More Melboune

No big city is just one thing. Beautiful or ugly, modern or historic. Any adjective you give it will do it injustice because they are a bit of everything, and Melbourne is especially much so.

What I really hate about the city is the noise and too high concentration of people. I liked the Royal Botanical Gardens where you can find peace and relative quiet (if it weren't for the Formula 1 racecars running laps nearby that do their best to spoil it). I had a nice visit to the Plant Craft Cottage where a group of respectable old ladies welcomed me and showed me how they make elaborate handicrafts using plant materials -- e.g. baskets, hats, and hand-made paper from various plants. All a heart-warming labour of love. I should have bought something but there was nothing that I really needed.

And then I found another place in Melbourne I really liked: the National Gallery of Victoria, a big (and free) art gallery. Lots of artistic and design inspiration there, close to the city center, but far from the madding crowd.

I also went up the Eureka Tower, the highest residential building on earth or something, which has a viewing platform at 285 metres above ground. I went at the best time just before sunset, and stayed until nightfall, when the city lights turn on. The city seemed to be actually relatively dark at night, but maybe that seems so to me because the last time I had such a view was in Las Vegas a few years back.

Today I went together with Siow Boon, Ben and the boys to Frankston beach, half an hour's drive down the coast but still within the big basin of Port Philipp. They have a nice exhibition of sand sculptures there (at the moment, all of dinosaurs). I had a dip in the mirror-like ocean, and we had a barbecue, and saw a magnificent sunset.

(No, that's not the sunset, it's Hongsen's bum. ;)

Melbourne

Mike drove me to the airport, the flight (Jetstar, $59 one-way) was on time, and Siow Boon was there to pick me up in Melbourne -- everything is going smoothly and comfortable again! :)

I was really happy to see my friend again. For your background: We know each other from the time when we both worked in the same IT company in Malaysia, and she had visited me half a year later while she was on a tour in Germany. Then, in 2001, she got married to Ben, and now they live as a Chinese family with two children (Yisen, aged 5, and Hongsen, aged 3) in Melbourne. Siow Boon was very happy to see me too, and has kindly offered to accommodate me in their house in one of the eastern suburbs. Ben is also very friendly, and the boys were a bit shy at first, but I think they will overcome that quickly.

My first day in Melbourne was not bad. I explored the heart of the city, and found the fabulous State Library -- which is currently my favourite place here, I think. It is a library like it should be. Students sitting in the grass outside, and inside in front of their computers and books, reading, writing, and yes: sleeping too. The library is open to the public and has a big general section of books, a separate big room for Australiana, a room for chess (literature and playing), and staff-assisted collections of rare books, manuscripts and pictures. There are splendid reading desks. To me, this is a holy place of wisdom and thought, much more than any church.

They also have a current exhibition on the history of books -- from hand-written bibles to the Gutenberg press, from books that changed history (Martin Luther etc.) to books that had a deep impact on society (Marx, Freud, etc.).

Engine trouble and new friends

Bad news. My engine has had a major breakdown and it is not going to be an easy repair. After the mechanic has had a look at it and I considered all options, I decided to have an all new engine built in (plus a new radiator, hoses, and clutch). It will take until Tuesday next week.

To make best use of the waiting time, I decided to fly to Melbourne to my friend Siow Boon who I know from 10 years ago in Malaysia.

I also met up with a friend's friend here, Christina, who invited me to her house in Greens Beach for dinner and hosted me for one night. She lives with her cocker spaniel aptly named Guinness (all black with a white snout), and she's a friend of Treska, who is a neighbour I know from Sydney.

And then I met Mike on the nudist beach, who turned out to be a friend of Christina... and he invited me as well (as Christina has to go back to Hobart where she has her other house and business to do). It's really good to be in a country like Australia where it's so easy to find friendly and helpful people if you speak the language and are friendly and open-minded yourself.

