On this page I want to share with you what I have learnt from my wildlife volunteer experience. You will read bout the threats Koalas are undergoing and what can be done to help save them. You will read about the ways of protecting koalas from accidents and injuries as well as supporting the conservation of their natural habitat.

8 Koalas Facts

1. Koalas from Queensland are different from southern Koalas, in Victoria and South Australia. Northern Koalas are grey short haired and only eat special types of Gum Trees Leaves.
2. Koalas from southern australia have thick brown hair, here below you can see two koala spictures on the left hand side a koala from Queensland and on the right hand side a koala from the Great Ocean Road, so that you can see the difference.
3. Southern and Northern Koalas are not allowed to breeding together, since they are different.
   
4. Some Koalas only eat Blue Gum Tree Leaves or from specific Gums, Koalas also eat Malaleuca or Casuarina Gum Trees when they are sick.
   
5. Koalas from Queensland are endangered because of many threats such as:
   car accidents
   dog attacks
   habitat changes
   diseases like chlamydia, conjunctivitis, cystitis and more diseases
6. In 8-10 years it is estimated that the number of Koalas will drop dramatically, this will lead to the koala extinction. 47% of koalas died between 2002-2008 in the Beerwah area.
7. At present 43,000 koalas are estimated to be in Australia.
   
8. The Koala is a faunal emblem and can be regarded as a flagship species, i.e. if we can save the habitat for koalas, we can automatically save the habitat for the rest of many more australian animals and insects.

How to save endangered Koalas

At the Wildlife Hospital I met Kylie, a volunteer coordinator and Vanda, the first volunteer of the Wildlife Hospital in Beerwah. Let’s see what Kylie and Vanda suggest for help saving endangered koalas.

Kylie has been working at the Wildlife Hospital for over a year as a volunteer coordinator. She works together with 95 volunteers and in cooperation with the medical staff, nursers and vets. When I asked Kylie what’s the most challenging part of working as a wildlife volunteer she says: “once koalas are rescued and treated they have to be brought back to the same place where they have come from, this is what the law says, this means that after a while the same koala is coming back again injured by a car or by a dog attack”. And when I asked her, what is the most rewarding aspect of her work as a volunteer at the Wildlife Hospital, she replied: “seeing the animals recovering and being released to the wild”.

Vanda is a veteran volunteer who has been working as a koala rescuer for over 20 years, since 2004 is being working as a regular volunteer at the Wildlife Hospital. Vanda furthermore belongs to several environmental organizations with the goal of increasing awareness about the koalas. Apparently only 10% of Australians are involved with wildlife conservation. To my question: what is the main reason for this poor response, she says: “This is due to lack of education and lack of information, many people simply do not know anything about the dangers koalas are exposed to“.

Vanda highlights again what can be done to help save the koalas, here a list of effective ways:

• retain bushland, no more clearing of forests to preserve the natural habitat for koalas
• do more planting to build tunnels for koalas to move and prevent being injured
• reduce speed at night near koalas areas to prevent car accidents
• restrain dogs and cats to attack koalas
• increase people’s awareness and response to the koalas conservation by donating or by joining the wildlife adoptation program.

If you want to learn more about the Wildlife Warrior Volunteer Program you can read my interview with Leisa Bright who heads the volunteers coordination at the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital, in Beerwah north of Brisbane.

“Save one koala, save the species”

The post How to help save endangered Koalas in Australia appeared first on Solo Travel Junkie.

Memories from my Wildlife Warrior Volunteer Experience

Feeding Koalas was, among other things, the most exciting experience. You need to learn some basic skill of how to do it properly but it is not difficult at all. However feeding koalas is not as eay as it may sound, koalas, like human beings, have their own character, moods and approach, some koalas are keen on their daily paste, some others simply hate it. So as a novice warrior I only had to feed the “good ones” and I had the honour of feeding the koala patient Warren for a few days, as you can see from the pictures below, I really enjoyed it and Warrend did it too

During the cleaning process you have to remove the old leaves and replace them with fresh gum tree leaves. You must develop the feel for it, what has to be removed and what can be left inside. Moreover some of them prefer eating only a certain type of gum tree leaves, so at the beginning it was very confusing, but after a couple of days you get used to it and you do it naturally. If you ask me, I still cannot distinguish a blue gum leaf from a casuarina gum leaf But do not worry experienced volunteers and the lovely wildlife hospital staff help out with that, pulling out the right bunches of fresh gum tree leaves for you to fill the pots in each koala enclosure!

Watching animal patients’ in the I.C.U and in the emergency rooms

Australia is a great country for volunteering. It offers the opportunity to residents as well as to foreign travellers and students to get involved in environmental and social projects, thus become part of the australian community by doing volunteer work. Before getting into details, let’s have a look at what volunteering means.

All about volunteer work in Australia

Volunteer work by definition is something that you personally choose to do and in no way is related to paid work. Volunteer work is no replacement for paid work either. It is something you choose to do out of your wish to experience new challenges and be confronted with the local environmental and social conditions of the country you live in or travel to.

Volunteer work only can take place within non profit organizations which are involved in projects with the goal of being a benefit of the whole community and of the volunteers too.

Why volunteering in Australia

Volunteering in Australia is a great opportunity not only to learn about the environmental, social, needs of the country, but also a way of being part of the related activities of the community and thus contributing to the conservation of the australian land, the australian wildlife, the australian culture as well as promoting equality, dignity, human and animal rights.

