Author: Marii Bruch

First stop after leaving the farm was Devonport, a beautiful little city.

While the city centre is tiny its sunset was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.

I arrived in the evening and left early in the morning which meant that I was not able to discover too much. However, the walk along the beach, the lighthouse with the grassy area filled with Wallabies big and small are a big part of my memory of Tassie (this is what Australians tend to call Tasmania).

After that my travels brought me to Hobart. I spent about ten days in the area which I am going to summarise in the following paragraphs:

First day:
The first day was the 11th of December, the day I arrived. I arrived in the early evening and took some time to settle into my new hostel. The only area I walked to afterwards was the harbour, a beautiful area with fascinating statues, as well as Coles, as supermarket to buy myself some food for the daytrip I had plant for the next day.

Second day:
This day was mostly dedicated to Mount Wellington which I decided to hike that day. I just did one mistake… I did not pack enough to drink… What is important to keep in mind when going on a hike in Australia is that (unlike most hiking trails in Germany and Austria) there won’t be any huts to buy yourself something to drink. The philosophy over here is “bring what you eat and drink with you when you come and take it all home when you leave”. However, that did not stop me. I walked past several waterfalls on my way up (they were separate walks to the actual hikingtrail).

I was supposed to hike longer than I did, but the trail I had planned on hiking was closed due to fire control. If you are wondering what that means, it means that before each summer, Australians tend to burn certain areas so that if a fire occurs it can be kept under control easier. But even if though I took a shorter trail, I still spent 5 hours hiking through its nature. It was wonderful to be in nature for such a long period.

Although I kind of freaked out, when I saw my first snail crawling away halfway. I just saw the tail of the snake, but it still made me walk in caution, since I did not want to be bitten. I was also mostly alone on that trail which made it even mor important for me to be careful since I did not know how long it would take for help to arrive should an accident occur. In the end it was a memorable hike, especially because of the exciting paths that back than I considered scary. Like when I had to walk a path that looked like there had been a natural disaster happened just shortly before. I had to climb over stones that sometimes even shook since they had not been secured properly.

The view in the end was worth all the trouble for.

And I had picked a good day since it was not raining but instead rather hot.

Remember that I mentioned the water problems? Once I arrived at the top, I then was so thirsty and so worried to walk back down, that I hitchhiked down the mountain by asking an elderly couple if they would take me back to the bottom of the mountain. In the end they even drove me back to my hostel, where I than bought myself a long deserved hot chocolate. But the end of the trip did not mean the end of the day. That one I ended with a delicious pineapple sorbet, a new favourite sorbet of mine (right after raspberry of course).

Third day:
As if I did not walk enough the day before, I spent this day walking through several parks and a reserve. I had not planned anything and so I just enjoyed the unique design of each park and the reserve before ending the day with a 50% off pizza at my newfound favourite restaurant (The Brick Factory) in the city (I ate dinner there a couple of times.)

Fourth day:
This day was another very exciting daytrip, this time to the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary. This was the first out of many sanctuaries that I visited and therefore a great memory of mine. I saw multiple Australian animals in person and this close for the first time in my life. But my personal favourites where the elderly Tasmanian Devils,

the kangaroos,

and the blind and three-legged Echidnas.

Even though it is called a sanctuary and meant to be a temporary residential area for those animals, most animals there (at least for us to see) will not be brought back into the wildness again. Either because of incurable wounds or diseases like the blindness and the missing leg of the two Echidna in the sanctuary or because of the many positive interactions with humans that the animals experience, like the kangaroos that are allowed to be fed and patted by the humans that pay the entry fee. They are treated as if it was a patting zoo, however, I cannot complain. I too enjoyed feeding and patting these adorable creatures.

However, there is something truly special about this sanctuary. Not only for us humans, but also for the animals themselves. It has the only veterinary practice for wild animals in Australia.
Another interesting fact is that the Tasmanian devils, that are currently living in that sanctuary, were participants in a breeding program from organisations to ensure their protection from extinction. However, now that those devils are past breeding age, they were brought to the sanctuary to settle down and live their last few years in peace and without worries about predators.

Fifth day:
This day I went exploring again, taking a long walk past the Tasman bridge to the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens.

Shortly after I arrived in the garden, I bought myself some lunch. Salmon with vegetables and apple juice. Almost all the ingredients were produced locally, some of the ingredients where from the gardens themselves.

The gardens were beautiful, and I ended up walking about 2 1⁄2 hours through them. In the end, my favourite part was that throughout all this nature, there were also educational signs, from talking about local gumtrees to how to treat once own resilient garden. When it comes to the nature it did not lack on sceneries either. You can walk through the forest called oak wonderland or their Japanese garden and you can just embrace this nature, it’s wonderful.

The same day I also tried scallop pie (basically a vegetable pie with scallop (seashells flesh) mixed into it). It is a very good tasting traditional Tasmanian dish.

I also tried fried mushrooms for the first time as well

at a small little food-festival in Franklin Square (Street Easts @ Franco) that takes place in Hobart every year between December and April.

