rest for the second part of the drive.
Bari, Italy ‐ Oct 3, 2017

An early morning and a 10 hour drive saw us to the port of Bari. We drove together with Dominik's parents and exchanged drivers, so we arrived nice and early and without any problems.
Walenstadt, Switzerland ‐ Sep 30, 2017

Back in Switzerland to clean the car, throw out some unneeded things, and pick up Dominik's parents to go to Greece.
Dordrecht, Netherlands ‐ Sep 29, 2017

We stopped again at Dominik's relatives in Dordrecht to pick up the things we forgot last time.
Alkmaar ‐ Sep 27, 2017

We made good way and arrived with combined efforts at 18:00 in Alkmaar. A short stopover with Georgia and Flip before heading further south.
Hirtshals, Denmark

At 7.45 we exited the ferry and started our way to the Netherlands.
Stavanger port, Norway ‐ Sep 26, 2017

We are now waiting to board the ferry that will take us to Denmark. Bye bye Norway, it's sad to leave, it is a really nice country with an amazing landscape. And not just the fjords which were absolutely spectacular. But we are looking forward to go somewhere warm and sunny :D it was mostly cold and wet here at this time.
Sverd i fjell

On the way to the port we stopped at the Sverd I fjell, a sculpture of three giant swords in a rock at the beach. They looked amazing!

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Stavanger

We went for some last minute shopping into town and visited the Oil museum of Stavanger.
Stavanger ‐ Sep 25, 2017

And our last night in this country is spent in the camping of Stavanger. Sad to be leaving...
Lauvvik kai

One of the nicest boat trips we had here in Norway. Beautiful sample of fjords with vertical cliffs and several points of interest, such as the Kjerag boulder and Preikestolen from sea level! The best way to finish our trip in Norway!

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Lysefjord
Lysebotn

So we continued the way to Lysebotn and decided to take the ferry back towards Stavanger.
Kjerag Parking

We started the day with a lot of hopes for another nice hike to see the famous Kjerag. Oh well it didn't go according to plan. There were really strong winds and the path was quite steep, so Katerina quitted quite fast and Dominik not wanting to go alone just reached the first peak of the route.
Suleskard ‐ Sep 24, 2017

We decided to give ourselves a day of rest and went for a drive along the coastal route (the 11th and last touriste route of this visit to Norway). Tomorrow we will go for another hike.
Wathne feriesenter ‐ Sep 23, 2017

Now we are exhausted, smelling awfully good and in desperate need of a shower, but first we are enjoying the last rays of sunshine.
Pulpit Rock Parking
Preikestolen

Today we went for a hike to the most famous attraction in Norway, the Preikestolen. Its a table like rock jutting out from the mountain with a ... m drop on three sides. It was quite impressive and rather scary looking over the edge. It took about 3 hours return and we had to share the path with hundreds other tourists as well as some runners which had a marathon up to the Preikestolen.

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Pulpit Rock Parking

The weather cleared up and were greeted with sunshine in the morning, a perfect day to go for a hike.
Haukali

We found a nice, quiet spot at the lake and made a fire, but it was a bit too windy and the fire not one of our best.
Oanes
Lauvvik
Stavanger Sentrum

We went for a stroll around Gamle Stavanger (Old town) and the centre of Stavanger. It was nice, but not much worth mentioning.

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Stavanger
Rennesøy ‐ Sep 21, 2017

We found our spot for the night a bit outside Stavanger. Tomorrow we will head back in town for sightseeing.
Stavanger
Tau

Rain rain rain all day. And the outlook for tomorrow not much better :( So we decided to quit the tourist route and take the shortcut to Stavanger, by ferry of course :D
Hjelmeland
Nesvik

Time to hop on a ferry again! It has been so long...
Svandalsfossen

Today we decided to leave central Norway and head towards the coast. We enjoy the fjords much more! So we started our tenth national scenic route and probably the last in this trip. The main attraction at this part is Svandalsfossen. A really impressive waterfall for a change! It was "raining" as we passed with the car. And we could walk 540 steps up to get really close to the waterfall and feel its force!

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Åmot ‐ Sep 20, 2017

Since it was such a crappy cold and rainy day we searched and found a camping that has a sauna! So now we are waiting for the sauna to warm up so we ourselves can get a bit warm too. Nothing better on a cold and rainy day than sitting in a hot sauna! :D And after a nice sauna session, time for dinner. Today we are trying to cook reindeer stew ourselves for the first time! With a bit of swiss touch, as we are having rösti for sideplate and of course cranberry sauce.
Rjukan

We drove to Rjukan to see the Rjukanfossen waterfall, and in case the weather would get better, go up to the Gausta mountain. Unfortunately it was raining still and the mountains were inside the clouds so we abandoned that idea. But the waterfall was a disappointment as well, all the water was diverted to the nearby hydroelectric power station and the waterfall was hardly visible :(
Eidsborg Stave Church

Probably the last stave church we see in Norway. A bit small and quite simple, less impressive than the previous ones we have seen, but still cute.

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Seljordvatn

We passed by the home of Selma the Serpent, but it is raining quite a lot, so L don't think she will come out. And anyway we don't want to stand in the rain and wait for her either :$
Hogga ‐ Sep 19, 2017

Our sleeping point for today was a rather quiet point next to more locks! That means it was quite noisy from the water running down a dam. They have combined all the locks we saw with electric stations so as to exploit the water drop force.
Vrangfoss locks

The Telemark Canal is a 105km-long system of lakes and canals connecting the towns of Skien and Dalen. Boats are lifted and lowered a total of 72m in 18 locks. It used to serve the timber trade. We were really planning to take a boat for a part of it, but unfortunately we are out of the touristic season. So we had to be satisfied with seeing some of the locks from the side and walk over them. The first glimpse we got was at the Ulefoss locks and here was the second one and as we thought the last [...]
we would see.

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Telemark Canal
Heddal Stave church

And here is the most impressive stave church! It seems to have three different levels and several small parts around. Entering it was so serene and beautifully simple! It had a whole part between the the outer wall and the inner wall, which used to be the part the people had to leave their weapons before they entered the church!

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Heddal Stave Church
Uvdal Stave church

The plan for today is to visit the nicest stave church in Norway. But what a surprise suddenly! Another quite impressive one on our way!
Dagali ‐ Sep 18, 2017

Our sleeping spot for tonight a nice rest area next to the street with even hot water showers for free! Thanks Dagali!
Vøringsfossen

We started our ninth national scenic route, that is leading to the Harangervidda Plateau, the largest mountain plateau in northern Europe. We had to go through several corkscrewing tunnels, until we reached the summit, where Vøringsfossen plunge 182m down, over the plateau's rim. Looking down from the platforms available was quite scary! I think both of us have vertigo up to some point...
Hæreid

Our eighth national scenic route finished at Eidfjord and we decided to go on a Viking quest but we are not sure it was a successful one. There are more than 400 Iron Age burial mounds at the Hæreid terrace. Well we do think we found about five of them, but they looked nothing amazing, so we quitted looking for more...
Låtefossen

We did a bit of a detour to see these twin waterfalls that run just next to the street. Maybe they were less impressive than expected but still the way there was a nice drive through cliffs and the fjord, a couple of nice waterfalls from both sides of the fjord and even a glimpse of a glacier. Unfortunately it was also tedious as big part of it is a huge construction site and we had to drive all the way back too!
Hardangerbrua

Continuing on our way along the Hardangerfjord we had to cross this bridge that is the longest tunnel-to-tunnel suspended bridge in the world. Dominik was amazed with the roundabouts inside the tunnels!
Steinstøberget rasteplass ‐ Sep 17, 2017

Our sleeping point for tonight is a beautiful resting place along the Hardangerfjord.
Steinsdalsfossen

After Bergen we started our eighth national scenic route in Norway: the Hardanger route that runs along the Hardangerfjord. It seems that it is a route full of waterfalls and our first stop is Steinsdalsfossen, which is impressive not thanks to its free fall, but thanks to the fact that we could walk behind it without getting wet!

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Bryggen

So we reached the second biggest city in Norway. The centre was totally closed, so we really had to drive a bit around and then walk to the centre. As we found out it is the World championship of cycling taking place. We arrived just in time to see the finishing of a race. We saw the swiss team too! Of course we walked also around the city. We saw the famous Bryggen and strolled around the small alleys and we tried reindeerpølse as well as østepølse that were really delicious!

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Bergen
Tvinde ‐ Sep 16, 2017

Now we are in a small camping, with view to the pretty cool Tvindefossen waterfall.

Tvindefossen
Nordic Ventures AS

On the way back we saw an eagle on a rock at the water's edge, probably hunting for fish. He flew away when we came too close but he looked so majestic!
Nærøyfjord

The weather was showing some goodwill and greeted us with blue sky in the morning. So we went to hire a double kayak and paddled down the pretty Nærøyfjord. We were followed by hordes of other kayakers going for guided trips, but we had the lead on them and only saw them again on the way back. They were soooo slow, not at all like us skilled kayakers :p It was a really nice trip and a perfect day for it, but now our arms are close to falling off and we are bone tired.

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Nordic Ventures AS
Gudvangen ‐ Sep 15, 2017

A simple camping in Gudvangen, the town at the tip of the Nærøyfjord. Tomorrow we will try to go for a bit of kayaking.
Flåmsbana

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Flamsbana
Myrdal

We decided to go full on tourist and went with all the other tourists on a train ride from Flåm to Myrdal. It was a 2 hour ride back and forth on a 20km long track which ascends 863m. At a gradient of 1:18 its the worlds steepest railway that runs without cable or rack wheels. It was quite nice, even more so on the quieter way back after most of the passenger left for the connecting train to Bergen.
Flåmsbana
Stegastein

Viewpoint with amazing view over the Aurlandsfjord.
Borgund Stave Church

The stave church in Borgund was the most magnificent so far with its three layered roofs. We didnt go inside, it was amazing enough to see it from the outside.

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Fodnes
Mannheller
Kaupanger ‐ Sep 14, 2017

Stopping for today at a low cost bobil camping. We are facing the fjord and we have a nice fire to sit close and drink our ciders. Lucas likes this kind of life a lot.

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Nigardsbreen
Nigardsbreen

We went for an easy hike to the Nigardsbreen, a tongue of the huge Jostedalsbreen glacier. We could walk up to 100m close without going for a guided glacier walk. It was quite cool and the glacial water torrent that came out of a hole in the middle was impressive.
Nigardsbreen
Solvorn
Urnes Stave Church

The second stave church on our list, and the oldest still existing stave church in Norway. We entered and saw the inside too, but its much more impressive from the outside.

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Sognefjell tourist route

We followed the Sognefjell tourist route to the Sognefjord, the world's second longest (203km) and Norway's deepest (1308m) fjord.
Liasanden ‐ Sep 13, 2017

A rest place between river and road inside a small forrest. We are now on the fifth touriste route, but we leave that for tomorrow.
Stabkirche Lom

In Lom we visited the first stave church on our list. It was entirely out of wood and gave a strong impression of the viking era. Not the normal church you see in Europe
Gamle Strynefjellsveg

Our fourth tourist road, this now obsolete route through the mountains, and it was definitely worth the detour. We passed some amazingly turquoise blue lakes, drove through terrain like high in the alps, passed a summer skiing area, and followed a glacial river along. And the landscape was constantly changing. By the end it was an autum forrest in red and yellow colours. Beautiful.

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Dalsnibba utsiktspunkt

We had to pay a toll road up the mouintain :p but well worth it because this is the highest viewpoint to a fjord in the world at almost 1500m :D and the view is amazing. We see Geiranger in the distance, and a cruise ship that just arrived. An awesome view!