There are many individual benefits you can gain and here below I can list some:

• personal development
• acquiring knowledge and new skills
• helping the community
• exploring new environments
• contributing with ideas and abilities
• meeting new people
• doing small things that makes a huge difference
• having fun

Who choose to volunteer in Australia

Australia has a large offer of volunteer work. Did you know that over 5millions of Australians volunteer each year thus contributing to the community with their work ? Over 45% of them are aged 35-44 years, however the younger people between 18-24 represent the biggest growth area in volunteering. The most active volunteers are from Queensland and ACT. On top of this statistics you can add the increasing number of international volunteers, i.e. foreign students and travellers coming to Australia every year to join a volunteer project.

Where to volunteer in Australia

There is a large number of non profit organizations in Australia where you can research and apply for volunteer work. The type of organizations range from:

• sport, recreation
• education
• training
• land conservation
• wildlife conservation
• community services
• welfare
• religios groups

Here is a link to the Organizations Profiles from GoVolunteer as part of an initiative of Volunteering Australia where you can check out for more detailed information and see what volunteering projects are currently available.

What type of volunteer work

I have always wanted to experience some volunteer work in Australia. During my last trip in Australia, I have been lucky to do this amazing Volunteer Work with Wildlife in Queensland.

How to Become a Wildlife Warrior Volunteer

The post Wildlife Volunteer Australia appeared first on Solo Travel Junkie.

So how did you spend Christmas this year ? When I used to live in Germany Christmas to me meant first of all “going home” and enjoying a family gathering. Also this year as usual I had a peaceful Christmas time at home with my family.

I also spent some time contemplating what happened during the year and by doing something I particularly like: browsing through old photo albums.

By looking at the photographs I took during my travels my memories of my first solo trip in Australia came back filled with melancholic feelings, 7 years have already passed by! since then I was lucky to spend a few months again in 2008. I did not want to cram too much in this short post, therefore I have decided to split my australian travel memories into a few posts, picking a nice selection that can highlight the places and the experiences I most liked in my OZ travel.

For this first part of my travel memories of my Trips in Australia I have picked one of my fave road trips: the GOR.

Travel Memories of the Great Ocean Road Trip

It was April 2004. After the first 20 days travelling completely on my own, I decided to join a small group of people on a 3 1/2 day tour from Melbourne to Adelaide along the GOR. The Great Ocean Road is estimated to be one of the most beautiful coastal drives in the world. And it honestly is amazing. Not only for the stunning views over the 7 visible apostels in the sea, the golden rock formations, the breathtaking cliffs and endless horizont, the popular surf beaches and so on. The most amazing thing is the diversity of the landscape you get to see here. There are a couple of national parks that ought to be seen, these are: the Otway National Park and the Port Campbell National Park. In the Otway National Park you can immerse yourself in a little fragment of rainforest which survived millions of years !

I would recommend spending one night in a lovely place like Apollo Bay, or Lorne, or futher south in Port Campbell. If you are on a tight schedule and want to see the Great Ocean Road on one day, then make sure you leave early in the morning. The ride is about 300km one way.

If you want to learn more about check out the coastal drive along the Great Ocean Road.

Travel Memories of the Australian Animals on Kangaroo Islands

One of the reasons why I love OZ and keep going back to Australia is the Australian nature and the Australian wildlife. This is the second post about the travel memories of my first Trips in Australia.

If you love animals and birds, then South Australia and especially the Kangaroo Island will spoil you with its awesome native australian wildlife. On the island you will spot lots of koalas on trees, sea lions at Seal Bay. Koalas and otther species have been introduced to the Kangaroo Island to ensure the survival of these species.

More animals to be found around this real “treasury island” are: echidnas, tamar wallabies, goannas, possums, platypuses. Birdlife lovers can enjoy the little penguins at the island marine centre in Kingscote, or in Penneshaw, see pelicans at the Pelican Lagoon at American River and spot black cockatoos, black swans, emus, galahs and many more birds.

If you want to visit Kangaroo Island you should stay there at least for 1 night. From Adelaide the car ride takes about 100km to reach the coast where in Cape Jervis you take the ferry to KI. The ferry is operated by Kangaroo Island Sealink, and takes about 1 hour to Pennneshaw.

My travel tip from my personal experience: take the afternoon ferry. In the late evening join a penguin night tour at the Penneshaw Penguin Centre. Stay overnight in Penneshaw and visit the island on the following day. You can either hire a car and drive around yourself or you can join one of the myriad of Kangaroo Island tours: from daily tours to 1-3 days tour. Your choice!

The picture you see above is a shot of the Remarkable Rocks on Kangaroo Island. These natural rock formations shaped by the weather are to be seen on the east of Cape du Coudeic in the southern part of the Flinders Chase National Park (one of the most impressive national parks in South Australia). These rocks are large granite boulders naturally sculpted into terrific shapes. Indeed a very inspiring place for taking photographs and for painting too!

And if you have not got enough of watching wildlife on Kangaroo Island you can return to the mainland and head to the Adelaide Hills where you can find some awesome wildflife parks like the Cleland Wildlife Park.

Here below some more pictures I took during my first australian trip in 2004.

Get close to kangaroos and give them a stroke

you can also have your photo taken with a koala: if you do so, be careful no to stroke them on the head, they do not like it and they may scratch you.

If you are interested in Australian Animals you may want to read this posts too.

