mytravelblogposts-blog

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Creators

Topic: Crossing Boarders | Australia

© This travelblog was created by Erik Dähmlow & Adrian Brimm

Delivery Date: 02.06.2017

Holstenschule, Ee

Fr.Heering

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One day there will be no borders, no boundaries, no flags and no countries and the only passport will be the heart

Carlos Santana

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Day 14 1/1

This is the last entry of my Australia-Trip. After breakfast the airport shuttle brought me to the Alice Springs Airport. From there I will return back to Germany with one stop in the United Arab Emirates. I am already in the plane to Abu-Dhabi as you can see on the picture. I hope you enjoyed my blog entries. I would like to thank everyone who followed me during my trip.

Thank you :)

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Day 13 1/1

I left the hotel pretty early this morning, because I am going to visit the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, which is also added to the UNESCO World Heritage site. Then after around 5 hours driving through the outback I saw the Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock) already from far away, because this iconic landmark stands 348 meters high and stretches 3.6km long. Besides I already read that this rock is known for it’s stunning color change throughout the day. The colour of this rock was amazing and it seemed so unreal. It’s understandable why the spots around the Uluru are sacred to the Anangu (the aboriginal people of this area), because it looked and felt mystical.

The Aborigines live since 50,000 years in Australia they splitted into many little clans. Today 3/4 of the aboriginal people live in cities and follow the modern culture. Only 1/4 of the Aborigines live in the nature and follow the traditions. A typical aboriginal instrument is the didgeridoo, which is a big wood pipe, where you have to blow in to make sounds (on the picture above you can see a didgeridoo).

Later I visited the Olgas (aboriginal language: Kata Tjuta). These 36 mountains are owned by the Anangu and they think this is a holy place and thats why tourists cant go anywhere they want, because a few areas are banned and it’s illegal to be/get there. The Anangu use this places for traditional rituals. But the mountains looked fantastic the biggest one sticks out 546 meters. To see the Uluru was a nice ending for my trip.

Vocabularys:

sacred (heilig), mystical (mystisch), 

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Day 12 1/1

The last days were pretty tough, because the jungle weather in the rainforest was pretty warm (because of the high air humidity) and also the amount of travelling during the last couple of days was very hard for me. I went to the Kakadu National Park, which is located in the Alligator Rivers Region in Australia’s Northern Territory. The Kakadu National Park is one of the most beautiful national parks in Australia, because of the unique flora and fauna. In case of this natural and cultural value of the national park the Kakadu National Park was added to the list of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage and World Nature Heritage. The park contains one of the best and most extensive collections of rock paintings in the world. It was pure nature. Me and my group went to the Jim Jim Falls (4th picture). Until we arrived I also took a couple of pictures from other waterfalls and rivers in the nature. After that the guide showed us the rock paintings (which were up to 23,000 years old). On our way back to the entrance i also photographed some animals (baby wallaby and forest kingfisher). I was amazed by the nature and the variety of animals, which were in the park.

Some facts about the Kakadu National Park:

Founded in 1981

Size: 19.804km²

Climate: Average temperature around 34°; 90% of the precipitation from November to April

Added to the list of UNESCO Cultural & Nature Heritage in 1992

Vocabularys:

tough (hart), air humidity (Luftfeuchtigkeit), unique (einzigartig), value (Wert), World Nature Heritage (Weltnaturerbe), extensive (umfangreich), variety (Vielfältigkeit), precipitation (Niederschlag), 

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Day 11 1/1 

From Airlie Beach I drove 2 1/2 hours to reach my next stop: Daintree National Park. The Daintree Rainforest is a region located on the north east coast of Queensland. It contains a total area of 1,200km² and is one of the most complex tropical rainforest ecosystems in the world. Besides the Rainforest is the largest continous area of tropical rainforest in Australia and the oldest rainforest worldwide (in existence since 180,000,000 years). Furthermore the rainforest is named after Richard Daintree (1832-1878), who was an Australian photographer and geologist. In addition the Daintree Rainforest contains 90% of Australia’s bat and butterfly species and also 3% of the frog, reptile and marsupial species. Around 7% of the Australian bird species and over 12,000 species of insects can be found in the rainforest. It was very hot and wet in the rainforest, because of the high air humidity. I also saw some interesting warning signs for box jellyfishes and crocodiles.

