Boodjamulla National Park

around 8:00 in the morning,  20th October. It is supposed to be a warm day. we are going to take the one-hour long guided cruise along tranquil Lawn Hill Creek winding through the  Lawn Hill Gorge, in Boodjamulla National Park. The area of the national parks belonged to a Waanyi people, who are among the aboriginal people of Australia. According to Waanyi stories, Boodjamulla  who is the creator of all other animals in the Dreamtime and he is a spiritual person to them.He is the one who created the all animals, the billabongs, green swapns and bush tucker in the Lawn Hill area. He rests on the Lawn Hill Gorge and should not be disturbed .

Also Waanyi people believe that you are not allowed to pollute the water, otherwise Boodjamulla will get angry.

They also believe that Boodjamulla has created the water of the river as a healing water.

after reading about Boodjamulla, the tour started. I am wondering if we can disturb Boodjamulla with our presence or maybe with the sound of our Cameras. Maybe I can see him , then I wish he is not angry and friendly with guests.

there are some water falls on sides of the gorge , listening to waterfall is always pleasant. also feeling  the  flow of cool air around the fall on the skin is something you would like to experience when the temperature is around 30 degree centigrade. Therefore our tour guide turns the boat toward  all the falls to let us experience the freshness.  He  explains that in this time of the day it is not common to see a crocodile , because it is simply too hot for them. But it seems we are not the only one who are getting close to waterfalls, there is another Boodjamulla’s creature who likes the freshness of the fall.

after the boat tour we have some time to take a walk around the national park and see the river and the area around from another view.

 

after the tour we go back to our camping ground, where one of the neighbors in the camp asks us if we have a problem with ants or not. He explains that they had millions of ants in their car last night and they had to take the car outside the camp and clean it. He advice us that we use some chemical materials on the wheels , to prevent ants climbing the auto from the wheels. our car is a bit far from where their car is, so we did not have any experience like what they had with ants.

we want to stay one more night in this camping ground, so we have enough time to jump in the small creek behind the camping place, where they say it is safe from any crocodile .

 

 

 

 

 

On Savannah way, Normanton to Adels Grove

It is 5:00 am, time to wake up and leave early , before the owner of the closed camp come and ask why we are sleeping in front of their closed camping place.

the next stop is a small city called Karumb, where we are going to have breakfast.The first thing we can see is a sign of a Mining museum , and when we drive to the direction of the sign , this is what we can see as the museum , a steam machine . Everything here has something to do with mining.Norman river passes the city and flows to the Gulf of Carpentaria. it is said that there are deadly crocodiles living there. walking on a small harbor on the river I can see a warning of Crocodile and also some live big Jellyfish . But I do not see the crocodile itself, maybe next time .

after breakfast we drive back to Normanton. where we can see Krys The Savannah King. Krys The Savannah King is an accurate artist’s impression of the largest recorded saltwater crocodile captured in the world. The poor Croci was shot on the MacArthur Bank , Norman River , down stream from Normanton in July 1957by Krystina Pawlowski, one of the many crocodile shooters operating in the area at that time.The crocodile’s name reflects the feats of this lady.

driving further on the city, we arrive on the Normanton Railway station , where has a different definition of railway Traffic comparing with railway stations I have seen in Europe or even my own country.

after looking around in the station, we drive to the next stop, which is a Camp, but a historical camp, Camp 119 related to Burke and Wills Expedition.

Robert O’Hara Burke (1820-1861) and William John Wills (1834-1861) were Australian explorers who were the first Europeans to cross Australia from south to north. They both died on the return trip, from exhaustion and hunger. If you are interested to know about them and their history, you can easily click here.

Now we are driving toward Leichhardt falls. I do not expect much water in the fall in this time of the year. On the road , there is a car that i believe has been there for some years now, and we pass some cow herd.the cows are trying to rest under the weak shades of slim trees when the temperature is , i think , between 35 to 40 degree. Poor animals.

what i imagined is true. when we arrive at the fall we just see stones and a bit of water. But the whole view is amazing. I can see a colorful small bird, that I do not know its name, but i could capture him.