Travel memories of my trips in the Australian Outback

Australia’s outback and its stunning landmarks make of the 5. continent such a desired travel destination to suit all travel tastes and lifestyles. The Australian Outback belongs to my best memories of my trips in Australia. What most attracts me of the Australian Outback is

• its bright colours, its strong light, its thin and pure air, its rough contour, its empty space its spirit, its seclusion.
• its contrasts, the bright red soil and the deep blue of the sky, the endless horizont, the long walks over sandy and rocky dunes, the immense and the greatness of solitude.
• its australian culture and its people. Being a multicultural person, I love Australia for its cultural background, the colourful mixed origin of its population, its aboriginal culture and its profound freedom values.

During my first solo trip around Australia in 2004 I had planned a week in the Red Centre of Australia. But as huge as this area is, I had to make a choice. Since I was travelling by bus I decided to make a stop at Cober Pedy, and from there I headed north to Alice Springs, to then turn south east to reach the Yulara Resort and visit Uluru and Kata Tjuta.

Eventually on my second trip to the Australian Red Centre I spent some more time in Alice Springs and the Western Mc Donnel Ranges. Kings Canyon and some more parts are still missing, but are very high on my list Here below you can view some pictures of these beautiful natural spectacular.

This outback area shows a stunning beauty and there is indeed so much to see and do, from a variety of outdoor activities like hiking, bushwalking, camping, swimming to cultural and aboriginal guided tours to self guided tours. You need at least 5-6 days to fully enjoy the red centre and savour the beauty and peacefulness of the australian outback.

What you need is time, good weather and tranquility. These places cannot be visited among loud crowds of people getting off and on the huge buses, trying to make here and there a pic and so on. I personally would never go to the Red Centre in July-August, these two months are simply crazy, packed with thousands of people.

Yes the true blue of the sky is real !! Stunning isn’t it ? The tree branches you see in the pic are of a “ghost gum tree“! What’s a ghost gum tree ? It’s a gum tree whit a white trunk, the bark naturally peels off to make the trunk stands out in the blue sky as a real ghost!

If you can travel to Uluru off season, and avoid public holidays, then you will be rewarded with some fo the most thrilling experience ever. The Best Time to visit Uluru is March-April or Sept-October.

If you are interested in reading more about the Australian Outback you may want to read my The Red Centre Guide

Travel Memories of Sydney and its beautiful surrounds

Sydney is a truly fascinating city and is also my favorite city in Australia. Sydney was the first place I visited when I travelled to OZ on my first trip in 2004. Before leaving back to Europe I also had the opportunity to spend some more time there. I really enjoyed Sydney’s distinctive flair, what I like of Sydney is its gorgeous natural setting, the great walks, its beaches and its surrounds.

I remember arriving over a weekend, jetlagged, wandering off the beautiful parks and The Rocks Markets, filling my lungs with fresh air, trying to adjust quickly to the southern hemisphere and bring my system into shape after a heavy long flight journey….this is part 4 of travel memories from my trips in Australia.

What can you do and see in Sydney?

There are a lot of things to do in Sydney, really to suit all tastes and interests! Sydney is a place you can enjoy all year round, in each season and with any weather conditions. On my second trip in 2008 I had booked 10 days but the weather was not on my side, it rained for most of the time, nonetheless it was not so bad at all, I had the chance to discover great places in the the city and had much fun. Sydney is that kind of city I can recommend to anyone who is on a tight time frame. You can manage to see much and the variety of places and things you can do ist just impressive. For sure you will not get bored in Sydney. At this stage I will not give you any list of things to do in Sydney, for this you can check out this other page with my Sydney Travel Guide.

What about Sydney and its surrounds?

As said before, you can really focus your holiday on Sydney and its Surrounds. The variety of things you can do and see is huge. Either travelling solo or with friends or family, Sydney’s area is the ideal starting place for any type of travel in Australia.

Here below just a few of my favorite things I keep doing whenever I am in Sydney, it’s just a small part of the endless list of things you can do in Sydney. Have a look and see if this can be a good tip for you:

• The Spit-to Manly-Walk – this is a 10km beautiful bushwalk along the shoreline of Sydney Harbour. Along your way you come to a couple of lookouts with wonderful views over Middle Harbour and the city of Sydney. It’s ideal if you look for some excercise or just love walking like I do. Here you have a couple of pics to get an idea.

Can you spot the lizard on the tree trunk ?

• The Cogee-Bronte-Bondi-Walk – this is another great coastal walk, which you can do daytime. You can reach Bronte or Cogee by bus fromt Sydney city centre and from there walk along the path, stop at a few lookouts and relish the view and the tiny little bays. The Bronte-Bondi is a short nice walk. Bondi is the highlight of Sydney, is a nice place but preatty busy especially over weekends.

• The Sydney Northern Beaches – this is another part of the town worth visiting. You need a whole day to see them, starting from Manly you can stop at all the spectacular beaches, up to Whale and Palm beach. Definitely worth your time! If you wish to read more about the Sydney Beaches click on the link.

• The Blue Mountains – to fully enjoy them you need to spend at least 1 night there. But if you ar on a tight time, make sure you leave early in the morning, there are daily trains which leave from the Sydney Central Station. Once you are there you will immerse yourself in one of the most beautiful national parks in Australia. Plenty of walking trail for any level of hiking expertise.

Can you see the kookuburra on the blue gum branch ?

