Tag Archives: holidays

Brisbane

My impression about Brisbane, capital of Queensland, was pleasant and nice even though it was very hot. For the first time, I changed my mind about cycling somewhere over the mountain nearby because of the heat so I walked instead. Now I understand the people from Brisbane I met in Tasmania who wanted to stay away from the heat.

The city used to be a huge cowboy town with a serious lack of culture (at least that’s what I’ve heard about it), so they decided in invest in culture. With all these museums, galleries and other stuff (I like this word as it can fit almost anywhere), it seems that Brisbane increased the average Australian’s culture by about two hundred percent.

The South Bank is a great place to chill out, to walk, to look thoughtfully around or to enjoy a swim; especially at night with the amazing lights.

And of course, I went to the botanic gardens and spent some time looking at the mangroves and a massive ficus benjamina.

I wish I had more time to visit Brisbane, but it was only a stopover between the Whitsunday coast and the Australian Capital Territory, so it seems that I will have to come again.

Balls Brisbane CBD
Trees Trunk
Weird branches Ice Tea

And the mangrove:
Mangrove mangrove tree

City roos Kangaroo and Queensland bottle tree:
City roos Kangaroo

(in)competent crew!

I got my boating and sailing passport filled and I am officially a competent crew. This means I am now a real beginner and I hope I will always consider myself as it; whatever experience I will acquire. Many thanks to Willo for the course and those great tips!

We had almost no wind during these days so it was very easy to sail (3 to 5 knots) compared to the introduction course.

Also, the world is so strange: some parts of Hook Island in the Whitsunday somewhat reminded me Norway.

I celebrated this success in Airlie beach lagoon! I want to sail to the islands now 🙂

boat Blue rocks on Hook Island
BBQ onboard Hook Island
Clip overboard Airlie Beach lagoon

Mackay

I stopped in Mackay for a day and did not find it especially exciting; most people seem to do a stop-over on their way as I did.

Surrounded by those typical tyre repair stores found in general in bigger cities’ suburbs, the centre is about one block and a half where it is difficult to find any food after 7:00 PM.

The botanic gardens are recent and some parts still under construction; also they are very close to the highway from Darwin to Cairns. Since I visited Rockhampton’s gardens first, I guess it’s normal to be somewhat disappointed with these, so let’s give them a few years to grow and absorb urban noise.

At least the weather and the pool at the motel were enjoyable.

Take a trip to paradise

I need to know where we should go to show I’ll always love you.
Unfortunately, there’s no you at the moment and paradise is expensive.

It could be called Great Keppel Island, an island enjoying a tropical climate where hiking trails and beaches are numerous. Thus it is a great place to chill out, walk a bit, relax on a beach, swim, then walk on again.

The Great Keppel Island Holiday Village (YHA), also known as the quiet alternative, was one of the best place where I stayed in Aussie; they offer original accommodation where the pleasure of camping meets the comfort of a real bed.

Tend and bed Great Keppel Island

In such a place, we feel out of time.

Tree Tree

Sea creatures and sunset over the continent:
Coral Jellyfish
jellyfish Sunset over the mountains and the sea

The Island is reachable by a ferry boat from Yeppoon and, if you are fortunate, a landing strip allows small aircrafts to land.

Wind Wave on the beach

Beef and reef

Rockhampton is the Australian beef capital and since it’s located near the great barrier reef, many stores call themselves beef ‘n’ reef something. The CBD and city are somewhat strange but it was the cheapest place where I bought a fresh can of Coke. Some parks close at 4:00 PM and the big shopping mall at 5:30.

But I would recommend anyone to stop in Rockhampton to visit the botanic gardens which are definitely worth a visit. The people in charge made an excellent work. Rockhampton is also the gateway to the Great Keppel Island, a place to hike along the trails between beaches where it is great to relax or swim in the coral sea and is not the home of those deadly stinger jellyfishes.

Coconut araceae Sausage tree
Japanese gardens Black swan
More botanic gardens photos…

Then, I left for a day tour focused on reptiles, spiders, kangaroos, ants and other animals with Capricorn Dave, a fantastic original tour for a walkabout. Jackass Wildboyz seemed to enjoy the tour as well, so if you are in the area I highly recommend you to spend some time with Dave. Let’s have a look at the pictures.

Spider Snake
Lizard Poisonous frog from South America, a disaster
Around here...

To finish, this is me, looking still on the water, but in fact jumping into it; we had no german tourist around to check if the area was crocodile free…
me on water

Vancouver, here I come!

Booked my flights 🙂

From: Luxembourg (LUX), Sunday, october 30th 10:40
To: Frankfurt Int’l (FRA), Sunday, october 30th 11:30

From: Frankfurt Int’l (FRA), Sunday, october 30th 12:25
To: Vancouver Int’l (YVR), Sunday, october 30th 13:50

From: Vancouver Int’l (YVR), Sunday, october 13th 11:10
To: Trudeau (YUL), Montreal, Canada, Sunday october 13th 18:54

From: Trudeau (YUL), Montreal, Canada, Friday, october 18th 18:40
To: Frankfurt Int’l (FRA), Saturday november 19th 08:00

From: Frankfurt Int’l (FRA), Saturday, November 19th 09:20
To: Luxembourg (LUX), Saturday, November 19th 10:00

If you travel on the same flight(s), we could discuss a bit 🙂