Across Australia
in 80 days
November 2000 till January 2001

Australia Tour - Part 5 - Brisbane ~ Fraser Island
Launched, January 14, 2001 - Links update, January 21, 2005
Ronald Langereis - Amsterdam

links

mail

Sydney airport Amsterdam airport City of Sydney Nederlandse versie

Dear all In the meanwhile I'm back in Sydney again and my trip is almost done. Within 24 hours I'll be at the airport for the last time, bound for Amsterdam. It's hurting me quite a lot. To say good-bye to the summer and to such freedom and outdoor living. And also, to a number of now dear friends. At the request of many I'll try to make a quick draft of my travel-story, part 2, tonight. A sequel to Sydney where I still happened to be staying some days before Christmas. Petra

links

maps and tools

NE Australia SE Australia Flags & Facts Brisbane Marvellous Shots Nicolas's Roundtrip Fraser Island Fraser Topics ANZwers

Map Australia NE: Queensland, Fraser Island Map Australia SE: Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Tasmania Flags & Facts on Australia - and on every country in the world Brisbane - Queensland: Official site Carl Nigel Gray - Brisbane Pan Project - Fireworks - Snapshots Nicolas Maufrais, formerly from Caen - now Paris, France Fraser Island Tourist Information - Fairfax Walkabout Fraser Island - Extensive Description with some bold pics A very apt search engine for Australia and New-Zealand

links

Petra's report

Sydney Brisbane botanical garden South Bank river (webcam) crafts market Sydney Melbourne Tasmania Brisbane Fraser Island island of sand Brisbane Zoo lakes Eurong resort Lake McKenzie Lake Wabby Eli Creek Maheno wreck shipwrecks 4WD plane Fraser Island beach insects goannas dingoes venomous snakes Eli Creek

From Sydney I set out for Brisbane. This is a nice town with a cute botanical garden and a very children-friendly South Bank, a stretch of parkland along the river with lots of palm trees, tiny beaches, promenades, cafes and restaurants and also a lively crafts market. These are very common. Everyone here is being creative and selling home-made products. However, my true reason for being here is to meet with a couple of Dutchmen who are busy starting their own business. It engenders a very special evening, that I'm remembering with intense pleasure. Phantastic people doing wonderful things in a paradisiac environment. That's what I'ld love to. And shortly after this visit it'll be Christmas. I can't see a reason to return to Sydney or Melbourne and I'm trying to book a trip to Tasmania. Eventually I succeed, but with endless effort and for too much money. The time that remains I spend in the Brisbane region. It'll be Fraser Island for Christmas. This is one of the largest sand islands in the world (120x15km - 75x9m). It consists completely of sand, but for a couple of rocks here and there, and its location is about two hundred kilometers - 125m - north of Brisbane. But don't be mistaken. There are woods there also, and lakes and rainforests. I let myself in for a Christmas time treat in a resort. They've several swimming pools and a spa, enough to dine and wine and a variety of guests from everywhere on the planet. But it takes more to keep me grounded, as you may know. I travel around the greater part of the island and enjoy the many lakes (Lake McKenzie and Lake Wabby), Eli Creek and the Maheno wreck. There have been lots of shipwrecks along Australia's coasts and the rusty hulks have developed into major tourist attractions. The only ways of transport on the island are by 4WD and by plane. I'm travelling by 4WD myself and sharing the way with the planes. At times there really is such a crowd of vehicles, the only thing to do is wait. For traffic the beach is the only road space available. The rest you'll be glad to avoid. Temperatures are near 40 degrees all of the time and the last rains have been long since. Besides, the tide is up now and on the beach there hardly is any room left for driving. That asks for some darn smart manoeuvering. For the rest there are many insects, goannas and last but not least dingoes. They use to come out in the night. But one morning I saw them near the pool toying with a snake. And then, of course, it was Christmas time. Though I must say, to observe people in red Santa caps splashing around in a lake or in Eli Creek is rather weird. Or Christmas garlands around a swimming pool, for that matter.

Across Australia - next pages
Part 1 - The South-West   |   Part 2 - The North-West   |   Part 3 - The Red Centre
Part 4 - The South-East   |   Part 6 - Noosa ~ Tasmania   |   Part 7 - Tasmania ~ Sydney

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