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Geirangerfjorden Feriesenter

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Geirangerfjord

This morning we rented a boat from the camping. Small but relatively fast with its 25ps, so we made good way along the fjord. We saw quite a few waterfalls, but it wasn't a good day for the seven sisters, they were quite meagre, but the suitor on the other side was quite impressive. We had a fun time cruising along the fjord, and had it mostly for ourselves :)
Geirangerfjorden Feriesenter ‐ Sep 12, 2017

We stayed at a camping at the side of the fjord with sites next to the water. That was a really nice camping!
Geiranger

A stroll through Geiranger, not much too see, its a small town and we're out of season. But we tried chocolate with brown cheese, that was much more yummy than it sounds ;)
Flydalsjuvet

Another viewpoint over Geiranger from the edge of the fjord up the mountain.
Ørnesvingen-eagle Road

A great viewpoint over the Geiranger fjord, you could see Geiranger on one side and the bend of the fjord, really cool. The road is called eagle road because of the 11 hairpin bends :)
Eidsda

A step closer to Geiranger
Linge
Trollstigen

The name means the Troll's Ladder and it is an impressive drive with 11 hairpin bends and a 1:12 gradient. On the top of it there is a nice platform from where we could see the valley below and a big waterfall, the Stigfossen. We did the way three times, two up and one down, because it was fun :D and to get some nice video with the gopro :)

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Åfarnes
Sølsnes
Molde ‐ Sep 11, 2017

We found a place to sleep up the mountain at the viewpoint over Molde. We can see the town and the fjord down below and the mountains in the distance. Its a beautiful view from up here.
Atlanterhavsveien

We drove along the Atlantic Ocean Road, our third National Tourist Route in Norway. The road has 7 bridges over 8km and links several island together. It would have been more impressive if the sea had been stormy, but it was nice nevertheless.
Statoil Forskningssenter

A very fast stop in front of the building Katerina did her training in 2004.

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Trondheim
Vikhammer ‐ Sep 10, 2017
Una pizzeria e bar

And after walking all around the centre and got the best possible photos of Nidaros from one side and Munkholmen from the other, we headed to Solsiden waterfront and had a nice Italian dinner to celebrate our first wedding anniversary!
Olav Tryggvasons statue

Saying hi to the old familiar guy! He is the forefather of Norway and the founder of Trondheim. Oh and the guy Katerina used to see everyday when she was going to work as the bus was leaving from Munkegata in front of him.
Vikhammer ‐ Sep 9, 2017
Baklandet Skydsstation

We had a nice 3 course dinner in a Norwegian restaurant, that started as an 18th century coaching inn. First a fish soup (according to reviews one of the best in Norway), then a delicious raindeer stew with cranberry sauce, and for dessert cheesecake with blueberries. And we tried two of the at least 40 akevitt (water of life) that they had in their menu.
Kristiansten Festning

And after the drink we walked up to Kristiansten fort. We passed the Trampe, the world's only bike lift (unfortunately it was out of order) and from the hill we got a nice view of the town and the first glimpse of Munkholmen.
De Gode Nabo

Drinking a beer at the place Katerina was having a drink and playing quizzes with the Statoil colleagues 13 years ago
Nidaros domkirke

We are in Trondheim! First sight to see is Nidaros Domkirke, the largest medieval cathedral in Scandinavia. It's altar sits over the original grave of Saint Olav Haraldsson, the Viking king that enforced Christianity instead of the Nordic pagan religion in Norway.
Vikhammer

Our base camp for the visit to Trondheim. Time to do some washing and recharging of utilities.
Hell stasjon

We went to Hell and came back! And we can assure everybody that it can freeze in Hell! Well just for the record 'hell' in norwegian means prosperity.

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Straumen ‐ Sep 8, 2017

Now we are at the Trondheim fjords, found a nice resting place, saw another amazing sunset with fiery red sky and even some northern lights in the night, although not as good as last time.

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Bølarein

We stopped in Bøla to see the Bølarein, a 6000 year old rock carving of a reindeer. It was really well preserved and easily visible. There were some other ones, one of a man on skis, but they were much more worn and difficult to see.
Bjørumsklompen

Then we climbed on the 114m high rock in the middle of Namsos which has a nice viewpoint over the city and went for Burgers afterwards to get all the lost calories back in again :D
Namsos Camping

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Skage

Today we went for a really nice activity we read in the guide. We went for a trolley ride along the old rails. A trolley is basically a bike that runs on top of the rails with a third wheel on the other rail to keep the balance. We had a tandem bike and it was really fun to drive on the old rails along the fjord, over train bridges and through tunnels. Then we found some raspberries along the way and stopped to harvest them. There were so many and they were so yummy. It took us about 1.5 hours f [...]
or the 20km and we a bit tired afterwards, but it was quite an experience.
Namsos Camping
Vassbotna ‐ Sep 7, 2017

We found a really nice spot at the lake, caught the last sunshine for the day and had a cozy fire with roasted marshmallows in the evening.

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Holm

Our last ferry trip on the Helgelandskysten. That was quite some fun hopping from one island to the next. And the landscape along the way was amazing!
Vennesund
Torghatthulet

We went to Torghatten to see the hole in the mountain. It is about 35 meters high, 15 wide and 160 long and goes straight through the mountain. It was a really nice and short circuit to hike.

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Torghatten

We woke up with beautiful sunshine today and started our morning going for a hike.
Brønnøysund ‐ Sep 6, 2017

And here we are staying tonight, next to a fish farm. Became a bit late again, but we are close to Torghatten for tomorrow and we got a fast glimpse of another elk on the way here.
Horn

The last 15 min ferry trip of the day.
Andalsvågen

A straight run to the next ferry, but we just managed in time. And everyone from the last ferry is here again.
Forvik

A 60-min boat trip so as to continue to the next part.
Tjøtta

We saw another elk on the way!! Again a female, and even managed to get her on picture :D And on the way we saw a Viking longhouse, the mountain range of the Seven Sisters and a beautiful medieval church. But all of them faded from our memory when we saw the elk.
Levang

A 20-min trip and we are in Levang!
Nesna

From the fortifications we followed the road along both sides of a cute fjord and saw some small tornadoes at the sea due to the really strong winds that we have today.
Grønsvik kystfort

We went a bit backwards again to see the Grønsvik fort, built by the Germans in 1942. It was quite interesting and some of the bunkers we could even walk through. Afterwards we visited the museum to see some of the canons that were used there.
Flostrand ‐ Sep 5, 2017

Since it was dark, we just reached the best stopping place close to the ferry.
Kilboghamn

An hour trip with the ferry and two things happened in the meanwhile. Firstly it got dark so we couldn't see around and secondly we crossed the arctic circle to the south :(
Jektvik

Hmm this part was not so impressive. Time for another ferry crossing!
Ågskardet

And we are out from the other side after a short 10-min boat trip. We didn't even exit our car.
Forøy

Ready to cross with the ferry!
Svartisen glacier

We got a couple of glimpses of the Svartisen glacier, Norway's second biggest glacier and the lowest lying glacier in mainland Europe. But the best view we got here where we saw the Engenbreen, a branch of the glacier which comes down to about 100m over the sea. And the colour of the ice was an amazing blue even from a distance.
Fykantrappa

We read about the Fykan "Stairway to heaven" in the guide book and thought it sounded like a good idea. It's a wooden stairway with 1129 steps up the side of a mountain. It looked quite impressive when we arrived so we wore our shoes and started hiking. The first part was still dirt and stones, but we thought it will get better once the stairs start. 20 steps into the stairs we started wondering if this is a good idea, and after a bit more than 200 steps we gave up and turned around again. It wa [...]
s scary as hell, but the way down was even worse! We were glad when we arrived safely back at the car again. I'd rather jump out of an airplane again than climb those steps!
Storvik ‐ Sep 4, 2017

Our stop for the day. We saw an amazing sunset, with red clouds as if they are on fire. Unfortunately no northern lights because of the same clouds :(
Saltstraumen maelstrom

The world's biggest maelstrom was really as impressive as it sounds. 400 Mio m3 of water are moved every 6 hours by the tide in and out of the fjord. When they pass the narrow part under the bridge amazing whirlpools and vortexes are created. That was quite cool.

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Fauske

We were a bit too early for the Saltstraumen so we delayed by driving to Fauske where we had a quick lunch before heading back again.
Geitvågen camping ‐ Sep 3, 2017

Our stop for tonight is this camping. The weather has improved amazingly and we watched a beautiful sunset drinking beer and looking towards the Lofoten. Update: We saw northern lights! They are beautiful, like a huge curtain moving in the sky!
Bodø

After a pleasant trip with the ferry we arrived in Bodø, but we will leave the town for tomorrow.
Moskenes

After a late start and an unsuccessful attempt to do a bit of easy hiking, we drove to the port to wait for the boat to cross to Bodø and the rest of our adventure in Norway.
Flakstad ‐ Sep 2, 2017

We still had some daylight hours to spend and nothing better to do so we drove along all the main roads we hadn't seen yet and in the end ended up at the same spot for the night as yesterday.
Å i Lofoten

Next halt, and the last town at the western end of the Lofoten, was in Å. After visiting a town with a name only of numbers (1771 in Australia) we have now also been in a town whose name is only one letter :D Apart from that it was nothing amazing, but a rather touristy place, and by now everything was closed. Their high season is only July and August.
Reine

Our first stop was Reine, and it's neighbours Sakrisøy and Hamnøy. They are built on rocky outcroppings, surrounded by water and linked with bridges, like pearls on a necklace. We wanted to climb the Reinebringen as well which has an amazing view over the villages and mountains around, but the weather wasn't the best and we are still a bit sick so we skipped that. We also got some Tørrfisk snack from the supermarket. This is the main product of the Lofoten, you can see wooden drying racks all [...]
around. Tørrfisk, or Stockfish, is cod dried in cold air and wind. It smells quite fishy as you can imagine and you have to chew for ages until you can swallow it, but it's really high of protein and omega-3.
Flakstad ‐ Sep 1, 2017

Our sleeping point today is a busy free resting area next to the street. The view is amazing, the place really nice with even a beach in walking distance and the weather has improved so much we are watcing a beautiful sunset. Will we be lucky to get a glimpse of aurora borealis today?
Nusfjord

We visited the village that is considered to be the essence of Lofoten. Several red Rorbuer, the typical houses for the fisher folk working in the area and some more wooden houses all together around a small fishing port. It is supposed to be one of the best preserved fishing villages on these islands, but honestly it is totally touristic.
Lofotr Vikingmuseum

First stop of our second day in Lofoten: the Lofotr Vikingmuseum. The centre of the museum is the 83m-long dwelling of a powerful Viking chieftain. It is the largest building of its era ever discovered in Scandinavia and it is really nicely reconstructed. It is shaped like an upside boat and it is very spacious. We got an idea of Viking everyday life in their houses and we saw a family of boars that is living in the garden. The three small piglets were so cute.

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Lyngvær Lofoten Bobilcamping ‐ Aug 31, 2017

Our camp for today, the weather is still a bit cloudy, hopefully it will improve even more tomorrow.
Henningsvær

We passed from Henningsvær, the 'Venice of Lofoten'. The nickname is slightly exaggerated, but it was a cute fishing village built on several small islands at the tip of the main island.
Magic Ice

After the climb we had earned ourselves a drink, so we went to the Magic Ice, an Ice bar inside an old fish freezing factory. It really was freezing cold but it was a funny experience and they had some nice ice sculptures.
Svolvær
Svolværgeita

We went for our second hike this trip, up towards Svolværgeita. It was far more advanced than the last one and was rather climbing than hiking at some points. But we were rewarded with an amazing view over Svolvær. We didn't really get to see Svolværgeita, we got tired from climbing and turned around again.

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Svolvaer
Lødingen ‐ Aug 30, 2017

It wasn't just a bit windy in the end, but winds reached up to 70 km/h accompanied and by rain. Dominik suggested early enough to just stay here and it was the best thing we could do. We played games after a long time and I had time to finalise some of my crochet - stiching projects.
Lødingen ‐ Aug 29, 2017

Our stop for the night in a really nicely organised marina. The facilities are incredible and we can have electricity for a small cost. It is a bit windy though :(
Narvik

We are in Norway! This is the first town we see and of course we stopped to get a Norwegian sim card. In addition we saw a big bridge under construction and Lucas got his first photos in Norway.
Björkliden, Sweden

Our last stop in Sweden! We had lunch overlooking lake Torneträsk and the Lapporten and saw the weirdest sauna ever.
Abisko National Park

We stopped so as to have a glimpse of the Lapporten, an impressive "bite" out of the mountain range. In addition we went for a small walk along the canyon at the mouth of the river.

