Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Gippsland - Back to Nature <2009.07.04>

Escaping the busy city life can`t be easier then here in Melbourne.

Just one our drive to the south east and you reached the Mornington Peninsula which is an complete different world. Long quiet beaches, lush wine gardens, rough cliff costs and plenty of "no worries"!!!

That`s the start of our trip along the south-east coast to Sydney - the so called Gipps Land.




Mornington Town is famous for its colorful beach huts which will come alive during summer seasons and give a great scenery during the sleepy winter months.





The weather is in general better than in the city - even it rains, it won`t last long!





Reaching the end of the peninsula, you will find Sorento with its great cliff zones - the London Bridge - which are compareable with the more famous Great Ocean Road.





But here with the advantage to have everyting for yourself and direct beach access - hard to find at the GOR.





Heading further east we crossed to border finaly to New South Wales (NSW) with its capital Sydney. Still hundreds of kilometers to go - which gives us time to soak up the rural areas and beach zones along the coast lines.



Must stops we took at the Waling City of Eden - really a small garden Eden









The historical town - Tilba Tilba





Finally reaching our overnight spot - Durras Lake North.
Here you at mother natures nap - sleeping within the National Park, surrounded by kangaroohs, oposum, birds & flying foxes!!!








Around Depot & Pebbley Beach you can always meet the friendly & relaxed roos waiting to be shot - of course by photo only ;-)












Its Time to Hop On

JUST THE 2 OF US … <2009.6.30>

… we can make it if we try – just the two of us, you and I!

Inspired by this song, led by a strong will and huge cup of adventure spirit – my girlfriend Carmen decided to take a break too and join me now on OUR travel.



I am more than grateful for that and looking forward for a real great time together to explore the rest of the world! The stars already forecast us a good fortune:



(Translation of Carmen`s fortune telling on the day of departure: LOVE: Sometimes you have to travel far to realize how close you are to someone. Try it out!)

So here we are - at the beginning of a 5 monhts trip, starting here at Melbourne in Australia.



Let`s explore the city!

Melbourne has so many facet`s it`s hard to decide where to start. So we took the tourist shuttle which stops at ALL sights.
From the war memorial ...





and the Botanical Garden ...



via the center point of the city - the Federation Square ...





with its impressive St. Pauls Cathedral ...





to the Fitzroy gardens - with the original birth house of Captain Cook ...



the National Libary ...



and finaly the new developed Waterfront City



Impressive are the combinations of ancient & modern, strict & crazy which you can find in good harmony at every corner







Finishing this day with dinner with our friends and hosts Nong & Thanthep at one of the hipe restaurants at Brunswick street.





The next day led to Melbournes prime beach area - St. Kilda. Not only famous for its nice beach, as well for good food (specially sweets & bakery) and bustling bars on the weekends.





One of the hidden gems are the pinguins which can be found even in this area...



The round up our Melbourne experience we visited the highest building in Melbourne - the worlds highest rural building (only flats) - the EUREKA building. With its 300m height, you have a breathtaking few over the city and its suburbs.





And for the absolut thrill - you can try the CUBE - which is an horizontal glas elevator, which transports you outside of the building to let you "fly" over the city!





Together in 7th heaven