• The Royal National Park – another great national park, south of Sydney. You can reach Cronulla by train too and spend the whole day day, take the ferry and cross over to Bundeena and start walking through the national park. There some good aboriginal self guided walks. You can, stay overnight and do some camping too!

• The South East Coast with Wollolong and Jervish Bay – if you hire a car, you can take advantage and see some more beautiful coastal scenery and stop at Wollolong and reach Jervish Bay. If you are there at the right season you can spot dolphins and do some wonderful kayaking too. Curious about the south east costal drive from Sydney, click on the link.

So this is just a short list of my favorite things to do in Sydney. In the city centre there are a few things you should not miss out, like visiting the Opera house (inside) and if you are not afraid of heights, then the Harbour Bridge Climb can be a breathtaking experience! Unfourtunately nothing for me, cause I am so afraid of heights!

Want to see Sydney from the air ?

Take a virtual scenic flight over Sydney

Chek out 6 places to explore Sydney

Fun things to do in Sydney

Tales from my Tasmania Travel Memories

Tasmania is where I started my second trip in Australia in 2008. Tasmania is a destination of its own! If you plan a trip to Tasmania you need first of all time and also to pick the right time of the year: the summer months, to fully enjoy this beautiful and diverse island. The winter in Tasmania is freaking cold. Here you can read about my travel memories of my trip in Tasmania

I had booked my flight from Europe to Melbourne for middle of January, so as to be able to fly into Hobart a few days afterwards and spend there 10 days. December-February is the best period of the year to visit Tasmania; the weather is lovely with warm, sunny days, but it is obviously also the busiest time, so make sure you make your bookings for your Tasmania holiday a good time ahead.

You can reach the only australian state island either with the ferry to Tasmania which departs from Melbourne. Or if you prefer you can take a 40minutes flight Melbourne Hobart, the capital of this remote land at the very edge of the world! A combination of both: Hobart flight on one way and the Tasmania Ferry on the other an be also a good idea.

I spent 10 days in Tasmania and split my time in 3 days on my own, eventually I decided to join a 5day tasmania tour and finally stayed 2 more days in Hobart on my own. Although I was overall happy with the tour, I am not really a tour person and sometimes found it pretty limiting, especially with the time available for visiting places. Tasmania is easy to get about, I would travel around by car, which is probably the best option if you have a travel companion. if you instead want to travel tasmania solo, then I would use the tasmanian public transportation, which offers a good bus network across the island or maybe look for a travel companion to share the car drive.

What I have seen in my Tasmania Trip

Tasmania has truly the most diverse landscape you can imagine of. The only thing you will not see in Tasmania is the Outback! It is the only australian state with no outback areas! Tasmania is a true paradise for hikers and nature lovers. Many people fly from all over the world to join Tasmania tours and spend some hiking escape weeks in the the tasmanian pristine wilderness areas! The diversity and the beauty of Tasmania enviroment is simply stunning.

If you travel from oversea to visit Tasmania, consider at least 1 week to be able to see some of the island. And if you come over here and want to do some hiking you definitely cannot skip the awesome 80km Overland Track. Bear in mind that this hiking track will take 6 days of your time.

What I have seen in Tasmania

Among the top things to do in Tasmania the Wilderness Area with the Mt. Field National Park, the Cradle Mountain National Park and the Franklin Gordon Wild River National Park along with the eastern coast, Bay of Fires and the Frecynet National Park rank high in the list, however the western coast is also magnificient and definitely less touristy. The historic Port Arthur and Hobart with Salamanca Markets are also two main Tasmania tourist attractions. If you have some time to spend in Hobart do no miss out on the beautiful Mt. Wellington hike. From the top ot the mount wellington you can enjoy a gorgeous view over the tasmanian capital. A must do thing on a clear sunny day.

Travel memories of the Tasmanian devil

Tasmania is known for its unique wildlife and among all nature creatures you will be able to spot Wombats, Echidnas, the Tasmanian Devil, lots of beautiful birds all over the places. The photos below with the 4 tasmanian devils was taken in one wildlife sanctuary in the north east of Tasmania.

Travel memories of “Priscilla Princess of the Paddock”

On the way from Launceston to the eastern coast we stopped at a gorgeous farm where you can get taste a delicious fresh bio-homemade-icecream in the most unique flavors (local fruits and veg ). This is really a must stop if you are travelling by car….public transportation do not take you there…but you can ask any tourist information office and they will know. Next to the lovely icecream the biggest attraction of this place is Priscilla Princess!

I hope my travel memories of Tasmania can inspire you to plan a trip to Tasmania soon. Let me have your feedback about your experience. Click here to go to Tasmania Travel Guide

Want to learn more about myTravel Memories of my Travels around and across Australia? Check out the links below.

The post Solo Travel Stories and Memories appeared first on Solo Travel Junkie.

But apart from this aspect, the trip prologue and the trip planning blueprint is exactly the same to plan a trip to Australia.

So how does my travel planning blueprint looks like for my third trip to Australia?

