Dear all



It's already two weeks ago that I sent word.
The last mail was about the normal life of a backpacker, but before I wrote this mail, there was still more!
I was, how you might remember, on the Great Ocean Road and now one week in Adelaide.


I had to get up early that friday, 5.30am... I just had to go some steps to a close travel agency and wait there.
At 7am we were picked up by two buses, because so many people booked that tour!
I was a little bit unlucky and had the drinking group and very stereotype, they were english..
It was a cloudy day after everyone was picked up we headed to the Great Ocean Road. The first stop was a village nearby, where the brands Billabong and Rip Curl were founded :) There were a lot of outlet factories but unfortunately, I didn't need anything ;)

The next stop was Bells Beach, a very famous surf beach. But the sand there was at some spots very dark and remembered me of oils, so I didn't like it very much.
Then we stopped for the entry of the Great Ocean Road, a big arch.
After this we saw for about an hour just the cliffs, the ocean and the loopy street. Very unfortunately it began to rain then and at our lunch stop in Apollo Bay it rained heavily.. So we couldn't enjoy this normally very beautiful village..

With the rain we headed to the rainforest nearby and made a 20min. walk there. Then the tourguides decided to cut the tour on this day a little bit due to the rain. So we went to our first night hostel and drove by the 12 Apostels!

The "hostel" was just a house with one floor and different rooms. We had bad luck, my new friends and I, and received the rooms with just three walls. The fourth was missing and so the room opened against the kitchen with just a chimney and some improvisational walls in between.. Luckily the group drank outside in the night and not in the house, so we could sleep at 10pm ;) yeah, we were quite tired. But before, after the dinner, we went seeing the sunset at the 12. But all was cloudy and so we didn't see the sunset, but the 12 Apostels with mist!! Also beautiful and over all as impressive as it looks on every postcard!!!!

The next morning we went there once again and fortunately the mornign was sunny. So I made a helicopter flight, 10min., round the apostels!!! I can't describe the feeling, it was more than awesome..
Afterwards we spent the morning and the noon stopping every 15min. for making pictures of nice places at the Great Ocean Road. Such as the Tower Bridge, Bay of Islands and other cliffs :) We stopped for the lunch at a park and during we prepared our sandwiches, the guides had to change a flat tyre ("Platten").

Then we went to the Grampians. These are mountains on the north-west of Melbourne. They're not big mountains, but bigger than hills so even I had to admit that they're mountains ;) The last stops were at a Information Centre about the indigenous Aboriginies and the McKenzie Waterfall. Then we went to our second and last camp where we saw the first wild kangaroos!!! They're much in this little village there! :D With this hostel we three girls were luckier, because there were two houses with almost enough beds, but at least two had to go to an extra room. And we went there! So we had 9 beds in our camp house, but were just three girls :) That meant, we had a bathroom for just us!!

The BBQ at this evening was bad for me, because they had the same sausages as in Melbourne Central YHA. They're called beef sausages, but the meat in is mixed of beef, pork and sheep and I can't eat sheep meat...

The evening there was then however quite funny to watch. The two other girls were tired, but the rest of the group made, though it was raining, a big water fight because it was the last day of our tourguide :)

The last day we went to the famous lookout "The balconies" and afterwards we climbed Mount Zero to have a nice view of the landscape. Then we had our last lunch and headed finally to Adelaide. From the Grampians to Adelaide there are 500km in between... and nothing else!!!! We drove 5.5hours (minus a half at the destination because between middle and east Australia there's a time difference of half an hour) from 2pm and saw from hour to hour a fuel station, a village or even a small town and between them nothing and nothing and nothing and don't forget the nothing and nothing again... I'm really serious, it was like you might imagine Australia. After the border, in South Australia it was suddenly very warm and all but nothing than steppe around the highway. 5 hours!!

But maybe the funniest thing on the whole tour was the english guy who ate nothing but cheese.... no joke! ;)

Sunday a week ago I arrived then in Adelaide at a very small and nice hostel, where Internet access was free! I also had a very nice room and the climate was very familiar :) also at this time there was the Fringe Festival in Adelaide. A festival with different musicians and comedians and other artists which often also stayed in our hostel! We were often there at the evening, enjoying the free shows or just the great atmosphere. I had some nice and easy days there, too. I met with Esther (from Sydney) once again, we were in the cinema, at the festival, I went shopping and with friends to the beautiful beach suburb Glenelg and on this special evening I made pictures of special public buildings in Adelaide. The reason was, because they are painted with light! So normally the have a normal colour, but at night they project light on the buildings and give them a new fassade! Awesome!

Last saturday my family here then picked me up and showed me the countryside outside of Adelaide :)

On monday I was at the travel agency because Esther and I want to travel together, first a trip to Alice Springs, then back to Adelaide or directly to Perth, hire a car and drive to Esperance, which is on the south of Perth. I want to go afterwards the west coast up to Broome and it looks like I have then to go back directly to Sydney because it will be may on this time :)

But the problems started yesterday. Finally I booked an 8 day trip to Alice on monday, because it was on discount and so cheaper than a 6 day tour and the 7 day tour with another tour operator was already full. But I couldn't pay with my visa, there was a problem with it.. The guy then said, that's no problem I can pay the whole week. I liked the idea. Acutally I could have paid it already on monday, but I liked it more with my visa. On the hostel I called then my bank at home and they said, the bill for feburary wasn't paid, but I knew I hadn't received the bill yet!! (the bill was from the 4th or march, but monday was the 15th...)But I thought, if the bill comes, my family will pay it and then I could pay the tour at friday or so, no problem, like the guy said. In the evening I moved from the hostel in the city to my family, who lives outside in a suburb 20km away (Adelaide is one of the most spread city in Australia). Yesterday morning I got a phone call from Esther, there was a mistake, I had to pay the tour NOW or I woun't be booked in and there are just 3 seats left... Unfortunately we were already on the way to the city.. there we went to the travel agency, too. It was right, the guy made the mistake and didn't inform me about the case and if I don't pay, they can't book me in.. And I had to pay the full amount! But I still couldn't pay with my visa and me and my cousin hadn't enough money to solve the problem!!!

So, what now? I had to go back 45min. again to the house in the suburb, grab the last possibility and head back to the city. That took me all in all 4 hours........

4 hours where I didn't know, if there's still one seat free, 4 hours which I'd like to spent with my cousin... I don't think I have to say how angry and mad I was with the travel agency guy and my bank..

At 4.15pm I finally could pay my tour and the 3 seats were luckily still free. So the plan is still working and we will go to Alice Springs at the 31st of march!!! Maybe be will also make a trip to Kangaroo Island to shorten time, we don't know yet ;) By the way, near Alice Springs is the famous Ayers Rock!!!

So far my last adventures now :) Soon I will also send you finally some pictures and put them on facebook.


Lovely Greetings from a hot Adelaide!!