Alter a bit more than three weeks in Australia I am getting ready to try to fly tomorrow to Auckland in New Zealand.
The time spend in Australia has been mainly on the east cost of the country. I think I have managed to see a good variety of different places and people.
From city of Sydney I went to the Blue Mountains (colour which comes from one of the most popular trees in Australia – eucalyptus). There, I founded the Spanish connexion by cooking Spanish omelette with olive oil. The Spanish connection become soon cosmopolitan with the Indian good cousin, the Dutch efficiency, the English good manners and Quebecois good sense of humour (except if touching the independent issue, Ysabelle, you should had told me that I almost get in trouble …).
Rail Link took me to Hunter Valley wine region. This is located 2,5 hours from Sydney, so it could have some analogy to Ribera del Duero region in Spain distance wise. However it is much more developed when it comes to wine tourism infrastructure (e.g. cellars doors at each winery and open 7 days a week). In the hostel were I stayed had been the grape pickers for almost a month before I arrived. I meet wine makers from France and Italy that were getting experience about total freedom on wine making practices. Here cocking pizza I made the Irish connection. There were a group of very nice Irish girls from Dublin spending a year in Australia. There is quite a lot of Irish people in Australia because it seems to be a quite popular place to come for a year with a working Visa (i.e. travelling with the possibility to work legal).
On my way to Brisbane I was suggested few places. Some of them on the coast and other in the countryside. As a country boy I selected the countryside option (not in the Lonely Planet) and I went to a farm for 3 days. Castle Montain was a very peaceful place surrounded by catles, ships, horses, … Where you could see very clear the Southern Cross star at night (present on the Australian flag). Where you “could get lost” doing some hiking, exhausted after 40 minutes running, play chest and pick up some cow pu for the garden. Everything was rewarded with wonderful meals and good conversation with Lynda and Peter.
Greyhound Australia bus took me to the capital of Queensland (Brisbane). As all the Australian cities I have been, quite spread with very high scrappers in the centre, sometimes almost hiding the sand stone buildings from latte XIX or early XX century. I had a good briefing about aboriginal culture at Brisbane Cultural Centre. My intention was to visit any of the aboriginal areas, but could not do it in the end. Third largest city in Australia after Sydney and Melbourne which I was informed by a local that Brisbane is at a very good economy at the moment as well as cultural life.
I flight Jetstar (similar to Clickair now in Spain) to Cains in the northeast. This is one of the locations to see the coral riffle. Although Cairns did not impressed me as a nice city and it was still at the end of the rainy season I had a very good time going for diving. You can go 20 metres deep with your shorts only. During this trip the connexion was with Austrians, Canadians (Quebec), Irish (dUUblin) and German. We ended up celebrating the day before St. Patricks day until a bit late…
Next day on a minibus I headed north. Very difficult to travel sometimes if not doing it with an organaised tour. With honours to my friend Victor I decided to do it own my own (not tour). It took me a couple of days to get Cape Tribulation and I end up paying a premium for trying to be different… The road between the coast and the jungle was beautiful and I had a very good time in Cabe Tribulation. Hikking for a full day in the jungle (very different than in La Pedriza – near Madrid) and checking out how the jungle, the beach and the coral riffle meet one after the other. The connexion this time was from New Zealand on her way to Europe, Colombian (Medellin) and Spanish (Galicia) improving English for a few months, Austrian looking for autochthonous mushrooms, Spanish couple (Valencia) in the meridian of a 9 months round the world trip and Australian (Brisbane) discovering new areas of her own country (very interesting to be able to talk to someone local as I did not have many chances to have long conversations with locals).
Mr. Brandson´s Virgin Blue airline took me to Melbourne where I was for 3 days and were I meet again the people I met in the Blue Montains and they treated me very well: Sunny (India) and Natalia (España). Walking around this city that if looking for analogies could be the Barcelona of Spain and where you can find a market that is have way between onf in Spain and another in Vietnam. I enjoyed from good Indian food and hospitality from Sunny and Natalia.
I flew National carrier Qantas from Melbourne to Sydney yesterday where I arrived in time to celebrate Rachel´s birthday (one´s of the Irish girls I met in Hunter Valley 2 weeks ago). I also went to visit the most important bridge in Sydney which celebrated also its 75th birthday last Saturday. Today I am getting ready to fly tomorrow to Auckland in New Zealanda, including few words in Maori language:
Haere ra!
