Australia: Land of Contrasts

Herrrow my dear friends

(Written in Santiago de Chile, Chile)
The following takes place between the 5th of February and the 6th of April in a land far from home, called Australia, and is destined for all of you who don't understand a single word of my previous epistles. Alas, and that's as far as my poetical intentions are going, due to a lack of time and want I will focus back on prose and try to handle this difficult task, that is summarising such a beautiful trip in such a big country.

To me Australia was majestically amazing. For many people Australia is a rather easy country to travel in with all its travel agencies, overall tourist signs and organised bus tours, but sometimes easy can be nice and nice is good and it can even be an adventure in itself trying to make it not to be so easy. Some might say real backpackers don't go to Australia, because all you see are English sassy ladies with pink trolleys. However, to me it gives me more an excuse of laughing my guts out. And the last accusation contains that Australia is related with nothing but beaches, surfers and 'Neighbours'. As far as I'm concerned I love beaches, I've got a craving for surfers and yes I confess I used to be a 'Neighbours' fan. But as you will read very soon Australia is a lot more than that, hence the title: Land of Contrasts.

My journey started in Sydney, the so called capital of Australia, but as we all know (?) it is of course Canberra. Sydney, a big modern global city was quite shocking after my encounter with a poor and back to basics Indonesia, but together with its hot showers it found soon enough a place in my heart. This city offered culture, an overwhelming atmosphere and even a slice of nature in the Botanic Gardens that create a home to gigantic fruit bats, wombats and Kookaburras. After watching a singing and dancing Sweeny Todd in the Royal Opera House, we got a lift with a friend from Belgium and we drove off to fancy Melbourne.

Australian hospitality got us by surprise and soon we ended up at horse races, having dinner on a boat, watching penguins running out of the ocean and driving on the Great Ocean Road. Melbourne with its tiny streets, vintage shops and packed bars is to my opinion a nicer and more colourful city to live in than Sydney. However, I am aware that it couldn't be quite possible without the intervention of our new Aussie friends: Anna, Simon, James and Jade. Special thanks goes to them who turned Melbourne into a roaring rollercoaster! And of course thank you Lieve, whom without we would never have met them in the first place!

Soon Babs and I were heading for a farewell at the west coast. We took some time apart to experience the life of a solo traveller. Quickly it turned out that such a thing simply doesn't exist. After another welcoming stay with Megan, Andrew, Dean, Simon and Jennifer with whom I had a most relaxing day cruising the Swan River in Perth I took the bus up north to watch dolphins, meet a prince at Hutt River Province (a small independent principality in Oz), walk through a Mars shaped landscape called the Pinnacles, experience the joy of sand boarding and have a Boa Constrictor on my head. All this was accompanied by my new cool lady friends: Kaya, Catherine and Lisa.

Again I had to conquer some painful goodbyes, but the knowledge that good friends keep in touch made it all more bearable. By the beginning of March I saw a completely other side of Australia than I was used to so far. No more beaches, but plain, suffocating, red desert. Alice Springs was the home of the Aboriginals and gave me at first a creepy, dodgy and rather smelly feeling. In the end I realised how mythical and serene Kings Canyon was and that Uluru wasn't just a big red rock. Watching the blue sky fading into the red rocks of the valley struck me and made me aware of Australia's beautiful and breath taking colours.

From Cairns I started a long trip down south that looked quite intimidating at first, but soon appeared to be a journey full of unexpected encounters, great international parties and my first surf lesson. If I wasn't careful I would completely transform into an Aussie surf chick (dixit my surf instructor). The east coast was busy and relaxing at the same time and made me see things I've never seen before. Diving the Great Barrier Reef for example was in my fresh year of diving immediately a big adventure. I had the honour of meeting two sharks, shake hands with a huge clam and play a game of sea cucumber! But as 80% of the Australian population lives near the ocean, it must need something else than a wonder under the water surface as well. Sailing the Whitsundays, a beautiful group of exotic white beach islands, was not the Honeymoon experience I expected. On the contrary I made new friends on a beautiful intimate timber yacht while I stuffed myself with fresh shrimps and fabulous Italian food! As the ultimate touristic highlight I cruised on the biggest Sand Island in the world with a 4WD jeep, where we camped on the beach, didn't swim in the ocean (due to the presence of sharks) and had to pee with a dingo buddy!

After enjoying beautiful and upmarket Noosa and twisting my back while surfing in Byron Bay it was time to head back to where it all had started: Sydney. The powerful city delivered me an ambiguous feeling of regret and happiness at the same time. Regret to leave such an amazing and feel good country, but happiness to meet all my old friends again: Kaya, Catherine, Lisa, Murray, Kiki, Juliana, Flavio and Michele and happiness that was caused by all the brilliant memories this country had given me. You win some, you loose some. And I was still winning: I was flying to New Zealand with warm luggage in my head (and unfortunately heavy on my back)!