Coffee, Kangeroos und Koalas...

G'day mates! Now we have arrived in the "Down Under" and a welcoming smile of my good friend Amy and her cosy house in Melbourne was a great haven for the world travelers after their adventures in Asia.
First of all we enjoyed the warm sips of amazing coffee. Melbourne has a true coffee drinking culture: little cafes at every corner in town serving up special organic coffees with steamed milk (even the local laundry service has an espresso machine) My favorite: strong Latte with chocolate sprinkles on top!

After the urban pleasures of shopping in teh second hand shops, drinking a beer at the local pub and watching live music and eating kangeroo steaks - we decided to check out the great outdoors of Victoria. The bush fires have made the selection of outdoor activities very difficult, but not only that it has parted families, left people with nothing and has destroyed 400 000 ha of land around Melbourne. This little dew drop on the firns of the trees on the Great Ocean Road are quite deceiving, but true ... the Austrians brought the rain. And it did rain quite a bit on are little excursion - crazy Ausralian weather : one day its spanking hot that even the tomatoes in Amys garden get grilled from the stem and the next we are hovering over a glass of wine underneath a tarp as it comes down in buckets. (Check out the tarping skills - "erlebnispaedagagische Qualitaeten" )
Watch out for those sharks... surfing? No, I don't think so...
Firn palm trees in the rainforest of the Great Ocean Road...
Let me introduce you to our furry, wet friend Koala, who is hovering in the eucalyptus trees munching away on these potent leaves that make them sleepy and relaxed.
The wild ocean with big waves was inviting and inspirational for that classic walk on the beach. Wow, what a contrast to those tropical beaches in Asia. Note: no bikini babes this time!
The steep cliffs, blue sky and the white beach break gifted us with spectacular views
Fun times on the road - Judith is driving and Amy and I are just hanging on for the ride ;)




Rock on at one of the best festivals in Australia "The golden plains" , good alternative grooves, red wine, gourmet salad and cheese in the middle of sheep farms and rolling hills. And wow, those Australians are very clean "festivalers " - no comparison to that dirty "Frequency festival"! A little tear drop of good-byes...
These two girls have come a long way already from a bumpy bus ride packed in with chickens in Laos to the coffee house in Melbourne ... here our travel paths part. Judith is following her heart to Vancouver as for I will head to the Outback for some more adventures. A tribute to a great travel buddy who would take on any adventure on the way and who would be the one I could lean on to when in got rough. I will miss you ...(but I will enjoy the bed for myself tonight :) A friendship grows with every step you take together ..and we took a lot of steps on this trip!!!