Jorda rundt oktober 2011 - mars 2012 / Weltreise Oktober 2011 - März 2012


Vi er en familie på fem, som reiser jorda rundt fra oktober 2011 til mars 2012 og med hjelp av denne bloggen vil vi dele opplevelser med venner og familie. Siden vi er flere som skriver innlegg, står navnet til "skribenten" angitt i overskrifta.



Our family of five travelled around the world from October 2011 to March 2012 and in order to be able to share our experiences with family and friends we established this blog. Since we are several "authors" the posts start with a name and are labeled.









Monday, January 30, 2012

Silja: Southern Forests


After having visited Jewel Cave, the town of Augusta and Cape Leeuwin, we turned inland. Just as we thought it could not get any hotter...
Even though the aircondition in the campervan kept the driver's cabin cool, it did not quite reach the children. Poor things!
One evening, when the children had gone to sleep, we sat sticky from sweat and watchend an old home video on the computer, featuring last winter with skiing and snowball-fights. I have to admit: We are all feeling a bit homesick, especially when we hear about sensational Northern lights and good skiing-conditions in Trondheim.  Especially the kids miss their friends and school and football and skiing and... However we are still having a GREAT holiday full of fun, adventure and experiences!

Near Pemberton we visited Beedelup Falls. At this time of year there was hardly any water left, so the falls are not the attraction (-are they ever really?), but the trails lead you through  an old forest, over a suspension bridge, along a lake and to a walk-through-tree. After this early-morning exercise (and already too hot!) we drove through Pemberton to Gloucester National Park. People mostly come here to climb the 61meter high Gloucester Tree, which had formerly been used as a look-out for bush fires. Even though it is not advised for children to do the unsecured climb, Lisa and Niklas were eager to do it and we let them. Surprisingly Lea did not protest and stayed with me until the three climbers came down again, feeling very hot and very proud.

 As we got nearer to the Southern coast, we could feel a cooler breeze coming from the sea and especially the nights became tolerable. Around Walpole there were more old forests which huge trees to be visited. Swarbrick, North of Pemberton, has a short loop trail, where art pieces are displayed  among big trees. We all liked the mirror wall at its beginning best. Art just does not really compare in these surroundings...
Later on we visited the Giant Tingle Tree with its 24m circumferance and saw more of its 400-year-old brothers and sisters at «The Ancient Empire». Here they have built a 600m Tree Top Walk suspended 40 meters in the air. At the ticket booth they gave out sunblock and after this we were ready for a swim. We drove to Peaceful Bay and when we got to this fantastic beach we found everybody looking over the water, pointing and with cameras in hand. When we asked what people were looking at, we were told that dolphins had just visited the bay but had obviously moved on now. What is it with us and dolphins?!?

Surprisingly it was much cooler and overcast the next day. At around 20°C we decided to visit the Pentland Animal Farm in Denmark rather than the beach. It was a great experience for all of us to cuddle a koala, bottle-feed young Highland cattle and baby goats, pet a super soft alpaca – but the biggest attraction of them all were two baby kangaroos! Axel and the kids all agreed that they want one just like little Rosie – and then I was tactless enough to serve kangaroo meat for dinner!

Niklas: uke 14

Her holder jeg en liten kengurubaby
Vi kjørte til en park, der det fantes kenguruer og alpakkaer og mange andre dyr. En kylling ble spist opp av andre høns og kyllinger. Vi så også trær som ble 400 år.

Wir fuhren zu einem Park, wo es Känguruhs, Alpaccas und viele andere Tiere gab. Ein Küken wurde von den anderen Hühnern und Küken aufgefressen. Wir sahen auch Bäume, die über 400 Jahre alt werden.

Lisa blir slikket av en kengurubaby / Lisa wird von einem Känguruhbaby geleckt



Vi kjørte til en park hvor man kunne holde en kengurubaby i armen og så slikket den meg i ansiktet. Det fantes en liten kenguru, som het Rosie. Moren hennes hadde blitt overkjørt av en bil, men Rosie overlevde i sekken, så de tok henne med til parken. Det fantes også mange andre dyr der, som koalabjørn, som man kunne stryke.