Sixth day:
I started of walking through the Salamanca Market in the morning, before visiting the MONA museum. It is a modern museum,

very abstract,

very beautiful. But also very expensive… However, if you are a citizen of Tasmania (or at least work in the area), it becomes cheaper and especially for those, I highly recommend visiting that lovely museum when around Hobart.
After that I went to the Nutgrove beach, closing the day on a very relaxed and happy note.

Seventh day:
Another day, another tour. This time to Bruny Island.
I had to get up early and was picked up almost right next to my hostel. I got up on the bus and together we were driven to the bay from where the ferry was leaving. With wind in my hair, I looked out to the water in hopes to see any animals, sadly to no avail. Once we were on the island we started driving, with the first stop being at a Honey shop, where we were able to try some honey which source are plants of the island.

They had a lot of different snacks made from their honey. I ended up buying a lollipop and an ice cream, both were very tasty. After the next stop was a lookout, very pretty, it looked like the island was just a wall in between to waters.

I also went to the beach right next to the lookout, very relaxing. Afterwards we drove to the rain forest part of the island, it was so interesting to take a walk through these woods. Although it was not exactly what I pictured when thinking about a rain forest. Yes, the trees were huge, but even though it was during summer, it wasn’t as hot nor as wet as I would have imagined it.

Before ending the trip, we went to three more places, another beach, a chocolate store, where original Bruny Island chocolate was sold… It was Good… and to a cheese tasting where I ended up buying some cheese for the same evening as well.

Eighth day:
This day I planned to visit a little city, but midway I realised that I would not be able to get to my final destination of the day if I did so and so visit another one instead where I only went on a small walk and ate some breakfast. After that I finally made my way to…… Port Arthur. I spend the night in a hostel and met an elderly French woman and a British girl (to whom I still have contact).

Ninth day:
To the French woman I don’t have any contact anymore, however she will not easily be forgotten, because she took my British friend and I to the historic site. If she hadn’t, we would have had to walk an hour with our luggage there.
When it comes to the historic site, the entry fee is not cheap. However, the information that you can gain by entering is outstanding. It is great how many old buildings are still standing, though some are vandalised from the time of the place being abandoned after the prison was dissolved and the place being made into a historic site. There also a lot of free short guidance through several buildings and areas. It teaches you deeper understanding, but it also reminds us that this is only a step into the right direction. This place was established, years later than it could have… People are starting to understand that it is important to talk about the past, but just like everywhere in the world, also Australia is trying to forget some of its past doing.

(Keep in mind that these pictures are only small insights, there was a lot more to see)

I got back to Hobart that same evening.

It was my last day there, because the next (tenth) day. I made my way to the airport early in the morning.

My flight was at 11:50. My flight to Melbourne however was just the start of my next adventure.

Thi took me to the Airport on the 27th of November, from there I flew to Launceston where I spent the night.

It was lovely there. I went on a walk, visiting several parks, but the most exciting one was the Punchbowl Reserve where I sighted my first Wallaby (the first out of many). The only mistake that I did was starting to walk around the reserve at dusk, because these little creatures tend to hide in the shadows and stare into your soul (that’s scary, especially when it gets dark!).

I also only learned a few weeks later that the creature I saw was a Wallaby and not a small kangaroo, which shows that I was too uneducated at that point of my travels. Afterwards I walked back to the city centre, which was more than 45 Minutes away from the reserve. It was dark when I got back which meant that the Christmas decorations there were all lit up. They looked beautiful.

I did also tire myself out during that trip, falling into a deep sleep once I went to bed. What can be said about my accommodaBon is that I stayed at a capsule hotel, which was something new for me, but I can recommend staying at these kinds of Hostels, at least the two that I visited in Tasmania were comfortable and big enough to spend a night there without feeling cramped.

The next morning, before making my way to the farm, I bought myself one of the most delicious Chocolate-Croissants that I have ever tasted.

It took me about 7 and a half hours to get to the farm, which was really exhausting (though I did go to the beach near a city where I had to wait for 3 hours for the next bus to arrive which was very beautiful and relaxing).

Now I only wrote about what happened before I got to the farm even though this chapter was supposed to be entitled for the whole Farmstay program. But I must admit that I just do not like talking about my stay at the farm. Even if we let out the part where I had to leave the farm earlier than expected, the things that I learned about the farm are not really something that I would like to put out there. What I can say is that I learned a lot about the dairy farms in Tasmania and some things I did know beforehand just seemed crueller in person. Just to give you guys an example, the milking machines that they used where connected to a platform that moved in a circle, every cow that stood on that platform would go around the circle at least one time before they were allowed to go off that platform. The worst thing I witnessed there was, that a cow slipped on its own poop on that platform and started to slip off it. The platform was at least 50cm maybe even a meter above the ground, so it did not find anywhere to stand on to find it’s balance again and therefore started to freak out, luckily the other cows did not join in. At some point the cow then slipped of the platform completely and was led back to it’s herd. But seeing that cow struggle because it pooped, and no one cleaned it before the cow lost its balance just really got to me. I also learned how they got rid of trash and dead cows, an image that I will never forget and will not include in this blog post. But I did not only learn that I just cannot handle some of their ethics but that I also just am not made for this kind of farm work in general. When I do not know how to do some things, I will ask how it works before just doing it which was clearly not how things worked around the farm. They wanted me to just learn by doing. Which I completely understand, but what would have happened if I broke something?

