Australian journal 19 Kakadu National Park

The Kakadu National Park   and   The Eastern Kimberley are not really close to each other, just about 1000km But geographically they are at the very Top End of Australia. I had planned to spend a whole month there, in the end it turned out to be a bit less than 3 weeks. To be honest you would need alone for the Kimberly a whole month. The region is as bis as Germany, so you can soon figure it out how vast this area is. However I am really pleased I managed to see the Eastern Kimberley this time and the Kakadu National Park. Much is still there to be explored on future travels. The important thing is for me is to get a feel of the place rather than cram too much into my itinerary.

 Back from Darwin to Adelaide –  again on the Ghan Train
Enjoying the outdoor Lifestyle of Darwin I really love Darwin, always, at any time of the year. I simply feel “at home” in Darwin and love spending time there. Darwin is one of those places I miss when I leave. It is a city of party, for great outdoor lifestyle, restless buzz and creativity, a place I could love to settle down for a while! I had a great time there meeting people, discovering new places and enjoy its beaches its, aweseome sunsets, its lively markets. When I left Darwin beginning of June I knew my time in Australia was coming to a close. Feeling sad for a while I knew in my deepest heart that I will coming back one day soon in the future. The return train trip to Adelaide on the Ghan was also magnificient, this time I upgraded to a Red Cabin.
Michela
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Australian journal 18 Adelaide to Darwin

The third leg of my Australia Trip was focused on The Northern Territory and the Kimberley Wilderness Region. I had not been able to visit much of these areas during my previous travels because of bad weather conditions. That’s why I decided to go back during the dry season. May is definitely a good time of the year to visit the Top End of Australia and the Kimberley Region. In May the landscape still retains the beautiful colours of the lush green vegetation, gorges are still filled with water and not many people are around. The ideal setting for a visit. 

Travelling on The Ghan Train across Australia from south to north or viceversa is probably the wish of many australians and overseas travellers. For a series of reasons this time I chose to travel by train from Adelaide to Darwin. When I arrived in Australia in March I found out about the special offer Australia rail was launching on their website to all overseas travellers. Moreover I investigate a bit more and learnt about  the improvements made on the Ghan Red Service.  So I was very much looking forward to getting onboard of the Ghan again for the second time. My memories about my first train trip across the country back in 2008 were not so positive so I was eager to try it out and have another go. And I tell you I was pleasantly surprised of the huge improvements that have been made on this train.

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Australian journal 17 trains from Cairns to Adelaide

Broken Hill is another beautiful place in the australian outback,  the town has an interesting mining history. But its surrounds with Silvertone and the Living Desert Sanctuary with the Broken Hill Sculptures are the milestones of the area. Visit the spectacular Sculpture Symposium and make a daytrip to nearby Silverton, a popular filming location for movies and television shows.
I reached Broken Hill on the daily Explorer Train from Sydney.
Of the 6.500km travelled on board of various trains from Cairns to Adelaide the explorer train ride  was absolutely the most exciting and interesting one. The train travels through the most various landscape I have experienced in Australia. More about this train route on a separate page.

Here a recap of the travel distances covered during the second part of my travels in Australia:

6700km by train, across Queensland, NWS, South Australia
260 km by bus in Queensland
150 km by car in New South Wales
70 km by bike in Queensland
35 km walking tracks in Queensland
Michela
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Australian journal 16 - Brisbane, Byron Bay and the inland’s forest….

After a short stop in Brisbane relaxing I visited Byron Bay! I was very impressed of Byron Bay, I found the place very beautiful and not as touristy as one could imagine. Byron Bay is a small village known for its long sandy beaches and its surfing waves! You can visit Byron Bay is through a 6km walking track that takes you to the Lighthouse. Byron Bay waves are something unique! extremenly high and persistant ocean waves all around the bay, definitely an excellent place for surfers! I was lucky to see more of the surrounding area and ventured out to Mount Warning south of Brisbane.