Now I am sitting in the plane on my way to Darwin International Airport, because I am going to visit the Kakadu National Park tomorrow.

Vocabularys:

marsupial species (Beuteltiere)

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Day 10 1/1

Today is my first day in Cairns and today I am gonna visit the Great Barrier Reef. I have booked a Full Day - Outer Barrier Reef Trip (the link is down below). I always wanted to see the Reef as soon as possible, because the Great Barrier Reef is slowly dying. Just 2016 500m² of the reef’s corals died in succession of coralbleach (corals and algas need each other for living. When the water temperature is too high the algas get poisonous and the corals reject them, lose their color and get white), which is caused by the climate change. The Reef includes 400 different types of coral, 1,500 species of fish and about 4,000 types of mollusc. Me and some other visitors got there by a catamaran as you can see on the booking-website, which I will link down below. The catamaran departed at 10:30am, but I had to check in around 10am at a terminal near my accommodation. We drove two hours, but it was actually pretty nice, because the catamaran was pretty good equipped and air-conditioned. So when we arrived I grabbed my snorkel equipment and dived into the water to take pictures of colorful corals and fishes, which I saw at the reef. After one hour of snorkelling I went back to the catamaran, because the Day Trip included hot and cold buffet for lunch and also tea or coffee and cakes in the morning or in the afternoon. Then after 3 1/2 hours at the reef we drove back to Cairns. We arrived in Cairns around 5.40pm. I went back to the hotel to pack my bag again. Besides I have to get my flight to Alice Springs Airport, because I also want to visit some other sights in the northern territory of Australia like Ayers Rock, Daintree Rainforest and the Kakadu National Park.

MY BOOKING WEBSITE: https://www.divingcairns.com.au/daytrip14

Vocabularys:

coralbleach (Korallenbleiche -> Korallenkrankheit), algas (Algen), to reject (abstoßen), mollusc (Weichtier), departed (fährt ab um ..), air-conditioned (klimatisiert)

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Day 9 1/1

I had booked a Half-Day-Trip to Whitehaven Beach (A beach at the Australian east coast near Queensland). It is one of the whitest beaches in the world. Me and some other tourists get there by a tourism boat. The tickets are pretty expensive but the money was absolutely worth it. It was one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever been to. Everything there was just breathtaking. The crystal-clear water, the beautiful white sand (which is created because the amount of quartz is nearly 99% and makes the sand look white) and the absolutely spectecular landscape. I went snorkeling there, but there were not any fishes. Today’s trip was also perfect to relax in the sun or to take a little nap. It is 5pm now and I have to get my flight to Cairns (city in the north of Queensland) which will probably take around one hour. Near Cairns is the world’s biggest coral reef. So excited for the next days in the nature of Australia.

Vocabularys:

quartz (kristallines Mineral)

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Day 8 1/1

This is my last day in Sydney. I am a little bit sad, but also excited for the following days. This morning I went to the Sydney Opera House, which is the landmark of Sydney and a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage. I booked a guide tour which took around one hour. It was very impressive to see the big theatre rooms. I remembered the guide saying that the Sydney Opera House has 2688 seats in it’s biggest room and a total amount of 5532 seats. After the tour I ate at one of the Opera’s restaurants. Later I went shopping, because I wanted a special Sydney souvenir and also some shirts to remember how cool Sydney was. Then I went back to the hotel to pack my bag and called myself a taxi to the Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport.

My first stop after Sydney is at Whitsunday Airport. After around 3 hours of flying I finally arrived at my accommodation in Airlie Beach (Australia’s holiday resort). I decided to fly because otherwise (by car, bus ...) it would take way too long to travel around Australia. Now I am looking for a nice restaurant to eat dinner. Then I will go to bed.

