Hi!
After my biking tour in the Barossa Valley around Adelaide, I met my new-made German and Swiss friends in the hostel for the last night together... We did a pingpong competition and I became second!:) The day afterwards, I catched the train again to go to Alice Springs. In the train were a lot of Dutch people, so I had no problem to feel bored because we started immediately to chat about Australia, and the Netherlands of course...
Arriving in Alice Springs, I must admit that I do not really like this town. It is REALLY in the middle of nowhere and it looks very 'Texas'... I went to bed quite early the first night because I had booked a tour next day. Had to wake up at 6am and got back at midnight... But it was worth it: I visited Uluru (the big red stone), the Olga's and we finished the day with a BBQ to see the sunset. We saw dingoes, kangaroos, camels,... And who did I meet again there??? The Dutch from the train of course!:) On this tour, I met a German girl from Freiburg, who was the type you should definitely not expect in the Australian outback!!! The poor girl got... homesick! I really don't get that...!:)
Yesterday was a day to be lazy and relax... Although I went for a walk along the Todd River. The first River I have seen in my life without water!!! But it was a lovely walk through the outback and at the end I climbed a mountain where I could admire a wonderful panorama...
Though I met another 500 Germans in Alice Springs, I never had to share my room with a German... I had shared my room every night with some people from France... The first night, it was some guy from Cannes, who was very nice. I chatted the whole evening with him about what to visit in New Zealand. He was already travelling 5 months in the South Pacific. When I got back from my tour next day, I saw some papers on my bed and he had made a map of New Zealand: what I certainly had to visit... That was sooo nice! He also left his email address to change some pictures after travelling. The next night, I was soooo tired, felt asleep immediately but another Frenchman from Paris woke me up at 01.00am because he was snorring as a lion!!! After 5 minutes, I stood up, woke him up, and said to him:" I am sooooo sorry, but you are snorring very loud... Can you please lay down on your belly?". He answerred:'Je vais l'essayer'... He stopped snorring for the rest of the night and I had a lovely sleep... I however think that he did not sleep
anymore, just focussing not to snor anymore!!! Poor fellow!!!:))) But the best is still to come...
... Yesterday night, another French man... A French movie maker, working most of the time for Arte. I thought: 'that is interesting...' But it was the type who is starting to discuss the MOST existential questions of life after 5 minutes of conversation... So after 15 minutes I asked what he was doing in Australia and if he liked it. He did not like it here at all and find all Aussies 'des Boeufs'... Apparently the water is very deep between adventurers and philosophers... Ok, that was it for me. I went after 20 minutes of discussion to a bar around to corner to ask some guy in that bar the most existential question of the night "how ya going, mate?". I returned to the hostel at 01.00am and hoped that the movie maker was asleep... I do not want to say that I hate philosophy or thinking about life, but I am here to have a great time and NOT to find out why I am living...:)
This evening I will take train, for the last time, to Darwin. Be glad for that because it was enough train... I planned to stay in Darwin for 1 week in total. I will first relax (will be about 35 degrees there!!!:))) ) and swim in the sea (if no crocodiles or not much crocodiles:))) ). In the second half of the week, I will go on a tour to the Kakadu national Park for 2 days and 1 day to Litchfield National Park. Afterwards, I wanted to travel to Cairns... Because the flight ticket Darwin-Cairns is about 500 dollars, which is the same price as a 4-day tour from Darwin to Cairns (accomodation and food included), I took the tour... The Swiss girls and a girlie from Berlin (I met her yesterday in the hostel) did that tour already and it would be THE MAX!:) Keep you posted...:)
Ruben
After my biking tour in the Barossa Valley around Adelaide, I met my new-made German and Swiss friends in the hostel for the last night together... We did a pingpong competition and I became second!:) The day afterwards, I catched the train again to go to Alice Springs. In the train were a lot of Dutch people, so I had no problem to feel bored because we started immediately to chat about Australia, and the Netherlands of course...
Arriving in Alice Springs, I must admit that I do not really like this town. It is REALLY in the middle of nowhere and it looks very 'Texas'... I went to bed quite early the first night because I had booked a tour next day. Had to wake up at 6am and got back at midnight... But it was worth it: I visited Uluru (the big red stone), the Olga's and we finished the day with a BBQ to see the sunset. We saw dingoes, kangaroos, camels,... And who did I meet again there??? The Dutch from the train of course!:) On this tour, I met a German girl from Freiburg, who was the type you should definitely not expect in the Australian outback!!! The poor girl got... homesick! I really don't get that...!:)
Yesterday was a day to be lazy and relax... Although I went for a walk along the Todd River. The first River I have seen in my life without water!!! But it was a lovely walk through the outback and at the end I climbed a mountain where I could admire a wonderful panorama...
Though I met another 500 Germans in Alice Springs, I never had to share my room with a German... I had shared my room every night with some people from France... The first night, it was some guy from Cannes, who was very nice. I chatted the whole evening with him about what to visit in New Zealand. He was already travelling 5 months in the South Pacific. When I got back from my tour next day, I saw some papers on my bed and he had made a map of New Zealand: what I certainly had to visit... That was sooo nice! He also left his email address to change some pictures after travelling. The next night, I was soooo tired, felt asleep immediately but another Frenchman from Paris woke me up at 01.00am because he was snorring as a lion!!! After 5 minutes, I stood up, woke him up, and said to him:" I am sooooo sorry, but you are snorring very loud... Can you please lay down on your belly?". He answerred:'Je vais l'essayer'... He stopped snorring for the rest of the night and I had a lovely sleep... I however think that he did not sleep
anymore, just focussing not to snor anymore!!! Poor fellow!!!:))) But the best is still to come...
... Yesterday night, another French man... A French movie maker, working most of the time for Arte. I thought: 'that is interesting...' But it was the type who is starting to discuss the MOST existential questions of life after 5 minutes of conversation... So after 15 minutes I asked what he was doing in Australia and if he liked it. He did not like it here at all and find all Aussies 'des Boeufs'... Apparently the water is very deep between adventurers and philosophers... Ok, that was it for me. I went after 20 minutes of discussion to a bar around to corner to ask some guy in that bar the most existential question of the night "how ya going, mate?". I returned to the hostel at 01.00am and hoped that the movie maker was asleep... I do not want to say that I hate philosophy or thinking about life, but I am here to have a great time and NOT to find out why I am living...:)
This evening I will take train, for the last time, to Darwin. Be glad for that because it was enough train... I planned to stay in Darwin for 1 week in total. I will first relax (will be about 35 degrees there!!!:))) ) and swim in the sea (if no crocodiles or not much crocodiles:))) ). In the second half of the week, I will go on a tour to the Kakadu national Park for 2 days and 1 day to Litchfield National Park. Afterwards, I wanted to travel to Cairns... Because the flight ticket Darwin-Cairns is about 500 dollars, which is the same price as a 4-day tour from Darwin to Cairns (accomodation and food included), I took the tour... The Swiss girls and a girlie from Berlin (I met her yesterday in the hostel) did that tour already and it would be THE MAX!:) Keep you posted...:)
Ruben