+8
Avisko ‐ Aug 28, 2017

We drove a bit closer to Norway and saw the first mountains appear. Now we stopped a bit before Avisko. But today we bought our best souvenirs ever :) We went to a local producer of reindeer products and got us two reindeer furs. They are nice and warm and ideal to put on the chairs to sit around the fire.
Kiruna Church

We visited the local church which is a really nice building. It tries to resemble a 'Lapp cot', a typical Sami residence made of wood and furs. It gains its character from the geometric design, the exterior dominating roof areas and the space and light inside.
Camp Ripan ‐ Aug 27, 2017

We are approaching the northest of Sweden and we are now inside Lappland. We saw several reindeers on the way including at least seven male ones with impressive antlers and a young one! Tonight we are staying in Kiruna probably the last big town before Norway, in a big spacious camping. But its cold tonight, only 4 degrees :(
Arctic circle

We just crossed the Arctic circle! And a couple of kilometers further we met a herd of male reindeers grassing by and on the street!
Törvesön
Blåbärsgrund

Our friends invited us to their nice summerhouse on a small island in the archipelago of Kalix. We packed a few things, boarded their small boat and drove to the island called Blueberry ground. We had an amazing time, so welcomed and feeling a bit like locals ourselves! Once we arrived they fired up their sauna and after dinner we went for our first Swedish sauna treatment with a customary local bier :) The rest of our experience included trying dried reindeer meat, the best cinnamon buns in the [...]
world, introduction to correct Swedish pronunciation, sleeping in a traditional red wooden house, breakfast with warm homemade scones and berry tasting. Matts, Anna, Nikolai and Julia thank you really a lot for your hospitality!

+4

Blueberry island
Törvesön ‐ Aug 26, 2017

First we had a nice walk around the town of Luleå and got a bit better supplied for winter as the temperature is a bit low here (10℃). And in the afternoon we drove to this small port to start an amazing experience!
Luleå ‐ Aug 25, 2017

We went to visit an old colleague and friend of Katerina, Anna Krook Riekolla in Luleå. So we had a 4.5 hour drive to arrive there the same day to have the weekend in front of us. Katerina drove a part of it too.
Skuleskogens Nationalpark - Entré Syd

Having tired ourselves enough we headed back again to the car. We hiked for 2 hours, excluding the stops on the way, so we were a bit tired and still had along drive in front of us. But the hike was really fun and the hiking boots passed the test, we didnt have any blisters or anything!

+7

Skuleskogens National Park
Slåttdalsskrevan

After a tricky and steep decent from Slåttdalsberget we came to the even more amazing Slåttdalsskrevan, a crevice in the rock 7m wide, 200m long and 30m high. It was quite impressive!
Slåttdalsberget

The first stop was the Slåttdalsberget, a small hill close to the coast, which wasa bit of a climb, but awarded us with magnificent views over the bay and the many islands along the coast. It was really amazing.
Skuleskogens Nationalpark - Entré Syd

We got the tip from a local to visit the Skuleskogen national park for a more immersive experience to the Höga Kusten. So we took out our newly bought hiking boots and started full of enthusiasm.
Lake Omnesjön ‐ Aug 24, 2017

We followed the High Coast trail. It is a unique landscape with coast, hills, lakes and forest all together. The absolute highlight was seeing a small family of moose: a mama and two young ones. And we stopped at a nice parking next to a lake. Finishing the evening with a fire and roasted marshmallows on a stick. Nature bliss!

+4

Höga Kusten
Högakustenbron

Lukas wanted to have a selfie with the Golden Gate bridge of Sweden.
Fröson ‐ Aug 23, 2017

After the museum we headed to the small island in the lake Storsjön, named after Frö the god of fertility. First we found the northmost rune stone in Sweden, commemorating the 1050 arrival of Austmađur, the first Christian missionary on the island. Then we decided to stay in the camping here having view to the lake, in case we spot the Storsjöodjuret. Unfortunately no success.
Östersund Jamtli

We arrived in Östersund where reportedly lives the Loch Ness monster of sweden, the Storsjöodjuret. First stop the local museum, a really interesting one. Unfortunately the outdoor part of it, with traditional wooden buildings representing several eras of local life, stopped it's season last Sunday. We were still able to walk around but it was not so impressive. The indoor part, though was incredible. Firstly we could enter via a slide to the small part that consists of information about the l [...]
ocal lake monster, Storsjöodjuret, and showcased an embryo of one of its offspring :D :P. Then there was an extensive exhibition about the Sami people living in Lappland, which continued with the way of life of the rest of the people in the area in the 18th or early 19th century. Then it had a part about Saint Olof that passed and was killed somewhere in Lappland and finished with the magnificent Överhogdal tapestries, dating from the period 800-1100 AD, and belong to the Viking era.
Rätansbyn ‐ Aug 22, 2017

One of our best finds ever. A quiet place at the lake, with a fireplace, a table and a shelter right at the water. It's so idyllic. We had dinner over the lake and used our axe and saw to build our first fire in Sweden. Wohhoo. Update: On our way back to the main street a small squirrel wanted to say hi to us. He stood opposite the car on a tree checking us till we drove away!

+5
Mora

And then a short stop at the ending point of the Vasa lopped, the world's biggest cross-country ski race. Of course we are too early for the race, but it has a funny story behind it, involving surprisingly Gustav Vasa.
Nusnäs

Our destination was the beautiful area of Lake Siljan. And it was a really astonishing view to see it from the hills close to Rättvik. Our first stop though was in this small village to see how the Dala horses are made. They seem to be characteristic of Sweden and we got ourselves a souvenir. Oh and Lucas of course rided one.

+3
Falun ‐ Aug 21, 2017

And for the night we found a cute free parking spot at Lilletorpet. There is a dancing floor here and we are just next to a lake. It looked beautiful in the morning.
Uppsala slott

And then we walked to the castle, which is rather a chateau and admired the views from the hill. We walked all around it, learnt about early Swedish history, as it seems that the first kings were living here, and Lucas got some photos.

+8
Uppsala domkyrka

We visited the cathedral and found the graves of Gustav Vasa and probably two of his wives, King Johanne III, and the statues of Saint Erik, Saint Lars and Saint Olof. At least the first one should also be buried here.
Uppsala ‐ Aug 20, 2017

Found quite a nice place in Upsala to park the car, next to a river, with Toilets and Power for 18€.
Sigtuna

We walked along Storagatan, probably te oldest main street in Sweden and found two ot of the ten rune stones that still stand around the village.

+3
Drottningholms slott

An impressive chateau, home to the royal family for part of the year.

+25

Stockholm
Ängby Camping
Historiska Museet

Visit to the history museum of Stockholm. They have organised their (ok rather short) history so nicely with dates on the floor that you follow around. In addition they had a really interesting excibition on Vikings, with gold and silver that has been found in different sites, an extensive reference to Birka, the necropolis found close to Stockholm and an explanation of the Sigurdsristningen, a Viking rock carving illustrating the story of Sigurd the Dragon Slayer.
Ängby Camping ‐ Aug 19, 2017

A bit earlier "home" today.
Stockholm

Food, we need Food. Good Burgers, Tasty!
Vasa Museum

We wanted to visit this museum already yesterday but the queue was huge. Today it was even bigger but we were decided to see the best preserved warship of the 17th century and an epic failure! It's masts are producing from the building!
Ängby camping ‐ Aug 18, 2017

Tiring day!
Gröna Lund Tivoli

Oh well a big amusement park so close and operating (there was one that didn't in Melbourne). So we spent something like 5 hours there and ended attending a concert of Rival Sons.
Storkyrkan

And next the oldest building in Stockholm snd the cathedral were coronations and royal weddings take place. The sculpture of Saint George and the dragon and the royal-box pews were really impressive.
Riddarholmen

First visit of the day this islet west of the Gamla Stan. The most impressive attraction is the Riddarholmskyrkan (church) and the statue of Birger Jarl high on its post.
Ängby camping ‐ Aug 17, 2017

Back for some rest
Eriks Gondolen

Dinner with view over Stockholm.
Gamla Stan

Visiting the old town (gamla stan) of Stockholm. Stockholm is built on 14 islands, and gamma stan has its own island in the centre of Stockholm.
Ängby camping

Our stop pit during discovering Stockholm.
Kalmar Camping Rafshagsudden ‐ Aug 16, 2017

Our place for the night, next to the sea. We even have view to the water.
Castle Kalmar

Then we went to visit the castle (or rather chateau) of Kalmar. That was an impressive sight!

+8

Kalmar castle
Karlskrona

We stopped in Karlskrona, a Swedish naval base, which consists of more than a hundred smaller and bigger islands. We went for a stroll through town and had a gigantic ice-cream for lunch.
Kaseberga ‐ Aug 15, 2017

It was getting late and on the way out of town we came across a low cost camping, so we stayed there for the night.
Ales stenar

After Malmö we went to see the Ales stenar, Sweden's largest stone ship, gorgeously located next to the see. It strongly resembles the Stonehenge and was probably used as a sun calendar. Depending on the time of the year, the sun rises and sets at different points of the stone ship. That was quite an interesting and totally new sight!

+6

Ales Stenar
Malmö

Today we crossed two huge bridges and the rest of Denmark to reach Sweden. The first stop was in Malmö to get a SIM card for the phone and some sightseeing. Nothing really noteworthy so we left again.
Nyborg, Denmark ‐ Aug 14, 2017

After dropping Georgia off at work in the morning we continued our way north. We had a full day of driving with a nasty traffic jam included, but now we are in Denmark at a nice parking next to the sea. Tomorrow on to Sweden!
Alkmaar, Netherlands ‐ Aug 13, 2017

Our visit to the Netherlands was a bit longer than planned, but we had such a good time with Georgia and Flip that we didn't want to leave anymore :D
Alkmaar ‐ Aug 9, 2017

Today we passed from Dominik's old office to say hi to his excolleagues in Rotterdam, then drove through Haarlem, now we are enjoying our afternoon with Georgia and Flip in Alkmaar.
Dordrecht ‐ Aug 8, 2017

First stop, we stopped at Dominik's cousins in Dordrecht where we had a nice evening.
Bensheim, Germany ‐ Aug 7, 2017

We had a couple more days delay because Dominik got sick and had fever, but now we are on the way to the Netherlands to meet friends and family before heading further north.
Walenstadt, Switzerland ‐ Aug 2, 2017

Finally the rest arrived today so we managed to finish placing the camera, the battery and the radio. But the interior still needs to be put back in place and then we can load the car and pack our things. And by Friday we should be ready to leave!
Murg ‐ Aug 1, 2017

For the first of August, the National Holiday of Switzerland we went to Dominik's cousin Mariella and her family for BBQ. After a 35 degree warm day, the weather in Switzerland showed itself from it's best side, it started raining like crazy :( Luckily it stopped again later in the evening and we saw some nice fireworks over the lake.
Walenstadt ‐ Jul 31, 2017

Busy day today, the rear camera arrived for the car. We had to take quite a big part of the interior apart to put the wire. Unfortunately, the radio and the battery are still missing :(
Walenstadt ‐ Jul 27, 2017

Back in Walenstadt, waiting for the deliveries to arrive ...
Alice Bel Colle, Italy ‐ Jul 24, 2017

We decided to visit Dominik's godfather in his vineyard estate in Italy. Just after we arrived we experienced the worst hail ever! The hail was almost the size of golfballs :o But luckily we were already inside the house and the car placed under a roof. But the poor vine growers had a nasty surprise. But after half an hour the sun came back and we had sunny and warm days to relax.
Walenstadt, Switzerland ‐ Jul 21, 2017

Bye bye Greece, we will be back in October. Now we need to prepare for our next trip in Europe!
Athina, Greece ‐ Aug 20, 2017
Varkiza Resort

Last time swimming in Greece this summer. Oh the sea here is amazing!
Neigy 31 ‐ Jul 18, 2017

Back home in Athens tired but happy to have met friends and have seen how nice the properties are evolving.
Karatoula

We went for some errands to Karatoula, the home town of Katerina's mother.
Athina ‐ Jul 15, 2017
Idra

Back to the main town to wait patiently for the boat back to Pireas.
Bisti Beach

We took one of the small boats that drive to the several beaches around the island and spent most of our day at this beach away from the central town, bathing and sunbathing.
Idra ‐ Jul 14, 2017

We decided to have a short trip to an island close to Athens and luck brought us to Hydra. So we are spending our time in a place where the only means of transportation is donkeys/mules or boats.
Athina ‐ Jul 13, 2017
Marathon

Another day at the Beach, and the first sunburn this summer, woo-hoo :P
Athina ‐ Jul 11, 2017
Varkiza Resort

Today we borrowed the car from Katerina's sister and drove to the beach at Varkiza where we enjoyed the sea and fried in the sun. Ahh Greece is beautiful too :D
Athina, Greece ‐ Jul 10, 2017

We are back at Katerina's home with her family, where we will stay for a couple of days before moving on again.
Istanbul Airport, Turkey

Another short stopover in the airport of Istanbul on the way to Athens.
Singapore, Singapore ‐ Jul 9, 2017

Our overseas trip has come to an end. We are on our way back to Europe.
Marina Bay Sands Singapur

