Ok it's high time for a tale in english as i've been asked to. I must confess i was a bit lazy but we met so many nice people on our trip over Oz that i don't have much choice and that's a good way to thank them.
After 5 months in Asia, we were quite happy to find some western way of life and actually quite excited to discover the world down under. We stayed a week or so in Sydney in a crappy but cheap backpack with an amazing view all over the Botanic Gardens and the Domains, free bread and free rice : we couldn't complain!!! That was a rainy and lazy week. Only three or four sunny days : just enough to get a tan at Bondi Beach (in oder to admire some fit and skilled surfers), to wander around the wide avenues, the historical Rocks (sorry guys but this looks so new for europeans like us!!!), the Darling Harbour, to take a picture of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, etc. We met loads of frenchies!!! Good fun with three of them sharing soccer games, happy hours at the Bourbon in Kings Cross, magic menus at Hungry Jacks...
We reached Melbourne in 10 hours by train. Sunny at last but not that warm. After looking for three beds in a backpack without any success, we felt a bit depressed and most of all knackered. Just one of this shit day when nothing is working properly... Francois'relatives were our savors as they welcomed us in their house in a northern suburb, with a dish of lasagna!!!
Melbourne was the place to meet some far-related cousins for Francois and me. We had never met them before and we got in touch only a couple of weeks before our arrival in Victoria State. We didn't even know them but as they use to say over there : "No worries!!!" and they hosted us alternately during two weeks.
On Francois'side : Janilla and Franco were incredibly kind and available as they helped us a lot looking for our van with both mechanical and administrative advices. Alex their 24-year-old son drove us around to discover the boho atmosphere of Brunswick Street, hanging out his favourite places such as the Tote where the local bands hit the gig (he is by the way the brand new bassist of one of those bands!!!). Giorgia their 10-year-old daughter who taught the guys some new english words while playing "Junior Scrabble" or "Who is it?". We loved sharing either french dishes, italian meals or BBQ with them, driving for a walk to Hanging Rock with Franco or shopping at Victoria Market with Janilla.Thanks a lot for your hospitality !!! We had such a good fun with you and your friends !!! (Thanks Loretta for your magic scissors and my new hair cut...)
On my side : Paul and mum-to-be Fiona fascinated us with their mountaineering experience (they climbed the Everest summit and some others all around the world). Quite impressive and very interesting!!! We met also Rebecca (Paul's sister), John (Paul's dad) and Mary for a dinner and tasted our first Pavlova. We had a swim in the Brighton Baths with Mary "the Iceberg" : it was like having a pool in the ocean... They showed us around Brighton Beach, St Kilda and we had a greedy escape to South Melbourne Market. We shared a barbie, a dive in their pool, a walk with their dogs Zack and Zoey and a jog for Greg (he was brave enough to jog with Paul : he felt like he had lost his knees and lungs...). Thanks a lot for everything!!! We spent an awesome time over your place!!! And since the 1st of February, there is a new addition to the family : a lovely girl named Bianca Jane. Congratulations !!! Guess she'll be a traveller and a hiker just like her lucky parents...
We kinda fell under the charm of Melbourne (and it is not only to please you Alex!!!) : walking along the Yarra River, enjoying good exhibitions, supporting Tsonga in the Rod Laver Arena, feeling the cosmopolitan atmosphere all around, etc. We were aware that living the real australian way of life with our families had something to do with it but still...
We also spent hours on internet and in backpacks looking for a magic van. That was long and sometimes even depressing but we finally found our "home sweet home"!!! Name : Karmela - Colour : blue - Year : 1983 - Make : Mitsubischi L300 Express (not a joke) - Style : hippy chic with curtains and flowers. Fully equiped : cuttlery, cooker, table, matress, boxes, esky, masks and snorkels, fly nets, tools box... I do know we made Janilla and Franco laugh a lot and worry at the same time. But after two weeks, it was time to leave...
For a couple of days we were driving the Great Ocean Road : snaky road, charming villages, nice beaches, impressive waves, audacious (or suicidal?) surfers, beautiful sunsets, national parks (our first koalas!!!). Amazing spots such as the Twelve Apostles, the Arch, the London Bridge among loads of caves, arches, cliffs eroded by the waves for thousands of years.