My Travel Blueprint for Australia

• How I booked my flight to Australia….first time flying with Emirates
  Once we outlined the time frame for our flight to Australia we started the research online….this time I have been pretty lucky with the flight schedule and the flight booking to Australia. I managed to get an EMIRATES flight to Australia booked, and for the first time, I also managed to get a stopover night at the connection airport in Dubai. This is excellent news: in fact, it’s not easy at all to find a good value flight to Australia along with a stopover night at the connection airport. I travelled twice via Singapore and I could not get it. And for the first time I will be leaving from home too, directly from Venice airport to Dubai and from Dubai off to Melbourne, ah ah, that’s great news indeed.
• Emirates is offering great flight deals to Australia leaving from Europe with excellent flight connections. I am flying Emirates for the first time too, and since I have heard that Emirates is among the most reputable worldwide airlines for service and comfort onboard, I can’t wait to fly and try it out myself. I can highly recommend to check out the Emirates Website and search for flight deals there.

• What Travel Destination am I going to see this time. It will be a bit of déjà vu trip
  This time I will have the honour to show Australia to a friend who is returning for the first time to Australia after a long time! So my travel plan for the first weeks will be a sort of “déjà vu trip” for me, re-visiting the iconic destinations and major attractions in Australia. Come back here to see the updates of my day-by-day travel route. Some among the iconic Australian destinations that we will be visiting are the GOR, Ayers Rock and Kings Canyon, The Top End, and major cities like Melbourne, Adelaide, Darwin and more.

• How will I get around Australia?
  On my previous trips I loved using Australian public transportation, I covered my entire itinerary by bus and by train. This time I will take advantage of having a wonderful travel companion, so for the first time, I will be hiring a car for some driving routes. Searching and booking the car has been very easy, and I did it online through oodles.

• My Tip: book ahead of time, 2WD car hire and especially 4WD car hire can be very expensive especially in the Red Centre and in some other Australian attraction areas if you wait till the last minute. The sooner you book the better.With this great car rental comparison site, we had the advantage of having all our car bookings made with a few clicks, a good time ahead and we did not have to pay upfront. We paid when we picked up our booked cars.This is a checklist for you to go through when booking your car in Australia:
  • Weekends opening hours for pick up and drop off be careful in the red centre over weekends you can hire your car only from airports, cities like Alice Springs are usually closed on Saturdays and Sundays. So check it out and before making your reservation and book your connection flight accordingly
  • Different drop off from pick up location can be turned into an expensive extra may turn out to be very expensive if you pick up your car in one place and want to drop it off somewhere else. The best thing is to drive in a loop, i.e. same pick up and drop off location. The Ayers Rock drop off can cost you 300,00AUD alone if you
    have picked up your car somewhere else. The good thing is to check it out with the car rental company once you have your booking processed.
  • Check out whether you are allowed to drive a 2WD or if you need a 4WD. You can only use a 2WD on all sealed road, and 4WD are for gravel roads, even if you are driving on a short unsealed road you are not allowed to use a 2WD. This is a rule for car rentals. If you own your car then you can do whatever you like, i.e. can drive on unsealed roads with a 2WD car too, if you wish to do so.
• Where will I be staying during my trip to Australia
  Yes, you have guessed. as usual, I will be staying in my fave Australian hostels, for most of the time. As for the bookings it is easily made online. Since I am a fan of YHA, I booked in most places directly from their website: www.yha.com.au and for other destinations, I checked it out through the hostelbookers.com website. If you book with YHA make sure you have your own YHA membership card to save 3-5dolllars on each night. And bear in mind that you have to pay in advance the full stay. But you also are entitled to cancel your reservation and get a full refund if you cancel 48hours prior your arrival date.

For more tips on how to travel solo in Australia check out this page here.

The post Australia Travel Planning Tips for the solo traveller appeared first on Solo Travel Junkie.

courtesy picture of Margaret River Tourism Office

This year I have been travelling solo Australia for 2,5 months. It has been a very exciting trip where I got to see uncovered corners of Australia, met lots of interesting people that gave me food for thought about how I want to take my Love Affair with Australia to the next level.

After a decade of solot trips I have taken a life-changing decision, which is going to take me on a long path.

Hopefully I will succeed in my intention and my dream will come true.

If you want to read more how you can help me click on this link here.

Recap of my Australia Trip 2013

For 2,5 month I have been touring South Western Australia and its fabulous Margaret River Region. South Australia and its stunning Outback Flinders Ranges.

I had the opportunity to re-discover Kangaroo Island on a solo road trip and see two milestones in Victoria, the Wilson Promontory along with Phillip Island with its unique Penguin Parade.

For more information about my solo adventure, visit the Rocky Travel Blog.

The post Solo Trip in Australia 2013 appeared first on Solo Travel Junkie.

My Australia Trip in 2011

• 3100 km by car
• 5400 km by air ( 3 domestic flights)
• 100 km by train
• 50 km of walking tracks

This image with the Google Australia Map, gives you an ideas of the areas I have visited. A giant loop crossing 4 australian states. Below a detailed report of the first part of my travel across Australia.

A short stay in Melbourne – Arriving from Europe

My travel across Australia started in Melbourne, where we landed after a long flight from Dubai to Australia. The first days have been slow, as I was pretty much jetlagged. I like Melbourne, what I most enjoy is strolling through the arcades and walking along its Yarra’s river banks. The first day I needed to fill my lungs with fresh air and try to adjust as quick as I could to the southern hemisphere time zone. We arrived early in the morning, that meant waiting at least 12 hours for bed time:( uhm… so I decide to take a stroll along the Southbank of the Yarra River and stopped to watch some young girls kayaking. And I did a lot of walking for the most of my time in Melbourne. This time I did not enjoy Melbourne as usual, I could not get any sleep, since the hostel were we stayed was loud backpacker hostel, with ongoing wild parties, and on top of this the surrounding area was pretty loud too, due to road works. The drilling on the road at 6.00am in the morning was our free weak up alarm clock. Not really a relaxing start! So, we were happy to leave after 4 days in Melbourne to reach our second destination: The GOR.

