The Last Step to Down Under

---

Already by the time I arrived in Bangkok I had thought about trying to reach Australia overland, meening to get there without flying. Partly because of getting a better feeling for the distance and partly because overland travel is cheaper and more interesting.
My first real attempt to find a boat going to Australia was in Port Klang. But all the shipping agencies did not offer any kind of passenger service.
The next possibility I had heared about was from Bali. People told me, that Australian cruise ships go there and sometime take additional passengers on their way back. But when I reached Bali no Australian cruise ship could be seen anywhere... I think it just was the wrong season.
So I traveld from one Indonesian Island to the next, getting closer and closer to Australia and hoping for an opportunity. Finally in Kupang I could not get any closer anymore, in principle Papua New Guinea is nearer to the Australian continent in spite of being further north, but this part of Australia, the long peninsula of Cape Tribulation doesn't have any harbours at all. In general it's a very remote part of Australia that can only be reached via gravel road from Cairns. Going from Timor to Darwin was the only chance. And there are boats going, no official passenger ferries but small prawn fishing boats that sell their catch in Australia. Asking around in Kupang I found out that there are two boats all together, owned by an Austarlian living in Kupang. A German traveler had just been going on one of that boats in late October - for quite a lot of money. But, and that is the last but, it was December now, it was cyclone season, and he was not going at all - not for prawn and not for me.
Christmas was approaching rappidly and I did not feel like sitting in 'Teddy's Bar' on Christmas Eve. Thus I booked a flight from Kupang to Darwin right on the 24.12.. The plane was a small turboprop machine and besides one Australian I was the only passenger to hop across the Timor Sea. So the flight attendant fully focused on us two, serving luke warm spagetti that I still appreciated for their european taste...

---

Photos

A Boat...
... is what I wanted to use. This fishing vessel is what sometime goes from Kupang to Darwin.

A Plane...
... is what I finally used. This small turboprop machine brought me and one Australien guy across Timor Sea to Darwin.