So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen , adieu...

I had to say goodbye to my new friends...
Yesterday was the last day of my Contiki tour through the Northern Territory. I had a blast.
Started in Alice Springs, passed by Kings Canyon, Uluru, crossed the tropic of Capricorn, on to Tenant Creek, Katherine, Kakadu and arrived in Darwin.
Although there is not much between Alice and Darwin, the views around you are breathtaking.

From the red centre sand and dry heat to the flooded area's in the north with lots of green flora.
We stopped at a few gorgeous waterfalls and natural thermal springs to swim in.

Beside the fact that I have seen so much beauty I also met so many new friends from all over the world.
Travelling with Contiki was again a great way to see beauty, learn about the history of it, getting to know other people and having fun in on the bus or @ local bars.

I feel a bit empty today. Because I have no real plan for my last month in Australia.
The last 3 months has gone by so fast! (So did my money unfortunately)
This last month I'm gonna try to find a volunteer job in a wildlife centre.
Taking care of kangaroos, koala's, snakes, crocodiles... Must be so much fun and rewarding.
Hopefully I will find a place soon...

And for now I'll just keep on sweating in hot and humid Darwin, where I cannot swim in the ocean because it's full of crocodiles... Good thing my hostel has a pool! :)

Champagne sunset

Two days ago we got up at  5AM to go and see the sunrise at Uluru, the big red rock, one of the wonders in the world.
Unfortunately it was a little cloudy but still beautiful.

In the afternoon we went to Uluru to walk around. Before we got to do the 2 hours walk around the rock it started pooring rain.
Result: the rock was even more beautiful. All over you could see waterfalls coming down. Amazing. Not many people get to see this phenomena because it is the dessert and it doesn't rain here very often.

At night we than went back to see the sunset over Uluru and the changing of colours on the rock. But not just watching the sunset, we had a 'champagne-sunset' Our tourguide Coops and driver Dave set up a table with some snacks and champagne with a strawberry for everyone.
Evertime I drank a few sips they filled up my glass again.
Result: Sooo tipsy...
Back on the bus to the resort we all got up and danced. It was fun.
Than, instead of drinking some water i drank wine and vodka.

Bad idea since I was hugging the toilet  afterwards... Last time I got this drunk was on a NOTP tour in R'dam.
Anyway. I survived the night. Still felt a little weak in the morning  but after a greasy bacon and eggs breakfast I was starting to feel better.
Yesterday I got to ride a camel for 5 minutes. It's true what they say: camels smell....
Ironicly last night we had a blow out dinner in Alice Springs. Where I got to taste emu, crocodile, kangaroo and camel. TBH I didn't like the camel. Kangaroo is pretty good and so  was the crocodile.The emu tasted a bit like liver.

Today we will be driving for 10 hours. Long drive ahead. To the real outback with no connection what so ever.
I won't be able to get back online untill April 14.
It's not hard for me not to get online here because there is so much to see and do I love the red centre!

So long,
Outback Tania :)

Alice, who the f*** is Alice?

Hi guys,

It's gonna be a lot of blogs for you to read since I don't have any internet connection in the Outback. I hardly have any cell phone connection either but I don't care. Because it's soooooo beautiful here.
I love the outback. The red sand, the weird creatures that live here and survive here, the rocks...  But before talking about that let's start with my firt day in the Northern Territory.
NT, the last state I needed to visit in Australia and probably one of the most beautiful.

Alice Springs, a town in the middle of Australia, in the middle of the outback. Lots of Aboriginal people, red sand and dry heat.
I landed at 5pm and expected to be able to get a bus or shuttle to the city. But in the Northern Territory things don't work like that.
The next shuttle was gonna come in 2 hours... And a taxi was 34$.
I looked at the friendly man and he must have read it in my eyes '34$? or 2 hours waiting?'
So he said: wait here, i'll try to find a solution.
At the same time a taxi driver overheard my conversation and asked if I needed to go to the city.
I told him: Yes, but I only have 20$ on me.
The taxi driver, in need of work, said: I'll take you there for 20$.
And so he did. I arrived at my hostel with swimming pool and outside cinema with beachchairs and felt happy.
The woman at reception told me to go up the Anzac Memorial hill to see the sunset. It was amazing.
The next morning I had to wake up early because my 11day Contiki tour was about to begin!

I got to the All Season Oasis Hotel to meet my tourleader and fellow travellers.
We started our trip on Easter in Alice Springs and visited the base of The Royal Flying Doctors. Pretty cool what they can do.
We also went to ... where we got a headset to wander around the park and learn about the 'death centre'
Why the sand is red (it's an iron in the stones), which animals there live (f.e. the Thorny Devil) and saw some birds and kangaroos with a little joey!

