Travelling in Australia

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I know.. I have not been writing you for sooooo long! I m so sorry, but it has been a very busy semester, with studying and yes, I had a job as well 😊 I was working at The Institute for Social Science of my Uni. It was a well paid job, something relevant to add in my curriculum, but not as fancy as it may sound 😉
So so so...
Lots of things have been happening. I had a mid-semester break in the beginning of November. We decided to go on a road trip and let me tell you...we couldn't have chosen better!Definitely one of the best trips of my life!4 people,one car!!
So, we flew north, precisely in Cairns. This city is 2500 km from Brisbane 😊 So, it wouldn't have been wise to drive both ways, seeing we only had 2 weeks all in all😊 You realize how big Australia is when thinking about that what seems to be a small state, turns into being huge!!! Long distances, for sure. So, at our arrival in Cairns we picked up a van, which would have been our home for 2 weeks 😊 The van had a kitchen and 4 beds!Very nice!!😊
At our arrival in Cairns, we went straight to pick it up and start our road trip riiiiiight away! First stop: Port Douglas (Cape Tribulation) -1 h north from Cairns. Must say...I loved that place! It was a rainforest with beautiful hidden water holes were you could swim. It was like being in a movie, especially when we found one all of a sudden. No worries for crocos, the water in the wholes was waaay to cold for them, but so warm for us 😊That was indeed amazing. (You will see in the pics what I mean😉)
The first night in the van was terrible. 40 degrees outside, humidity and mosquitoes. In addition to that, the ranger that came and knocked at our van the next morning, wanting to give us a fine as we were not allowed to sleep there -did certainly not help! But Oliver has been persuasive, so instead of a fine, we got a warning!😊
All good! The GPS is now directing us SOUTH 😊 Next stop: Tully😊 We went to Tully to experience White Water Rafting. I had tried water rafting before, when I was in Zambia - but everyone told us that Tully was the best river to river raft at...mmmm...I had my doubts, but it was a nice experience. When I was in Africa there were crocodiles around which made it very scaaaary! In Tully there were carnivorous flies, biting you at all times! I hated it - (and you actually bleed as well. SO strange..flies that bite you.)Anyway, the river was beautiful and a bit adventurous sometimes 😉
We left Tully after one day and one night to head to Townswille, the capital of North Queensland😊 Cozy city, but the reason why we were there was due to the fact that it was the only connection there is to Magnetic Island. I must say. I just loved Magnetic Island, the island of koalas😊 We stayed on Magnetic for 2 days and we all loved it. It was full of bays and national parks. A tiny little island with only 2000 residents 😊
And then finally, my dream coming true: swimming in the GREAT BARRIER REEF!! oh my!I just loved those 3 days. We arrived in Airlie Beach and sailed through the Withsundays for 3 days. It was AMAZING! The first day we arrived 100 KM OFFSHORE...in the middle of the Pacific Ocean all of a sudden: The GREAT BARRIER REEF. There it was. Let me just tell you. It is like being in another planet, another world. An untouched beauty of the Mother Earth.The pics will speak for themselves, I m sure!😊The second day we went in the Inner Barrier Reef, which was nice as well, but not as the first day! The last day, we sailed to Long Island. This island is veeery small, there is only a resort on it! It is a national park with 20 kilometres of wonderful walking tracks across the Island, leading to beautiful secluded beaches and dense bush areas!Uhhh..that day was nice as well!Leaving this region we decided to drive to Mackay, because we were told there was a beautiful National Park: Eungella! When arriving we noticed that temperature dropped, and the rainfall rised. The cool misty air created a fresh, paradise feeling. I loved it. Also because it was in there that I saw my fist VERY BIG venomous Spider 😊
Well well, hope you are not getting annoyed here, but i feel that I have to tell you everything 😉
Sooo...we wanted to leave Mackay soon, in order to get to Bundaberg! That day it was me driving...after visiting the National Park we sat in the car and looked what the GPS was saying.. from where we were to Bundaberg it was 670 km. Oh dear! We didn' t know what to do, it was a long drive, and a local told us in between there was absolutely nothing to see - so we might just have driven all the way to Bundaberg right away. Mmm...what to do, what to do.... "Guys," I said, "I can try to drive and then when I feel tired I can switch with someone"... Seeing that it was 5 pm, we should have arrived in Bundaberg at 4 o' clock in the morning. Well, long story short, after drinking a coffee in a local gas station, I drove all the way, the guys sleeping in the back of the car, excpet one of the girls, Karin, who kept me attentive and awake while I was driving. It was a long drive, and the highways here only have 1 lane and our just absolutely straight all the way! It can get pretty boring, I must admit, but I felt the challenge, and felt in control😊 So, exactly at 4, we arrived in Bundaberg and literally slept on the fields. We woke up the next morning, a bit confused, seeing the fact that we were surrounded by cows eating :P Bundaberg is full of sugar canes, and this is the reason why it is the main producer of Rum😊 It was cool to be there! Our last stop was Noosa, a party city. After being on the road for 2 weeks, sleeping in the van, taking random showers in camper van parks, cooking on the road, washing dishes in public toilets, Noosa was a disappointment. It was just like another city, full of tourists, bars and restaurants, a bit like Bodrum in Turkey.
This was my road trip.

Now I 'm in the middle of my exam session -pretty stressful! But then also this experience will be soon over.

Let me know if you like the pics!!!!

Hugs,
I miss you ALL.
Alessiya
xOx

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Comments

[Veronica]

Fantastic blog and fantastic photos :-)!! I hope you'll spend the same amazing time in Asia!! Let me know!! Veronica PS: but don't forget to study... me raccomando!!!;-)

[Octave]

....
Wow... You really enjoyed yourself. I loved reading every part of it!! MORE MORE PLS