Christmas eve in Brisbane. We've expected us to be a bit homesick today,but boy were we wrong.
Got an invitation by Rudi&Alenka,Slovenian couple living in Brisbane for a christmas BBQ/drinking party :)
And since it was our official BYO party,we bought a couple of beers and waited for the pickup, yes it was door to door
delivery courtesy of R&A :) They live in a beautiful 3 bedroom house, which they share with 7 cats...
Yes, 7 cats. Alenka is such an animal lover that she's also a foster parent,which is admirable....
We sat on the porch,drinking beers,eating fabulous food,respect to the chef,and basically enjoyed ourselves
throughout the night :) It was a great christmas eve in Australia. Thanks again Rudi & Alenka...

Božični večer v Brisbane-u. Pričakovala sva,da naju bo v tem času še najbolj zagrabilo domotožje,vendar temu ni bilo tako.
Dobila sva povabilo na božični roštilj s strani Rudija in Alenke,slovenskega para ki že kar nekaj časa živi v Brisbane-u.
In ker je bilo to najino prvo uradno BYO povabilo sva kupila nekaj piva in počakala na prevoz, ja Rudi in Alenka ponuajata
storitev "od vrat do vrat", svaka čast :) Njuno trenutno prebivališče je prekrasna hiša v prijetnem okolišu,ki si jo trenutno
delita še s 7 mačkami...ja 7,ker je Alenka tako velik ljubitelj živali,da igra tudi vlogo krušne mame,za zavržene mucke...res
občudovanja vredno. Sedeli smo na terasi,pili pivce in jedli fantastično hrano (poklon kuharju) in enostavno uživali v prijetnem
večeru. Na koncu sva imela odlično praznovanje božiča. Še enkrat hvala Rudiju in Alenki

Ah yeah, Gold Coast. Little bit of heaveen in QLD and the location of our hostel
is basically on the beach :) There won't be much writing here as everything
was pretty much just fun in the sun. We did however got together with
Tony, our agent and his friend Veronika for a drink in the evening,
and they took us on a drive around Gold Coast,showing us different
pieces of this paradise,making a stop for sushi along the way.

Gold Coast and his surroundings are very "touristy" in every way,but surprisingly that is not a bad thing
it just means there is a lot to do. We known way before there were a lot of amusement parks in the area
and were sure we're gonna visit one or two of them,just wasn't sure which. The nice stuff in our YHA hostel
recommended us the Wet'n'Wild Water park and that's what we did. It turned out to be a great idea, since it
is a huge water park with attractions that literally knock your pants off :)

Gold Coast, majhen košček nebes v QLD in povrhu vsega je najina lokacija praktično na plaži :)
Tu ne bo prav veliko pisanja,ker sva predvsem uživala na soncu,sva se pa uspela dobiti zvečer na
pijači s Tonyjem in njegovo prijateljico Veronico,ki sta nama razkazala Gold Coast,skupaj pa smo
se ustavili še na sušiju.
Gold Coast in njegova okolica je precej turističen,kar pa ni slabo,saj v tem primeru
pomeni samo da imaš veliko stvari na voljo. Že pred samim prihodom sva vedela da je tu kar nekaj zabaviščnih parkov
in da bova vsaj kakšnega obiskala,samo tega nisva vedela katerega in po priporočilu prijaznega osebja v najinem hostlu
sva se odločila za Wet'n'Wild vodni park in odločitev je bila prava,saj gre za ogromno vodni park,ki ti na trenutke
dobesedno sleče kopalke :)

