Phillip Island really knocked me off my feet. Its beauty is super impressive. And I just LOVE the ocean. The pure blue water and the sound of crashing waves always make me feel calm and settled. No matter where I am or what's going on in my life. The ocean makes me feel home all the time.
Look at this pure blue. I could watch it 24/7 and hear the waves crashing, feeling the breeze, breathing the absolutely clear and fresh air.
When walking around Phillip Island you will get to see so many beautiful views and landscape. Like I mentioned there's the ocean as well as lots of green bushland. But the most amazing thing about Phillip Island are the penguins. The little penguin lives here on Phillip Island. Well, they spent most of their time in the sea getting fish for themselves and their babies. But after the sun goes down they get out of the sea and make their way over the beach up to their burrows. And if you pay some money you can watch them on their way out of the sea and support the protection of the little penguin. It's definitely worth it and honestly the cutest thing I've ever seen! Look at this little bugger. the little penguin baby in its little home his burrow.
About 32,000 little penguins live on Phillip Island. And they really are little. The little penguins are only 33cm (13in) tall. It's really amazing and beautiful to see all the little penguins making their way home after a successful day or even multiple days. They can also stay in the ocean for a longer period of time. Watching them waddle down the beach is just super cute. They look well fed, just like me after Christmas. With their bellies full of fish, it looks like they can barely walk. ;)
If you ever have the chance to watch these cute little penguins, you totally have to do it! It's a completely different experience than going to the zoo and watch the penguins do some tricks. On Phillip Island, they're just the wild animals following their normal routine in the life of a little penguin. And I promise watching this pure beauty of nature will make your heart melt.
Have you ever been able to explore and experience the beauty of Phillip Island?
Since you are not allowed to take pictures of the little penguins of Phillip Island anymore all the images of the little penguins used in this blog post are from the official app or website: www.penguins.org.au
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At the beginning of the year I went with the local family I stayed with to a Highland Gathering. They are so much in love with Scotland and we're super excited. I was surprised because I would have never expected a Highland Gathering in Australia. Anyway, I was interested to see what it's like.
So we went to Maryborough in Victoria. Every year lots and lots of Scottish people come here to hold a Highland Gathering. It's including traditional elements such as barrel toss, Scottish dancing and running. Whereas the running isn't as traditional as I thought. When we arrived the first street parade was just starting. The Scottish people were wearing their traditional clothes and playing traditional music. Each clan marched down the street in their own group and played their own song. I think Scottish music is very cheerful and enjoyable. I felt like I was in Scotland for a day. Even though I was in the middle of Victoria. It felt like another world.
Later on, we went to the big oval to have a look at the stalls where you could buy food, souvenirs or learn Scottish dancing. In the oval were running competitions going on all day. Sadly, it was just normal runners. They weren't dressed traditional at all. But on the side, there were some strong men having a weight throw competition. They were wearing kilts and throwing a big weight up in the air. The goal was to throw the weight the highest possible with only one hand. The weight has to be thrown over a bar at increasing heights over the thrower. It was really nerve-wracking to watch. The whole audience was thrilled. Everyone got really calm when it got exciting. You could feel the tension in the air. And when the thrower reached the height, the applause and cheering were massive.
I've learned that the state Victoria has a very big Scottish society. In the 19th century, many Scots came to Australia and settled the beautiful south east of Australia. That's why many different Scotland related events take place all year round especially in Victoria.
I absolutely love to explore different cultures and didn't expect to take part in a Scottish Highland gathering in Australia. But I really enjoyed being in another world for just a day. I think it's amazing how the Scots keep up their traditions and celebration. Even though I'm sure the gatherings here are a bit different and not as big as in Scotland. I was surprised how much work and attention to detail the people put in their uniforms and the whole show.
What I really enjoyed is the music. The traditional Scottish music simply gives you a good feeling and is very cheerful. And of course the traditional dancing cheers you up even more. It makes you wanna dance along. ;)
Have you ever visited Scotland or got in touch with Scottish tradition otherwise? It's definitely on my travel bucket list.
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Well, there are quite some things that are different around Christmas time compared to what I'm used to in Germany.
First of all its on average 25ºC warm. At tops, we had 38ºC in the last days and of course summer will get even hotter. I'm glad we're 'only' expecting 30°C for Christmas. Meanwhile, my friends and family in Germany are complaining about the cold weather. It's freezing and sometimes snowing while temperatures are below 0ºC. But there will probably be no snow at all at Christmas day in Hamburg, like pretty much always in the past years. When I was still a kid we used to have white Christmases more often. I really loved to put my warmest clothes on and build a snowman or take my sleigh to have fun in the snow.
That's why I somehow didn't expect to see Christmas trees in Australia because I always associate Christmas trees with the cold time of the year. Of course, Christmas trees are part of Christmas festivities in Australia as well.
Another thing I realized is that there are no real Christmas markets. I saw some stalls, a little promenade at Docklands in Melbourne but that's it. That's pretty cute compared to Germany. We take our Christmas markets, Schmalzgebäck (a very sweet type of pastry) and Glühwein (also very sweet, mulled wine) very seriously.