Wir sind zu einem Park gefahren, wo man ein Känguruhbaby in den Armen halten konnte und dann hat es mich im Gesicht geleckt. Dort gab es ein kleines Känguruh, das Rosie hiess. Ihre Mutter war von einem Auto überfahren worden, aber Rosie hat im Beutel überlebt. Da haben sie sie zum Park gebracht. Dort gab es auch viele andere Tiere, wie Koalabären, die man streicheln konnte.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Niklas: uke 13

Vi svømmer mye og har det kjempe varmt, ca 35 grader. På bursdagen min svømte vi nesten hele dagen og så delfiner.

Wir schwimmen viel es ist sehr heiss, ca 35 Grad. An meinem Geburtstag schwammen wir fast den ganzen Tag und sahen Delfine.

Lisa ser mange dyr / Lisa sieht viele Tiere


På bursdagen min kjørte vi til en park i Bunburry. Der fantes det et veldig fint akvarium. De hadde en strand hvor man kunne se delfiner, men akkurat den dagen kom ingen. Likevel så vi sjøstjerner og fisker. I et rundt rom kunne vi se en slags film av delfiner og en hai som kom og angrep en delfin. En annen plass så jeg en delfin hoppe ut av vannet.
Vi så også veldig mange kenguruer en kveld.
Når vi snorklet, så vi fisker.

An meinem Geburtstag fuhren wir zu einem Park in Bunburry. Dort gab es ein Aquarium. Die hatten einen Strand, wo man Delfine sehen konnte, aber gerade an diesem Tag kamen keine. Dafür sahen wir Seesterne und Fische. In einem runden Raum sahen wir eine Art Film von Delfinen, die von einem Hai angegriffen wurden. Woanders habe ich einen Delfin aus dem Wasser springen sehen. Eines Abends sahen wir ganz viele Känguruhs.
Als wir schnorchelten, sahen wir Fische.




Silja: Bunburry - Busselton – Margret River


After having posted the last blog at the library in Mandurah, we experienced the worst thunderstorm ever: Over 5 hours of constant lightening and we were right in the middle of it the entire time! The thunder was so loud that the campervan vibrated.  Lightning struck several buildings around us, causing power cuts at the library and McDonalds – so no more internet …
We moved on to Bunburry, which has a Dolphin Discovery Center where Lisa and Niklas had wished to celebrate their birthday. The main attraction of the center is the beach, which wild dolphins regularly pay a visit. They had been there every day of that week – apart from when we were there, so the only living dolphin the kids got to see was Louie the fluffy dolphin. There was other cool stuff at the center though, like a 3Dmovie and a digital dolphinarium. The beach was good for swimming without dolphins, too. We were told that we might have better luck at “The Cut” – and we did! Lisa and I spotted a few dolphins and she even saw one leaping out of the water.
Our next maritime adventure was in Busselton, which is known for the longest timber jetty in the Southern hemisphere. Next to that jetty is a great sandy beach, perfect for snorkeling. We saw crabs and fish – but we never saw the jellyfish that stung Niklas on the arm. I drew the crying boy with me to the next fancy restaurant on the beach front and asked for vinegar. The treatment seemed to help and Niklas stopped crying. It was then that I realized: Not only had I walked into the restaurant in just my bathing suit but with Lisa’s pink snorkeling gear still on my head!
We discovered some more fantastic beaches on the way to Cape Naturaliste, saw another dolphin and found more abalone shells (which are called Paua in NZ) near the Canal Rocks.  It was fascinating to watch the swell coming in, gushing through the canals (that have given the rocks their name) and shooting water and air through a blowhole.
We then turned further inland to Margret River. The whole area around this lively town is full of limestone caves, of which we chose to visit Jewel Cave. It was an amazingly decorated cave in which they did a short lightshow.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Silja: Sydney – Perth