As culmination for our overseas trip we stayed for a night at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. We spent the afternoon at the the infinity pool on top of the Hotel at the 57th floor. It was amazing and well worth the money. The pool went till the edge of the platform and you could look over the city while lounging in the pool. Incredible! And to top it off we saw fireworks in the evening which were launched as part of the pre festivities for their National Day.
Singapore Changi International Airport Singapur

Back in the airport at Singapore after 3 months, feels like ages ago.
Airport Kualalumpur, Malaysia ‐ Jul 8, 2017

Stopover on the way to Singapore.
Airport Tokio-Haneda, Japan ‐ Jul 7, 2017

Bye bye Japan, we really liked Tokyo, the food was always delicious, even though we only knew Sushi before and the transport system is amazing.
Meiji Shrine

Since we missed it the previous time, we came again to see Tokyo's grandest Shinto shrine, just before closing time :)
Shibuya Station

Shibuya's famous 'scramble' crossing where hundreds of people are crossing the square in all directions every 5 minutes is an awesome sight!
Taitō-ku

We had an amazing lunch of Japanese omelettes which we cooked ourselves directly at the table. The restaurant was nice and traditional and the food was delicious.
Asakusa

Then we spent the rest of the day souvenir shopping, filling our already overstuffed bags from Australia.
Zōjō-ji ‐ Jan 19, 2018

Afterwards we walked through the Zojo-ji, a big Buddhist temple with a nice view to the Tokyo tower.
Tokyo Tower

We passed from the Tokyo Tower, a copy of the Eiffel Tower in red!
Chūō-ku ‐ Jul 6, 2017
Gonpachi Nishi-Azabu ‐ Jul 7, 2017

For dinner we went to the Kill Bill restaurant. It really did strongly resemble the one in the movie and the food was good too.
Chūō-ku

Shopping in Ginza
Chiyoda-ku
Hamarikyu Gardens ‐ Jul 6, 2017
Tsukiji Market

The visit to the massive fish and fruit market was quite interesting.
Tsukiji Hongan-ji
Chūō-ku ‐ Jul 5, 2017

Back home for a bit of rest. Our feet are hurting but t h ere are so many things to see and experience here!
Numazuko

And for dinner we had sushi! This time in the best restaurant of this area and with a conveyor-belt from which you can choose what you want to try. I love sushi!
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

Then we went to the National Observatory fir some night views of beautiful Tokyo.
Takeshita Street

After the disappointment with the Shrine, we had a small walk around and went through this really colourful and noisy street full of adolescents looking for the best fashion deals. It was funny!
Meiji Jingu

And after the Dome and a coffee to relax a bit our hurting feet, we headed to the most famous shrine in Tokyo. But it was closed today and we couldn't visit it...
Tokyo Dome City Attractions

Of course we had to try the rollercoaster! Thunder Dolphin was incredibly breathtaking! A massive slope up to begin with and an almost vertical fall down after, followed with several loops afterwards. Having tried several rollercoasters in Germany and the Netherlands, this was incredible!
Kōraku Park

Then we visited another Japanese garden. Beautiful bridges, water lilies and a small rice plantation. But what took our breath away with entering was a huge rollercoaster in the back! Guess what our next stop was...
Shinjuku-ku

For lunch we had ramen (noodles) at a totally local spot. It was a cramped, anonymous noodle shop with only two dishes more or less and maximum 9 seating points. We had an absolutely funny start as we couldn't figure out where to enter exactly, so we were standing outside, when a guy comes with his bike, steps down, has a look inside and then queues behind us. I got a bit stressed so moved two steps in the front, but he followed with two steps too. Within a few seconds there is another guy queui [...]
ng behind him! The food was delicious and definitely the cheapest meal we have had in all of our trip!
Kiyosumi Garden

It is again a really hot day and what better than spending a bit of time in a lovely Japanese garden! We were spotting turtles and koi in the lake and enjoying the quiet atmosphere!
Tomioka Hachiman Shrine

Then another Shrine, but it was nothing really amazing.
Fukagawa Fudo

First activity of the third day, a Budist Temple. This one is a really active one and at particular times per day they perform rituals with fire and drums. It was so impressive even if we couldn't understand the chanting.
Chūō-ku ‐ Jul 4, 2017

Back home luckily without getting too wet. Time to rest and start again tomorrow.
Hounen Manpuku

Dinner at another Japanese restaurant with traditional dishes. This time it was pork and vegetables cooks in wooden boxes at the table. They were to be eaten with vinegar or sesame sauce and it was amazing! Of course with a bit of sake to help the food. I think we are falling in love with Japanese food!
Nihombashi bridge

And then to a beautiful bridge we kind of missed before as it was too far away from the Imperial palace. The bronze lions and dragons are fitting to our image of Japan!
Tokyo Anime Center

We are in Japan and we had to check for anime of course. Akihabara is the best place as it used to be the place to get your electronics and now it is full of shops related with both electronics and Anime. A lot of lights and young people too!
Kanda Myōjin

And then a Shinto Shrine, brilliantly coloured and in total contrast to the previous shrine.
Yushima Seidō

After lunch again walking, this time to a Confucian shrine. Black buildings and quiet premises!
Kanda Yabusoba

Lunch for today at another traditional Japanese restaurant where they were singing the orders and we had to sit at low tables. We had soba, which is buckwheat noodles in a soup. And we tried cold sake!
Chiyoda-ku

Visited the area of the Imperial palace. Japan is a kingdom and we could walk around the eastern garden of the palace, admiring the original an restored fortifications.
Tokyo Station

First stop of the day this beautiful but chaotic train station. It took us more than 15 min to find the correct way to the exit towards the palace.
Chūō-ku ‐ Jul 3, 2017

Our first tiring day is over and discovering Tokyo has been a successful challenge. More is awaiting tomorrow.
Sushi Zanmai

And for dinner sushi! We tried even some weird things. Better to stick to the normal next time :)
Sensō-ji Temple

And then back to the temple, to see it lit up as the sun has set already. It is even more impressive than before and definitely more quiet. We even saw local performance of artistic fighting.
Tokyo Skytree

And then to the tallest building in Japan so as to admire the Skyline. It was a bit misty so Mt Fuji was not visible but still it is clear Tokyo is huuuuuge!
Taitō-ku

Our stopping point for lunch: a nice restaurant for old-fashioned tempura, a speciality of Asakusa. Finding it was a bit of a challenge with the Japanese letters but it was worth the trouble and the ladies were so kind and helpful even without talking English. The food was delicious!
Sensō-ji Temple

Our first visit in Tokyo is this Buddhist Temple dating from the Edo time. We had a try with fortune telling through sticks, admired the second tallest pagoda in Japan and became TV stars as they interviewed us for the local tv. Apparently there was heat wave in Tokyo today. Then we went for a delicious local lunch. Communication is challenging but we manage for the time being :)
Chūō-ku, Tokyo ‐ Jul 2, 2017

We found a really nice apartment over airbnb where we are staying for the next couple of days. It's cosy, rather big for Japanese standards and quite close to the center. Tomorrow we will start the sightseeing.
Airport Tokyo-Narita

Konnichiwa Japan! It's a bit of a cultural shock after Australia, but we are looking forward to the next couple of days exploring the city.
Cairns Airport International Terminal, Australia

Goodbye Cairns, Goodbye Great Barrier Reef and Goodbye Australia. We had a wonderful time here. We might have to come back again to see all the things we missed.
Cairns City ‐ Jul 1, 2017

The last day in Cairns we spent shopping for souvenirs and strolling around the city. In the evening we went out for dinner and a drink and saw the moon and the night sky for the last time from the southern hemisphere.
Cairns City ‐ Jun 30, 2017

Hmm today we returned the car and then moved to this cute backpacker's. At least we are close to the centre of Cairns and we are going to sleep in a real bed! The drawback: only two nights left in Australia :(
Cairns ‐ Jun 29, 2017

Now we are back in Cairns, for our last night with the van :( ;( Tomorrow we will have to give it in again and move to a Hostel.
Crocodile Express Lower Daintree Cruises

Then we went for the second cruise which included in the ticket and was down river. This time we saw 3 big crocodiles, and 3 baby crocodiles. The baby crocodiles were between 20 and 30 cm and really cute. All in all the cruises were really nice and totally worthy!
Crocodile Express Lower Daintree Cruises
Big Barramundi Garden

After the cruise we went to the restaurant in town to have burgers. We had a Crocodile and a Kangoroo burger. It was interesting to try, but nothing really extraordinary.
Daintree

Today in the morning we went for a river cruise to see crocodiles. Amazingly, the first crocodile was directly opposite the jetty! (and the camping we stayed the night before) It was the first out of a total of 5 crocodiles we saw on the cruise. It's so much more impressive to see them in their natural habitat than to see them in a zoo or wildlife park. Aside from them we also saw a green tree snake (not dangerous to humans) and a couple of kingfisher. They are beautiful little birds and amazing [...]
ly colorful.
Daintree ‐ Jun 28, 2017

Our place to stay for tonight is a camping at the Daintree river. Tomorrow we will go and search for some crocs.
Cape Tribulation

Today we went a bit further up the coast to Cape Tribulation, the furthest point north we could go with our car. After this are only unsealed roads and you need a 4WD.
Cairns ‐ Jun 27, 2017

Now we are back in the camping in Cairns, and tired after these two days full of activities.
SunLover Pontoon Moore Reef

The next morning we got up early, had a quick breakfast, then went for another snorkel tour around the reef. Again with commentary from Pablo. This time we saw a reef shark in the deeper part, which was so cool! After coming back we had another breakfast with bacon and eggs before the day tour arrived again. The rest of the day we took relaxed, some private snorkeling, and joining the boat tours around the reef. In the end we were quite tired, but still a bit sad when we had to leave the pontoon [...]
again. It was such an awesome trip and we had a really nice time with the guys over night. And the swags were cool, wish we could get one for back home :D

+6
SunLover Pontoon Moore Reef ‐ Jun 26, 2017

The really interesting part however started when the boat and all the day tour people left at 4.30 and we were only 7 people left, 2 crew, a father and his two sons and the two of us. We had the pontoon and the reef all for ourselves until the next morning!! One of the crew, Pablo, was a marine biologist and gave us a private snorkel tour of the reef, explain the different corals and fish. It was cool, but we had to finish when it was getting dark. Then we had a really nice BBQ dinner, a visit t [...]
o the underwater observatory, and some stargazing before it was time to go to bed. The bed in this case were called Swag, which is a mix between a sleeping bag and a tent with integrated mattress. They were really comfortable! But the best part about them is that the top can be unzipped, which allows for stargazing in bed. We put them on top of the pontoon and were stargazing until we fell asleep. Awesome!
SunLover Pontoon Moore Reef

Today we went on one of the best trips during the last three months. We took the boat to the Moore Reef, to a pontoon which is tethered to the reef. Once we arrived we went for a dive which was really nice and relaxed. We saw a green turtle and really nice corals, and of course lots of fish, including a huge Maori wrasse called Wally. After that we had lunch followed by a guided snorkel tour. The day was quite hectic, and it was raining from time to time, but when you're in the water it doesn't [...]
really matter :)
Cairns ‐ Jun 25, 2017

Now we are in a camping in Cairns, preparing for our two day trip tomorrow to the Great Barrier Reef.
Lake Eacham

The last stop was at Lake Eacham, one of the crater lakes in the area. The had a really nice park area along the lake, including a turtle viewing platform from where we saw turtles (small ones, not big ones like we saw in the sea), swimming along the shore of the lake.
Yungaburra Platypus Viewing Platform

We stopped at the platypus viewing platform hoping to catch a glimpse of one. But they are quite shy and elusive and we gave up without seeing one.
Curtain Fig Tree

The curtain fig tree was quite special. The fig strangled the first tree it grew on, which fell against the tree next to it. The fig then started growing roots all along its length creating a curtain of roots. The tree itself has rotted away in the meantime, leaving only the fig tree.
Malanda Falls

The last waterfall for the day, not so high as the rest but much wider instead.
Ellinjaa Falls

The third waterfall on the circuit was again really nice and well worth the trip.
Zillie Falls

The second waterfall, but nothing really amazing.
Millaa Millaa Waterfall

Today was spent driving and stopping at interesting points along the route. We decided to go a bit inland to drive along the waterfall circuit. The first we saw was the Millaa Millaa waterfall. A beautiful place!
Mission Beach ‐ Jun 24, 2017

We stopped early today to have a quiet day and some time to relax. We found a nice camping at the beach, with view to the sea and palm trees along the edge. Also it's full of ripe coconuts! We had already gotten one last evening from a really friendly local which we opened today to eat. The rest we will take with us for later.
Lucinda

