Across Australia
in 80 days
November 2000 till January 2001

Australia Tour - Part 4 - the South-East
Launched, January 8, 2001 - Links update, January 21, 2005
Ronald Langereis - Amsterdam

links

maps and tools                            Nederlandse versie

Tourism.net.au SE Australia NE Australia Flags & Facts Alice South Australia Adelaide links Kangaroo Island Aussie Links ANZwers

Tourism Net of Australia - all states - extensive overview Map Australia SE: Adelaide, Kangaroo Island, Melbourne, Sydney Map Australia NE: Queensland, Fraser Island, Great Barrier Reef Flags & Facts on Australia - and on every country in the world Alice Springs - official site All Australia Tourism Information - huge picture libraries Adelaide - Link site to major local sites and information Tour of Kangaroo Island on-line Andrea and Phil's Aussie Links A very apt search engine for Australia and New-Zealand

links

Petra's report

Alice outback Adelaide gardens Flinders Ranges Wilpena Pound Adelaide desert Barossa Valley wines Adelaide Kangaroo Island beaches sea-lions seal rocks seals koalas possums goannas reptiles kangaroos Chris's roo special ocean Grampians Melbourne Great Ocean Road Twelve Apostles ocean Great Ocean Road fatalities Melbourne VR Amsterdam + RijksMuseum + Municipal Mus. + Van Gogh Mus. bushwalk Wilson’s Promont. gum trees rainforest VR Melbourne Australia Sydney 3 Sisters Legend Blue Mountains Brisbane Tasmania Sydney Melbourne

And then I flew from Alice to Adelaide, a town abounding in parks. From there I went to Flinders Ranges (a national park), straight on, and climbed Wilpena Pound, which is situated at more than 400km - 250m north of Adelaide (I'd all but returned to the desert). But I drove to the Barossa Valley as well, where I tasted an enormous variety of wines and liquors. Then to the south of Adelaide, Kangaroo Island. That was really a great experience. I walked on beaches among sea-lions, on rocky shores I passed between seals, stood under trees with koalas, and many a possum I saw, and goannas, snakes and all kinds of reptiles and indeed, kangaroos which I saw even fighting each other. The ocean here has a towering swell, by times the surf is 4-5 meters - 12-15ft high. One of my tour mates all but drowned in it and three people together could hardly save him. I felt rather shocked for a while. Then on to the east, at first to the Grampians (a national park with mountains like alps) and then on again to Melbourne by the Great Ocean Road. I visited the famous Twelve Apostles (10 pillars of rock standing out in the sea; the missing two have not been washed away, they never existed). The ocean here has a tremendous power and that's why they're busy moving the Great Ocean Road further inland. The surf is eroding the foot of the rock beneath it to a degree that it's getting dangerous to walk by the edge of the cliffs. It's quite astonishing to learn how many people get actually killed here. They drown, are blown from the cliffs, and suffer fatal accidents by speeding on dirt roads. Every week I keep hearing about fatalities on parts of the route I've just left behind me. And then, Melbourne. I grant the city my ample attention. I like it here and it makes me remember Amsterdam. However, I won't forgo making a bushwalk of 40km - 25m, in full kit, across Wilson's Promontory. Nature here is absolutely magnificent, woods of gum trees, rainforest, and white sand beaches along a deep blue sea. In Melbourne I keep running into lots of people I know, each and every day, all of them tour mates I've met in all parts of Australia. I can hardly belief it. But it always feels great to see them back again and share our latest experiences. And on then, to Sydney. I've arranged to have a number of interviews there with different companies before Christmas. But still I made a trip into the Blue Mountains. Tomorrow I'll venture to Brisbane, also to have an interview there with a company. At the end of this week I'll decide what to do with the time still remaining. I'ld love to see Tasmania, also, but there'll be only a chance to go there, if I'm under no obligation to return to Sydney, or Melbourne, for that matter. So, where I'll spend my Christmas, is still an open question. Anyway, I do wish you a very merry Christmas and a very happy and prosperous 2001. So long Petra

Across Australia - next pages
Part 1 - The South-West   |   Part 2 - The North-West   |   Part 3 - The Red Centre
Part 5 - Brisbane ~ Fraser Island   |   Part 6 - Noosa ~ Tasmania   |   Part 7 - Tasmania ~ Sydney

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