 As you may have guessed from what Niklas and Lisa wrote in their posts: Sydney was wonderful and we had such a great time! Our friends took us on a motor yacht cruise through Sydney Harbour and to a secluded cove where we all swam and had a barbeque on the boat. The boys dived off the boat and even little Lea could not get enough of floating in the water, even though she literally fed the fish after swallowing some saltwater. (Her comment: "Oh, that is just a little strawberry."and judging by the colour it was.)
Other days were spent at and in the pool in the garden and at Manly Beach.
As I said: We all loved it and it was sad to say good bye!
We took an early morning flight to Perth, excited to pick up our new home for the next four weeks.
The taxi driver had a hard time finding the sheds in the roadwork area. It then turned out that we obviously have been victims of fraud, since the agent whom we made the booking with, gave us a price and contract over $1000 cheaper than what Apollo wanted to charge us. The deposit was also made to her, not Apollo. Long story short: We lost a lot of time and money and are still having various trouble with this rather old motorhome. Looking at the bigger picture though: Everything is well!
Still Sydney...
We struggle a bit adapting to the heat, but since we are heading South that should get better. We spent two days in beautiful Perth, where there is so much to see that we will have to spend more time there on the way back. 
Woodman Point, a regional park, was our next stop. We went to the beach in the morning and the snorkeling was great: Lots of fish, starfish, crabs and even a stingray!
We are now in Mandurah, where we booked a dolphin cruise. Even though we were so unlucky not to see dolphins, I still thought it was great to cruise through Venice-like canals, but the kids were so not impressed after having been speeding through Sydney's waters on Kylie and Alex's boat. (That day now ranges second to Disney Land!)

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Lisa og Charlotte leker kafé / Lisa und Charlotte spielen Café

 Jeg fikk en ny venn, som heter Charlotte. Hun ble min beste venn. Vi danset, vi lekte kafe og vi malte. Det er veldig artig med Charlotte!
I går kjørte vi båt hele dagen lang.
På bilde ser dere meg foran Harbour Bridge i Sydneys havn. Når jeg er stor skal jeg bo i Sydney!


Ich habe eine neue Freundin gekriegt, die Charlotte heisst. Sie wurde meine beste Freundin. Wir tanzten, spielten Cafe und wir malten. Es ist sehr lustig mit Charlotte! 
Gestern sind wir den ganzen Tag Boot gefahren. Auf dem Bild seht ihr mich vor der Harbour Bridge im Sydneys Hafen. Wenn ich gross bin, werde ich in Sydney wohnen!

Niklas: uke 12 / Woche 12

Jeg og Henri på båten
 Niklas hopper fra en båt for første gang
Nå er jeg i Sydney hos en familie. I går var vi på en båt og kjørte til to strender. På den første stranden hoppet jeg og Henri fra båten. Ved første forsøket slo jeg hodet mitt men på andre forsøket klarte jeg det!

Niklas springt zum ersten Mal von einem Boot 
Jetzt bin ich in Sydney bei einer Familie. Gestern waren wir auf einem Boot und fuhren zu zwei Stränden. Beim ersten Strand sind Henri und ich vom Boot gesprungen. Beim ersten Versuch habe ich mir den Kopf angehauen, aber beim nächsten Versuch habe ich es geschafft!
Kylie lar meg styre båten!

Christchurch

Niklas in the new center of Christchurch
.
 We were not quite prepared for what met us in Christchurch. It has almost been a year since the devastating earthquake on 22nd of February and still the whole citycenter is closed off. A soldier guarding one a the bridges into the center, letting builders in and keeping silly people like us out, spelled it out for us: There is not really much to see any more...
He sent us to a makeshift shoppingsenter built out of shipping containers and on our way towards it we became aware of the depressed feel to this still devastated city, where lots of people lost their businesses, houses, loved ones or lives. Sooner than planned we left what felt like a war sone and moved south towards the sea, where found Orton Bradley Park. What a great place run by very friendly people! They had old village houses to visit and several walking tracks, an adventure playground and a sheep farm, where they let us watch the sheep sheering the next morning. We were allowed to pitch in, collecting the woll off the floor and then compress it. We all loved it and Lea refused to get out of the big bag full of cuddely, (smelly) wool.
Our last day in NZ was spent at Willowbanks Wildlife Reserve, where we got to see Kiwis(!!!) and lots of other animals. That was a great way to end our stay in NZ, we thought - and then we could not leave the country. Due to tecnical problems our Emirates flight to Sydney was cancelled and when the rebooked 350 people, total chaos broke loose... We spent the night at a hotel (great dinner buffet!) and then we came back the next morning at 5 o'clock to learn that we could not take that flight either. Finally we got to Sydney via Auckland at lunch time - but that is a new post altogether.

Silja compresses wool, inappropriatly dressed.