Australien Trip


Solar-race and travel on

Travelling again?
Yes, and up to September 2000. Lucky me, but I worked nearly for a year.
Is that an excuse?
Well after misery with "The women of my life" I was reorganising my plans. Visited friends in Switzerland and started to date my old girlfriends… I was offered a flexible job at a friends electronic-business.
Ready to settle down? Nope. Just in time maettu, a "kindergarten-friend" called about a special project. "Edi, would you like to join a team, going to Australia for the last challenge of this century…" check the links…

Once in Australia, why not enjoy my young life? As soon we packed the solar-bikes in Adelaide, Maettu and I flew via Sydney to Cairns.
In Sydney we visited team-members, stayed at their lovely house. Bondi-Coogee-beach, harbour-view and of course non-Australian-food. Very nice after all this mixed grills and barbies. Urrrgh.
Cairns, of season, is a nice place, relaxed, no problem with rooms. The main task was to get as crew on a sailing boot southbound.
But most skipper looked for female crew (or s-crew…). Only one lady was looking for someone to pull up her sails… She sounded so old on the telephone and called me strait away "hoooney".
We left disappointed up to Cape Tribulation. Rain in Forrest is the right expression. We walked all day long in the bathers around.
Instead of joining a guided tour, we decided to take our diving-torch and flashlights head out on our own in the night… Very impressive, standing between all this trees and noises, pitch dark and no orientation after a few kilometres. Big moths (two palms big) scared us, attracted by the light they bumped in to our faces. "Watch your step.." a brown water creek was blocking the way: crocodiles? Is there a snake on that hanging branch? Something big is running away. Brrrh - what could it be ? Casuarinas, pigs, goannas? After two hours we got back. Actually only saw 2 jumping mouses and the moths, the other things we heard!

Next day diving at the great barrier reef. Two days sea-kajaking to Snapper-island and play Robinson Crusoe. I missed Eva - ah that was an other book. Excellent snorkelling around the cliffs. The night-snorkelling I gave up, they scared me about crocodiles visiting from the shore. I don't have problems with sharks (saw many on our night-dives out on the reef), but crocks…

Back in Cairns I went on a live-aboard-diving boat and attended a advanced PADI course. Its still more adventure to dive without tank to 18m. Short but good feeling.

Surprise, surprise : a skipper talked on our voicemailbox. "need boys ASAP - sailing south to Brisbane…" that's 1500km on a 16m yacht. Perfect. Cairns-NormanbyIsland-DunkIsland-OrpheusIsland-Townsville-AirlieBeach-Hillinlet at Whitsundays-Shawisland-GoldsmithIsland-RoslynBay-FraserIsland-TincanBay-Mooloolaba… Here we went ashore: Maettu had to rush south to Sydney to welcome his wife and I went for a short visit to see my relatives on the Lychee farm near Mooloolaba.
Soon I will be in Sydney too and bike for the millennium to the highest point of Australia. Guess the altitude - and I will tell you which girl will accompany me. Haha.

January till end of February is lychee picking season at my uncles farm. WWOOF'ers welcome. Shall we make up a picking team? Who's in Australia at that time?
Check and

Links to other sites on the Web

solar-bike-challenge
swiss-team
what's on the farm?
work for food!

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