Glashouse Mountains & Noosa

1st of August, 2010:

Yesterday, I rented a car and drove with 3 other friends to the Glashouse Mountains. Captain Cook gave them their name. Apparently, I had something to do with him seeing them in the mist from the ocean or whatsoever.

It was an adventurous trip. The Glashouse Mountains are fantastic. Old extinct vulcanos formed incredible Mountains in the middle of a flat lanscape. Of course we wanted to climb one of these fellows.

I would have never thought, it was that steep and that I actually had to do free climbing. Those, who do read the waysigns have a big advantage. (I read the Warning sign below two minutes ago, while looking at the pictures.)



We were rewarded with an incredible view around to see the ocean, other glashouse mountains and amazing nature. @Arne: Sorry, mate. You will only be able to enjoy this sight on pictures. Being afraid of height is an absolute "no-go" when going up on those mountains.


The way up proved to be a lot harder than the way down and I was glad to reach the car alive (seriously!). After this sweaty and breathtaking workout, we decided to drive to the Ocean to go swimming.

We went to Noose, a very famous little upper class town about 150 km north of Brisbane. Some of us had some 7-dollar-ice cream or beer. The ocean was just what I needed. The refreshing sea gave me new strength for the 2,5 hour trip back home.


We arrived in Brissie at around 8pm and had some beer and wine.

My Aussie home

30th of July, 2010:

I am sitting in my room and am bored and slightly tired. Yesterday, we had a big "pub crawl", which means after having had a few drinks at home we went down town and signed up for a tour leading us to various clubs and bars throughout town. The crawl was organised by norwegian students. There were about 200 people joining, each having a t-shirt identifying us as "pub-crawler". We received all sorts of specials in the clubs (free drinks, key chains etc). It was fun.

Well, since I have some time to kill I decided to upload some pictures of my Aussie home in Brisbane. I live in a newly renovated "Queenslander" house with 29 rooms. Yes, I now live with 28 other people in one massive house. It's very international. We have people from Sweden (6), Norway (4), Canada (2), USA (1), Germany (12), Chili (1), England (4). We have two big kitchens - one upstairs, one downstairs, and 8 toilets, 5 bathrooms with showers. So there is no long waiting for the shower or whatever.

We also have a little backyard with a new BBQ which is very nice, since meat is cheap over here, whereas milk products are insanely expensive. Here are a few pictures.

This is my bike. I bought it from a second hand bike shop around the corner for 80 dollars (+35 for the mandatory helmet +15 for a lock). With the helmet on my head I look even more like a retard.

This is the hallway of the upper floor. The lower floor looks similar.

Our house in 12 Vulture Street, West End, Brisbane.

Our little backyard with the BBQ.

My (untidy) room. I bought a reading light.

Wildlife sanctuary and the Gold Coast

25th of July 2010:

Yesterday I went on a trip offered by the QUT. We got up very early in the morning to catch the bus that left downtown. After 1,5 hours of travel we arrived at the Wildlife sanctuary. I can't remember the name right now. Anyway, I got to see Kagaroos, Tazmanian Devils, deadly Snakes (Taipan), Koalas and many more. So that was interesting, even though I expected a little more. The park is quite small.

After about 2 hours in the park, we took our buses to Coolongata, which is a nice little town at the Gold coast. There we had a decent lunch and a nice walk at the beach.

The trip ended with a quick visit at Surfers Paradise, where Henrik (Sweden) and I took a bath in the ocean.

After we got back we had a nice party at our house and a lot of goon (cheap wine).

So cute. To hold a koala and get a picture taken costs about 30 dollars. Crazy rip off! Guess, I have to catch one or two in the wild then.

Strange animals. Two headed something. Tail looks like the head for distraction.

Forgot the name but it is cute and can "fly" up to 50 meters from tree to tree. Only exists in Australia.

The scary Taipan.

I saw a lot deadly snakes. One attacked me, as you can see. I had to strangle that python.

Finally I got to pad some Kagaroos.

A huge crocodile. At least 5 meters long. Have never seen such a big scary one.

Rare picture. A Koala having a baby in the arm.

The Tazmanian Devil.

Coolongata.

nice surf spot.

North Stradbroke Island (Straddie)

Friday, 16th of July. A brave group of young students set out to conquer North Stradbroke Island. They captured a ferry in Cleveland and went straight towards Straddie.

We had to climb this massive sand dune. It was asking for it. Dune boarding!

We found paradise.

We put up our temporary lodgings. The castle is being build by slaves.

A massive feast is prepared.

Lammington National Park

Having heard of a million things that can kill you frightened me a little. But soon I came to realise that it is quite safe to walk in the rainforest, if you stay on the track and behave thoughtfully.

A beautiful jungle full of strange birds. We didn't see a single snake or big spider. BUT! we saw a wallaby.

Many waterfalls.

Cliffhanger.

Look who is hiding in the bushlike grass.

Dennis (Swe) and me posing.

A wonderful day comes to an end. Dusk at Surfers Paradise.

Paddington, Brisbane

This afternoon Ida, Mili, The Pope (Benedikt), Christian and I decided to take the Bus to Paddington, which is a suburb of Brissie. It's quite nice with a lot of smaller shops and restaurants.

PaddingtonYes, you can buy skiing equipment in Brisbane.

Dusk in Brisbane