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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Australian journal- Magnetic Island 2

For the second part of my trip I wanted to try out something new, after weeks of flying and driving I was pretty exhausted and therefore decided to travel Australia by train. So after checking all viable train travel options I grabbed one of the fantastic offers AustraliaRail had launched and got an bought an AUS-RailPass for 3 months. Looking closer on the map Magnetic Island was a perfect destination heading south of Cairns.
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How to get to Magnetic Island
The best wasy to travel to Magnetic Island is to catch the ferry from Townsville. The service rides every 30 minutes. Once you reach the island a public bus takes you from the ferry terminal through the island stopping at several resorts and main places. I had booked my accommodation on Magnetic Island close to Horseshoe Bay in the northest part of the island.  Unless you have your own vehicle, you must use either the bus which rides every hour or hire a mini moke car, one of those funny topless car or if you prefer a scooter, which is really good fun!
Michela
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Australian journal 7- Magnetic Island

For now I am giving you a recap of what I have been doing during  my solo travel experience in Australia: I love travelling alone. The picture above shows you where I travelled by train across Australia.

From the North to the South Queensland along its coastline

The first leg of my train travel in Australia covered the whole of the coastline from Cairns to Brisbane.  The first stop was Magnetic Island where I stayed 3 days. A little island in the dry tropics of Queensland with beautiful little beaches and secluded bays, over 10 walking tracks and plenty of sports activities.

Travelling to Magnetic Island off coast of Townsville 

 After 4 weeks of extensive travelling Cairns in North Tropical Queensland signed the last destination of the first part of my trip. I really needed a break, a peaceful place where I could relax, fully unwind and finally keep travelling  across Australia for more weeks.

Michela 

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Australian journal 6 train travel

Australia is a huge country with endless travel distances; as a solo traveler you are bound to be on the road for a long time and of course completely alone!  I find driving in Australia pretty tiresome, unless you have a travel companion with whom you can swap the drive and have a chat I would not welcome driving solo long distances on the australian roads.

So, how can you travel in Australia if not driving or flying?

There are ways, bus and train. I am a huge fan of train travel. In Europe I travel on train by 90% of my time. This time I was keen to experience train travel in Australia too. And this exactly how I travelled for the rest of my time in OZ. It has been an awesome experience, a rather different experience from the type of train travel I am used to in Europe. I will tell you more about my train travel experience in Australia on the next posts.

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Australian journal 5 Queensland

The second Part of my Travel in Australia

Where I have been in Australia – April to May

Middle of April, after 4 weeks with a travel companion, my solo travel adventure could start. I had not made any fix plans for this second part of my travels. Queensland was my  focus and  was keen to see as much as I could of it. 

Queensland is a huge state with the most diverse landscape you can imagine. First step was to make my mind on how I wanted to travel for the rest of my time in Australia. in 2004 I travelled from Cairns to Brisbane on the Greyhound bus stopping at Mission Beach, Whitsundays Islands, Harvey Bay, Fraser Island. This time I wanted to see more places on the coastline and of the outback too.

After 3000km of driving, and a few flights within Australia, I was very much looking forward to exploring Australia on a more comfortable way so as to suit my solo travel needs better.

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Australian journal 4 Cairns

For my second visit to this Australian region, we managed to see the Moosman Gorge and Daintree forest north of Port Douglas. And eventually from Cairns we headed off to the Milla Milla Falls. Cairns itself is a nice small town, for the ideal base for discovering the surrounding area, to go on a Great Barrier Reef tour or taking a walking trail into the rainforest. There is so much too see and do in this area, you can plan a whole week there! Cairns itself has developed to a a very well organized city offering literally everything you may need during your stay.
After 4 weeks the first part of my Australia Trip my friend returned home from Sydney. And from that day I was travelling solo again, as I used to do and as I love most.
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