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Hello all,
Unfortunately a stable wifi connection is not part of our new adventurous lifestyle so my first entry is a little on the late side. But... Let's start from the very beginning, a very good place to start! Welcome to our travel blog!
After the longest flight of my life (and I've been on a few in my short lifetime) we arrived exhausted but excited in a not so sunny Brisbane! We took our first steps with our fully kitted backpack on our back (a grand distance of 600 m) before arriving at our Hostel: The Brisbane YHA! After a well deserved shower and a very good nap we went to explore the city with our new friend John, whom we'd met on the plane. John had spent a good deal of time in Aussieland so gave us some good tips (including the best box wine to buy. That's that very important problem solved) and gave us a little tour of Brisbane. The first impressions from our very tired eyes were AMAZING! This city has cleary invested a great deal in the making people feel comfortable and at home with it's beautiful parks, city bikes to ride, free ferry rides, and a beautiful man made beach for all to enjoy. We knew we were going to feel right at home.
In the next couple of days we got ourselves up and running by getting all those admin thingies organized. We were now equipped with an australian bank account and australian mobile number. Next step was to find some wheels (more on this later)!
In the days that followed we met some great people at the hostel with whom we shared meals, wine and a beer. They also gave us some really good tips and told us of their experiences so far which was great to hear.
During our first weekend we met up with my old housemate Pete, his girlfriend Janey, and his cousin Malta. He took us to a great dive bar called lefty's where I tried my first rum and dry and we listened happily to blues and good ol' country music. The night was so good that we decided to do something similiar on the Saturday night. On Saturday we met at a restaurant called chop chop changs where the first shots were consumed. The next stop was a place called Blackbird. Blackbird has the most amazing cocktails but they also have a bit of a cocktail dresscode. Needless to say I felt like I had just come back from a game of tennis in my VERY casual t-shirt dress ( My backpack wardrobe does not cater for anything remotely chique). However, we ended the night in the famous backpackers bar the Down Under or Dunder bar! Here we tried some green concoction which I think was basically pure sugar in a glass with green food colouring. We had a great time chatting, dancing, and drinking very small amounts of alcohol. Lex and I could not have wished for a better first weekend in Aussieland.
Our second week in Brisbane was marked by finding our new travel companion Cornelius the Commodore (our car)! Cornelius is bright purple and comes with his little quirks here and there but we feel that he will keep us safe and sound on our travels. We have also found that he is indeed big enough to sleep in (more on that in my next blog).
After we bought Cornelius we took him on his first outing to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary to see some of Aussieland finest and cutest creatures. We got to pet and take a selfie with a kangaroo, we saw some very lazy wombats (what a life), dingo's, duckbilled platypus' , bat eared foxes, many birds, and the tip of the iceberg: we got to hug a koala called Max. We also met some fellow dutchie travellers and were once again given some great advice and tips.
Our stay at the YHA hostel was almost coming to an end so we needed to take the next step in our travels. We really wanted to see more of Brisbane (we'd spent the first couple of days doing so much admin) that we decided to opt for an airbnb in Albion, a suburb just a 10 minute train ride away from the CBD. The airbnb pushed my cleaning bug to the limits as cleaniless was let's just say not the strongest factor. However, here we were able to meet Cameron, a paramedic helicopter pilot. He gave us some very sound advice on living in Aussieland with all it's creatures. Summed up, it basically boils down to: use your common sense, you can never be too cautious, and everything in Australia either wants to kill/sting you or eat you!
Our time in Brisbane was almost up so we decided that our next stop would be somewhere around Byron Bay. Thus, on to our new destination, Brunswick Heads far away and safe from cyclone Debbie.... or so we thought.
- comments
Lex :p Looking good!!
Lidwien Hello Fooks! I just have read your message logged in and I go te read your adventures this weekend. Today busy with Museumnacht in Maastricht, till 2.00u. at night. Watch your curious eyes out and send us your stories. Big- Poene- Hugs > Lidwien
Lidwien Hello Globetrotters, After the water hardships it is good to enjo, some time. Yes, the Austalien people are very friendly and helpful. Greetz to all your new friends. They are an important part of your journey. Dikke Poene Hugs!