Exploring the South East Coast of Australia by car

A Road Trip along the Great Ocean Road Although it was my second time on the GOR I honestly did not have a vivid memory of the beauty of this coastal drive! The first time, seven years ago, I went on a 3,5 day tour, which was good, but this time I was keen to drive by myself, so we rented a car and headed off from Melbourne. The benefit of driving by yourself is huge, not only you stop wherever and whenever you want, you can decide spontaneously what to do and adjust your plans according to how things evolve on your way. From Geelong to Lorne there are a few places really worth a stop for taking photos and enjoying a stunning view over the ocean. What it most struck me was the variety of things you can do there. Read more about what the Great Ocean Road drive has to offer here.

“Back Home” – Returning to Adelaide after over 30 years

Adelaide – a family get together This time Adelaide was the primary stop for my friend, a place to see family and friends after a long time and for me to enjoy their company, by listening to their stories and their memories. It was fascinating and really enjoyed this time in Adelaide. The weather was not on our side, it rained, so the ideal time to hide and discover the beauty and treasures of the South Australia Museum.

Ayers Rock is not just a ROCK

Savouring the peacefulness of the Red Centre I have been traveling extensively in Australia and had been there 7 years ago. I was keen to show this spectacular part of Australia to my friend. This time I experienced driving 1500km from Alice Springs to Kings Canyon and forth to the Ayers Rock resort. A memorable experience! Read more about my road trip to the Red Centre.

One of my favourite Areas of Australia

Darwin – the TOP END of Australia. This time was a bit of a disappointment! Cannot tell why, but this is how I felt! First of all the hostel did not work out so as expected. The weather that prevent us from going to the Kakadu National Park. 4 days spent in the city and trying to making the most of our time. Meeting people and relaxing.

Some beautiful places of Tropical North Queensland

From Port Douglas to Daintree National Park, Cairns and the Atherton Tableland If Darwin let me down on this first part of my trip across Australia, Cairns definitely was full of nice surprises. We could not do exactly what we had planned, again due to the heavy rain, which made it difficult to access Cooktown and other regions. This area in North Queensland is very unique but you can only enjoy it fully if the weather is good.

For my second visit to this Australian region, we managed to see the Moosman Gorge and Daintree forest north of Port Douglas. And eventually from Cairns we headed off to the Milla Milla Falls. Cairns itself is a nice small town, for the ideal base for discovering the surrounding area, to go on a Great Barrier Reef tour or taking a walking trail into the rainforest. There is so much too see and do in this area, you can plan a whole week there! Cairns itself has developed to a a very well organized city offering literally everything you may need during your stay.

After 4 weeks the first part of my Australia Trip my friend returned home from Sydney. And from that day I was travelling solo again, as I used to do and as I love most.

How I spent the last 4 weeks of my Australia Trip

The third leg of my Australia Trip was focused on The Northern Territory and the Kimberley Wilderness Region. I had not been able to visit much of these areas during my previous travels because of bad dweather conditions. That’s why I decided to go back during the dry season. May is definitely a good time of the year to visit the Top End of Australia and the Kimberley Region. In May the landscape still retains the beautiful colours of the lush green vegetation, gorges are still filled with water and not many people are around. The ideal setting for a visit. Read how I traveled to the Top End and what I have seen. Here you can read about my trip to the Eastern Kimberley.

So how does the travel distance chart looks like for the final part of my travel in OZ ?

• 7100 km by train
• 1700 km by bus (Greyhound Bus)
• 1150 km by 4WD
• 400 km by aeroplane
• 140 km by car (2WD)

A Train Trip across Australia on the GHAN – From Adelaide to Darwin

An epic train trip on the Ghan across the country Travelling on The Ghan Train across Australia from south to north or viceversa is probably the wish of many australians and overseas travellers. For a series of reasons this time I chose to travel by train from Adelaide to Darwin. When I arrived in Australia in March I found out about the special offer australia rail was launching on their website to all overseas travellers. Moreover I investigate a bit more and learnt about the improvements made on the Ghan Red Service. So I was very much looking forward to getting onboard of the Ghan again for the second time. My memories about my first train trip across the country back in 2008 were not so positive so I was eager to try it out and have another go. And I tell you I was pleasantly surprised of the huge improvements that have been made on this train. Learn more about my train trip on the Ghan from Adelaide to Darwin and back.

The Top End of Australia – The Kakadu National Park and The Kimberley

The Kakadu National Park and The Eastern Kimberley are not really close to each other, just about 1000km But geographically they are at the very Top End of Australia. I had planned to spend a whole month there, in the end it turned out to be a bit less than 3 weeks. To be honest you would need alone for the Kimberly a whole month. The region is as bis as Germany, so you can soon figure it out how vast this area is. However I am really pleased I managed to see the Eastern Kimberley this time and the Kakadu National Park. Much is still there to be explored on future travels. The important thing is for me is to get a feel of the place rather than cram too much into my itinerary.

