Category: Travel

Posted in Nature activities, Northern Territory

Cruising the Mary River

Posted on by Oliver

Rather than giving any material gifts to the kids for their birthdays, my father decided he would give them experiences instead – specifically tours he had done on previous visits to Australia and which he found exceptional. One of these was a boat cruise on the Mary River.

The Mary River is famous for the large amount of crocs – both “sweeties” and “salties” – lining its banks and inhabiting its waters. However, the floodplains are impossible to navigate by land, which leaves the water the only way to get close to these primal beasts. Continue reading “Cruising the Mary River” →

Posted in Queensland, Travel

Walking on the Great Barrier Reef

Posted on by Willemijn

One of the unique activities you can do on Heron Island is a reef walk. During low tide a large part of the reef gets exposed and you can walk around the little streams looking at the coral from close up. You can join one of the guided reef walk tours, which are included in a stay here. A definite must as well, as it gives you a lot of insight into the reef life and the guides can pick up things and you can touch it. Continue reading “Walking on the Great Barrier Reef” →

Posted in Nature activities, Queensland

Diving the Great Barrier Reef

Posted on by Oliver

As we wrote in one of our earlier posts, diving the Great Barrier Reef was one of the items that were on my Things-To-Do-In-Australia list. And, over the past three days, I have been able to do just that.

The one luxury accommodation we had booked on our Good-Bye-Australia trip was a 5-night stay on Heron Island. Sitting towards the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, it houses a luxury resort and a research station, as well as being home to a lot of coral, mantas, rays, sharks, turtles and a huge variety of other marine and avian life.

It was here that I was able to enjoy five dives – the first dives I have done in almost 10 years. Continue reading “Diving the Great Barrier Reef” →

Posted in Northern Territory, Travel

Swimming in the Best Natural Pool – EVER

Posted on by Willemijn

Never thought I would use this phrase, as Gorden Ramsey used it in almost all of his Hell’s Kitchen episodes and that got annoying pretty quickly. But now we have been to the best natural pool I have ever been to. The one in Iceland was pretty impressive, swimming in hot water in the snow, but I have to admit this Australian place truly is a little piece of paradise.

Imagine a slow streaming flow of 30 degrees Celsius,  with bright and crystal clear water in a natural surrounding. Yes, that is what we came across in Bitter Springs up in the top end of Australia, as the Northern Territory is called here. Continue reading “Swimming in the Best Natural Pool – EVER” →

Posted in New Zealand, Travel

Itinerary South Island – New Zealand

Posted on by Willemijn

New Zealand is an amazing country and has been on my ‘wanna go to list’ for a very long time. We finally went and got a taste of this country and it tastes like more!

If you are still planing to go or are still dreaming of going one day, this post might be a good start. Or for good memories if you have been already. Anyway, here is what we did. Continue reading “Itinerary South Island – New Zealand” →

Posted in Asia, Travel

Cruise Port – Koh Samui on a rainy day

Posted on by Oliver

Our first stop in Thailand today was Koh Samui, a small island towards the South of the country. It is a prime vacation spot, with kilometer-long beaches and the hotel-chains to match. Tourism is the biggest industry here, followed by coconuts.

As this island does not have a pier to dock cruise ships, this was to be our first (and only) tender port on this trip, meaning that the ship would anchor in the harbour and the guests (and some of the crew) would be brought to shore in smaller boats. In this case, the boats were provided by a local company, as they were bigger than the ones carried by the Mein Schiff 1.

Continue reading “Cruise Port – Koh Samui on a rainy day” →

Posted in Asia, Travel

Kuala Lumpur – Batu Caves by train

Posted on by Oliver

The last stop of our cruise in Malaysia was Kuala Lumpur, the capitol and largest city of this country.

Well, I say Kuala Lumpur, but what I actually mean is that we docked in Port Klang, roughly 50km away from the center of KL. And even that is misleading, as the cruise terminal in Port Klang is located in the middle of nowhere. The only chance to get away from there is either one of the pre-arranged tours from the boat, or taking one of the numerous taxis waiting there for you. Continue reading “Kuala Lumpur – Batu Caves by train” →