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You can lose everything, but nobody will take away what you saw and what you experienced...
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Mar 04, 2010 07:00 PM Kangaroo Island to Adelaide...
Sometimes it pays to be a senior... Regional airline gives substantial discount for the seniors and do not ask for the Australian concession card. The flight was one hour delayed but arrived and I was flying 20 minutes from tiny Kangaroo Island to Adelaide. In the Adelaide Airport I got for free the map of the city and few other booklets - it is not like in Santiago...
City buses J1 and J2 go from the airport to the centre. But here I am already not a senior since I do not have the card - means if I am not Australian citizen. You have to pay hefty 2.70 AUD for the ride and in the peak hours after 3 pm even as much as 4.40 AUD! But it is worth to know that the transfer to the other line in the city center is included.
Adelaide is a festival city - festival in on now. In the evening there is plenty of open-air music and on the main street I was watching what they call Northern Lights - a colorful, changing every few minutes iluminations of the main historical buildings. Australian Disneyland...
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Mar 03, 2010 07:00 PM Sea lions, fur seals, wallabies... Where are the kangaroos?
Every day at around 8 am the tour bus of Sealink company starts its route to the highlights of Kangaroo Island. Full day tour with the entrance fees and lunch included coul be booked by their office in Kingscote or by the hotel in the waterfront. I joined them - it is the last expensive solution for the single traveller... At the begining I visited eucalyptus oil farm (you will see a lot of eucalyptus trees in whole Australia, koalas like them too!). Then we went to the Seal Bay where I was surprised by the presence of Australian Sea Lions. Last time I saw them in Galapagos... Visit to the beach is with a ranger and in the group only but it was still very rewarding. They do not allow to come them 10 m to the animals - you have to bring good zoom to catch them... After a lunch we attended the bird show - funny place with falcon, laughing kokaburras and the eagle playing the main roles...
Magnificent Rocks staying on the stone monolith rising just on the coast remind me Rodes Matopos Park in Zimbabwe - is is hard to see similar place and they are well worth to visit. Then the bus took us to Cape du Couedic with the high lighthouse. But to see the real attractions of this place you have to walk down to the ocean it is like 20 min walk down.
There is Admirals Arch - like a giant natural tunnel under the rock. On both sides of the arch there are colonies of New Zealand fur seals...
But where are the kangaroos of Kangaroo Island? They sleep in the heat of the day and came out in the evenings. Yes, I saw and took a picture of the lovely family at the sunset time...
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Mar 02, 2010 07:00 PM Kangaroo Island
I am on the Kangaroo Island in South Australia, staying in The Kangaroo Island Central Backpackers in the little town of Kingscote - just 25 AUD per dormitory bed.
Blue sky, some 26 deg Celsius during the day. I saw falready first wallabies and kangaroos, but they have here more wildlife, even little penguins...
The island is beautiful and few people live here. The gateway to Kangaroo Island is Adelaide. You can either take from this city a bus and then a ferry to land in Penneshaw (they have youth hostel there) or to take 20-minute flight from Adelaide to Kingscote. Kingscote is in my opinion better place to stay, since it is more central. No public transport on the 120-kms long island - can you imagine? I intended to rent a car but let you know that it is not New Zealand where you will find many competing companies: it is only Hertz and Budget and they charge 70 AUD per day with free 100 kms - for extra km you must pay extra. Sorry - not good offer for a single backpacker... The island is too big to walk all over the way to the attractions and the tiny traffic goes only to the settlements, not to the distant lighthouses and national parks - so the hitchhiking is also risky. Should I take an organized tour?
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Mar 01, 2010 07:00 PM I have my Japan Rail Pass!
Still in Australia I have to think about my onward travel. For Japan I need unlimited travel railpass. It is available only abroad. Few places offes this pass - you can buy it mostly in the bit cities around the world, where Japan has its travel offices. I decided to apply in Sydney. First news was bad - I found Japan Airlines Office, but they say that they sell the pass only to those who travel to Japan with JAL. I do not! They sent me to the JNTO office - Japan National Tourist Organization. Sorry... It is open only two days each week in the afternoon. Not today! Finally I found the third office: JTB - Japan Travel Bureau and thel sold me the pass. Two weeks of unlimited travel for 579 AUD - in the expensive Japan it is great deal!
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Feb 28, 2010 07:00 PM Why I do not like Sydney now...
It is a joke of course... I still think that Sydney is one of the most beautiful natural ports in the world... But... The street traffic discriminates the pedestrians. So many cars. You push the button of traffic light and you wait, wait, wait... Then I paid 4 AUD for the loaf of the bread. Expensive! Dear Australia please come to Poland and you will get three times more of tasty bread for that amount of money!
Unfortunately this was a cloudy day. I started my walk to the well-known places from the El Alamein fountain in the King Cross, then old wharf, St Mary's Cathedral on the edge of Domain Park. It was already raining there... Almost all monuments of Sydney are located along Macquarrie St - just go along and you will see St james Church, The Mint, Parliament and Library.