The next morning we had a bush tucker experience.  They took us to an aboriginal camp and explained how they live.
Aboriginal people always lived a nomadic life. They learned to survive in the outback to watch the birds. If birds would eat certain fruits, they knew it would be allright.
They are a very sharing community. If they would konw someone ate a fish he caught by himself without sharing it with the others, they would spear his leg. If you were a woman doing that they would break your arm.
Aboriginal people do have a smell. They stink. But that's because they learned to survive in the outback. Where there is a lack of water. So they don't understand why white people waste water on there body while it's so precious to drink it.
At the end of the presentation we got to taste some bush bread and tea.And also so bush raisens, bush banana's, dried bush tomato's and a kangaroo tail. Which tasted a little like pork. The guide also suggested to taste the wichetty grup, a big caterpillar that lives in a certain try.
One brave guy in our group wanted to try and eat the grup alive.
He said the insides tasted like raw egg and all that was left was the chewy skin. Yum!

After the 'tasting' we were introduced to some aboriginals and there art.
Painting they made. Each tells a story. You could buy them for 50, 100 or 200$ which is really cheap for a real aboriginal painting. Unfortunenately I only had 10$ in cash on me.
I still kick myself for it that I couldn't buy a painting.
Oh well, maybe I have an excuse now to go back ;)

In the afternoon we went to Kings Canyon to do a 6km hike.
Everywhere you can hike there are sings warning you to drink enough water. Dehydration is the number one cause people need to be taken to a hospital. And if they call the flying doctors because you didn't drink enough it can cost you a lot of money if your insurance does not cover that.
The other things you need are a hat, sunglasses, a good sunscreen and last but not least: a fly net.
Flies here can be irritating as hell. Zooming in your ear, trying to get op your nose or in your eyes or mounth.
It is a funny sight to see everyone with a flynet but we do prefer to be comfortable istead of fashionable in the outback :)
The hike was beautiful. Between the red rocks all the way up where you had amazing views. I was speechless.

After the hike we were brought to a campingground where we would sleep under the stars! Although I hate bugs, I was really looking forward 'swag-night' We'd get a sleeping bag and a swag which is matras with zipped up canvas around it.

When the sun had set, and the flies had disappeared we built a campfire.
But you know me, a star-geek, instead of looking at the fire I was looking up most of the time. You could clearly see the Milky Way. Amazing...
Around 11h30pm I crawled into my comfortable swag and after seeing 4 shooting stars (and 4 wishes) I fell asleep... Untill 5h30am when it started raining.
The swag does have a cover for the head to so I just graped my backpack and nike's next to me and shoved it down my swag. But the head part down and turned around to sleep some more.
But most people (sisi's) didn't wanna stay in the rain and woke up the busdriver who openend the bus for them.
I asked him: do I have to get in the bus?
He: no, your swag is waterproof, if you're comfortable, just stay there.
So I did, crawled a little deeper in my sleeping bag and fell asleep again. I woke up around 6h30 because the sun was out but decided I was way to comfortable and turned around untill 7h15.
I got up, showered with bugs and had a bacon and egg breakfast.
Back on the bus on our way to Uluru.
Along the way the driver had to slow down because there were wild horses crossing. Stunning!

We stopped at Kata Tjuta, a simular rock as Uluru but smaller and more curvy. A little walk to the heart of the rock, again, breathtaking.
Right now I'm typing this at our logde in the Outback. Don't know when I will be able to post it, but I need to write all of this down before I forget!

Anyway, it's 8u16pm right now so I'm gonna take a shower and won't go to bed too late since I have to get up at 5am to go and see the sunrise at Uluru...

WA and the city

West Australia is a great mixture of white beaches, green forests and a dryer outback land.
A friend and I rented a Toyota to drive from Perth all the way down to Albany and than back up via the wave rock.
Lot's of times we drove trhough town that were just 3 streets. No internet connections, no cell phone coverage. A typical hilly billy ozzie town.

We've seen the point were the Indian & South Ocean come together.

Amazing white beaches at the coasts.
We've also been to the karri forest and did a tree walk. Walking between trees about 40 meters of the ground.
And wave rock, a granite rock in the shape of a wave.
To end our trip again in Perth. And while on the road we've seen wildlife such as kangaroos, emu's, parrots, and many other birds.
All very cool. But travelling with my friend was not always easy. Two stubborn people in a rental car. Glad we didn't kill each other. :)

Although there were many hurtfull moments, I will remember the good times and laughs.
And again I learned a lesson, life never happens the way you think it will.
But in the end it’s the reviews you give to yourself that matter.

As I'm writing this blog I'm in the plane on my way to Alice springs and just flew over Uluru.
There my real outback experience will begin...

Go West

Adelaide was B-E-A-utiful! The Aussies in Adelaide are so laid back and friendly. You take it on easily.
What have I been doing there? Well, I visited the Haigh's chocolate factory. Delicious but not as good as the real Belgian Chocolate. But definately worth seeing how they make their chocolate. Ans since it's almost Easter, there were a lot of easter eggs and Easter Bristles :)
On wednesday I took a bustour to the Barossa Valley. The wine-region of South Australia where most wines of Australia are produced.