On our way north to Mission Beach we stopped in Lucinda to see the 6km jetty going out to sea which they use to load sugar onto ships for overseas transport. On our way we had already seen hundreds of sugar cane fields, a couple of sugar cane trains and sugar mills.
Sanders Beach

Our sleeping point for tonight is a free camping site close to the beach. It was pretty full but we were too tired.
Reef HQ Great Barrier Reef Aquarium ‐ Jun 23, 2017

Heading north we stopped at Townsville for a visit to the local aquarium that focuses on reef marine life. This way we start understanding better what we see in our dives. We visited their sea turtle hospital and saw the three patients they had: a baby 2-year-old turtle that was saved as an egg from a flooded nest, a 30-year-old turtle that is just reaching adulthood and was hit by a boat and a mature 60-year old female that was recovered after the recent cyclone. The difference in size among th [...]
em was incredible!
Airlie Beach ‐ Jun 22, 2017

Now the trip is over and we are back at the camping in Airlie Beach. We had a really nice time and met some nice people on board. But we realized we are getting old... In the evening we had a delicious fish meal and met some of our new friends from the trip for a beer and some singing :)
Whitsundays

The last morning of the trip, we went one more time for snorkeling. This place was a bit less eventful, but we did see a Giant Clam which could easily have been a meter long.
Whitsundays ‐ Jun 21, 2017

For the night we continued a bit further along Hook Island and stayed close the where we were snorkeling the day before. In the night we saw a big Giant Trevally at the back of the boat, hunting smaller fish which were attracted by the light of the boat. It was at least a meter long!
Whitsundays

Next stop was was another site for snorkeling at the north side of Hook island. Here we saw a lot of fish, one of which was a huge ... named ..., and 2 turtles. But the most incredible was a big manta ray which showed up at the end when most of the people were already back on board.
Whitsundays

After lunch we lounged on the boat and saw a dugong, also called sea cow in the distance. But it was quite elusive and we only caught a glimpse of it.
Hill Inlet Lookout

On the way back we stopped at the Hill Inlet Lookout where we got to see the amazing colours and patterns of the sand and water.
Whitsundays

After an early start we taxied over to the peninsula and walked to Whitehaven Beach, the most famous beach of the Whitsundays and an incredible white in colour.
Whitsundays ‐ Jun 20, 2017

After snorkeling we drove to Tongue Bay, at the north eastern side of the Whitsunday island, where we had a delicious dinner followed by stargazing at the amazing night sky.
Whitsundays

Today we departed on a 2 day 2 night sailing cruise to the Whitsundays on a huge catamaran. The Whitsundays are with 74 islands the biggest group of islands on the coast. Our first stop was at a bay on the western side of Hook island, the second biggest, where we went for our first snorkeling.
Airlie Beach ‐ Jun 19, 2017

The rest of the day was spent driving north, covering the 460km to arrive at Airlie Beach from where we want to go for a cruise to the Whitsundays. There wasn't anything interesting inbetween anyway.
Capricorn Caves

In the morning we went to visit the Capricorn caves at Mt Etna (yes there is one here too). We joined a tour through the amazing system of dry caves. The most impressive was the cathedral cave, where sometimes operas and weddings are held.
Rockhampton ‐ Jun 18, 2017

We crossed the Tropic of Capricorn! And we decided to spend the night in a free camping in this town. Rockhampton is the beef capital of Australia. So naturally for dinner we went to a Bar & Grill where we had delicious steak fillet and ribs. They melted like butter on the tongue!
Miriam Vale

We had a delicious crab sandwich for lunch
1770

On our way north we first passed from 1770, the only town in the world which name consists only of numbers. The name was given to the town because James Cook arrived there in May 1770.
Bundaberg North ‐ Jun 17, 2017

Back in the camping and totally exhausted from diving and snorkeling. Tomorrow we will head further north.
Bundaberg Port Marina

But all to soon it was time to head back again. We finally had time to eat our lunch (too busy before :) But the island, lagoon and surrounding reef were absolutely amazing, pure paradise! It was a great start for the Great Barrier Reef, let's hope the rest can live up to this high standards.
Lady Musgrave Lagoon

Then they took us back into the lagoon and dropped us at one turtle cleaning stations where we could go for snorkeling and saw the turtles up close. At one point one had to come up for breath and surfaced almost next to us, how cool was that! We also saw a lot of parrot fish, sea cucumbers, a blue starfish, sea anemones and many different corals. And of course many more fish we don't know the names of :)
Matt's Arch

Then we boarded a smaller boat and went for our second dive in Australia, along the outer reef wall of the lagoon. We saw really colorful corals, lots of fish and a huge male turtle swimming out under us. It was really nice, unfortunately after 30 min we were low on air and had to surface again.
Lady Musgrave

We went for a day trip to Lady Musgrave, a cute little island, located inside a stunning lagoon surrounded by a reef. It was an incredible place. We went for an island walk and a glass bottom boat with an explanation of the different corals. The best part though were the turtle cleaning stations where we saw green turtles having their shells cleaned by small fish.
Bundaberg Port Marina

Today we had an early start, we had to be at 7:00 at the port of Bundaberg.
Bundaberg North ‐ Jun 16, 2017

And back to the cosy camping by the Burnett river. Tomorrow will be an exciting day again!
The Bundaberg Barrel

And after a good dive comes a good drink. A visit to the famous Bundaberg ginger beer brewery! It is non alcoholic and Katerina has been amazed with it since Perth that we first tried it. They had some funny interactive activities but mainly a tasting session of all of their products!
Coral Cove

First activity of the day: refresher course for diving! We hadn't done any diving since 2012 so it was time to check our knowledge before the Great Barrier Reef. It was a private course and the site was beautiful, full of corals and fish even at 5 meters depth! We even saw a small stingray!
Bundaberg North ‐ Jun 15, 2017

Our sleeping point for tonight in a low cost camping. We arrived a bit late and after a full day so we will see tomorrow morning how exactly it looks.
River Heads

Back to mainland Australia!
Fraser Island

Oh dear Fraser Island or K'gari as it is its Aboriginal name meaning paradise (and it's name again in the future according to our driver as it has been returned to Aborigines since 2014) farewell! We had a beautiful two-day trip with a very good mooded driver who is definitely enjoying his job and interesting co-participants! We enjoyed every single bit of it, including sleeping in a real bed again and the legendary apple crumble we had for dessert with dinner. The latter will be an internal jok [...]
e among 3 German girls, 3 English guys, a Swiss and a Greek :)
Eli Creek

The last stop for this beautiful trip is this creek which is the biggest one of the island, ending at the eastern beach of Fraser Island. We walked this creek for a few hundred metres both upstream and downstream. The water was at most at knee level and it was an interesting experience to walk inside a creek that is running on sand. The water was crystal clear and the sand almost white. And most surprisingly, it wasn't even cold the water!
Indian Head

Third stop of the day these rocks which we climbed as a team. We were able to see the clear ocean water under us as well as far away and it paid off. Our driver spotted a whale in distance and it was jumping around! And from the top he spotted and showed us a stingray and a shark which according to him might even have been a great white shark! It came right at the edge of the shore! There is a reason swimming in the sea is not allowed on the Fraser Island.
Champagne Pools

Next stop the brilliantly named Champagne pools. They are pools at the edge of a rocky beach fed with sea water that is breaking over the rocks making a lot of foam :) I made my legs wet but Dominik went for a swim.
S.S. Maheno

The first stop of the second day was this shipwreck which has a long history. Constructed in Scotland in 1905 and functioning as a passenger ship between Melbourne, Sydney and New Zealand up to World War I, it was converted to a hospital ship during the war. Once it was decommissioned in 1935 it was sold to Japan but while towing it there it escaped during a storm and arrived on the coast of Fraser Island. During World War II the Australian government bombed it for moral encouragement of the peo [...]
ple and ever since the ocean is doing the rest. And after more than a century since her birth she met us!
Eurong ‐ Jun 14, 2017

Then it was time again to head back to Eurong, where we are staying for the night. Finally a real bed again after more than a month :D
Lake Wabby

In the afternoon we went to Lake Wabby, a lake made by a huge sand dune blocking up a creek and filling the hollow with water. Unfortunately the sand dune is still moving and in 30 years or so the lake will have been eaten.
Eurong

For lunch we went to the resort at Eurong where we had a nice buffet lunch.
Lake Mckenzie (Boorangoora)

First stop a lake made from rainwater. The sand around it was totally white, so the colour of the water was an amazing blue. We just had to have a swim!
Fraser Island

After about 40 minutes we stepped on the biggest sand island in the world. A 4WD bus was expecting us here to start the trip. All streets are Sandy and only 4WD cars are allowed here.
River Heads

Early start today for an exciting adventure. Parking our camper van here and off to the ferry!
Scarness ‐ Jun 13, 2017

And after Maryborough we drove to Hervey Bay to spend the night in a beachfront paid camping. Katerina was not at her best as her dad went through an unscheduled surgery, but everything went fine. Now we have to prepare for the big adventure in Fraser Island that will start really early tomorrow!

Hervey Bay
Maryborough

A stop at this beautiful town to meet Ms Mary Poppins! The author that created her was born here and a life sized statue of Mary Poppins was placed in the middle of the town.

Mary Poppins
Goomboorian ‐ Jun 12, 2017

After passing through the town of Rainbow Beach for a glimpse at the Fraser Island we are staying in this free rest area for the night.
Brisbane Lookout

After a fast visit to the centre of Brisbane to get our bank card and some maps for the trip to come, we drove to this incredible lookout over Brisbane. The best way to say goodbye.
Petrie ‐ Jun 11, 2017

Now we are back in the outskirts of Brisbane, in a free camping spot, so that tomorrow morning we can first pass from the Bank and then head north to Hervey Bay and the Fraser Island.
Maroochydore

In the afternoon, the weather became better again and the sun came out, so we headed to the Sunshine Coast for a stroll along the beach there. The sun was really shining at the Sunshine Coast!
Montville

We continued north along the Blackall mountain range, which awarded us with another nice vantage lookout to the Glass House Mountains, as well as views to the Sunshine Coast.
Glass House Mountains

Today we woke up with awful weather in Brisbane. Unfortunately we couldn't go away for good yet because we have to pass from the Bank in Brisbane CBD tomorrow, but we decided to escape the rain at least and went to the Glass House Mountains. They are volcanic plugs, created from lava, and are now standing all by themselves in the landsape because the soil of the volcanoes around them erroded millions of years ago. They looked really funny.
Newmarket ‐ Jun 10, 2017

Hmm it became a bit late!
60 Livingston Street

In the evening we went to meet friends of Katerina, or rather her dad's, who are living here in Brisbane. We met their whole family and went out for dinner to a Greek restaurant. We had a really nice evening and felt so warmly welcomed! Thank you so much Mrs Theodora! Unfortunately it started raining and the outlook for tomorrow is not good :(
Newmarket

We came hastily back to get the car and drive to our new destination.
Brisbane City

Today we went to explore the city of Brisbane. First we went on the Ferris wheel where we had a nice view of the city from above. Then we went up the clock tower of the city hall. After that we went for a drive along the river with the free ferry.
Ashgrove ‐ Jun 9, 2017

We drove a bit further down the coast past the skyscrapers of Surfers Paradise (which half of them were called Surf something) then turned around and drove to the camping in Brisbane.
Surfers Paradise

Today we had a quiet day, first going to the edge of the Spit at the Gold Coast for a look around, then we headed to Surfers Paradise for a stroll along the beach.
Biggera Waters ‐ Jun 8, 2017

We found a camping outside the Gold Coast and had a nice round of Mini-golf. Tomorrow we will explore the Gold Coast, then head to Brisbane.
Best of All Lookout

The last stop was at the Best of all Lookout. I don't know if it really is the best of all :p but we were awarded with an incredible view south west, saw Mount Wollumbin and even Byron Bay with its lighthouse in the far distance. In addition we saw some really impressive ancient Antarctic beech trees. They exist from the time Australia was still part of Gondwana, the continent consisting of nowadays Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand and India!
Canyon Lookout

From the Canyon Lookout we saw all the way to the Goldcoast with the skyscrapers along the beach.
Purling Brook Falls

We continued to the Purling Brook Falls to see the waterfall
Natural Bridge

Then we drove north through the mountains, past the Wollumbin mountain, a now quiet volcano and came to the Natural Bridge, a formation where a creek hollowed out the rock and created an impressive chamber and arch. And we saw some impressive trees in the rainforest around.
Nimbin

Our first destination today was Nimbin, the hippie capital of Australia. It was funny to visit, a bit of Amsterdam in a much smaller scale, without the coffee shops :p But the little hippie inside me enjoyed the quiet, tranquil way of the people and the colorful displays around.
Byron Bay ‐ Jun 7, 2017

The days are just too short, so now we are in another camping for the night.
Cape Byron Lighthouse

The last stop of the day was at the Cape Byron lighthouse, an impressive lookout high up on a rock with amazing vistas around. We stood at the most easterly point of the Australian mainland. We even spotted some dolphins in the distance jumping out of the water and splashing around. They were probably feeding. And the binoculars are really useful here!
Ballina Head Lookout

On the way to Byron Bay we stopped at Ballina to check the Beaches. But the sea was too wavy so no swimming there either. But in return we spotted another (group) of whales passing by! We are getting skilled at spotting them :p
Yamba

Then we went for lunch at a fish market and had delicious prawns with fries.
Blue Pools

After a slow start and an idyllic breakfast at the river we went to the Blue pools in Angourie. They are spring water fed pools where they used to quarry stone. Unfortunately the water was awful and there was a risk of harmful algae so no swimming :(
Palmers Island ‐ Jun 6, 2017

On the way north we met Clarence river which we followed along. The river was so tranquil and the area looked so beautiful that we decided to stop a bit earlier at a camping and enjoy the sun. We found an amazing one with sites directly at the river, and the most incredible part, when we arrived we spotted a dolphin in the river! We could only see its dorsal fin, but it was definitely a dolphin. The owner of the camping said it's quite common to see them.