I stayed for one day at Mike's house too (also in Greens Beach), and he is driving me back to Launceston airport today. Greens Beach is another "end of the world" place, very secluded, with a nice view across the mouth of Tamar River to the lighthouse at Low Head we'd seen close-up earlier. The lighthouse is called "Blinking Billy" here... (3 times in 30 seconds :) And if you go west from Greens Beach, you can walk on a track right into another national park for bushwalking. There's no-one there, no cars, and you can go as far as you like, 1 km or 40 km! (I went twice for just about an hour each.)

Meanwhile, Cori has arrived safely in Adelaide and she has also updated her own blog, in German and with more photos, so I thought I'd share the link here, please have a look!

Launceston

Launceston is the second-largest city in Tasmania, with a population of 70,000. I like it better than Hobart, because it has a "face". It has its ugly corners, and also its pretty ones, and that gives it character. It's the thing that Hobart has too little of, and Canberra has none of.

Launceston has many nice 19th century buildings, many small parks, an ugly harbourside and the lovely Cataract Gorge (eine Schlucht) where you can walk out of the city into a very pretty piece of nature. At the end of the gorge comes a small lake, and a swimming pool (free), and that lake is crossed by a chairlift, a dam, and a bridge. I don't think any other city has something like this.

One of the parks features monkeys (Japanese makakes), and just across is a 19th century gaswork which I took photos of for the Gaswerksfreunde Augsburg club -- I know they are very interested in such material. So all in all, both Cori and I came to like the city.

That was a good ending for our two-week trip together. Cori had booked a flight from Launceston via Melbourne to Adelaide, and so I drove her to the airport and said goodbye. She had been the best travel companion I could wish for; everything had gone very harmonious and I had enjoyed her company.

Just half an hour later we both got into travelling trouble, each in their way. Cori's flight was cancelled due to technical difficulties. And I had an engine breakdown, just 12 km north of Launceston.

The north east

Going north on the east coast, we came by Bicheno, St Marys, and St Helens. We stayed at a most beautiful free campsite at the "Bay of Fires" on the beachfront between Binalong Bay and The Gardens. The next sunny morning invited us to stay at the beach until noon, enjoying the sun and the relaxing quietness of the beach, and having a quick dip in the waters.

Cori was really positively surprised that Tasmania is that warm and sunny in summer. Most people, including Aussies, think of Tassie as the Scandinavia of the South, which is untrue. It is actually more like Italy.

Then the road took us inland. We made an Abstecher to St Columba Falls, passing by the "Pub in the Paddocks", a pub with the main attraction being a beer-drinking pig, and visiting the small Cheese Factory that makes a good cheddar, with free tastings (we bought one, of course). Scottsdale didn't seem to have anything worth making a stop, so Bridport was our target and stay for the night.

Today we went to Low Head, with the scenic lighthouse -- very "Frisian", this area. Then we crossed the big river bay on a highway called "Batman Highway" and a bridge called "Batman Bridge" (no joke! :) The other side was not too spectacular, so we went straight down to Launceston.

Wineglass Bay

This picturesque beach is featured on nearly every book and postcard of Tasmania -- Wineglass Bay in Freycinet National Park. The walk up to the lookout is well-built, but crowded by too many tourists. The rest of Tasmania is free from such crowds, even at Port Arthur and Cradle Mountain they won't be in your way as the place spaces out. But here, Cori and I were relieved to get away from the most travelled path and go the steep way down from the lookout to Wineglass Bay itself. No noise there, except the rolling of the waves washing from the turquoise bay onto the white sandy beach. The weather had cleared up and we both dared a quick jump into the ice-cold clear waters!

The sun dried us, and then we took the long way back, which was another beautiful walk, across the isthmus to Hazard Beach and then following the rocky coastline to the carpark. We walked 11 km altogether, so we did have some exercise!