But the pearl of Sydney is of course at the far end of this street - this is famous Sydney Opera House... I was climbing to the high Harbour Bridge to take the best - aerial picture of the opera. You can also climb the pylon (tower of the bridge) for 9.50 AUD - I decided it is not worth. Long walk - partly in the rain. It was already darl when I took the bus 323 for 2 dollars to come back to King Cross...
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Feb 27, 2010 07:00 PM Time to say goodbye to Kiwilandia...
To be back in the Auckland airport at 1 pm I started from Tongariro at 7 am. Oh my poor legs! After yesterday's trek they require a long rest. But that is normal...
On Sunday morning the roads were almost completly empty and I reached the airport on time. Do not forget to fill up the petrol before returning the car - other wise they will charge from your card extra money!
Then it was the time to say goodbye to New Zealand.
After 4 hours in the air I safely landed in the cloudy Sydney. Welcome to Australia! Declade again all the food you are bringing! The custom officer was very tolerant - he let me go with my can of sardines and dried soups /it is my emergency food/. Train from the airport to the King Cross station in the center cost hefty 15,80 AUD !!! For 19 AUD you can easily find the dormitory bed in one of many backpackers accommodations.
I was already in Sydney - some 22 years ago... Not many changes, except the prices rising up... An hour of internet in the street cafe costs 5 australian dollars in the centre but in the backpackers quarter of King Cross you can find the place for 2 dollars/hour... I pray for the better weather for tomorrow...
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Feb 26, 2010 07:00 PM Tongariro Alpine Crossing - done!
The strong sun was rising when we boarded the bus (30 NZD round trip) to the trailhead. Tongariro Alpine Crossing has an opinion to be the nicest and the most popular day trek in New Zealand. The path takes you to the pass between two sleeping volcanoes. They say that the path is 19,5 kms long but in the mountains is is better to define the trail by hours of walk - it takes 7 to 9 hours to complete the trek.
Yes, I must tell you that it require a lot off effort (especially climbing "Devil's Staircase") but it is worth such en effort. Views are great and I will bring beautifull pictures from this trail. We had excellent weather and visibility. There are also beautiful Emerald Lakes on the way...
After 8 hours on the trail I rached the parking place where the bus was waiting for us. I am happy I did it - it is one of the nicest trekking routes I was walking in my life...
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Feb 25, 2010 07:00 PM New Zealand - Lake Taupo
I was driving again via Napier to the picturesque Lake Taupo. Weather was fine so the lake was deep blue with the green hills on the horizon. Imagine the lake 30 kms long. There is a river going out of the lake. Some 5 kms out of the Taupo town there are Huka Waterfalls where 100-metre wide river is squized into 11-metre wide stone gorge. Down the gorge it is again 100 - meterts wide and silent... Very nice place! In the evening I reached Tongariro National Park village. There is only one backpackers accommodation - youth hostel. I keep the fingers crossed for tomorrow's weather. It is time to hike the volcanoes!
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Feb 24, 2010 07:00 PM Morning in the Cathedral Cove
Today we started journry at the sunrise time - crossing Coromandel Peninsula in about an hour. On the other side of the peninsula there is famous Cathedral Cove - little bay with a paradise beach surrounded by caves and rocky cliffs.
Walk to the cove from the parking area takes about 40 minutes. Scenery is beautiful - a lot of high fern trees, birds and the voice of the waves... Once on site you will see that there are in fact two little beaches divided by the rock with a huge hole (like a hall) inside - That's probably the "cathedral".
It was cloudy morning but the place was definitely worth to see. Then I drove the Pacific Coast Highway - long road going along the coast to the south. I passed KitaKita on the way. Again many great views on the way and a passage through the gorge to Gisborne, where I will spend a night. 8 hours driving - I need a rest!
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Feb 23, 2010 07:00 PM Picturesque Coromandel Peninsula
If you are looking at the map of the world it seems that New Zealan is a small country. But in fact two main islands are big and you will drive hundereds of kilometers to get from end to end. Today I spent more then 7 hours driving from the Bay of Islands via Aucklend to the Coromandel Peninsula.
Fuel cost here 1,73 NZD per litre so you spend some 10 NZD to drive 100 kms plus rental fee. Speed limit 100 km/h
There was nice waterfalls on the route and great viev of Auckland from the Bay Bridge. In Coromandel City - little, tiny township I stay in the Youth Hostel paying 54 NZD for the twin room - quite a good deal in this expensive country!.
Coromandel is very picturesque - the coastal road goes to the turquoise bays, climbing also green hills with the herds of cows. I regret that I did not plan to stay here longer then one day - there are nice trekking trails through the mountains - you will know - it is one of the most picturesque areas in New Zealand.
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