The next stop will be Burketown, where we will have short break for lunch and we continue to Gregory Town and to Adels Grove camping ground on Lawn Hill Park.We stay tonight on the camping ground.

seen on the way to Adels Grove

I can wash my cloths and put them on ropes to get dry, but there is somebody who likes to mess up with me and my washed clothes, and try to put some white mark on my washed T-shirts . Here is our small camping mate who likes my washed T-shirts.

On Savannah way, from Cobbold Gorge to Normanton

18th October, it is around 8:00 o’clock. the sky is clear, the sun is already up and it is a pleasant weather to Jump on a boat and have a tour on Cobbold Gorge.  But before that we have walk on the area around the Gorge .The rocks around the gorge have been formed due to  natural forces over thousands of years.

Cobbold Gorge From above

Happy Crocodile above the Gorge

After the walking tour we take a small boat to go around the Gorge. There is also possibility of  Paddle tour on the same gorge .

our tour boat

Tour on the Gorge

The bird on the Gorge

One of the Gorge Inhabitants

The tour ends and we continue our way  toward the city of Normanton. On the way I can see the first, I think, EMU in my life, But he is so fast and I just see him, or maybe her for a short time.

Most parts of the way are so narrow that if another car comes infrnt, both cars should drive a bit outside the way to be able to pass each other. The worst is when a road train appears, No way that they reduce the speed and give you some way. You need to know that you are responsible for your life.

 

we have a stop for  lunch  in what I call  Shop-Restaurant , that i have seen just in Savannah way. what I realize is that all the burgers in Australia is very big. Even there is Steak Burgers that are really really big. The other thing is the presence of beetroot on almost all burgers.

One typical Australian Shop-Restaurant on the savannah way

Big burger with ginger beer

we pass two other cities to reach Normanton, Georgetown and  Croydon , Both are small cities with house that I do not believe are more than fifty .

it is getting dark and we do not think we reach the Normanton before 8:00 pm.  According to the map, there is a camping place before the city and there is one in the city, so we aim to stop on the first one before Normanton.

driving at night is not advisable on outback. The first problem is that there are many many kangaroos standing beside the way and  you never know when they jump in front of your car. Ivan is driving now , and I cannot count how many times he has to reduce speed to avoid kangaroos. The second problem that makes the situation even worse is the big insects that are also on the way, and when they hit the windshield  they explode like a hell and make the windshield dirty with blood that makes it even more difficult to drive on the night. Ivan has more experience in driving, so I am happy that he is doing it now . even if it is a not easy ride, we laugh every time a big Insect hit the car and make a big reddish brownish mark on the shield.

The Windshield  when drivng at night on outback

When we reach the Camping place, we see the sign ” Closed” so we drove further to  Normanton. We hope that the Camping place in the city is open.

it is around 8:00 PM, we reach the city and find the camping place, but it is also closed. We call the number we have from the camp, but a machine answers and says that we need to call back again tomorrow in the morning. driving at night, getting to two closed camping place , is a bit frustrating. we try to find a place to sleep in a hotel in the city, but neither if the  hotels that we visit have no empty room for us. we decide to go out of the city, and sleep close to the first camping  place we passed.

I am nervous tonight while Ivan is calm. I have never been in a situation like that , and I am a bit scared of sleeping outside the  official camping place.

Tomorrow will be a better day, for sure.

 

on Savannah way,Undara National Park to Cobbold Gorge

16th October 2017,The first night in camping place in the Undara national park, is a new experience for me. I have never been in a camping place . The Kitchen is equipped with what you need to cook, or even BBQ places. we set up our tent and go for dinner. Tomorrow we will have some tour in the national park .

17th of October 2017,Today we  have a tour on the Undara national par, and we can   see the archway made by volcano activities . on the way I see the first kangaroo , and then the first Australian  Bush Turkey in my life.

Australian Bush Turkey

Undara National park

The Archway ( lava Tube)

We are told that there are some years that the Lava tubes can be filled with water due to heavy rain and people come here to swim. There is a video you can see heremade by the national park authorities : https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PJhjl1B_-sI

After the tour we leave Undara National park toward Cobbold gorge, where we stay at night and we will have a tour by the bout on the gorge.