Richmond and Port Arthur

Our next destinations on our counter-clockwise round-trip across Tasmania (Rundreise im Gegenuhrzeigersinn) were Richmond and Port Arthur.

Richmond is a picturesque small village and home to Australia's oldest bridge. If the doctor told you to go to a quiet small town for a while for relaxation, I think Richmond would be the ideal place.

Port Arthur is the famous historical location of the infamous 19th century penitentiary (berüchtigten Gefängnis). I could write a long page here about my personal impressions and thoughts about this place, but my Internet time is too short for that... sorry (maybe later)!

We also saw the impressive coastline at Dootown (where every house is named something with "Doo", they must have lots of humour): lookout places with names such as Blowhole, Devils Kitchen, Tasmans Arch, and Tesselated Pavement.

Mourning

There is no memorial for the genocided aborigines here on Tasmania, not yet. But there is one for Truganini, whose life stands symbolically for all the aboriginal suffering under the British invadors.

It is here on Bruny Island that I found a place to lay down flowers, as you may remember I had promised myself, three weeks ago, on the ferry to Tasmania. Actually I did not lay down, but plant living flowers. May my small gesture help raise awareness, if only for a day or two. I don't know whether, or when, the local authorities will undig the red carnation I planted, and toss away the stones that read "In memory of all aborigines that died in the genocide".

If you are able to digest a tough story, read the story of Truganini's life, as in the next picture. It gives you an idea of what the natives of this serene island went through when the Europeans came.

Devils always wear uniforms. And come with vehicles and weapons. And think they are right.

Another sad and horrific story, not from the past but now, just struck me here in the McDonald's in Hobart, in the newspaper I grabbed while Cori was reading her e-mails. Some student had run amok with a gun in Germany. Just a few weeks back, Australia had flagged half-mast to comemorate the victims of the Victorian bushfires. Now it is Germany that half-masts.

The Far South

We were blessed with five days of sunshine, and the idyllic serenity of Tasmania's Far South. Again, I think I can hardly put into words what magnificent scenery this island had in store for us. Look at the pictures, they tell you more than I can say.

And I did not even show you the pictures of the campfire, and of the full moon rising at the beach over the sea. So many things to open your heart and soul wide. It is a great pity, for me, that Cori is in love with that Australian boyfriend of hers in Adelaide. But she is very faithful, and he has nothing to worry about.

We have been to Southport, Tahune AirWalk, and Bruny Island. Now we are back to Hobart (my 3rd time!), and now, Saturday noon, the rain has started again.

Mum, dad: sorry, but my Internet access here doesn't allow to call you on Skype. It may be another two weeks until we can talk again... but as you can see I'm doing fine, and hope the same of you.

Mt. Fields NP and Strathgordon

Yesterday we went west from Hobart to see Mount Fields National Park. Nice 2-hour walk up to a lookout over the lake; sunny and blue skies. We also saw the beautiful waterfall near the park entrance.

The next day we continued that road until the end, where the big water reservoirs are -- they built 2 or 3 dams in the 1970s to create huge artificial lakes. It was a much disputed project at that time which ultimately led to the launch of the first green party. Much natural forest was lost when the lakes were flooded, but now these big lakes are pretty and are an ecosystem with its own value.

Cori and I get along well. She is witty and humorous, with camping experience, and so she's a very good travel companion.

Corinna

After two weeks on my own in the campervan, I have a new travel mate: please meet Corinna (Cori) who has just arrived from Berlin, Germany.

Cori is a great fan of Australia. She has kept coming back here for three times since 2006 -- first on a work and travel visa, now on a 12-month tourist visa like me. She especially likes Adelaide, but has travelled around almost everywhere except for Tasmania. So we can discover the rest of the "Treasure Island" together during the next one to two weeks.

Hobart

A nice city, just the right size. Hobart is the largest city in Tasmania and is the state capital, with a population of just 200,000. That gives you an idea of how rural Tassie is -- luckily. I personally find cities the size of Munich, Sydney or Melbourne oversized -- too crowded, too big, too traffic-digested, too loud and stressful.