The morning started with battle between Us (Wim,Julija and me) ,luggage and our car. It was one of those "How do you
get 4 elephants in a car" jokes...Why you ask? Let me clarify first that our car is not big by any standards.
It is in fact a Hyundai Getz :). And the two of us are not travelling light. Two big suitcases, 2 small backpacks and
a bag of food. To make the matters worse Wim has a 120l backpack,the biggest money can buy :) Somehow we managed to get everything in
the car and ended up with some spare space, for like o toothbrush or something. I'll let all of you to take a moment a listen (read)
to "The Story of Wim"...Wim was not a lucky guy,not by any standards. Even though he had quite a lot of travelling experience,this
trip was turning out to be a series of unfortunate events aka. Lemony Snicket. At first his camera got broken,when he asked a guy in Bangkok
to take his picture and he dropped Wim's camera. Bad karma. As soon as his plane touched the ground in Sydney most of his
electronics just failed on him. Laptob charger,Mp3 player,alarm clock, as if the gods of consumer electronics turned against Wim.
And yet,he was still happy and he even bought a new camera,to compensate on his bad luck. But the night before we met him,he went to a beach
party,where he was robbed by a couple of Aborogins, funny enough they only took his camera and his phone. So all of a sudden he was
without an alarm clock (phone) phonebook (phone) watch (phone) and yet he was still happy. And to top it all he discovered while
riding with us to Byron Bay,that they booked him the wrong hostel in a different town :) and yet,he was still happy :)
The lesson of the story is simple, if your name is Wim (which is SOOOOO close to WIN) you'll be happy no matter what :)
And if i spend a few words on our trip from Coffs Harbour to Byron Bay, there's not really much to say, we stopped in a nice town along
the was (forgot the name) and i drank the best Chai Tea of my life....oh and we almost stepped on a Brown Tree Snake,while hiking to
a lookout point near Byron Bay :)


Jutro se je začelo z borbo med nami (Wim,Julija in jaz) , prtljago in avtom. Kot da bi želeli v živo pokazati vic "Kako spraviti
4 slone v fičota :) ". Zakaj? Naj najprej razjasnim da najin avtoček ni ravno največji na svetu,pravzaprav gre za Hyundai Getz-a.
In če na to dodamo da imava s seboj 2 velika kovčka, 2 manjša nahrbtnika, mini kovček za kozmetiko (JulijaPress) in torbo s hrano,
je vsem jasno,da počasi zmanjka prostora. No če na povem da ima Wim 120 litrski nahrbtnik postane hitro jasno da smo naleteli na fizikalen
problem. Ampak ker je volumen v odvisnosti od temperature in tlaka,samo enostavno počakali na sonce,kar je avto povečali
in kaj kmalu smo v njemu sedeli vsi trije,naša prtljaga in še bi našli prostor za kakšno zobno ščetko. Zdaj pa vam bom vsem privoščil
trenutek oddiha da "prisluhnete" Zgodbi o Wim-u. Wim ni imel sreče,še zdaleč ne. Čeprav je imel pod pasom že kar nekaj daljših ekspidicij
se je ta začela precej slabo. Najprej mu je nekdo razbil fotoaparat,ko si je zaželel slike pred templjem v Bangkoku,na poti v Avstralijo.
A Wim se je smejal. Takoj ko se je njegovo letalo dotaknilo tal v Sydney-u mu je odpovedala ostala elektronika:polnilec za prenosnika,
MP3 predvajalnik,budilka,...kot da bi se bogovi zabavne elektronike obrnili proti njemu. In Wim se je še kar smejal.Kupil si je celo nov fotoaparat
,kot kompenzacijo za nesrečo v Bangkoku. Večer preden smo se spoznali,se je Wim udeležil zabave na plaži,kjer so ga oropali Aborigini in mu vzeli
nov fotoaparat in telefon,ki je hkrati rpedstavljan telefonski imenik,uro in budilko,a Wim se je še kar smejal in da bi bila zgodba popolna
je med vožnjo v Byron Bay ugotovil,da so mu za ta dan rezervirali popolnoma drugo sobo v poponoma drugem mestu,kot je prosil....in Wim se je še
kar smejal :) Nauk zgodbe je,da si z imenom kot je Wim (sumljivo podobno Win-Zmaga) VEDNO dobre volje.....
In če posvetim še nekaj besed vožnjo do Byron Bay-a....ni kaj posebnega za napisati. Ustavili smo se v prijetnem malem mestecu na poti,kjer sem spil
najboljši čaj....in Julija je skoraj pohodila Rjavo drevesno kačo,med sprehodom do razgledne točke v bližini Byron Bay-a.
In ja,ta kača JE strupena :)