Back from Darwin to Adelaide – again on the Ghan Train

Enjoying the outdoor Lifestyle of Darwin I really love Darwin, always, at any time of the year. I simply feel “at home” in Darwin and love spending time there. Darwin is one of those places I miss when I leave. It is a city of party, for great outdoor lifestyle, restless buzz and creativity, a place I could love to settle down for a while! I had a great time there meeting people, discovering new places and enjoy its beaches its, aweseome sunsets, its lively markets. When I left Darwin beginning of June I knew my time in Australia was coming to a close. Feeling sad for a while I knew in my deepest heart that I will coming back one day soon in the future. The return train trip to Adelaide on the Ghan was also magnificient, this time I upgraded to a Red Cabin. Read more about my experience aboard the Ghan train

Winter days in Adelaide and in Melbourne

Bringing my trip to a close in Adelaide and in Melbourne. I touched base in Adelaide when arriving from Darwin on the Ghan and spent one night there, just to readjust myself to the winter temperatures and be ready to get on to the next train off to Melbourne, where I spent the 4 last days of my trip. Melbourne is always a fun city full of live and entertainment of all kinds. In my opinon Melbourne is the most visitor friendly town in Australia, ffering lots of free services to travelers and lots of free information throughout the city.

Where I have been in Australia – April to May 2011

Middle of April, after 4 weeks with a travel companion, my solo travel adventure could start. I had not made any fix plans for this second part of my travels. Queensland was my focus and was keen to see as much as I could of it. Queensland is a huge state with the most diverse landscape you can imagine. First step was to make my mind on how I wanted to travel for the rest of my time in Australia. in 2004 I travelled from Cairns to Brisbane on the Greyhound bus stopping at Mission Beach, Whitsundays Islands, Harvey Bay, Fraser Island. This time I wanted to see more places on the coastline and of the outback too.

After 3000km of driving, and a few flights within Australia, I was very much looking forward to exploring Australia on a more comfortable way so as to suit my solo travel needs better.

Australia is a huge country with endless travel distances; as a solo traveler you are bound to be on the road for a long time and of course completely alone! I find driving in Australia pretty tiresome, unless you have a travel companion with whom you can swap the drive and have a chat I would not welcome driving solo long distances on the australian roads.

How to travel around Australia when not flying or driving

There are ways, bus and train. I am a huge fan of train travel. In Europe I travel on train by 90% of my time. This time I was keen to experiencetrain travel in Australia too. And this exactly how I traveled for the rest of my time in OZ. It has been an awesome experience, a rather different experience from the type of train travel I am used to in Europe. I will tell you more about my train travel experience in Australia on the next posts.

For now I am giving you a recap of what I have been doing during my solo travel experience in Australia: I love travelling alone and here you can read about the pros and cons of travelling solo in Australia. The picture above shows you where I travelled by train across Australia.

From the North to the South Queensland along its coastline

The first leg of my train travel in Australia covered the whole of the coastline from Cairns to Brisbane. The first stop was Magnetic Island where I stayed 3 days. A little island in the dry tropics of Queensland with beautiful little beaches and secluded bays, over 10 walking tracks and plenty of sports activities. Learn more about my travel experience on Magnetic Island here.

From Townsville to Rockhamprton on the Sunlander and the Tilt Train

The Sunlander and the Tilt Train run their service from Cairns down to Brisbane twice a week. I took advantage of my Ausrail Pass to get on and off these 2 trains. My second stop was Rockhampton and from there I proceeded to Landsborough on the Tilt Train. Beerwah is where I spent 5 days over Eastern doing some volunteer work at the Wildlife Hospital in Beerwah An amazing experience I want to share with you. Click on the link to read more.

Brisbane and the Queensland’s Oubtack Cunnumulla

One goal of my solo travel in Australia this year was to explore Queensland’s Outback and dirve along the Savannah Way. Unfourtunately I could not find any travel companion to share with me this long route: 2500km from Cairns to Darwin, I was hoping to drive through. It as a pity, I will have to do it another time. So I changed my plans and decided to discover some hidden places out in the remote dusty inland of Queensland.
The remote Outback area of Cunnumulla

Cunnumulla was one of the highlight of my travel in Queensland. I love the australian outback. I think this is the most attractive landmark of Australia. There are countless places to explore and Cunnumulla was one of those places that stays in your heart, off the beaten track, you wish to return one day and discover more of the place.

Brisbane, Byron Bay and the inland’s forest….

After a short stop in Brisbane relaxing I visited Byron Bay! I was very impressed of Byron Bay, I found the place very beautiful and not as touristy as one could imagine. Byron Bay is a small village known for its long sandy beaches and its surfing waves! You can visit Byron Bay is through a 6km walking track that takes you to the Lighthouse. Byron Bay waves are something unique! extremenly high and persistant ocean waves all around the bay, definitely an excellent place for surfers! I was lucky to see more of the surrounding area and ventured out to Mount Warning south of Brisbane.

Sydney and Broken Hill

The XPT Train took me from Brisbane to Sdyney city, on over 1000km train journey. A very long journey and yes a tiring one. Sydney was beautiful as usual. It is always a pleasant experience to be there and see places I have already been to, as well as to discover new areas and gain more knowledge about this impressive city. I love Sydney, it is one of those cities I can never get enough of it!

Broken Hill is another beautiful place in the australian outback, the town has an interesting mining history. But its surrounds with Silvertone and the Living Desert Sanctuary with the Broken Hill Sculptures are the milestones of the area. I reached Broken Hill on the daily Explorer Train from Sydney.