What I find pleasant about Hobart is that there are no skyscrapers. 98% of the city is suburban bliss, the popular Australian type of one-storey houses. These houses go up the hills with a fair amount of green in between. There is enough space. And here in Hobart the houses look more colourful than elsewhere. The roofs are as multi-coloured as the houses themselves: even green and blue!

So I kind of like the city. However, Hobart doesn't seem to have a "face". I mean, there are many pretty corners here, but still it is difficult to take a good "photo of Hobart". In Sydney, you can easily take a photo of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. In Paris you'd go for the Eiffel Tower, in Rome for the Colosseum, in London for the Tower Bridge and in Augsburg for the Rathaus and Perlachturm. But in Hobart, I couldn't find a real landmark. They have a bridge, but that thing, I'm sorry to say, is butt ugly and spoils any picture, rather than adding to it.

--> This is me where I'm doing my Internet at a McDonald's restaurant!

Repairs

It shouldn't come as a surprise to me. There's always the risk of things breaking down when you buy a used car of that age and mileage. I already had to replace the battery and one headlamp; now I needed new brake pads (Bremsbacken). The old ones were completely worn down. I met a guy named Jacob who referred me to his dad Cliff, who helped me privately so I saved a few dollars on that repair, and got some advice from an expert. And the next repair is already looming: Cliff informed me I'll probably need a new clutch soon too. :(

I also gave the van a cleanup and did my laundry, for I'll have a guest from tomorrow -- more later!

Western Wilderness

The tourism slogan for Tasmania's west coast is "Western Wilderness", but the main thing why you should call it so is the fact that there is no McDonald's there for 200 km (hence no Internet for me), no mobile phone coverage, and the petrol, where available, is overpriced.

I met a lot of tourists since I started on my trip. Many from Australia, New Zealand, U.K., Germany, Netherlands, Austria; occasionally a French or an American. Of course it is interesting to chat and learn about each other's travel plans and experiences. You find anything from Aussies who are just on a four-day holiday, to overseas tourists who are on a three-week vacation, to people who have sold their houses and spend a year of sabbatical and/or life recharging in Down Under. I met young people but equally many pensioners of 60+ age who are travelling here in caravans (Wohnwagen), campervans (Campingbus), RVs (Wohnmobil), or in normal cars and sleep in tents or rooms.

The picture was taken in Rosebery, a whistle stop (Kaff) in which the only pub in town closes on Sundays at 8 p.m. So the five of us (a couple from the Netherlands and one from Alaska) ended up partying in my campervan...

Oh, and I have another animal photo to share with you. This is an Echidna (Ameisenigel). Kind of half-way between a hedgehog and a porcupine, and very cute the way it toddles along! :) I have also taken a video of the little fellow, maybe I'll get to upload it later.

I have arrived in Hobart.

Cradle Mountain

Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park is one of the best known attractions of Tasmania. You can camp or get accommodation at the entrance of the park. A shuttle bus takes you from the visitor centre into the park, where you can do a day hike, or half-day hike, to lakes and lookouts. Those who really seek a challenge can walk -- in small groups, properly equipped and registered -- the famous 6-day overland trek that takes them all through the huge national park.

I did a lovely short (3 hour) walk to Crater Lake, Marion's Lookout, Wombat Lake and back. After a very cold night (maybe 6-8°C) the day became sunny and warm, and again I found myself taking so many photos. This walk in quiet natural beauty and serenity was really good for the soul. There were people, but it was not overcrowded.

On the campsite I saw wallabys, and on the hike I saw a wombat. I also took a lot of photos of plants today -- button grass, pandani, myrtle beech, pink mountain berry, bauera, boronia, and a couple of others whose names I need to look up....










Oh, and I had the abalones tonight, and they were really very tasty.