Here are some pictures from the way toward Cobbold gorge.

 

 

On Savannah way, Cairns to Undara volcanic national park

16th october 2017, around 8:00 in the morning, we take a taxi from our Hostel to the car rental company, to pick up our car and start our journey through the heart of Australia.. what I see on the taxi is that they record your voice and take photos of you on the taxi in case they need to use it later. this is what I have never seen somewhere else, you are always under control.

the car rental company tell us that this is the last journey for this car, even if the car is almost new for Australian roads and worked around 30000 km, and they will give the car back to Toyota for a service and they get a brand new car.

me and Ivan

30057 km, first day before the start of the journey

The first stop is Heals outlook on Gillies range road, on the state of Queensland. a short brake to take some picture and go further . this is not a place can be found also on google , we just see the sign and spontaneously decide to stop.

Driving further the next stop is Mobo Creek Crater , in Danbulla National Park in the state of Queensland. There is a Circuit walk around 600 Meter.

Further on the way,we have a stop on a very strange cathedral, with a very unusual structure for a cathedral that makes it different from all other cathedral I have ever seen, Cathedral Fig Tree.

On the way we decide to have a look at some waterfalls as well, one of them Millaa Millaa Falls.

Our destination for today is Undara Volcanic National Park, where where we can have a rest and get ready for the next day.

on savannah way, close to Undara National Park

 

Cairns

Today we fly from Sydney to Cairns, where the road trip to Adelaide is going to start.
It is around 12:10 that we land in at the Cairns airport. The temperature is around 25 °c , with a high humidity , tropical weather.
The City with almost no high buildings, houses in different styles and full of Asian restaurants . Even in sovenior shops Asian girls are working as sellers. Passing through some shopping malls passages , and streets,reminds me of the ones I have seen before in Malaysia, Thailand and china. Even I can see many Thai foot massages on some passages , the same as what I saw once in Bangkok.

Walking under trees, I can hear some birds are crying on the top of trees. Ivan tells me not to stay under those trees and pass faster. When I passes the trees,he tells me to look at bats on the top . They are actually,bats and not birds and if you stay under the tree with bats on the top, they can shit on you . Thanks to Alan, now I know that they are called Flying Foxes ,as they are really big.

We walks along the beach, have a look around and eat some Asian food.
We need to go back to the hostel and take a rest, Tomorrow the road trip starts.

Down-under ,A journey to Australia, one night in Sydney

13th October, 6:00 pm ,We arrive in Sydney . We go to passport control and then to the final baggage check. We take the underground from airport to our hostel. On the way to our hostel the train stops in different stations,all are big . But the first thing that comes to my mind is the diversity of people here. You can see white ,Asian,Indian,even Iranian,and many many others. Getting off the train at Museum station, walking to I the hostel we pass by high buildings . I am from Tehran,a city with millions of people and high buildings as well,so I feel kind of good to see all of these, the things that I don’t see in where I currently live, Munich. Walking around 5 minutes in Liverpool street we reach the Capsul Hostel,where we are supposed to stay tonight. ‎

8:00 pm, Alan is waiting for us in the reception. It is always good to meet old friends after years in other side of the world, specially if they wear on their Kickball T-shirt.

I got to know Alan when he was living in Munich around 3 years ago , when I was still playing kickball. Later on he moved to his hometown, Sydney .

He shows us the Barangoo area, around the harbor and take us to a nice restaurant where we can have a dinner. I had a salad with Lamb meat, another thing that I rarely find in a normal restaurant in Munich,Lamb meat salad. Not only he is quiet curious to know the details of our road trip,but also he worries about us and tries to give us some advice about the trip. After dinner,we take a walk to the Opera Hall .

Alan tells us about the history of the city around the hall ,shows us the oldest residential house in Australia,Cadmans Cottage, and gives me some advice on what I can do when I come back again to Sydney , because I will spend the last 4 days of my journey in Sydney .

Here There are some Sydney at night ,all around the Opera House.