Vocabularys:

landmark (Wahrzeichen), World Heritage (Weltkulturerbe), pack my bag (Koffer packen), accommodation (Unterkunft), holiday resort (Touristenzentrum)

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Day 7 Post 1/1

The plan was to visit the Blue Mountains. I started to drive by train towards the Blue Mountains. The first trainstation I stopped was Seven Hills because I heard of the Featherdale Wildlife Park. I could fed a Wallaby by hand which you can see on the picture and it was the first time I touched a koala. The wildlife park was great but I planed my next stop in Katoomba because it is the touristic and cultural center in Blue Mountains. I could buy a one-day busticket to explore the Blue Mountains. It was amazing how beatiful the area was and I can understand why big parts of the Blue Mountains are added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, because the nature there is stunning and I saw so many animals and the view was fantastic. I also never had seen so much eucalyptus before. The Blue Mountains have huge forests with eucalyptus trees and it was breathtaking to see the blue dust on top of the mountains which was created by the eucalyptus plants, because the the eucalyptus oil vaporizes when the sun burns and it creates the blue dust. After a few hours of discovering the blue mountains I went back to Katoomba to look for a coffee to relax. Later I went back to Sydney and fell asleep quickly.

Featherdale Wildlife Park: http://www.featherdale.com.au/park-information/

Vocabularys:

Wallaby (Tierart aus der Familie der Kängurus)

#australia #wildlife #wallaby #bluemountains #nature

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Day 6 1/1

At about 9am I went to the Luna Park to have some fun. There were several attractions like a big wheel and all kind of rollercoasters. So I was really excited to see the park. Trying every attraction was great and it took me around 4 hours. The best part was the Ferris Wheel which you can see on the last picture. I had a beatiful view from the top of it. After the park visit i was looking for something to eat. I ate a very delicious pizza. Later I went to the Royal Botanic Gardens to look at the Australian flora. I saw so many flowers and plants and it was a good place to think about my trip and my impressions about Sydney as I sat there I got more excited about my following trips.

I post some pictures of the Royal Botanic Gardens so you can see how beautiful it was.

Vocabularys:

attractions (Attraktionen), Ferris Wheel (Riesenrad im Luna Park), impressions (Eindrücke)

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Day 5 1/1

I headed over to Manly Beach (named by Capt. Arthur Philip) today to relax and snorkle. I had to drive 30min by bus to get there. I already saw alot of stunning pictures so I am really excited. As I arrived I instantly smelled the saltwater. All over the beach were other tourists. I saw some surfers at the beach. It looked really cool. After a short nap under the sunshade and a little snack I went snorkeling. As you can see on the pictures I saw a lot of colorful fishes and other water animals. The water was really clear but still a bit cold. After that I took a quick walk around the beach. Suprisingly I saw a warning sign for sharks. I was a bit scared but also pretty suprised, because I never expected that I would actually get in contact with dangerous animals. So I went back to my towel and enjoyed the rest of the day at the beach with great weather.

Vocabularys:

sunshade (Sonnenschirm)

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Day 4 1/1

Meanwhile my sleep ryhthm also applied to the Australian timezone. Today I visited the Sydney Tower as you can see on the first picture. I bought a ticket for 50$, which is really expensive in my opinion. The ticket included a 45min tour around the outside of Sydney Tower with a experienced guide. The view was so stunning that I took a panorama picture with my iPhone. After that around 2pm I ate my first meal of the day at Vapiano (italian restaurant with self-service). Later I went to the Hyde Park. There was a really cool fontaine in the middle of the Hyde Park and I already saw my next sight the Saint Mary’s Cathedral. The Cathedral has the greatest length of any church in Australia and is also one of the most oldest cathedrals in Australia.

Vocabularys:

sleep ryhthm (Schlafrhythmus), applied (angepasst), fontaine (Springbrunnen), sight (Sehenswürdigkeit)

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Day 3 2/2

After the Taronga Zoo I went over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and took another nice picture of the Sydney Opera House. Subsequently I visited the SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium. When I arrived there I saw so many cool water creatures like fishes, sharks, crabs ... There was also a tunnel underneath the aquarium which was made out of glass so you can watch the sharks and fishes from below. It looked very beautiful.

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Day 3 Post 1/2

This night I slept at least 6 hours. Today’s plan was to see some animals. The weather is pretty nice. A couple of clouds in the sky, but still around 30°. After breakfast in the hotel I went to the Taronga Zoo to see some typical australian animals like tasmanian devil, kangaroos, ...