Sydney and Broken Hill ….
The XPT Train took me from Brisbane to Sdyney city, on over 1000km train journey. A very long journey and yes a tiring one. Sydney was beautiful as usual. It is always a pleasant experience to be there and see places I have already been to, as well as to discover new areas and gain more knowledge about this impressive city. I love Sydney, it is one of those cities I can never get enough of it!
Michela
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Australian journal 15 Cunnamulla

Brisbane and the Queensland’s Oubtack Cunnumulla
One goal of my solo travel in Australia this year was to explore Queensland’s Outback and dirve along the Savannah Way. Unfortunately I could not find any travel companion to share with me this long route: 2500km from Cairns to Darwin, I was hoping to drive through. It as a pity, I will have to do it another time.  So I changed my plans and decided to discover some hidden places out in the remote dusty inland of Queensland.

The remote Outback area of Cunnumulla
 Cunnumulla was one of the highlight of my travel in Queensland. I love the australian outback. I think this is the most attractive landmark of Australia. There are countless places to explore and Cunnumulla was one of those places that stays in your heart, off the beaten track, you wish to return one day and discover more of the place.
Michela
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Australian journal 14

On a couple of days I also had the chance of looking after turtles, helped out with the cleaning of the pools and feeding them. In the picture I am placing a turtle patient back into its pool, after receiving medical treatment from a nurse.
 Leafing In Leafing Out, you might be wondering what is this? As you know Koalas only eat Gum Tree Leaves but only a certain type of leaves. And they truly are avid eaters, they eat and sleep all day long. One of your task as a volunteer is to make sure that each enclosure is filled with fresh gum tree branches for koalas to grab and eat. Take a look at the pictures so that you can get an idea of how leafing in and out is done.
During the cleaning process you have to remove the old leaves and replace them with fresh gum tree leaves. You must develop the feel for it, what has to be removed and what can be left inside. Moreover some of them prefer eating only a certain type of gum tree leaves, so at the beginning it was very confusing, but after a couple of days you get used to it and you do it naturally. If you ask me, I still cannot distinguish a blue gum leaf from a casuarina gum leaf   But do not worry  experienced volunteers and the lovely wildlife hospital staff help out with that, pulling out the right bunches of fresh gum tree leaves for you to fill the pots in each koala enclosure!
Michela
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Memories from my Wildlife Warrior Volunteer Experience

The 5 days spent volunteering at the Wildlife Hospital are filled with many beautiful memories. The list could be endless. At this stage I want to share with you some of the highlights of my Wildlife Warrior experience. Cleaning the enclosures of sick and injured koalas. Every day each single enclosure is cleaned  from top to bottom thoroughly. A daily routine work wich included scrubbing and washing the floor and the brunches from the dirt, as well as filling the pots with fresh water, leafing in and out, etc.

Feeding Koalas was, among other things, the most exciting experience. You need to learn some basic skill of how to do it properly but it is not difficult at all. However feeding koalas is not as eay as it may sound, koalas, like human beings, have their own character, moods and approach, some koalas are keen on their daily paste, some others simply hate it. So as a novice warrior I only had to feed the “good ones” and I had the honour of feeding the koala patient Warren for a few days, as you can see from the pictures below, I really enjoyed it and Warrend did it too

Michela

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Australian journal 12 How to become a Wildlife Warrior Volunteer

 As the terms says you will be a “Real Warrior”, a “Wildlife Warrior“, who actively contribute in the daily care of injured and sick australian wild animals. At this point don’t be easily mislead, you will not be cuddling sick animals or taking photographs all the time….surprisingly 50% of  people applying for a volunteer post as a Wildlife Warrior has this expectation….The work that expects you is solid work helping out in the daily life of wild animal patients.

What do you do as a Wildlife Warrior Volunteer

The daily volunteer work I was involved was mostly focused on cleaning koalas enclosures and paste-feeding koala patients. Koalas represent the largest number of patients at the wildlife hospital in Beerwah and the bulk of work with the maintenance of the enclosures is done by regular volunteers. Everyone helps out according to his or her personal abilities and skills, however you must be prepared to take up some routine tasks as well as be confronted with occasional tasks according to the needs or emergencies that crop up in the daily life of the wildlife hospital.

