Malaysia

On our way back from Australia to Europe, we stopped in Kuala Lumpur.

The old train station:

Hibiscus is the national flower:

And a photo of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building that hosted the superior courts of Malaysia before the year 2000.

A sign in a copy-shop:

Uluru - Kata Tjuta

With our German friends Anna and Boris and with Paul's brother Fiacre, we traveled from Canberra to Darwin - a 5000km trip - through the Australian desert. We're now in Darwin for our last day in Australia.
We've been lucky to walk in the Wilpena Pound in the Flinders Ranges. We slept in an underground camping in Cooper Pedy. Then watched the sunset and sunrise - with breakfast - at Uluru and Kata Tjuta. Every night, we camped in road houses or in the bush along the Stuart Highway, we took a shower only every 2 or 3 days. After the heat of the day and the dust of the desert, we were very pleased to swim in the clear Mataranka springs. Then we headed of to the Kakadu National park were we camped at the base of the Gunlom falls, were we enjoyed swimming in pure water, in a beautiful scenery. An aboriginal women told us dreaming stories, stories simple but somewhat shoking of dreaming ancestors, the powerful beings that created the features of the land and were able to change themselves into any animal. We went to a river cruise to watch the crocodiles. Then we left Fiacre on a bus to Darwin at the Kakadu village centre. And went to Lichtfield National park, were we camped near a creek. There are only 8 camping spot, separated by 150 m and spread along the river. We had a swiming hole for ourselves. We cooked eggs on a camp fire and boiled tea with water from the river. We jumped and jumped and jumped again in the swimming hole, and we got a massage from the small waterfalls. For this enchanted place alone, I think it is worth coming back to Australia.

Whakaari / White Island

We visited an active marine volcano, located on the subduction zone between the Indo-Australian plate and the pacific plate.

The volcano as we could see it from the boat when we arrived.

The steam is very rich in sulfur dioxide and that can be quite uncomfortable that's why the tour guides provided gas masks.

Steam coming out of the crater. There is only hot water and steam visible from the surface. At its nearest point, the magma chamber is located 1km below the surface.

Hot water and steam, looks like a boiling pot of soup.

This big steam column appeared only a few months ago, it is deposing a lot of sulfur dioxide on the walls behind. The sulfur will turn yellow when exposed to the atmosphere.

The yellow color is sulfur deposits and the orange color is due to iron.

The impressive lake inside the crater, temperate varies between 38 and 90 degrees in this lake. It is a super saturated solution of acid, PH is equal to -1!

Merry Christmas

We are very behind with the updating of our blog! We've been to so many amazing places!!! 

Brisbane - Stradbroke Island - Adelaide - Yankalilla - Kangaroo Island - Perth - Margaret River - Boranup Forest and now we're heading towards Braidwood. 

Sooooooooo many beautiful beaches and panoramas, strange birds and animals on our ways, as koalas, seals, sealions, huntsman spiders, kangaroos, wallabies, quokkas, kookaburras, gang gang and so on. We snorkeled and biked on the islands and played music with many people. For sure, we'll put some pictures of our travels soonish on the blog!!! :-)  

For Christmas, Australians do not decorate their houses for Christmas, but themselves!! Plenty of people dress up in white-red Christmas clothes or as reindeer:-) Merry Christmas!

Margaret River

After a visit to our Friends Claire and David in Perth, we are currently working as "wwoofers" on an Olive Plantation in Margaret river, 275 km South of Perth. They sell their products under the Brand "34 Degrees South". It is the latitude of Sydney and Cape town in South Africa and it is also the latitude of Margaret river. It rains more in this region and the paddocks are still green. There is no lack of water around here. Their Olive trees are irrigated and look very big for 8 year old trees.
This morning, we've been packing dukkah in little 100g bags. It is a traditional dish from north Africa composed of nuts and spices like cumin and cardamon. They dip bread into olive oil and eat it with the dukkah.

Alpacas on the farm

A Rainbow on a rainy morning

Goulburn

Goulburn, home of the big merino is a country town, located 90km to the north east of Canberra.

Bush and pastures constitute the typical landscape around Goulburn.

It had been raining, and the pounds were full of water.

A destroyed windmill, probably damaged by a strong wind.

A view of Goulburn from the war memorial.

A description of Aborigines from this region. Goulburn is part of the traditional land of the Gandangara people. (click on the image to see a wider version)

The main street.


The car I'm driving is a Mitsubishi Magna Executive. It has over 360000 km.

Magpies singing

Magpies are about the size of a small raven. But they fly and walk a lot closer to humans than the ravens we have in Europe. People in Canberra could tell you stories about magpies attacking them while riding bicycles, or stealing jewellery.


Fiacre was playing the guitar while a few magpies game to sing with us.


Magpie in a Eucalyptus in Goulburn.