Next stop was Adelaide. Not as good as Melbourne or even Sydney (sorry for the ones who are from there). We were probably unlucky but we met a lot of weirdos and freaky guys. But we enjoyed our first ever kangaroo steak : a tender and peppered filet coming with sweet potatoes, rocket leaves, beatroot, homemade sausages of 'roo and a glass of Shiraz. Really tasty. Give it a try if you're around Adelaide : it is called Jazz restaurant!!! The owner was really friendly and he gave us loads of advices.
We spent three days in the Barossa Valley, just 60 kms up north Adelaide. Lovely sceneries with vineyards, eucalyptus and palm trees. Quite unusual for us i would say!!! We tried to get some work as grapepickers but that was two weeks too early so we enjoyed tasting some aussie Chardonnay or Chiraz instead. You are not too bad guys but there's nothing better than french wine!!!
We were then driving the brave Karmela up the Stuart Highway : that was a real challenge!!! Thanks Janilla for your prayer by the way... An endless straight road through the australian desert. Hundreds of kilometres in the heat (without air con, remember...) in middle of nowhere. Dead kangaroos along the road. Road trains coming from nowhere. Cattles crossing just in front of us. Tons of flies which drove us mad. Dry lakes. Gosh that was a road trip!!! We stopped for a while in Coober Pedy known as the world's Opal capital. It had the particularity to have half its population living underground. Interesting but bloody hot!!! No shade at all and water restriction. Karmela started to be grumpy by then...
500 km up north, we couldn't miss the Uluru National Park with the Ayer's Rock and the Olgas. Wahooo... it might just be a rock in middle of nowhere, it was kind of a myth for us and it was worth driving all these kilometres!!! Both these sites are sacred and spiritual for aboriginal communities. Stunning sceneries. Incredible colours with either sunset or sunrise light. We did the 10 km walk around the rock just to enjoy it as much as possible and we spent our nights under the Outback stars. We went also to Kings Canyon where we were walking for hours up and down the ochre rocks (i met there my first Dingo!!!).
We kept on driving north to reach Alice Springs. Rebecca, an aussie girl we met in Vietnam, welcomed us in her house with her two flatmates Jason et Fiona. We were supposed to stay a couple of nights but at the end it was much longer than that... We spent an awesome time in her friendly house not only thanks to the pool (thanks Jason for cleaning it!!!) or the camel balls cooked by Fiona. We had spent only a couple of days with Rebecca in Vietnam but we discovered an incredible person : funny, helpful, kind, sportswoman... the kind of person people like just for who she is. She is the one who gathers people for anything!!! When we were driving up to AS, everybody was like "What the f*** are you gonna do there? There's nothing to do!!!" We were not sure either but after a week with Bec and all her friends (Stef, Sarah, Josh, James, Alex, Alice, Ben, etc.), we got the answer : nice people, tasty BBQ, chilled wine, soccer games, pool, good parties, french speaker aussie guys (Stefan and Alex)... and good mechanic repairs (Karmela needed some work to be done!!! Spark plugs, filters, lights... nothing too bad or too expensive).
We left AS with nostalgia but with a brand new Karmela. Long driving days to reach the East Coast. Devil's Marbles and telegraph station near Tennant Creek on the way. Freaky time in Julia Creek where three drunk bogans tried to piss us off. We were really scared but it had an happy end and the only damage we got was the rear registration plate that fell off when they were pushing us with their 4WD bull bar. That was a real Outback experience for sure!!!
We reached Townsville after the flooding times. Lucky for once... but still a bit rainy. We started driving south eager to discover the Great Barrier Reef. Too rainy, too expensive, too windy... it sounded pretty compromised. We finally did it near Agnes Water with Lady Musgrave Island. That was awesome!!! Snorkelling among multicoloured fishes or turtles, avoiding the sea cucumbers, walking on a wild island... we had a great time!!!
We finished our trip with Brisbane, Surfers Paradise, the Gold Coast... before getting back to Sydney. We met our french friends again for two last crazy days with a barbie at Bondi Beach, a big party and our last nights in Karmela (we sold the van to them).
Then it was time to say goodbye... We all loved our experience down under!!! We were really sad to leave.
But no worries mates, we ll be back!!!
alex.
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