 Tastings took place in 4 wineries, the first and biggest one was Jacob's Creek.
Now... tasting wines starting from 10 a.m. in the morning is a definate 'begin drunk before noon' moment :)
The wines were amazing. After three wineries in the Barossa Valley we had a nice BBQ to get some food in my stomach.
The last wineries had some ports as well. All very nice and a good thing I wasn't driving!
On Thursdaymorning (5am) I took the bus to the airport to catch my plane to Perth, West Australia.
On my plane were a lot of SES volunteers to help out with the damage done by the flood on tuesday.

Perth, another nice Ozzie town with lots of things to do in and around. West Australia has got beautiful white beaches and an amazing crystal clear blue ocean.
Fremantle, a town close to Perth is a bit like Knokke in Belgium. I could hear just as much French as English on the street.
Right now a friend and I are in Dunborough. A little town between Perth and Albany. A typical small Aussie town with just a few streets as the 'city centre', a beach and beautiful bushes.
Before arriving I saw some wild kangaroos jumping around.
The sunset  was amazing. A perfect pink sky.
Tonight, for the first time in a long time, no hostel! I'm sleeping in an old railway carriage. It's so cool.
You feel like you are in the middle of nowhere with just the moon, the stars, the kangaroos and the little rabbits.

Tomorrow I'll try some wines of West Australia in the Margaret River region.

I'm beginning to feel more and more at home in Australia.
Okay, I do miss my friends and family at times.
And more than ever I realise how much I love my friends and how good they know me and appreciate me for who I really am.
It’s comforting to know that the ones you love are always in your heart… and if you’re very lucky, a plane ride away.

So who knows, I might stick around here for a while, Australia is not the end of the world, it's just the land down under :)

A - B - C

I arrived in...

Adelaide where you can drink amazing wine from
Barossa valley or a refreshing
Cooper beer.

I could use the whole alphabet naming great stuff about Adelaide but let me keep it simple :)

After saying goodbye to my friend Marianka in Melbourne I took a short flight back in time to Adelaide.
By 'back in time' I mean we had to turn the clock 30 minutes back.
It's no longer 10 hours difference but 'only' 9,5 compared to Belgium.

Adelaide, in South Australia, is a beautiful city that has a 'town-feel' to it. The streets are very wide so you don't have that busy feeling like you can have in Sydney or Melbourne.
People are even more laid back here and very friendly. Everywhere I go people start talking to me, asking me questions and are happy to get to know you.
South Australians are genuine. Of course, every city has its weirdo's & drunks, but they're harmless I think.

So far I've been to the flee market on Fisherman's Wharf, to Glenelg beach and the city centre.
Next on the list is a visit to the Haigh's chocolate factory :) (As a Belgian who is addicted to dark chocolat it's a must do.)
Also the museum, the botanical gardens and last but not least: Barossa Valley. Where most of the Australian wines come from.
I'll visit 4 wineries and luckily have a BBQ lunch so I won't get too druk from wine tastings.

After Adelaide I was supposed to take a vacation from my vacation as a backpacker.
Unfortunately things didn't work out as planned but that's life.
And as we drive along this road called life, occasionally a gal will find herself a little lost. And when that happens, I guess she has to let go of the coulda, shoulda, woulda, buckle up and just keep going.

Eventually all the pieces fall into place... Until then, laugh at the confusion, live for the moment, and know that everything happens for a reason.

D Day

Daddy's day...
Today it's fathers day in Antwerp, my hometown. So I would like to dedicate today's blog to my dad who I miss very very much.
Happy fathers day, dad, I hope you are proud of me.

Melbourne, what a lovely week it was. Hot and sunny.
Although, Autumn officially started on March 1. You can see the leaves changing colours. You can smell the change of seasons.
I will miss out on spring this year. Little weird going from winter to summer to fall and to summer again... My body is a little confused.
I see chocolat eastereggs in the stores so my mind tells me it's spring, while the shops promote the Autumn/Winter collection 2010.


Anyway, because of the heatwave this week, no autumn feeling yet :)

This week the L'Oreal fashion week started, lots of fun stuff to do here.
Yesterday I went windowshopping untill I bumped into sexy shoes for only 3,06 AUD!!!
That's cheaper than taking the bus :) And since I'm still a girl, I had to get those shoes.
You never know when a red carpet situation might happen right? ;)

Tomorrow i'll be flying to Adelaide, antoher city, another state in Australia.
After Adelaide (South Australia) comes Perth (Western Australia) with the beautiful beaches and then I'll go from beachbum to outback Tanie :)
Travelling from Alice Springs all the way up north to Darwin (Northern Territory). I'll see Uluru, one of the 7 wonders in the world and sleep under the stars of the southern hemisphere.
Really looking forward to that!

Got to go now, my last day in Melbourne and also the last travelling with Marianka. I'll miss her.

Love,
Tania