G'day Australia!

Darwin (04/12/2013)

Nuestra primera parada en Australia fue Darwin, situado al norte, solo un corto viaje de Bali. Después de los precios de Asia, Australia nos pareció un desafío de no exceder nuestro presupuesto. Caminamos a la parada de autobús, nuestra primera aventura, no recuerdo la temperatura exacta pero sentimos que estábamos a 40 grados y con la humedad a todo lo que da, y solo eran las 7 de la mañana.

Unlike most people's, our journey to Australia was a short one, just a couple of hours from Bali but in those couple of hours the climate changed significantly. We arrived early in the morning, but as soon as we left the air conditioning of the airport we were hit by the heat and humidity which made walking to get the bus hard work (it was close to 40 degrees by 7am) but with Darwin being one of the world's most expensive cities taxis were only for emergencies, it was back to walking miles with our packs but luckily by now they were a lot lighter than at the start!

Waterfront

Crocodile experience

Los cocodrilos son animales imponentes, su color, sus ojos, sus dientes, los sonidos atemorizantes de sus mandíbulas cerrando para tratar de capturar la comida que el guía estaba dándoles, son hermosos en una manera terrorífica.

Being so close to the amazing creatures whilst they fed was impressive and a bit scary. Perfectly evolved for the environment these animals haven't changed in thousands of years. Living, breathing, biting dinosaurs!

A nervous smile? As you can see there wasn't much boat between us and the Salties!

Lo llaman Michael Jackson, named by the locals because of his white face and black body! This guy was between 5 and 6 meters long and weighed at least 1.5 tons!

Birds of prey came for the leftovers

Uno de los mejores guías, viven junto a la naturaleza y ha aprendido gracias a las experiencias de vida junto al grupo indígena del territorio del norte

We learned a lot in a short time from our wise guide, not just about Salt water crocs but about the Northern Territory's history, the nature, capitalism and how it has affected and the Aboriginal people's way of life. Eye opening and sad.

Litchhtfield National Park

Las casas que las termitas han construido. "Catherdrals" Giant termite mounds

Magnetic termite mounds

The waterfalls were a perfect place to swim and cool off, although a little scary swimming after being face to face with the crocodiles but they re-assured us there were none here!

Al final del día vimos el atardecer con un pequeño picnic.

 Ending our day out with a picnic of giant shrimp and champagne by the sea

Cairns (08/12/2013)

Cairns fue el inicio de la costa este de Australia, un clima cálido perfecto para nuestro viaje a la Gran Barrera de Coral, Nemo nos estaba esperando.

Flying across to the east coast brought some relief to the oppressive weather of the NT, we found Cairnes to be a welcoming place with a good vibe but we were here for one reason...to find Nemo!

Man made lagoon by the ocean to avoid the "Stingers". When Aussies advise you to not swim somewhere, you listen, there are far to many things here that can do you severe damage!

We found Nemo and more at the Great Barrier Reef!

Magnetic Island (11/12/13)

Tomamos un par de días en esta hermosa isla, nos hospedamos en un hostel con una vista que muchos hoteles envidian, un hermoso atardecer en Australia junto a mi prometido, fue de lo mejor.

The view from our hostel on "Maggie" Island had an amazing view. We spent a couple of days here trekking and exploring, finding some interesting wildlife and beautiful scenery.

La mañana siguiente caminamos en busca de Koalas, no tuvimos mucha suerte pero los paisajes fueron impresionantes. En el camino regreso a casa a lo lejos vimos una cosa gris, peludita en un árbol de eucalipto, fue el primer vistazo de estos animalitos.

We were on a mission to find our first Koala in the wild, it was hard to spot but we definitely saw a grey fluffy thing in the eucalyptus trees!

Magnetic Island animal Sanctuary

The rumors are true, Australian birds are very friendly

No solo se ven como de peluche, se sienten suavecitos y pachoncitos. They really do look and feel like teddy bears!

Lo ame

Rock Wallabies

Rainbow beach (14/12/13)

Es un pequeño pueblo con una larga costa y coloridas dunas de arena, es mágico. El paisaje es extraordinario.

This pretty little town is named after the multicoloured cliffs that separate the sand dunes from the beach. It was a great place to spend a couple of days relaxing just enjoying the surroundings.

Not everyday you see a speed limit on the beach

Sunset from the sand dunes after a bit of Sand boarding.

Noosa (16/12/13)

Me enamoré de Noosa, las playas en el parque nacional son simplemente una belleza. El clima fue bueno con nosotros y tuvimos un día con un sol radiante, el cual hizo los colores del cielo, mar, arena, vegetación vividos y mas apreciables para nuestros ojos. Es mi lugar favorito en Australia.

Great weather, beautiful coastline and an ocean we could finally swim in, on reflexion it was our favorite place in Australia. It didn't hurt that our hostel gave away free pizza too!

Bush Turkey

Y aquí es donde tuvimos un encuentro con nuestro amigo peludo

Finally we got close enough to a wild koala to get some good pictures of our furry friends!

Hermoso

Brisbane (17/12/13)

Tuvimos una parada en esta ciudad para descansar de los autobuses nocturnos, Brisbane fue excelente con nosotros, encontramos bellas vistas y personas agradables.

After a very long nightbus we found Brisbane to be a friendly city with some nice sights. The workers in our hostel made us very welcome sharing their "Goon" with us, (4L boxes of wine) and playing card games.

Christmas decorations, concert and sound and light show outside the town hall.

Treasury Building (Now a Casino, how appropriate)

Botanical City Gardens

Brisbane Museum

Byron Bay (20/12/13)

Un pueblo relajado, bohemio y junto a una playa que te deja sin aliento, el azul del mar es intenso y oscuro, contrastante con el color de la arena y el distinto azul del cielo.

After a few days in the city it was time to get back to the beach. A popular resort but with a small town feel and lots of live music on the streets.

Alguien se sintió navideño y nosotros aprovechamos para la foto

The most Easterly point of Australia

Brown shoulders (for me!)

Time for Sydney!