Australia
Adventure Report
Australia
“Tha Wales of Oz"
The Wales of Oz
“Kangaroos, Koalas, and Sharks, ‘oh my!'”
When Karl was working in New Zealand, we took advantage of the opportunity to explore New South Wales (“NSW”) and Queensland in overland vans that we rented for our trips. Queensland and New South Wales are two of the more populated states in Australia. But they nevertheless offer many amazing adventures and our trips through them gave us a taste of the amazing adventures that the rest of Australia has to offer.
New South Wales
We started our trip in NSW in Sydney which is one of our favorite cities in the world.
Not only is the weather amazing, but the beaches are beautiful and the city itself is full of world class culinary and cultural experiences, including concerts at the Sydney Opera House. From Sydney, we headed west to explore the Blue Ridge Mountains, a beautiful region full of limestone cliffs and waterfalls that offers amazing hiking and rock climbing adventures. Then we made our way gradually up the beautiful coast of NSW, taking our time to enjoy the many beaches and surf breaks along the way. At one break we found a beautiful, long beach break in turquoise blue water with perfect waves. For a while, we were the only surfers in the water. Eventually, another surfer paddled out and we asked him why the break was so deserted and he told us the reason was because the area was a breeding ground for sharks, including great whites. As we paddled urgently back toward the shore, we wished we had bought a better surf guide that identified how “sharky” each break was.
Northern New South Wales and Queensland
As we made our way north through Northern NSW and into Queensland, the population thinned out and the landscapes became wilder.
One of our favorite excursions in Southern Queensland was a trip to Fraser Island, the second largest sand island in the world. The Island supports a variety of fascinating ecosystems including eucalyptus forests, mangrove forests, rainforests and sand dunes. One of our favorite experiences on the island was swimming in Lake McKenzie, a beautiful and pristine lake full of Eucalyptus oil from the surrounding Eucalyptus forest. If there had been a campground on the edge of the lake, we would have stayed there for several days, swimming back and forth across the lake. But we were glad there wasn’t because it would have changed the nature of the experience.
Aussies
One of the best things about Australia are the people.
Not only are they friendly and welcoming to visitors like us, but they are laid back and have a great sense of humor. Australians also love the outdoors, including overlanding. As a result, if you are an overlander, you’ll be rewarded with a plethora of campgrounds, national parks and overland routes throughout Australia.
Aboriginal Culture
Unfortunately, there aren’t many opportunities to immerse yourself in Aboriginal culture since these days most Aboriginals either live in cities or in small, isolated towns that are closed to outsiders.
However, there are some opportunities to visit Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory. And someday we hope to not only visit these communities, but also visit the many remote Aboriginal spiritual sites throughout Australia like Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kakadu National Park to develop an appreciation for what life was like for the Aboriginals thousands of years ago.
Kangaroos, Koalas, and Sharks, “oh my”!
Our dream is to return to Australia someday to spend at least a year exploring the country in a 4WD vehicle.
Some of the adventures on our list include completing the Canning Stock Route, exploring Cape York, the Kimberly and Tasmania and scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef. But for now, that’s just a dream. But regardless of whether we return or not, Australia will always have a special place in our heart.
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