The past months compiled...

Bros 'n Boats!

The end in Australia is near and we must say we have had a beautiful time and met amazing people.

A memorable stop on the East Coast was Byron Bay, mostly because it was where we met two like-minded guys which would become a part of our 'travel posse'. There is Sebastian, the Swiss 'Argentinian wannabe' playboy. Happy to polish our French every now and then, we ran into him several times on our trip. The most surprising moment was when he organized a water-balloon attack from a rivaling sailboat in the Whitsunday Islands. Later during the night he literally entered our ship. Since we're on the topic, the Whitsunday Islands were a glorious stop with paradisaical white sand beaches marked by snorkel-ripe reefs with abundant sea life. Or as PJ, our fellow backpacker and friend from Holland would sarcastically say "een egte k*tvakantie".

Paradise on earth - Whitehaven beach

Sebastian, dM3 and PJ

In Byron Bay we also met Geoff. He voluntarily shared the information that Justin Bieber is in fact Canadian, so we decided to give him a hard time about it. He got his revenge by proving to be a true monopoly mastermind, and we only managed to beat him once in a legendary resource-pooling tactic some might refer to as "bending the rules".

In better times, right after winning Monopoly game 1

Luckily Geoff was a good sport and up north he joined us again for a road trip to Cape Tribulation where rain forests and beaches meet. We tasted crocodile and kangaroo burgers and discussed Geoff's everlasting love for Justin Bieber. Later we caught him red handed on the beach:

Geoff LOVES Justin Bieber

Meanwhile we also met hyperactive Marianne from Norway, who kept stalking us at hostels along the way, all the while jumping out of airplanes and helicopters. We didn't actually mind so much as she showed us her extravagant dance moves and 'not so gracious' poses in the background of our pictures. She traveled along with Kim, a hilarious guy who entertained a full bar with break-dancing moves only to be severely injured in the process.

Back in Cairns we headed out on a dive and snorkeling cruise on a luxury yacht. On the boat we met Rod and Daniel, not only true dive masters with an enormous amount of dives under their belt, Rod is also one of the funniest men we have ever met. They took Dimitri out under water and taught him some master skills, while Rod was making obscenely funny signals. He is the living example of what we want to grow up to be: a funny gentleman enjoying life to the fullest.

Dive masters preparing for a night dive

Rod with a Nemo "tasted like chicken"

We will miss Australia, lovely Tanya, crazy Sebastian, PJ, Marianne, Justin' Geoff, Chicken Rod, Mamy Bénédicte, the Whitsunday crew, the Pro-dive Cairns crew, and all the others who made our stay unforgettable. Thanks to all of you!

Politics and beach life

Our last weeks in Australia were pretty chill. We discovered amazing places, ranging from big cities to small towns.
As previously mentioned, Melbourne really blew us away. But also Sydney was simply amazing. I went to see an opera in that architectural highlight, walked happily over its huge bow bridge and let myself go during a famous 'Chinese Laundry' party. An unforgettable BBQ on the rooftop of our hostel, view over the skyline during the many projections of the light festival ánd a kangooroo on my plate made the stay even better. Although off the beaten track for many, we headed to Canberra where we learned about the history of the Aussies in its museums and got into their political system during a tour in the national parliament.

Serious business in Canberra

Very serious business at the Blue Mountains 

The rush of the cities was left behind with a rental car and we gave ourselves over to the bus driver and mother nature. We've seen lots of mountains, bush and jungles during our travels, but the Blue Mountains still surprised us: big valley, long hikes, great views.

Byron Bay, Noosa, Airlies Beach, Rainbow Beach,... The surf, the chill!

A short time later the sun dragged us over to an easy-going beach life. Long beach walks, watching the surf, orange sunsets and sand boarding became part of our daily life.

It could be worse.
Dimitri

Graham's wine

As announced, and after some ageing and detoxification processes in our mind, we are proud to present you the very best of the wineries around Adelaide. It took us some time; not only to cruise around the region and find the numerous pre-selected wineries in a woozy condition, but also the quite enjoyable 'study' of the wines itself. In-dept conversations with the wine cellar girls were often performed with glazy eyes, while our trembling hands were noting down marks. On the (wine) field, we learned about the oaking process, the different vines, the range of diseases and so on. Comparing high end wines is like choosing your favorite Victoria's Secret model (which is, frankly, Gisèle Bundchen). However, after tasting, negotiating and even more tasting, we came to a bright conclusion: Graham produces the best wine. I hear you say: "qué pasa!?" but don't worry, dear reader, it is not that actor from "Groene Vingers" but Mister Graham Stevens, a not so well-known winemaker in Australia.