Vocabularys:

tasmanian devil (Tasmanischer Teufel)

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Day 2 Post 1/1

So the first day is over. The last night was pretty short because of Jet Lag. And I am still very tired. I stay at a hotel for the next days to discover Sydney and it’s sights. When I woke up around 1pm i was looking for something to eat because I was very hungry. So I went down the road to eat that typicial australian stuff. I found a burger bar just around the corner. So I order a hamburger with beetroot. After that I ate a Parlova which was also very delicious. 

After lunch I went to the Art Gallery of New South Wales for around 2 1/2 hours. I saw a lot of aboriginal art which is one of the oldest art traditions in the world. There were also some interesting paintings from other international artists.

I went back to the hotel and got some food at the buffet and went to bed.

Vocabularys:

beetroot (Rote Bete)

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Day 1 Post 1/1

Hello Guys!

This is the first entry of my travelblog from my Australia-Trip. So, I finally arrived at Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport, which you can see on the first picture. And I have to say that it is very hot outside because of the missing ozone layer. The flight took around 22 hours and now I am really exhausted. But otherwise I am also really excited what will happen in the next two weeks. I already saw the Sydney Opera House as you can see on the second picture. I did a bit of research before my trip actually started about the politics of australia, the most important cities, a few important sights in the nature which I will visit during my trip and some facts about australian animals.

About the Politics of Australia:                                                                         

So Australia is constituted as a parliamentary-democratic federal and also an independently governed state. Besides Australia is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.  The constitution of Australia, which became effective on 1 January 1901, is based on British parliamentary traditions, and includes elements of the UK and US systems. Head of state is the British queen Elisabeth II who is represented from one of her appointed governor general (Michael Jeffrey since June 2003). 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Australia (22.05.2017 15:46) https://www.australia-migration.com/page/Government/234 (22.05.2017 15:59)

Australia’s biggest cities (listed by the population):

-Sydney (5,005,358), Melbourne (4,641,636), Brisbane (2,349,699),           Perth (2,066,564), Adelaide (1,326,354)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Australia_by_population (23.05.2017 17:21)

Nature Sights:

First of all I think that I am going to visit the Blue Mountains because they are close to Sydney. After that I am going to the north coast to snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef. Besides I want to visit the Daintree Rainforest which is also somewhere at the north coast. Almost at the end of my trip I want to visit the “Uluru-Kata-Tjuta-Nationalpark” which is the “home” of the mountains “Uluru” and “Kata Tjuta”.

About the Australian Animals:

Australia is also mostly known for the poisonous and dangerous animals. Down here I will list the most toxic animals of Australia.

Box Jellyfish (Cubozoa) (name is because of their bell) kills more than 100 people per year. The Venom of the Box Jellyfish is usually to paralyse fish, so it immobilises your nerves and can affect your breathing and movement. A too large dose can cause a cardiac arrest (death within a couple of minutes).

Honey bee (Apis mellifera) is common and deadly because it is not native to Australia. For highly-allergic people even a single sting can be life threatening. A sting caused a sharp, burning pain and a minor swelling. If you are allergic the sting of the honey bee could also cause breathing difficulties and other symptoms.

Sydney funnel web spider (Agelenidae) is one of the most poisonous spiders in the world. Only the male’s bite has proved fatal. Since 1927, 14 deaths have been recorded. The venom can cause death, because it affects the nervous system. A bite of this spider is also very painful and can cause symptoms like musle spasms.

http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/wildlife/2013/03/australias-dangerous-animals-the-top-30/ (31.05.2017, 19:23)

Vocabularys:

entry (Eintrag), ozone layer (Ozonschicht), exhausted (erschöpft), constituted (verfasst), federal (bundesstaatlich), includes (umfasst), appointed (eingestellt), population (Bevölkerung), snorkel (schnorcheln), bell (Schirm), immobilises (ausser Kraft setzen), affect (auswirken), cardiac arrest (Herzinfarkt), native (einheimisch), sting (Stich), minor (klein/gering), proved (bewiesen), fatal (tödlich.folgenschwer), spasms (Krämpfe)