Newcastle to Coffs Harbour was quit a drive. 450km to be exact and once more we took the scenic route,by the coast.
Now if you're ever travelling in Australia and time permits you, always pick the scenic route. It is just
so much fun to watch the nature change within couple of km,not to say the changes since the begining of our trip
in Victoria. Australia truly offers every person a bit of something,regardless of your taste,you can and will find
something that will take your breath away. Anyways, the drive itself took us by the famous Fredo Pies,with their
selection of 50 or so different pies. It would be a crime not to stop :)
We could have gone exotic and go for a kangaroo or a croc pie...maybe even an emu pie,but we rather stayed "conventional"
and had a lemon and an apple pie, both fresh from the oven,extremely tasteful....mmmmm, my mouth starts watering just
writing this :)
After getting to Coffs Harbour we took s stroll on the beach,since the weather did not permit any swimming.
Later we were enjoying a sweet and seedless watermelon and got into a conversation with Ann and Katie from
Tasmania. We clicked imideately so it wasn't long before a deck of cards and some wine was brought out...
soon we were joined by Wim from the Neverland (or is it the Netherlands...i don't know). Couple of drinks and
A LOT of jokes later we found out that Wim is going in the same direction us we are,but is taking a bus,and since
we still have some space in our car offered him a ride to Byron Bay. So i guess there'll be three of us tomorrow
in the car :)

Newcastle do Coffs Harbour je bila kar dolga pot, 450km če sem natančen in še enkrat več sva se peljala po daljši in lepši
poti. Če boste kdaj potovali po Avstraliji in vam bo čaš dopuščal vedno izberite daljšo pot,vsekakor se izplača.
Tako zabavno je gledati kako se narava spremeni v samo nekaj kilometrih,da ne omenjam sprememb od začetka najine poti
v Melbourne-u. Avstralija dejansko ponuja nekaj za vsak okus in upam si trditi,da bo vsakemu izmed vas nekaj
odvzelo sapo. Kakorkoli že, vožnja naju je vodila mimo "svetovno" znanih Fredo Pies (Pie - Pita),
ki ponuja več kot 50
različnih vrst pit in lahko bi bila eksotična in si naročila kengurujevo ali krokodilovo pito,celo emujeva je bila na izbiro.
A sva ostala previdna in predvidljiva in vzela limonino in jabolčno,obe sveži,ravno spečeni,mmmmm kako sta bili dobri...
kar cedijo se mi sline ko tole pišem.
Po prihodu v Coffs Harbour sva se sprehodila po plaži in bližnji okolici,saj vreme ni dopuščalo kopanja.
Kasneje sva se med uživanjem sladke lubenice zapletla v pogovor z Ann in Katie iz Tasmanije.Takoj smo se odlično ujeli
in ni bilo dolgo,ko so bile na mizi igralne karte in vino :),kmalu pa se nam je pridružil še Nizozemec Wim.
Po nekaj kozarcih in VELIKO šalah kasneje sva ugotovila da se z Wimom odpravljamo v isto smer,le da on tja potuje z avtobusom.
In ker imava v avtu še kar nekaj prostora sva mu ponudila prevoz,kar je z veseljem sprejel. To torej pomeni,da bomo jutri
trije na poti v Byron Bay :)

Zapuščava Katoombo in se odpravljava v Australia Reptile Park (park plazilcev) eno izmed mnogih zanimivosti povezanimi z živalmi
v Avstraliji. Kar naredi ta park še posebej zanimiv je dejstvo,da je večina strupa za proizvodnjo protistrupa v primeru
kačjih in pajkovih pikov,nabranih ravno tu. Ne bom vas dolgočasil z zgodbami iz parka ampak bom raje posvetil nekaj
besed protistrupom.
Proces izločanja strupa iz kač in pajkov se imenuje molzenje,tako kot pri kravah,a vseeno
kanček bolj nevarno. Ves strup je nato poslan v laboratorij v Melbourne. Zanimvo je to,da protistrup ni sintetično narejen.
Strup vbrizgajo v izjemno majhni količini v konja,ki ima izjemno sposobnost samoobrambe in telo takoj začne proizvajati protitelesa za strup.
Vsak dan povečujejo dozo vbrizganega strupa,dokler doza ne dosega količine,ki bi pokopala čredo konjev.