Even the streets are just merely decorated compared to Germany. All I saw were some banners, some decorated shops and street lights. Even shopping centers aren't overly decorated. Only some exceptions. In Germany, it's like every tree and they can find is decorated. Really every shop, office, branch bank has excessive decoration. Suddenly, the city is twice as bright with light at night.
In addition to that, I'll be celebrating Christmas mainly on the 25th of December. While my family and friends back in Germany will be celebrating Christmas on the 24th of December on Christmas Eve.
Another thing that's going to be different is the food. While my family keeps Christmas dinner more low key with traditional homemade potato salad with sausages. Some of my friends do the same while some have a big dinner. It really depends on the family's tradition. Australians celebrate Christmas with a very big meal. We'll have seafood, different kinds of meat, lots of vegetables and dessert. So there will be something for everyone.
Anyway, I'm super excited to celebrate Christmas with a big and lovely Australian family. I hope you have a great time with your loved ones. Where in the world are you celebrating Christmas?
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For two weeks I lived on a 'hill' in Wodonga. For me who's from the flat north of Germany, it was more like a mountain. Anyway, the views were absolutely amazing, like really halleluja amazing. The surrounding hills looked like out of a painting. The setting, colour, really everything looked like a painting. Except that it was real. Just me wandering around the property and enjoying these spectacular views. The first day I couldn't stop...I kept on saying 'Please poke me, I think I'm dreaming.'. Cause this is exactly what I felt like when I looked around. It was just breathtaking.
The lady was so kind and nice. My travel mate and I had a wonderful stay while helping her in the garden and with some computer work. Also, she has a beautiful Bed & Breakfast to share her spectacular house and views. There are also many beautiful handmade metal sculptures in her big garden. The whole property is an artwork.
Just see for yourself:
In our spare time, we visited Beechworth, a beautiful old mining town which kept its beautiful old charm. When we arrived I felt like I stepped inside an old western movie. It really looks like movies of the 60s. Only the saloon was missing. :D
Another reason to go to Beechworth is their amazing honey. They have so many different kinds and tastes and you can try them all for free. Also, they have other honey products like cosmetics honey beer, wine and other drinks. We bought some honey & lemon soda and it was super delicious. I never even dreamt of honey drinks, but it tastes amazing. And you can try them for free as well.
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After exploring the beautiful Blue Mountains I went traveling south. Arrived in the much warmer Jervis Bay on a nice and sunny day with 27 degrees. It was a crazy adventure staying in the forest bushy area just in some cabins with only filtered rainwater. Experiencing compost toilet and ultimate water saving. In exchange for accommodation and food worked in the forest and cleared it from small trees to make the property bushfire safe.
The highlight was visiting the Booderee National Park. It looks like paradise with beautiful beaches and nature. You can stay at campsites or use the picnic areas for your day trip. There are many walks to explore the massive beauty of nature. Even though some are closed because they were too damaged by the bushfire that happened in September this year. You can see the remains everywhere. The fire must have been terribly powerful. Actually, that shocked me a lot. I saw massive trees with charred bark up to 10m high. I'm mean everyone knows how destructive fires can be, but seeing this was kind of frightening. Now I fully understand why everyone in Australia is going crazy about bushfire safety.
Let's get back to the beautiful experiences I made. Another amazing thing about Booderee National Park are the Kangaroos. They don't have the big Kangaroos. But a smaller kind inhabits the national park. The crazy thing is that these Kangaroos are so used to humans that you can actually touch them. That was a great experience, the Roos were just so calm and relaxed.
Right after Surf Camp, I started my first job which my travel company supplied to me. It was at a kids carnival in Sydney. I was the one selling tickets and advising customers. Really liked the job, sometimes it was a bit stressful with some hard to please people. But still, it was a nice job for 12 days in a fun team. And a good start to earn the first money in Australia. Been staying in a hostel during that period. Luckily not for long because prices get ridiculously high in the mid/end of October. It’s the beginning of backpacker high season.
xo Sandra
I got introduced to Surf Camp Australia on my first day in Australia. Never imagined learning to surf within five days, but we did and had lots of fun. Starting to stand on the surfboard on the first day was feeling really good. Also, the food was too delicious 😋 I tried Kangaroo for the first time. It was very nice and smooth. Gerroa is such a cute little holiday village and Seven Mile Beach is just sooo beautiful. Even though it was a bit cold our wetsuits kept us warm. Met great people as well as great spirit everywhere.
Chakka 🤙
Oh dear, going to Sydney was a really long journey. Hopping on the plane in Hamburg was nice and easy. Arriving in Dubai close to midnight with still 37 degrees was quite toasty, but luckily the airport has good air-conditioning. The flight from Dubai to Sydney was a bit stressful because our flight got diverted to Perth due to a medical emergency. It was a big surprise waking up to the news that your plane goes to the west coast instead of the expected east coast. Sitting on a plane for more than 24 hours is really exhausting. But I made it! My first long-distance flight was way more exciting than I expected. Landed at 6am and arrived at the hostel at 8am. All I wanted was to sleep and relax, but we had an appointment at 10. So there was no time to really sleep. But I guess that was good to overcome jetlag much faster…you know everything happens for a reason 😉
xo Sandra
©Phillip Island Nature Parks
©Phillip Island Nature Parks