Clarence River
Woolgoolga Lookout

Next stop was at the Woolgoolga Lookout which gave a really nice view over the coast north and south, and is good for watching whales. And indeed Dominik spotted a whale (or several, who knows) from its spout. With the binoculars we could even see the whale itself! But it's so difficult to spot them and it needs a lot of patience! But the practice of the whale watch cruise paid itself out.
Sealy Lookout

We went back towards Coffs Harbour, to buy some fresh bananas from a roadside stall we saw the evening before (there are lots of banana plantations in the area) and then went to the Sealy Lookout for a view over Coffs Harbour and the area around.
Emerald Beach ‐ Jun 5, 2017

For the night we are at the Emerald Beach where we had a delicious dinner at the Mexican restaurant next door.
Dorrigo Rainforest Centre

Next we went for a visit to the rainforest inland. We followed the waterfall highway to the Rainforest Center where we had a spectacular view over the rainforest and the valley down to the coast. We also went for a short walk inside the rainforest and were amazed by the huge trees, totally different from what we have seen so far.
Captain Cook Lookout

Next stop was at the Nambucca Heads where we had a nice view over the sea and the river estuary. Nambucca is aboriginal for 'many bends' and you could really see how the river was going back and forth.
South West Rocks

In the morning we went to the beach of South West Rocks, it was a beautiful warm day with sunshine and the water was crystal clear so Dominik went for a swim and we sat in the sun reading our books.
South West Rocks ‐ Jun 4, 2017

First thing we saw when we arrived at the camping were Kangaroos. They were eating grass inside the camping. What a surprise! And they had a games room where we played a round of billiard and a bit of ping pong.
Port Macquarie

We stopped at a few lookouts around Port Macquarie and drove through the city, but it wasn't anything amazing to stop.
Apex Lookout
Cape Hawke lookout
Green Cathedral

We stopped at the Green Cathedral, which is a church, or rather pews under palm trees looking out over the lake. Pretty cool, but might get a bit wet if it's raining.
Bulahdelah ‐ Jun 3, 2017

Our sleeping place for today, a free camping at the river. Still raining, and the forecast for tomorrow is not much better.
Fort Scratchley

Today we went to Newcastle and visited the Fort Scratchley. But it started raining like crazy so we passed for a short visit to the Museum which had some nice interactive displays and then left the town again.
Broke ‐ Jun 2, 2017

Then we drove back towards Newcastle and the coast following the solar system drive and making photos of the planets. Now we are in a free camping where we made our first bonfire in Australia.

Australian bonfire
Siding Spring Observatory

After the stargazing of yesterday we went to the Siding Spring Observatory where we had a look at the 3.9m telescope (unfortunately without being able to look through) and went through the exhibition in the visitor center.

Virtual Solar System Drive

The Constellation Orion

A constellation is created by 'joining the dots' of stars that appear close together. When the dots are joined, these stars form a picture. Humans have created constellations for thousands of years, m...
Coonabarabran ‐ Jun 1, 2017

Now we are in a camping again, and it's still so cold. At least it's a bit better than yesterday, but tomorrow we are heading to the coast again.
Milroy Observatory

Our main goal today was Coonabarabran, the Astronomy Capital of Australia. Here we went to the Milford Observatory for a session of stargazing. Unfortunately the 1m telescope was out of order ;( but we had an amazing time nevertheless looking through a 30cm telescope. We saw Jupiter so well you could distinguish it's band and three of his moons! And we saw Saturn with his ring! We also saw some Nebulae and red and white stars close up, but the most impressive was the moon with the craters. All i [...]
n all it was really cool.

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Pearsons Lookout

Our only stop today was at the Pearsons Lookout which gave us a nice view over the Capertee Valley, which is the second largest canyon in the world.
Lithgow ‐ May 31, 2017

Now we are in a camping in Lithgow for the night. Unfortunately we missed the fact that we are 900 m over sea level and it's a cloudless night. So right now it's 0 degrees outside and our heating can just barely cope to keep us from freezing to death :p time to go north to warmer climates!
Govetts Leap Lookout

Next stop was at the Govetts Leap Lookout from where we could see the Bridal Veil Falls, the highest waterfall in the Blue Mountains at 180m.
Three Sisters

Second stop and the main reason we went to the Blue Mountains was at the Echo Point where we saw the Three Sisters and had an amazing view over the valley. The Three sisters look like fingers of stone and were an impressive sight.

The Legend of the Three Sisters

The Aboriginal tribe living in the area of the Blue Mountains is called Gundungurra. According to their legend, three beautiful sisters named Meehni, Wimlah and Gunnedoo once lived with them in the Ja...
Wentworth Falls

Today we left Sydney to go to the Blue Mountains. On the way there we drove over the Sydney Harbour Bridge (just for the fun of it) and our first stop was at the Wentworth Falls where we went from one lookout to the next until we found the best view.
Rockdale ‐ May 30, 2017
Circular Quay
Clovelly

In the afternoon we went for another try at whale watching, and this time we were successful!!! We spotted a young humpback whale which came to mug us (that's the expression they use when the whale comes up close to the boat to check out what who are and what we are doing). He came really a couple of times next to the boat and we got some great shots of him. It was spectacular. After that we saw another three adult males travelling north, but this time further away, but we got some nice shots of [...]
their tails in the air. And just before we headed back to the harbour we saw two adult fur seals. IT WAS AWESOME. And we could return happy having seen 4 whales and one of them so close.

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Whale watching Sydney
Circular Quay
Bondi Beach

In the morning we went for a stroll to the world famous Bondi Beach. We watched the surfers, looked in at a movie shooting, collected sea shells and sand and headed back to town again.
Rockdale
Sydney

After sleeping a bit longer and have a quiet morning we spent the day exploring the city. The most interesting was the climb to the Pylon Lookout on the Sydney Harbour Bridge which awarded us with an amazing view over the opera, the CBD and the harbour.
Sydney ‐ May 28, 2017

Once we arrived in Sydney we left the van in the caravan park and headed into town. At this moment there is the Vivid Sydney festival, where they light up the city in lights and colours. We went for a walk through the town and enjoyed the sights by night. The most impressive were of course the Opera and the Harbour Bridge. But the whole center of Sydney was full of lights and colours. It was quite amazing. And for dinner we went to the Australian Heritage Hotel were we had a delicious Kangaroo P [...]
izza.

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Vivid Sydney
Rockdale

Our place of residence for the next two days
Stanwell Tops

Another notable lookout was the Bald Hill Lookout, from where Lawrance Hargrave assisted the first human flight in the early 1900s. It also overlooks the Sea Cliff Bridge, a 665m long bridge running along the cliffs.
Sri Venkateswara Temple

While looking for other lookouts along the route we came across a big Buddhist temple. It was quite impressive from the outside so we decided to have a look. In order to enter we had to remove the shoes, but we felt a bit awkward being the only non indian people so we left again quite fast.
Mt Keira Lookout

Next major stop was at the Mt Keira lookout, which was on top of the 470m high mountain and provided amazing views over Wollongong and the surrounding coastline. The area was hiding another surprise: we saw a lyrebird crossing frantically in front of us! The roadrunner alive!
Little Blowhole

The first stop today was at the Little Blowhole, which is a hole in the rocks at the coast. Below it is a bigger chamber which fills up from the water being pushed ashore from the waves and when that is filled the water shoots out through the hole above. The water was spraying several meters into the air and was quite spectacular. Afterwards we went to the bigger blowhole further up the coast, but that wasn't working because the waves were coming from the wrong direction.
Kiama ‐ May 27, 2017

After the falls it was time to find a camping, which was more difficult than expected, the first couple of campings we checked were all booked out. But luckily we did find one in the end.
Fitzroy Falls Lookout

We decided to fast forward towards Sydney. Enough time spent around Victoria. We had a short stop on the way in Gundagai to check out the lookout and the Dog on the Tuckerbox. Then we went to the Fitzroy Falls, an impressive 81m high waterfall with amazing views over the valley below.
Ebden ‐ May 26, 2017

Slowly slowly we are coming closer to Sydney. We entered New South Wales and stopped at Albury to pick up supplies. After that we went to the lake Hume to see the dam where the Murray river comes out of the lake. Now we are back in Victoria at a beautiful spot next to the lake. We thought we said the final goodbye to Victoria, but it's for another day.

Following the Murray River

After visiting sunny Adelaide, we started heading back to the eastern coast of Australia. We crossed the amazing Adelaide Hills, which are famous for the wine regions. We drove through hills and trees...
Girgarre ‐ May 25, 2017

For the night we found an ideal camping. It's for free with grass underground and there was even a hot shower, all for free!!
Echuca
Echuca

On the PS Emmylou we drove along the Murray upriver and enjoyed a delicious lunch. The Emmylou was built in 1906 and had still the original steam engine running on wood. It was quite interesting to see the engine in operation and we had a really pleasant time cruising along the river.
Echuca

We decided to stay a bit longer in Victoria and follow the Murray river to Echuca. There we went for a romantic 2 hour lunch cruise with the paddle steamer Emmylou.

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Lake Powell ‐ May 24, 2017

Today was a day spent mostly driving. We said goodbye to South Australia and hello again to Victoria. We had a small stop in Renmark to taste and buy some wine and get some nuts as fruits or vegetables are not allowed to cross from one state to the other. At the end we experienced a bit of terror when we almost got the car stuck searching for the camp site. But a combined effort and some pushing got us free again and we left the area as fast as possible. Now we rest a bit and continue to New Sou [...]
th Wales tomorrow!
Waikerie ‐ May 23, 2017

Today we were driving along the Murray river, the longest single river in Australia and the third longest navigable river in the world, after the Amazon and the Nile. And for the night we found a free camping at its banks with view to the water. Tomorrow we will be leaving South Australia.
Cuddle Creek ‐ May 22, 2017

Because we spent almost 3.5 hours in the park and did a bit of an unnecessary detour we ended up in the same camping as last night. The trip is postponed till tomorrow.
Gorge Wildlife Park

We had an amazing day at this wildlife park. We saw emus, wombats, eagles, parrots, pelicans, otters, meerkats, reptiles, monkeys, alligators and many others. The absolute highlights were that we could hand feed kangaroos and wallabies and that we cuddle with a koala! Incredible experience! The otters were the funniest animals though!

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Gorge wildlife park
Cuddle Creek ‐ May 21, 2017

Today we stay in a camping again, which is close to the wildlife park where we want to go tomorrow.
Adelaide

It has been a beautiful sunny and warm day and it was perfect for spending it walking around the centre of Adelaide. We saw so many nice buildings, we were lucky to visit the Governor's house as it was an open day and the Art Gallery of South Australia. We then had a promenade through the Botanic Gardens and spotted the gigantic amazon waterlilies and some huge gum trees. Last thing on the list in Adelaide was to taste marinated kangaroo but we were unlucky, they were already closed. Maybe somew [...]
here else...

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Mount Lofty

Today our destination was Adelaide, but first we stopped on this nice hill where we caught the first glimpse of the city. We could even spot York peninsula on the horizon, and just barely the Kangaroo island!