Of the 6.500km travelled on board of various trains from Cairs to Adelaide the explorer train ride was absolutely the most exciting and interesting one. The train travels through the most various landscape I have experienced in Australia. More about this train route on a separate page.

Here a recap of the travel distances covered during the second part of my travels in Australia:

• 6700km by train, across Queensland, NWS, South Australia
• 260 km by bus in Queensland
• 150 km by car in New South Wales
• 70 km by bike in Queensland
• 35 km walking tracks in Queensland

Here is a guide with useful information for travelling alone around Australia

The post Travelling solo around Australia – My trip in 2011 appeared first on Solo Travel Junkie.

My 3 month Australia Trip 2011 was an exciting time full of nice surprises and many lovely encounters. I have been to places I did not reckon to see and at the same time I have not been able to do the long 4WD road trip I was hoping to do.

First Part of my Australia Trip 2011

A big loop across Australia from the South East Coast to the Red Centre, the Top End and Tropical North Queensland.

This is a recap of where I have been and what I have seen and done in Australia during the first 4 weeks. See how I have traveled around Australia.

Second Part of my Australia Trip 2011

A Trip across Queensland – New South Wales – South Australia

from North Tropical Queensland to the Queensland’s Outback heart – the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Sydney, Broken Hill, Adelaide and more. This is a recap of where I have been and what I have seen and done in Australia during the second part of my trip.

Third Part of my Australia Trip 2011

A Trip across Australia – from South Australia to the Top End

travelling on the Ghan, exploring Kakadu National Park, Darwin City, the Kimberley and returning back to Melbourne. This is a recap of where I have been and what I have seen and done in Australia during the third part of my travels. See what I have done and seen in my trip across Australia.

Check out my Australia Trip Planning Tips

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My first solo trip took place in 2004. At that time I was undergoing a difficult time. No matter what I did or thought I could not get started in any directions I tried to go and just felt stuck. So I decided to take a time off and leave for one destination I had been longing for years; yes, you have guessed, that’s Australia.

When I started making real plans and getting my trip ready, I did not know exactly where to go and what to do in Australia. So I asked friends and everybody who had been there and could give any useful advice, searched in Internet for travel websites, read travel guides and books about Australia. It took me 6 months to get my itinerary in Australia ready. By setting up my 3 months trip to Australia I considered three important key-factors: time frame, season and climate, my interests.

How to travel around Australia, how you choose to get about is also playing an important role in your travel around Australia. This can, depending on how you decide to travel (flying/driving or a combination) make the difference, as it takes lots of time to cover huge distances and this can cause fatigue, and considerably affect your travel enjoyment. Indeed this factor is underestimated by the majority of people when it comes to make the travel plan to Australia. Australia is a vast continent and distances are huge, you cannot figure it out, unless you have been there before. So, do consider this aspect carefully while planning your trip in Australia.

When a rough idea, about what I wanted to do, was slowly taking shape, I started drawing up a route from my “starting point ” through the different destinations in Australia I planned to visit to then return, in a loop, to the starting point, which was Sydney.

It is a good thing to allow enough time for each place, and prefer slow and cultural travel, instead of wanting to pack as many places as you can, moreover it may help to add some extra time as a tolerance for anything that could influence your trip like for instance an extension of your stay, or any unpredictable inconvenience it may occur. What it helped me a lot was listening to other’s travellers experience and reading about Australia’s landmarks

In the end, the invested time proved to be worth it, the planned itinerary ideally fit into my time frame, the climate conditions of Australia different areas, everything worked out just perfect according to my schedule.

Each single place of Australia has its own distinguishing character, you will discover it and enjoy it and and when you are about to leave it you will take with you a special memory of that place for the rest of your journey.

To be honest sometimes I would have loved to stay longer, or slighlty amend my route and add more unplanned destinations to it, but as it happens most times in life, you are going to give up something in order to step forward, and this is what happened to me while travelling around Australia, it looked as if I was going from one stage to the next and experienced each place as if it was a doorgate to go through.
This is vital: make the most of it while you are there, adjust your travel to your needs and to your feelings and get prepared to move onto your next destination naturally.

My decision to undertake this trip in Australia alone proved to be the best decision I ever made from which I gained an immense benefit. The Australian environment triggered my deepest emotions and helped my personal awareness grow.

More impressions about my Trips in Australia

Sometimes it may sound a commonplace, Australia’s awesome beauty, make of this continent indeed a unique place which will stun you with its magnificence wherever you are and whenever you go. My trip to Australia had a very strong impact on my health as a whole and also on my spiritural growth. You may now probably wonder, how this happened.

Well, in my case, the main trigger for this was the closest encounters with nature, which I could experience in most areas of Australia and in various circumstances.

Close approach with Nature may help you loose inner conflicts, negative feelings and emotions, enhance your inner awereness at different stages thus helping you perceive things and situations in a positive way so as to clear away inner conflicts. It brings peace and harmony in yourself, so that “restless noise” will stop streaming out of your mind and will be replaced by an immense deepest silence, finally I call that feeling the “healing silence” of our soul.

It may sound all too spiritual and esoteric pitched but it is indeed a natural process, and it just happens! Australian nature and its magical beauty and profound peacefulness amazed me with a powerful effect on my wellbeing.

This is just the beginning of what it has later on turned into a solo travel blogger adventure.

Michela

Read more about me

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