"The World Is Not Enough - Golden Medal"
The Arrogant cleanskin, as Graham Stevens himself explained us, consists of 50% Shiraz and 50% Grenache and was matured in oak during15 months. The bottle hides behind a low-profile etiquette, saying "A Cleanskin with a label, because we only sell quality and we’re proud of this quality budget red wine." This red unfolds its palette as when a backpacker unzips his backpack: with great odors and packed to the brim with surprises. This wine, only 8 dollars a bottle at the cellar, is probably the best red wine we have ever tasted.

Graham and Graham

Were all submitted to our tastings:

  Serafino, Bellissimo Sauvignon, 2009: 7.0
  Serafino, Sharktooth Shiraz, 2008: 8.5
  Wirra wirra, Woodhenge, 2010: 8.0
  Wirra wirra, Sparrow's Lodge, 2010: 6.5
  Wirra wirra, Absconder, 2010: 8.0
  Wirra wirra, The Angelus: 8.5
  Graham Stevens, Arrogant Cleanskin, 2009: 9.5
  Graham Stevens, Graham's vat 52, 2006: 7.5
  Graham Stevens, Stevens family Shiraz: 8.0
  Graham Stevens, Fleurieu Cabernet Sauvignon: 8.5
  Woodstock, Octogenenian Grenache, 2010: 6.5
  Woodstock, Shiraz Cabernet, 2009: 8.0
  Woodstock, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2010: 8.5
  Woodstock, Shiraz, 2010: 7.5
  Woodstock, Pilot's view, 2010: 8.5
  Woodstock, The stocks, 2009: 7.5
  d'Arenberg, d'Arry's original Shiraz Grenache, 2007: 7.0
  d'Arenberg, The love grass Shiraz, 2009: 6.5
  d'Arenberg, The beautiful view Grenache, 2009: 8.0
  d'Arenberg, The ironstone pressing, 2008: 8.0
  The Lane, Block 10, 2011: 7.0
  The Lane, Gathering Sauvignon blanc Semillon, 2009: 7.0
  The Lane, Block 3, Chardonay, 2009: 7.5
  The Lane, Unwooded Chardonay, 2009: 7.0
  The Lane, Beginning Chardonnay, 2009: 8.0
  The Lane, Block 5 Shiraz, 2010: 8.5
  The Lane, Block 14 Baskt Press Shiraz, 201: 7.5
  The Lane, Reunion Shiraz, 2009: 8.0
  The Lane, Reunion Shiraz, 2004: 9.3
  The Lane, 19th meeting Cabernet Sauvignon, 2010: 9.0
  The Lane, Dessert wine, 2009: 9.3

Melbourne: the perfect cocktail

Put Berlin, Brussels and New York in a cocktail blender and the result might be something like Melbourne. It's been a week now after we left that astonishing city, but it's vibe is still resonating in our brain.

Maybe it's about the night, when the tall buildings seem to disappear in the skies, embraced by the clouds lit up by the bright city. The casino blows fire in the sky and during the weekends thousands of dressed-up fancy people are crowding up the streets. It's just wonderful. While wandering through the city, we discovered narrow streets with astonishing graffiti arts, fancy little bars and well-hidden pubs - luckily, we were helped a little bit by Sharon, who guided us through the darkest places of Melbourne. We got ourselves into outdoor bars and museums, Dimitri enjoyed the traffic infrastructure and Graham went out of control in the games museum. You wouldn't believe us, but we kinda fell in love with a city.

Let the pictures speak for themselves...

Groene Vingers, aflevering 3

Melbourne by night

First impressions: Australia

Just a few hours after selling the car in New Zealand, and thanks to helpful Samantha and her colleages at the airport Flight Centre, we were already heading for the next destination of our Grand Voyage, Australia. Due to a pot of strawberry jam we underwent some extra x-ray screenings at the airport security, which resulted in some lessons about smuggling, knives and last but not least Dimitri's machete. Surprisingly Dimitri's "coconut slicing tool" (as he described it himself) is still travelling with us all the way from Panama.

Adelaide, our first destination, surprised us with it's young vibe, amazing museums and slick architecture. We rented some bikes, drove around to the beach and prepared our first expeditions here. To support global warming and palmtrees in Europe, we decided to rent a small car and drove around, enjoying extensive wine tasting tours in McLaren vale and Adelaide Hill, well-known wine regions in the vicinity of Adelaide. Then we met Tanya, the amazing host(el manager) of one of the best and most remote hostels ever. Just hoping that she didn't ruin someone's wedding, she sneaked into the cellar and 'borrowed' some wine bottles for us. We didn't need a lot of discussion to extend our stay... and we had the time of our lives.

Meanwhile we met Benedicte, who turned out to be 'the mama' of the group soon. This Bruxelloise dared to share a week together with us, driving up north to Flinders Ranges. The following pictures don't need a lot of words...

During this first week~expedition, we composed a ranking of the best wines, based on an impressive list of tastings and our personal palette and preferences. Coming up next: the one and only DG-wine-award. Stay tuned,

D&G

Groene Vingers