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Mt Lofty
Langhorne Creek ‐ May 20, 2017

Afterwards we continued our drive towards Adelaide, but decided to stop in a free camping outside town. On the way we had to cross a river for which we boarded a free car ferry, that was funny.

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Towards Langhorne Creek
Naracoorte-Caves-Nationalpark

Today we stopped at the World Heritage listed Naracoorte caves to explore two of the caves there. All of them were formed by the ground water rising and falling and dissolving the limestone in the process. They were quite interesting to see and we had a nice guided tour explaining the stalactites, stalagmites and other formations found in the caves.

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Penola ‐ May 19, 2017

Our sleeping point for tonight. A bit outside the rural town of Penola, in a big camping area that is for free. It is even equiped with a really clean bbq, so the plan is to have bacon and eggs for breakfast!

Waking up at Penola
Mount Gambier

Our main stop for the day was the town of Mount Gambier. The first spot we visited was the most famous sight of the town: the Blue Lake. It is a strange lake. Firstly we had to drive up the hill of Mount Gambier and then the lake was some hundred meters down looking exactly what it is: the crater of an extinct volcano. During summer months it has an incredible blue colour, but unfortunately we visited it in May, so we were trying to spot the blue patches. Then we headed to the centre of the town [...]
to see the Cave Gardens, a 50m deep sinkhole. It was a peculiar but beautiful sight!

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Yambuk

After going for a walk around Port Fairy and trying to spot black wallabies without success we thought of heading to something that the local map we got from the camping was mentioning: a slide in the dunes at Yambuk lake. And it was incredible fun! How could the Netherlands never have thought about it? Lucas was the one trying it most, but both of us had a go as well!

Lukas on the slide
Port Fairy ‐ May 18, 2017

Our sleeping point for the day. We stopped at Logans Beach in Warrnambool where viewing platforms were built for wale watching, but unfortunately we did not spot whales. It's still a bit early in the season so we will try again later on the west coast. But the day was really full, so let's get some rest and new adventures tomorrow!

Great Ocean Road

Our first real trip with the van in Australia was driving along the Great Ocean Road (GOR), one of Australia's most famous road-touring routes. It is a road connecting the towns at the southern coast...
The Grotto

The grotto is a geological formation created out of a sinkhole and the erosion by the ocean. This coast has been hiding several small gems and this is one of them. It was not mentioned in the tourist guide we have but it was on the maps we got from the local tourist offices and it was a really worthy stop! The photos will give an idea of its magnificence.
London Bridge

This is another amazing rock formation of this area. It was once a double-arched rock platform linked to the mainland, but in January 1990 the first arch collapsed leaving two terrified tourists helpless on the island that was formed. It is still a magnificent sight!

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London bridge
Loch Ard Gorge

A bit further down the Great Ocean Road, was the third stop of the day: Loch Ard Gorge. It is named after the shipwreck at the bottom of the cliffs. The Scottish clipper Loch Ard had the bad luck of being dragged onto the cliffs on the last day of its trip in 1878. From the 54 people on board only two survived and their story is told along the path from the viewing points to the beach and to the cementery of Loch Ard. The ship lies still just off the outer cliff of the gorge at the bottom of the [...]
sea.

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Twelve Apostles

The Twelve Apostles is the most iconic sight of the Great Ocean Road. They are rocky stacks just a few meters from the shore that stand as if they are abandoned to the sea by the retreating inland. They are magnificent. The first time you see them the sight is breathtaking. From the viewing points only seven or eight are visible but it is not clear which of the formations beside the shore are part of the Apostles and which or not. Technically the ones visible from Gibson Beach are not part of th [...]
em, but are called Gog and Magog, but who can tell the difference, right? Such an amazing sight!

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Gibson Steps

Today was a really busy day. This was the first stop, just a bit further from the camping. The Gibson Steps lead down the steep cliffs to Gibson Beach, a golden sandy beach from where the first of the Twelve Apostles can be seen. But we will explain about these in the next spot.

Gibson steps
Princetown ‐ May 17, 2017

Our sleeping point for the night in an area where kangaroos are hopping around. For sure we saw a few of them, but it was already too dark. Let's wait for the morning to get some pictures! Update: in the morning we thought we lost our chance, the Kangaroos were all gone, but then after walking once around the camping we did find three of them lounging in the bushes!

Kangaroos
Otway Fly Treetop Adventures

After the lighthouse, time for a treewalk, the second in our jouney. This one is located in a rainforest and is the world's tallest treetop walk. The 600m long and 25m high elevated walkway goes through Mountain Ash eukalyptuses, myrtiles and blackwoods on the top and several species of ferns further below. The highest point is a 47m high spiral tower that took us higher than most trees except from eukalyptuses. Breathtaking views of magnificent trees!

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Otway Treewalk
Cape Otway

We visited Australia's most significant lighthouse, which is in operation since 1848. It stands on a 80 meters high cliff where the Bass Strait and the Southern Ocean meet. We learnt about the hazards the sailing ships from Europe and America were facing when approaching here and about some of the wrecks. The lighthouse keeper was kind enough to explain to us how the old lighthouse used to operate. On the way inland we stopped in a forest of eucalyptus trees trying to find Koalas. It was like tr [...]
ying to find a needle in a haystack and we almost gave up, but then Dominik spotted a dormant koala high up in the trees and saved the day!

Otway lighthouse
Skenes Creek ‐ May 16, 2017

Following the Great Ocean Road (GOR) and stopping at small turns and signposts, we managed to reach till this basic camping site in front of the sea. Tomorrow there will be even more of GOR and hopefully some interesting encounters!
Bells Beach

Today we visited the world famous Bells Beach, where Rip Curl is holding every Easter the surf world championship, and watched the surfers riding waves.
Torquay

Since we were a bit late the previous day we went back to Torquay for shopping in the surf outlets to get some new flipflops and swimming suits.
Anglesea ‐ May 15, 2017
Torquay

After resolving our problems with the camper van we started our trip to the Great Ocean Road. First stop was at Torquay, the hometown of Quicksilver and Rip curl. There were so many surf shops here, amazing :D
Longwarry ‐ May 14, 2017

A rather quiet day today, we went for a bit of driving around. We are still delaying here around Melbourne because we are waiting for post for Katerina. And unfortunately the campervan has some problems so we need to pass by the office tomorrow to resolve them.
Phillip Island ‐ May 13, 2017

Our spot for the night. Phillip island was an absolute success: seals, orcas, seven koalas, at least three kangaroos, countless penguins, australian geese and some strange creatures called surfers!

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Penguin Parade

Our day finished with the best way! We saw our first kangaroos but even more important, uncountable small little penguins. We saw them coming out of the see and heading cautiously and funnily to their homes. Once on the grassy part they were not afraid anymore and they were just walking next to the walkway (or really we were walking next to their way home). They were amazingly cute and funny!
Koala Conservation Centre

Next up was a visit to the Koala Conservation Centre, where we saw 7 koalas. They are really furry balls up on eucalyptus trees and they were quite difficult to spot. They were also all sleeping (They sleep 20 hours a day) but they were so adorable!
Nobbies Centre

Our day started with the hope to see some seals. Well the colony exists at this point, but it is so far away we could spot them only through binoculars. The area was hiding an amazing secret, though. We got a glimpse of one or maybe even two orcas! Unbelievable!
Koo Wee Rup ‐ May 12, 2017

Our first evening in the Australian camper. It's a Mercedes Sprinter again, but a bit older than the last one. Everything in the interior is a bit different so we have to get used to it and find a place for all our things. But in a couple of days it will feel like home again I'm sure.
Melbourne ‐ May 11, 2017

The second day in Melbourne we went to the Eureka Skydeck, on floor 88 of the almost 300m skyscraper, which gave awesome views over the city. Then we went to the Sealife Aquarium which had a lot of interesting fish and sea animals. The most impressive was the 2.2 million litre Oceanarium with sharks and stingrays and other big fish. After that we went for a walk to beach at St. Kilda. And after dusk we went for the second visit to the Eureka skydeck to see the city during night time. It was even [...]
more impressive than during day and you could see how huge the city really was.

Melbourne

Hello Australia once again! This time at the eastern side and more specifically in Melbourne, a vibrant city of almost 4.5 millions inhabitants! It is obvious everywhere that the city is rich. Althoug...
Melbourne ‐ May 10, 2017

We went to explore the city, walking and using the free trams through the central buisness district. The city has a really nice feel, and you can see that it is a rich city that has profited a lot from the gold found in the area. For lunch we had really nice chinese dumplings and for dinner we went to a restaurant called Dainty Szechuan. The food was really good, but it was spicy like crazy. I haven't had so spicy food for a long time, and Katerina could just eat the fried rice with a lot of jui [...]
ce to cool off.
Melbourne ‐ May 9, 2017

Kia ora Aotearoa, we have enjoyed you a lot and are going to miss you dearly. But now it's time to say Hello Australia! We hope you can live up to your neighbour.
Auckland, New Zealand ‐ May 8, 2017

Today was a sad day, we had to give our camper back and are now staying the night in an apartment in Auckland.

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Goodbye New Zealand

I am really writing this post in the airplane to Australia. We have spent our last two days in sunny Auckland, staying in an apartement on the 10th floor of a building almost in front of the harbour o...
Port Albert ‐ May 7, 2017
Whangarei Falls

Our GPS was kind enough to inform us about these magnificent fialls that are one of the most photographed places in New Zealand. We couldn't believe they are in the middle of the small town northern of Whangarei. But they were indeed the best waterfalls we saw!
Tutukaka

We stopped at this nice beach for lunch. Unfortunately the weather was not warm enough so as to have a last swim in New Zealand but oh well!
Paihia ‐ May 6, 2017

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Paihia and Waitangi

The last two days we have been staying around Paihia. Our main activity has been sailing, or at least an effort to do so, as the wind (or maybe Tawhirimatea the Maori god of winds) was not with us tod...
Waiti Bay, Moturua Island

As is a must in the Bay of Islands, we went for a trip with a sailing boat today. The Kopiko, our boat, was a 10m long catamaran on which we were lounging and enjoying the sunshine. Unfortunately only the sunshine as there was hardly any wind. We stopped at Moturua, one of the 144 islands in the bay, where we had picnic and did some snorkeling, before returning back to Paihia.
Paihia ‐ May 5, 2017

With a heavy heart we left the Coromandel Peninsula again and drove past Auckland north to the Bay of Islands.
Tairua ‐ May 4, 2017

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Coromandel Peninsula
The Lost Spring

Today we went for a stroll through the town and then some more soaking in hot pools. The Lost Spring got it's name because the guy had found a hot spring some years ago but then he lost it. Believing that sooner or later he would find it again he started building up the pool area over time. And in the end he really found it again.
Whitianga ‐ May 3, 2017
Otama Beach

Indulging in old memories of the time here in New Zealand, we went to one of the nicest beaches on the Coromandel Peninsula, the Otama Beach. Unfortunately the day that had started so well clouded over and it became too cold for a swim, so we just went for a stroll along the beach, always on the lookout for seashells.
Whitianga

Coming back to Whitianga after 16 years was quite interesting, the town has changed a lot, but some things I could still recognize. And of course we passed by the school I spent 3 months at. One person of the staff was still the same, and she was as happy to see an old pupil as me seeing the place again.
Shakespeare Cliff

Before heading to Whitianga we went to the lookout at the Shakespeare Cliff with beautiful view over the Cooks Beach and the Mercury Bay. And funny thing, although we were less than a km from Whitianga (as the crow flies) it still took us almost an hour with the car going around.
Cooks Beach ‐ May 2, 2017
Hot Water Beach

Hot water beach is a really funny place. From 2 hours before until 2 hours after low tide you can go and dig yourself a whole and have your personal hot tub. There is a warm water spring coming out through the sand. Unfortunately you have to share the beach with dozens of other people doing the same.
Cathedral Cove

After a bit of a long walk rather up and not down we reached the Cathedral cove, a magnificent rocky tunnel and a beautiful beach with Rocky formations that are too difficult to describe with words. The photos will explain better.
Waihi Beach ‐ May 1, 2017

Waihi Beach was probably our best sleeping place. Just a few steps from a beautiful beach, full of sea shells and envelopes. From our back door we could step out on a grassy part and then to the beach, the best so far.
The Green Dragon Inn

No visit to New Zealand would be complete without a visit to Hobbiton. There were no hobbits :( but the set was really nice and fun to walk about. And Lukas felt at home straight away, he didn't wanna leave anymore once he found a home (almost) his size.