Michela

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Australian journal 11 Wildlife Warrior

 From Townsville to Rockhamprton on the Sunlander and the Tilt Train
The Sunlander and the Tilt Train run their service from Cairns down to Brisbane twice a week. I took advantage of my Ausrail Pass to get on and off these 2 trains. My second stop was Rockhampton and from there I proceeded to Landsborough on the Tilt Train. Beerwah is where I spent 5 days over Eastern doing some volunteer work at the Wildlife Hospital in Beerwah An amazing experience I want to share with you.

My Wildlife Warrior Volunteer Experience in Australia
As I mentioned before I was keen to do some volunteer work in Australia. I could imagine myself working in an australian organic farm or as a jillaroo in a cattle station in the rugged and dusty australian outback.  To be honest I never got round to doing some solid research to find out about all viable volunteer projects and went off to Australia with no clear ideas nor fix plans.
How I found out about the Wildlife Warrior Volunteer Project
As it most of times happens, you do not need to look for something, the law of attraction makes things happen for you! And this is how I found out about the Wildlife Warriors Project, through someone who had joined this volunteer project a few months earlier. Someone I met during the first weeks of my last travels in Australia.  Word of mouth is probably the best way to come across good volunteer projects. Listening to others’ volunteer experience is a great way of getting the information about the project so as to assess whether the project can be something for yourself. The best thing is obviously try it out personally and make it real. By listening to this girl’ inspiring story I soon fell in love with the idea of  being involved with the australian wildlife protection and did not think much about it. I simply followed my feeling that said, yes I want to “become a Wildflife Warrior”
Michela
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Australian journal 10 Radical Bay

My favourite beach on Magnetic Island is Radical Bay, where I went for a swim. I felt comfortable on a large beach shore, with some sign of life around me.
Enjoy the Wildlife on Magnetic Island
I was not lucky to spot either a koala nor a rock wallaby in the wild, but as I stayed in the bungalow bay koala village I was literally surrounded by fruit bats, kookuburras, geese, possums, lorikreets. Within the Bungalow Bay Koala Village you can take a tour through the australian wildlife sanctuary, where you can hold snakes, echidna, lizards, a baby croc or cuddle a koala.
The best tips for visiting Magnetic Island
Finally my best tips for visiting Magnetic Island.  Plan at least 3 full days, the best time is April-May before it gets very busy in the winter months. Hire a car or a scooter to make the most of it. Otherwise buy daily bus pass to navigate the island. Bring your own food, there are a few little food shops on only one major IGA at the Ferry Terminal but extremely expensive. Best place to stay I would say Arcadia, it is very central and close to anything else, has gorgeous beaches like Alma Beach and from there you can start some of the beautiful walks too.
Hope you enjoyed the post, if you have been to Magnetic Island share your tip or comment here below!
Michela
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Australian journal 9 Balding Bay

 When I arrived I soon realized that traveling around Magnetic Island was not going to be as relaxing as I had imagined. The island offers too much to do you cannot just lay around all day at the beach. From a variety of water sports to snorkeling and reef tours, to walking in the national park. Especially the walks on Magnetic Island make it into a paradise for hiking and wildlife lovers. 3/4 of the island is national park with a rich wildlife, so, if you are lucky, you can spot Koalas in the wild on the Forts Walk or feed rock wallabies at Arcadia Beach, or see Kookuburras, lots of them.
Walking is the best way to discover Magnetic Island. There are 9 main walking trails to choose from or if you can do all of them! They take you to secluded little bays or to beautiful lookout with stunning views over the coastal cliffs and the blue ocean.
On 2 days I could see much of the island. This walking trail sign shows one of the many Walks on Magnetic Island winding through the dry forest of the national park to secluded little bays and to lookouts with stunning views over the coast.
Here below just a few photos to give you an idea of what you see on Magnetic Island.  This is Balding Bay, a beautiful secluded tiny little bay.
Michela
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