Down-under ,A journey to Australia_day 1 _Munich to Sydney

I Wake up at 5:30 am , getting ready to go to the airport.
I left my flat at 6:50 am and took the shuttle bus at 7:15.
I am supposed to be at 8:00 at the airport.
It is my first long road trip ever and I am a bit nervous.
I am not going to be alone ,but I travel with a Buddy , Ivan the Swiss friend who is in love with Australia and New Zealand.
I tell myself, before leaving my flat: hey Meisam،everything is going to be all right,and then lock the door . The journey starts.
I am sitting on the bus to the Airport. Outside temperature is 9 degree with a slightly fog coverring the farms on both sides of the road the sun is shining as well . It is a beautiful day .

Arriving in Doha,Hamam Airport , and if I didn’t not know l am in Qatar, I could believe I am in country between India and South East Asia. There are many foreigners working in the Airport,from India, Bangladesh, and other countries.
Even the guy at the security control asked me where I am from,and he told me that he is from Nepal. This kind of conversation does not happen usually at a security at airport.
The boarding starts at around 18:30. Next stop ,Sydney .

Vyšehrad Park,a weekend in Prague (26-27 August)

Prague  is one of my favorite cities in middle Europe , somewhere you can see much of history. I have been in this city four times , in different seasons and every time it has something new to surprise me. This time I had the chance to see the city , not from the eyes of a tourist, but from the eyes of a local person who showed me around, where i could never find by myself.  I send  my appreciation to the one and the only, Asar Quita ,who has the kind heart of an angel , and showed me this hidden park from tourists’ eyes.

 Vyšehrad Park,

This beautiful concealed part of the beautiful city Prague,  is located on a hill over the Vltava River . Walking around the park, we  can see a complete panorama  of the city, from the famous Prague Cathedral  to   the V tower, which will be the highest residential tower in  Czech Republic .

what I understood this time , by looking at the city from the   hill, is that most of the  houses’s roofs are covered by orange tiles. that gives  a unique  perspective to the city. They are everywhere between us and the world outside to the cathedral , to the river, to the city center , to the world outside the park.

There are many things to see in the park itself, among them is the  Vyšehrad Cemetery where is the  last resting  house for the body of many  composers,  sculptors, writers, artists, politicians and scientists mainly  from Czech Republic.

Walking further , stands the Basilica of St. Peter and St Paul, founded   by the Czech King Vratislav II in in 1070-1080 .

Here  is one of the  best place to relax and  meditate on the sound of the Basilica’s bell on a week day evening where all tourists are going to the city center , so better to be this way that they do not discover here .

 

 

 

Ammerschwihr,kaysersberg, and Riquewihr

Leaving Strasbourg toward Colamr by train . it takes around half an hour to reach the station. there I wait my friend who is picking me up and we go  further into Alsace. Thanks to Tibo who invited me to spend some days with him and his parents in their very beautiful house with a wonderful atmosphere of a lovely family in Ammerschwihr .

living for some years in the city of Munich, I have already forgotten how friendly and  people in smaller cities and village can be.  meeting his family reminds me of the time i was still child and visiting some of my own family members in a small village in the eastern part of Iran. where people has just one face ,invite you their own home and share with you their food with their kindness in their heart.

TIbo’s family  has their own garden in the house and their own farm , which gives them many sorts of fresh vegetables .

The very perfect place for a fresh breakfast

 

 

on the Evening Tibo drove me around to the neighbor city of Kaysersberg, which has been announce the France’s favorite town in 2017 .

On the way I  could  see the grape farms where  all the grape trees stand on a very perfect order, like  soldiers on an army, yes wine soldiers, the soldiers of joy and happiness on the land of Alsace.

 

 

passing the grape yards , we entered a city i could not believe my eyes, it was just the most colorful city i have ever seen . I do not know why, but it reminded me of Alice in wonderland .

the first street seen in Kaysersberg

Leaving Kaysersberg to the next city Riqquewihr , which in its own nature is nothing less than Kaysersberg . the city  with itscolorful houses also stands in front of grape yards.

grape farm Riquewihr

 

 

Thanks to my dear friend Tibo,and his family ,  who made this nice trip to this beautiful cities in Alsace possible for me.