Adelaide and surrounding areas
Finally the day came. Where the expensive tickets were to be used. Our airline, Qatar Airways, has treated us incredibly well. Despite our late wish to cancel the old tickets, they had only kept 2 x 250 DKK in fees and prompts without further inquiries from our side - they have returned the rest. Throughout the 28 years that we have flown to long-haul destinations, we have never experienced better service.
Of course, things will never happen without help and here our good friend Tommy has been an unparalleled support. Not only has he paid attention to the many plans that have been constantly changed and adjusted. As an experienced entrepreneur, he is used to thinking completely outside the box and has been able to see opportunities where we were stuck.
Thank you Tommy, you were Groom / Best Man at our wedding 13 years ago - you are still an incredibly good friend.
Now we are finally there - the Airport - the Holy Halls - from where expeditions and dreams emanate.
Jubii, now we have to go.
Stopover in Qatar offered the wildest temperature change we had ever experienced.
At 11 pm they had 37°C and an unpleasant humidity that made it feel like 51°C. After a bus transfer that was like an oven, we could all roll into the terminal like freshly baked buns.
Fortunately, the oil fantasillions were spent on air conditioning inside the building, so we were delivered in good condition for the next leg of the Australian journey.
All in all, after 22 hours of travel time, we now arrived on the other side of the planet.
Considering all our bureaucratic hassle and all the biosecurity regulations we had studied for the past two years – now we finally had to go through the Australian Border Force's check…
It was the easiest thing in the world – scan your passport yourself – have your photo taken for automatic facial recognition – greet a nice customs official for 15 seconds – Welcome to Australia, hope you have a nice stay.
It has to be said, the first few days are spent as hotel tourists while we wait to be able to pick up our car. Walk along the water, in silence and windy weather, early and late.
It is "winter" and not particularly warm. However, that doesn't stop true enthusiasts from surfing and playing at the beach.
New signs - new impressions and not least - new traffic rules when we pick up the car, which is waiting at the dealer.
There is always something that needs to be done to an old expedition vehicle – and the Toyota is no exception. A particularly thorough cleaning is required, we scrub and wash.
New things are often discovered that we lack for our set-up. Bunnings (Bauhaus on steroids) and Anaconda (EventyrSport on steroids) are frequented several times a day. Big and small, it is what ultimately makes it possible to travel with an expedition vehicle.
After many days of intense work and urban surroundings, we roll up to the local national park. Only half an hour away from a 1.3 million city, we find peace, cool nature and iconic animals.
Now we have finally come to Australia properly.