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Hobbiton
Aorangi Peak Restaurant

A small detour to the hill for the beautiful view over Rotorua and the lake together with a coffee
Rotorua ‐ Apr 30, 2017
Tamaki Maori Village

Continuing our Maori education, Dominik learnt the Haka, we were introduced to their wood carving and tatooing, as well as the poi dance and learnt about their traditional games. In the end for dinner we had hangi, food cooked in an earth oven.
Whakarewarewa - The Living Maori Village

A true Maori village in a volcanic area. We saw two geysers exploding two times, learnt about the Maori way of lives and watced a small performance of their culture
Rotorua ‐ Apr 29, 2017

Whe went for a nighttime treewalk in the redwoods tree forest. It was quite cool. The bridges were suspended from the trees about 10m above ground. They filled the forest around with colored lights but otherwise it was almost totally dark. It was quite some fun, but unfortunately it was raining like crazy and we got soaked.

Maori legends about the volcanic activity in the area of Taupo

The Maori have several legends about the geothermal activity of the area from Taupo, via Rotorua to Whakaari (White Island) outside the eastern shores of the North Island. And I do like Maori legends,...
Rotorua
Waiotapu

We stopped at Wai-O-Tapu but it was raining too much to go for the tour so we continued a bit further and stopped at the mudpools instead. It was interesting to have seen it once, but it was smelling crazily like rotten eggs and all you saw was bubbling mud.
Aratiatia Rapids

Then we went to the Aratiatia Rapids. They built a dam there and when we arrived only a bit of water was running down, but at 14:00 they opened the floodgates and the water rushed out creating an impressive spectacle.
Wairakei Terraces & Visitor Centre NETCOR

Today was a rainy day again, so what better to do than go to soak in thermal pools of about 40 degrees. This time not free but beautifully made with azure blue water.
Taupo ‐ Apr 28, 2017

Taupo is in a geothermal region with lots of volcanoes and hot springs around. And one of these hot streams comes out at the river and creates hot pools to soak in. And the best, they are for free!
Spa Thermal Park ‐ Apr 29, 2017
Huka Falls
Spa Thermal Park
Hunterville ‐ Apr 27, 2017
Wellington ‐ Apr 26, 2017
Wellington

North Island

We are now in the North Island after having spent an amazing time in the South Island! In Maori this island is called Te Ika a Maui, which translates to the fish of Maui. According to the legend, the...
Picton

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From the South to the North Island
Moetapu Bay ‐ Apr 25, 2017
Nelson
Motueka

Today we went for a scenic flight over Motueka. It was a bit crowded in the plane but you could see really nicely around. We saw the Abel Tasman park from above, both the Golden Bay and Tasman Bay and even Mount Taranaki from the north island. The sea was beautiful dark blue and the tide was out so the beaches were huge. We went up to 5000 meters and had to wear oxygen masks for safety. Then somebody opened the door and people started to jump out of the plane. That was a bit scary. Before I coul [...]
d blink it was my turn, the guy behind me pushed us out and we were falling. IT WAS INCREDIBLE. It was a bit hard to breathe going down with about 200km/h but after around 70 seconds the parachute opened and I finally had time to enjoy the view for the 3 min it took to land. It was awesome and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.
Takaka ‐ Apr 24, 2017

A nice place at the river. A stone's throw away from the water. Update: Next morning, when we woke up we had a bit of a surprise. Suddenly we were only a step away from the edge of the river. The level rose due to the tide... So we moved to higher ground for our coffee.
Parapara

Then we went up Golden Bay, had lunch next to the beach and went for a walk to find sea shells.
Takaka Hill

A more quiet day today, we went for a short walk in the forest to a viewpoint overlooking a valley in the Abel Tasman park.

Abel Tasman National Park

The Abel Tasman National Park is probably one of the most beautiful places of the South Island, if not the whole of New Zealand. It is located at the north west of the South Island and full of natural...
Takaka Hill ‐ Apr 23, 2017

We slept on top of the hill on a parking place of a lookout with view to the Tasman Bay and Motueka.

Takaka hill and the black marble formations

The place we slept on the top of Takaka hill, as well as a whole area around it is full of big strange black formations, that we found out are marble. They looked really interesting like miniature mou...
Marahau

In Anchorage we were picked up by the water taxi again and brought back to Marahau

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Abel Tasman
Anchorage Hut

We kayaked in double kayaks along the coast back to Anchorage bay. On the way we stopped at a seal colony and saw the young pups playing in the water. Some even tried to climb the kayaks. Half way along we had a picnic on the beach, it was a really nice day.
Onetahuti

Today we went for a guided kayak tour, so once again we hopped on the water taxi and were taken to Onetahuti.
Marahau ‐ Apr 22, 2017

From Anchorage bay we walked back through the bush land along the coast line. With some side tracks along the way it took us about 4.5 hours.
Anchorage Hut

Another beautiful day so we decided to go to the Abel Tasman national park for a walk. For the first part we took the water taxi which dropped us off at Anchorage Bay.
Marahau
Motueka ‐ Apr 21, 2017

What should have been a 4 hour drive from Kaikoura to Motueka in the end became 7 hours. One reason being the fact that Kaikoura suffered from an earthquake end of January and the highways both south and north are still closed. The other reason being the general state of the streets in New Zealand (only interstate roads, no highways!) and the many many construction works along the way. At least the weather was beautiful so the drive was not too bad.
Kaikoura ‐ Apr 20, 2017

Today we had whale watching and dolphin swimming on our schedule. We got up early for the 6.45 tour. The day started nice with sunshine, but the sea was quite rough. (At least we found out we are not suffering from seasickness) Unfortunately we didn't see any whales and came back empty-handed :( We only saw albatrosses and a baby seal chilling out in the sun by the side of adults in a seal colony outside Kaikoura. And the dolphin swimming was cancelled because the sea was becoming too bad. So we [...]
had a quiet day and soaked a bit in the camping's hot tub.
Kaikoura ‐ Apr 19, 2017

The last part of the drive we had to go through an inland road in the night and rain because the main road was closed for repair due to rain and we thought it would never end :p they can have really awful roads here in NZ and there are no highways! At least here in the south.

The naming of Kaikoura

The name of Kaikoura consists of two words: Kai (food) and Koura (crayfish). It has its origin in the story of Tamatea-Pokai-Whenua, the legendary traveller of the Maori. He stopped off at this penins...
Hokitika

Another 8 hours of driving ahead of us. We started with seeing an endangered takahe, managed to see two glaciers on the way and had a delicious portion of fish and chips (folded in newspaper) for lunch in Hokitika. Note that Hokitika is the town were the book Luminaries takes place.

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Haast to Hokitika
Haast

We had a long drive in front of us, driving from Te Anau all the way to Kaikoura in 2 days. But there were again so many beautiful places and lookouts on the way so we just managed to reach the West coast and see the sunset before the days end.

Te Anau to Haast
Te Anau ‐ Apr 17, 2017

We spent a bit too much time enjoying ourselves in Milford Sound and on top of that it started raining and we were tired, so instead of continuing on we stayed one more night at the camping.
Milford Sound

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Milford Sound

Milford Sound was the reason we reached as far as Te Anau. The glowworms were a beautifful addition to our journey of course, but today's trip was even more spectacular. It started with the way from...
Fiordland National Park

The boat tour was amazing, we couldn't have chosen a better day. There was no cloud when we set out and we had the pole position at the front of the boat. We even saw some seals lounging in the sun, but the best was standing under a waterfall and getting soaked from glacier water :D
Milford Sound

After a freezing cold night we started on the drive to Milford Sound. First there was some fog but that was soon burnt away by the son and we had a wonderful and cloudless day ahead of us. What was supposed to be a 2h drive took us at least 3 with stopping at all the lookouts to make photos.
Te Anau

Te Anau

After crowded and adventurous Queenstown, time to hit the road again and head southwest to Fiordland. The ultimate goal is to go to Milford Sound and go for a cruise in the fjord there, but first we h...
Cavern House ‐ Apr 16, 2017

In Te Anau we went for a tour with the boat to the other side of the lake where we entered a cave network to see glowworms. The last part was sitting in total silence and darkness in a boat and looking at the hundreds of light dots of the glowworms.

Glowworms
Te Anau

Finally some sunshine again, and we arrived early enough at the camping to take our chairs out and sit in the sun looking down to the lake.

+2
Kingston ‐ Apr 15, 2017

Our stop for the night, not exactly level but directly at the lake.
Queenstown

Queenstown is a really cool town and offers loads of activities to do. We took the gondola to the top of the mountain where we were rewarded with sunshine and drove two rounds with the Luge (a kind of sledge with wheels going downhill) which was fun but children friendly. Then we went for the Hydro attack, which was 10 minutes of awesomeness. It's a watercraft shaped like a shark, travels at 80 km/h, dives 2m under water and launches itself almost 6m into the air. AWESOME!

+5

Hydro Attack

Queenstown

Surrounded by the Remarkables (a towering mountain range) and the Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown is a beautiful sight. But the small town is busy enough to be in competition with a full fledged metropole....
Lake Hayes Estate ‐ Apr 14, 2017

Slept at the gorgeous lake Hayes and saw 2 black swans in the morning. They must have flown over from Perth.
Wanaka
Puzzling World

Bad weather, what do we do? Let's go to the Puzzling World. It had a great and quite big outdoor maze that kept us busy for a while and a few illusion rooms. Was a lot of fun.

+4

Puzzleworld
Waikerikeri ‐ Apr 13, 2017

Our resting place for the night. Free camping rulez!
Roaring Bay Penguins & Seals Observatory

Since we didn't see any penguins on the Otago Peninsula we decided to drive south along the coast. At one point our GPS kindly informed us about the possibility to see yellow eyed pinguins on the way so we grabbed the opportunity and drove there. We saw ONE penguin grooming himself, HURRAY! and ONE seal sleeping on the beach. After 45 minutes we gave up hope of seeing another one and went to see the light house at Nugget Point, which was engulfed in fog and looked quite creepy.
Royal Albatross Centre

The weather was slightly better so we decided to go and do an excursion with Nature's Wonders Naturally to see seals, sea lions and penguins. Unfortunately when we arrived we found out that they were closed for the day :( so we just saw a couple of seals and an albatross and left again.
Dunedin ‐ Apr 12, 2017

Today the weather was absolutely crappy, it rained all day, so we slept late, did a rough plan of our trip through New Zealand and then went to explore Dunedin, the 'Edinburgh of the South' with Scottish heritage.

+8

Dunedin

The second city we saw in New Zealand was Dunedin. We are still not totally sure how it is pronounced. Our good friend Gillian would give us the correct answer. Anyway, the weather has been awful and...
Dunedin

First night freedom camping with the camper
Christchurch ‐ Apr 10, 2017
Akaroa

First excursion with the van! Akaroa is a small town on the Banks Peninsula, which is the remnants of a volcano.

Our mobile home

Today we went to get our van for New Zealand, HURRAAYY! It's a 7m long, 3.2m heigh Mercedes Sprinter. It's a bit bigger than what we are used to from our VW T5 back home, but hey it is more spacious a...
Christchurch ‐ Apr 8, 2017

Christchurch

After several hours of flying from Perth and Melbourne, we arrived to New Zealand! We are in the South Island or Te Waipounamu as it is called in Maori language and in the town of Christchurch. Christ...
Melbourne Airport, Australia

Stopover on the way to Christchurch
Perth ‐ Apr 5, 2017

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Cottesloe

On our way home we stopped in Cottesloe where we saw our first (and probably only) sunset over the sea in Australia.
Fremantle City

Today we took a cuise along the Swan River to visit Fremantle, a gold digger port town with buildings as known from wild west movies.

+4
Perth ‐ Apr 4, 2017

First real stop on our tour is Perth. And our first impression is great, the weather and temperatures are amazing, blue skies, 30 degrees, wonderful :D And the city looks nice, a mix of sky scrapers with old vintage buildings and beautiful green parks. Love it!
Singapore, Singapore ‐ Apr 3, 2017

Short stopover in Singapore airport on our way to Perth
Istanbul, Turkey
Athina, Greece ‐ Mar 28, 2017

The next couple of days we will stay with Katerina's family in Athens, doing some errands around.

Athens
Walenstadt, Switzerland ‐ Mar 25, 2017

We are staying with Dominik's parents the next days, preparing the last things for the trip.
Alkmaar, Netherlands ‐ Mar 24, 2017

We gave over our house in the morning, our trip can begin !! Today we are staying with Georgia and Flip, spending our last evening in the Netherlands. Tomorrow we drive to Switzerland.
Haarlem, Netherlands ‐ Feb 26, 2017

Our home for the last 20 months