Nato konju odvzamejo precejšno količino krvi,s centrifugo ločijo protitelesca in mu kri vrnejo,ker v bistvu predstavlja
"tovarno protistrupa".
Dan sva zaključila v Newcastle z Body Board (vrsta deske za surfanje) in 2-4m valovi....in ja ..oba je totalno razmetalo :)

Leaving Katoomba, heading to Australia Reptile park,one of the many animal related attractions in Australia.
Now what is interesting about this particular park is that most of the antidote for spider and snake bites comes from the venom collected
in Australia Reptile Park. I will not bore you with the details of the park,'cause you'd just have to be there.
Let me spend a few words of antidotes. The process of collecting the venom from spider and snakes is calld milking,same
as in cows....bit more hazardous though :),the milked venom is then transfered to laboratories in Melbourne,where they
make all the antidotes for Australia. Now here comes the interesting part. Hte antidote is not synthticaly made.

The venom itself is injected into a horse,firstly in extremely small dosage. The horse's body is well known for its
ability to protect (heal) itself,and the body starts producing antibodies. Now everyday the horse is injcted with a bite
bigger dosage of the venom,until he is injected with such a dosage that would probably kill a herd of horses,without
even a slightest effect.
Some of the horses blood is then extracted and the antibodies removed and the blood returned to the horse
making him basicaly an antivenom factory....
We finished our day in Newcastle with body boards and 2-4m waves,just enjoying ourselves. And yes we both got wiped out :)

During our drive to Katoomba in Blue Mountains we were talking 'bout the bush fires near Sydney. Now you might have heard
something ybout that and got worried. Now let us calm you down. The fires,extensive as they might be are not nearly
close to were we are or are going. It may seem that way looking at the map and listening to European news, but to put
thing in perspective, it is like fire burning in Kranj,and you really wouldn't start to evacute Ljubljana now would you?
So Katoomba,Blue Mountains, the perfect spot for bush walking,rock climbing,rafting,abseiling,...sort of like our Triglavski NP,but in
a much much larger scale. There are some incredibly interesting rock formatins such as the Three Sister.

Now i'm sure there is a legend and a story behind that,but I didn't really have the time to investigate that.
So i'll just say they are sister,which usually implies they have same parents,and there are three of them.
We did an interesting bush walk called "The Three Sisters walk" which takes you around that particular rock formation,over 900 stairs (yes 900!!)

and you end up under the steepest funicular railway in the world. The steepest incline is 52 degrees or 128%, for
you philosophers without any math knowldge that means that travelling 1 m horizontaly you climb 1.28 m verticaly...
oh just draw yourself a picture.....


Med najino vožnjo v Katoombo (Blue Mountains NP) sva se pogovarjala o požarih v bližini Sydneya. Morda ste celo slišali
nekaj o tem in vas je to zaskrbelo. Naj vaju takoj pomiriva,saj požari niso niti BLIZU tega kjer sva oz. kamor greva.
Morda so informacije v Evropi drugačne in tudi pogled na mapo morda kaže drugačno sliko,vendar je Avstralija ogromna in če
potegnem vzporednico s Slovenijo je to tako,kot da bi gorelo v Kranju,zaradi česar verjetno ne bi evakuirali Ljubljan mar ne?
Torej Katoomba, odlično mesto za rafting,plezanje,treking,...nekakšen Triglavski NP vendar v precej večjem obsegu.
V njem se najde nekaj fenomenalnih skalnih formacij kot so recimo Three Sisters (3 sestre). Prepričan sem,da je za tem
kakšna zgodba ali aboroginska legenda,vendar enostavno ne vem, verjetno gre za sestre,kar pomeni da so imele iste starše,
in da so bile tri...to je vse kar vam lahko ponudim. Odločila sva se za prijeten nekajurni treking z imenom "Three sisters walk"
ki te popelje ravno okoli te skalne formacije,preko 900 stopnic (ja 900!!) vse do najbolj strme železnice na svetu,katere
naklon je 52 stopinj ali 128%, če to povem drugače, za vsak horizontalni prepotovani meter se dvignete za 1.28m :))