From New South Wales to Queensland

After having received our "El Coche" we're heading off north to find warmer weather. We're already looking forward spending our first night in our home, our tent. But it is a chilly night. Brrrrr... Since we can't use our independent heating system in the car (roars like a jet) to sleep warm and cozy, we move into cabins and on-site vans in the campgrounds for the next couple of nights. The beaches in New South Wales are awesome. Reto is tempted to take another Surf lesson (last one in Costa Rica) but is put off by the chilly water. Therefore, we travel fast up to Queensland. Crossing into Queensland means another day of hassle. Insurance, Police permit for left-hand drivers and the registration of our car takes up another full day. Before we left for Australia, we didn't know that we have to get a separate insurance/registration for each State and Territory we're travelling through. The Office of Transportation in Queensland explained to me that it is similar to Europe. Whenever I cross a boarder (in this case into another State/Territory) I have to fulfill the respective regulations. As friendly as I'm always I explained him that I don't have to register my car in every country I'm visiting in Europe. Well, we will only visit another 5 States/Territory. Hurray!!!

Searching for Sapphires

Leaving the Queensland coast and driving into the Outback, we reach Sapphire and Rubyvale, where Sapphires can be found. Millions of years ago a volcano eruption spread the Sapphires into the area. Each winter thousands of Sapphire fossickers are drawn to this area. And of course, we also want to try our luck. There are several ways to search for Sapphires. You can buy a fossicking license and just head off and try to find something. Other options are to "rent" a claim for 5 years or just buy a bucket which is already filled with dirt and stones. We decide to accompany a professional, local Sapphire fossicker. He explains us where and how to look for Sapphires. Afterwards he spends the day with us digging, sieving and washing.

First of all the so called "Wash" needs to be found. This is a specific layer of stones and dirt where the Sapphires are hidden. Therefore, the overlaying soil has to be removed first, before the "Wash" can be extracted. This means a lot of digging and even more sweating. Having filled some buckets with "Wash" the next step is to sort out big stones and fine dirt. To do that, the buckets are emptied in a rotating sieve. The remaining "Wash" is then hauled over to the washing place where sieves are used to wash the remains. The shaking-action of the sieve moves the Sapphires to the bottom because of their weight. With a professional swing the sieve is then turned up side down and examined for Sapphires. And yes, there are some! Excited as we are, we go back to do more digging. By the end of the day we have found 15 stones. Dirty, but happy, we have our treasures inspected by a Sapphire cutter. He tells us that we were quite successful and 9 of the stones can be cut. The next day we pay our Sapphire cutter another visit to learn how gem-stones are being cut. So cool ;-)

ps. We're on our way again, we dragged ourselves away from the mines and the Sapphires ;-)

Smoke alarm, security and the bird attack ;-)

The cabins we're renting usually contain a kitchenette. Sometimes the heating system for the stove is not very powerful. Which means, that it's not even possible to get a pot of boiling water. Well, with a little bit of creativity we managed to find a work-around many times before. This time however, our "work-around" creates thick smoke which activates the smoke alarm. Reto solves the problem quickly and removes the smoke detector while I try to undo my creative thing in case somebody will check on us ;-)

Our cabin neighbors are from Australia. In general it's very easy to get in touch with Australians. They tell us, that they work as etchers. Basically this means, that they etch the Chassis-Number of the vehicle into all car windows which should make stealing the car less attractive. In case the car gets stolen, the thieve would have to replace all the windows before he could resell the car. And so we have our car windows etched for the neighbor-friendship-cabin-price of only 20 AUS$.

Northern Queensland is the sugar cane country. The Bundaberg Rum is obviously produced in Bundaberg where they offer Rum tours. The highlight of it is definitely the rum tasting afterwards, eventhough Reto prefers Verena's Caribbean Rum ;-)

On our way north we come across huge caverns which have been a tourist attraction for more than 100 years. It's very popular for weddings. And who thinks that... thinks wrong ;-) We were not tempted.

Beside all the sugar cane fields Queensland sports also a variety of birds. The most colorful Lorikeets are here flying around like Doves in Europe. Already before breakfast the Lorikeets "attack" us to find some bread crumbs or a piece of fruit.

Ultimate Whale-Watching in Hervey-Bay

Yes! On the very next day the rain is already history. We're on the ultimate Whale Watching Trip. We see various groups of Humpback Wales. But the unforgettable experience is still to come. For about 2 hours three Humpback Wales are playing around our boat. Curiously they dive and swim along the boat. Sometimes they stick theirs heads out of the water or just one eye to get a glimpse of those visitors. Who is more curious, us or them?

Every day is different

Of course, we also have to do some of the real touristy things so we visit Movieworld. However, we are not too excited about it and we are drawn back to nature, into the Great Sandy National Park of which Fraser Island is part of. As the name implies, the National Park is mainly sand. Therefore, first thing to do before we enter the ferry on the beach, is to reduce the tire pressure for beach driving. One has to consider the tides for the arrival and departure of the ferry. Driving at the beach is only possible at low tide. Too many have already lost their cars in the ocean and we definitely don't want to join them. The beach is not only used by cars but also by planes. Certain parts of the beach are also used as runways. So we have to look out for approaching planes before accessing the beach. Fraser Island has many things to see: sand dunes, sand canyons, fresh-water lakes, a ship wreck and Dingos (wild dogs). Unfortunately it's rainy while we're there. On the 3rd day we get soaked in a downpour while packing up our tent. Instead of staying another night as planned we decide to leave the island. There is just enough time to reach the ferry before high tide is coming again.