Vitamin Sea

I like Glenelg Beach, but I LOVE Henley Beach <3 Can't wait for summer in Adelaide!

Into the wild - Part One

The reason we (= German and Austrian Adelaide Crew) drove to Alice Springs was a 3 day camping tour in the Northern Territory we had booked two days before we left Adelaide. The last days were all about driving through the Red Centre of Australia in a little bus, collecting firewood, hiking, bush walking, watching sunrises & sunsets, sleeping outside in a swag by the bonfire, cooking outside, counting shooting stars and just enjoying the beautiful nature and having a good time with newly made friends.
On the first day we were picked up by our tourguide Ben at 5.20 am to head to the Uluru, where we did the base walk. I have seen the Ayers Rock many times before I came to Australia on photos, but I had not expected this rock to be that big - in fact it is pretty impressive when you stand just right in front of it. After the base walk we drove to a car park to watch the sunset - it was so stunning, because the Rock shines bright, which makes it look so unreal. As soon as the sun set it got really cold so we drove to a camping site near Uluru to make a huge bonfire. The first night was freezing - it had -2 degress - but Valeska (best swag buddy ever) and I decided to sleep outside rather than in the tent so that we could see the beautiful starlit sky, which was just breathtaking.

my German sweeties

collecting firewood

The Rock Tour Bus

Uluru

German and Austrian Adelaide Crew 

Fabian, Lisa, Nicole, Julia, Valeska, Max & me

Sunset 

Welcome to Alice Springs

On Saturday we left Adelaide by bus to head to Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. We were on the bus for 20 hours and it was such a weird experience, because it felt like we were driving through the middle of nowhere. There was just one street, some petrol stations, one dead cow, five horses and one kangaroo, we nearly had crashed into. By looking out of the window all you could see was just endless wides of wilderness. Although I would never ever want to take such a long busride, I am glad I did it, because you get an idea of the meaning of distances in Australia, which is a lot different compared to Europe. 

We arrived on Sunday afternoon at the hostel in ASP, just dropped off our luggage and strolled around the city.

coffee break and a nice sunrise on the way

We asked at the reception of the hostel where we could spend the afternoon and they recommended having a walking down Todd River - we certainly had not expected the river to be dried out.

Walking up Anzac Hill to see the sunset - we left before the actual sunset because we were all to hungry to just sit there and wait.

Dog days are over

As soon as you get to know other people on exchange and happen to make new friends, it starts to feel right to be here, to be so far away from home. Yesterday we went out with a bunch of other international exchange students and we had so much fun. It was one of that nights were you don't have time to take a photo, because you are just enjoying yourself. One of the best things of being on exchange is that you get the chance to meet so many people from different countries and cultures. Yesterday I booked a tour to the outback with 4 other girls and I can't put into words how excited I am about leaving for Alice Springs tomorrow. So all in all the first days at UniSA have been great and I am really looking forward to spend the next months with these guys!

No worries

„No worries!“ – I hear that (i guess) 20 times a day and it’s true - You don’t need to worry about much when being in OZ, because the Aussies are overall very helpful and super friendly. Being an Austrian, I really enjoy this kind of Hakuna-Matata-Lifestyle, as for most people in Austria little problems seem to be a big drama. I have been to many shops and restaurants since I arrived here in Down Under and I never met any staff or people on the street, who were unfriendly (I mean there certainly are unfriendly people here, but I have not met them yet and hopefully will never cross their way in the next 5 months).

I watched a TV show this week (can’t remember the name) – it was a quiz show and there was a picture shown of a French woman with a baseball cap. The question regarding this photo was: „What is so special about this French woman?“ and the first answer that was given was: „She is friendly and likes tourists.“ At first I laughed (I still think it’s funny!), but then I thought about it and it’s kind of weird that it is commonly known that French people are unfriendly. It’s not the same for Austrians, but still Viennese waiters are famous for being grumpy. So compared to Australians, I think that there are hugh cultural differences in terms of helpfullness: They know that they are helpful, friendly and kind and they are proud of being known for this stereotyp and seem to really enjoy helping lost people on the street.

NO WORRIES - Thumbs up for this little sentence that makes everyday life for exchange students like me so much easier!

Life is better at the beach

I really can‘t complain about the Australian winter so far. I have been here now for over one week and most of the time the sun was shining bright. Today I decided to head to the beach to enjoy the beautiful wheater there. Adelaide offers a range of beaches to choose from: St. Kilda Beach, Glenelg Beach, Henley Beach, West Beach, Brighton Beach, Grange Beach, Semaphore Beach, … Hard making a decision, but in the end I chose to go to Glenelg Beach, because it is only a short 30 minutes ride with the tram from the city centre. As everybody knows pictures can tell you more than a thousand words – so here are some photos I took today: