It's been a good while since we last updated, so here's a quick rundown on what's been going on these past few months.
After Uluru we flew to Sydney, again! I guess we can't get enough of that place! It was good to be back there, plus we got to do some of the things that we didn't get a chance to do the first time around, like go to Taronga zoo.
The zoo was good fun we got to see a lot of Australian animals that had eluded us so far in the wild. We got to see koala's, wombat's, wallaby's and last but not least kangaroo's. It was nice to see a kangaroo hopping around instead of lying dead at the side of the road, as we had seen before! We also got to feed a wallaby at the zoo, which was quite an experience. He was a docile little fellow and didn't mind the long queue of tourists, as long as their hands were full of tasty snacks! Kjerstin also faced a couple of her fears and touched a bearded dragon and a snake. We had a good day at the zoo, they put on a few different shows with the animals to keep us entertained. There was a baby boom too, a baby elephant and a baby gorilla, the gorilla had just been born so it was off limits. Fun was had by all.
Next came Australia day! It was quite the boozy affair. It started off in circular Quay watching the Sydney ferries having a race, the harbour bridge was the finishing line. If there was a boat to be found in Sydney, it was out on the harbour that day. The city was jammed with people, and boy was it hot! There was a lot of stages set up around the city and we watched a lot of good bands. Later we met up with the infamous Teddy, and the party started! Needless to say we had fun, and then we went home.
After a few dodgy hostels, Teddy graciously invited us to come stay at her place, which we were very grateful for. If there's one thing Sydney does well, it's shitty hostels! At Teddy's place we got to recharge our batteries and take it easy for a while. We also had the joy of a heatwave, 30+ degrees for over a week, it was tough going! Then the day came when we were due to leave, Townsville was the destination. We put on a goodbye BBQ with kangabanga's, (kangaroo sausages) not as bad as you would think but not great either. While we were having fun mother nature was having plans of her own. Tropical Cyclone Yasi was just off the Townsville coast and was moving inland fast. So we had to spend another week in Sydney. Once again Teddy let us stay at her place for another week. The cyclone was a category five, the strongest category there is, when it hit the coast, in-between Townsville and Cairns at a place called Mission Beach. We watched the news coverage and were glad that we decided to postpone our travel plans. There was a lot of devastation caused. Thankfully, due to foresight and planning there were not many casualties.
One week after Yasi we arrived in Townsville. The evidence of the cyclone's destructive power was everywhere. There were uprooted trees in every street, houses with missing roofs here and there, signposts and fences lying on the ground. The place was a right mess. All of the trees were being collected and pulped in a nearby field. There was an endless line of trucks filled with fallen trees leading to the pulping machine. Our hostel was quite nice but there was no electricity, save from a few extension cables that criss-crossed the hallways. This made the sweaty nights a real joy!
After Townsville we hopped on a bus and headed for the beach paradise of the Whitsundays. Here we spent two weeks lazing by the man made lagoon, remember sea = death, and soaking up the rays.
We spent one of our days cruising around the whitsunday islands and visited the beautiful whitehaven beach. The beach is made up of sand that is almost 100% pure silica, which we were told is very good. :P
The last weekend in Brisbane we managed to get tickets for an AFL-game which was really fun!
So here we are now, sitting in Brisbane International airport, about to head for New Zealand and to leave Australia, where we've spent the last 5 months. It's very exciting and yet a little sad. We've come to like this country on the other side of the world where just about everything that moves can kill you and natural disasters are an everyday occurrence. They've treated us well and we've had an absolute blast! Now it's time for the final chapter of our journey, so wish us luck!