Furthermore, the people that I stayed with were also disappointed by the fact that I did not talk enough with THEIR friends. It was not that I talked to little with the people that I worked with, but that I engaged to little with the people who I first did not know and second, did not know what to talk about. But that was not even the strangest part about all of this.

Another reason why I had to leave was, because I did not have a driver’s licence even though they knew that beforehand. They did try to teach me how to drive a vehicle for which I would not need to get a driver’s licence. But after just one session (where they said that I did a good job), they never talked about that opportunity again. So, I worked around the house most of the time.

On a sight note, I also learned that my medication did not really work well enough to keep my allergies away, causing me to rub my eyes etc, which is as thing that they misinterpreted. They thought I was bored, simply uninterested in the work I did just because I kept on rubbing my eyes. And so, before talking to me about it, they decided to let me go. I could have tried to explain those issues to them, but knowing that they wanted me to leave, got rid of my willingness to proof them wrong…

Looking back at it, it felt like I stayed there for weeks, but I left the Sunday the week after (1 1/2 weeks later). And my body thanked me for that because at that point I had a hard time breathing (especially at night) because of my allergies.

This next could have been combined with the other Sydney-Blogpost, but I decided against it, because the experience I had while staying with Thi’s family was completely different to my stay in Sydney’s centre.

So, he picked me up near the Fish market, because he drove his eldest (Kim) to work shortly before that (she works close to the fish market as an outside-advertisement designer if I remember correctly). He welcomed me warmly but due to his work we had to go home before going anywhere else. There he showed me around, but most importantly he showed me the guestroom where I was going to sleep. The bed was huge and the blanket extremely comfortable. I could have stayed in bed forever, but after only an hour or two, Thi took me to Bankstown. A place where many traditional Vietnamese restaurants were at. We ate some DELICIOUS Vietnamese food like every day after and I must admit the Vietnamese cuisine (at least the not spicy one) is good!!! After that I went back to their home and stayed there until his younger daughter (Katrina) came back home. She then took me to Burwood, a place with several Asian cuisines. I ate way too much there, but I could not just throw away these delicious foods. 🥲

The next day started off at lunchtime as well when Thi took me to Cabramatta (another Vietnamese city district). Along came two American acquaintances of his who were visiting family members that Thi knew. We dropped them off after eating and walking through the city district getting its history explained by Thi. But the most interesting thing I’ve learned or rather tasted is… sugar cane juice… interesting, yes, as sweet as you can imagine, but it does not lack on taste. It tasted good!

The day was the time I went outside the shortest but there after follows the one where I did the most.

It started at around 12pm, when Kim asked me if I wanted to come to an indoor picnic of hers and her friends. I only had 10 minutes before we left, but luckily I was already ready to go. We started in the Korean district where we not only bought some food for the picnic, but also got an iced chocolate/coffee for on the go. We took the train to her friend’s house. It was a girls-picnic of the church’s community that the family I stayed with was part of. It was a bonding exercise between them, but I did not feel unwelcome once! It was so much fun to play games with them, although some of these really tested my English skills… XD After that I went to a bee-themed birthday party. It was a party for Kim’s friend’s youngest son. It was so cute to see the children play in their garden! Besides that, they had an adorable dog, which I could have petted forever!!! Sadly I did not get to meet the actual birthday child, since he was already in bed when we arrived (it was his first birthday).

The last day was a Sunday (they go to church, and I decided to stick along). Their church service was so interesting, I loved how it interacted with everyone AND that they all ate lunch together afterwards. Since it was a pretty hot day, Katrina and Kim also took me with them to an ice-cream date with their church-friends. I, again, bought myself an iced chocolate. Fun fact about the types of iced chocolate I’ve tried in Sydney. They all were cocoa with ice cubes in them instead of ice cream, although I have to admit the first one had vanilla ice cream on top of it. Just like nothing that I have tasted before (except for in Japan, but that is not what we want to talk about right now XD).

The next day I was (AGAIN) on my way to the airport to fly to Launceston, to get to my next stop… in Tasmania. But I will tell you all about it in my next post! 😉

And now the next city is off my list, all though I do plan to come back here one more time to discover a bit more of the nature around here, like taking a walk through the blue mountains. But what did I experience in Sydney?

Well, the day I arrived I was exhausted! Like I told you in my last blogpost, I arrived early, but due to the little sleep that I got during the flight and the late check-in at the hostel, I barely went anywhere. I did buy a few things at Coles, which is one of the many supermarket branches that they have over here. And I did visit a small little park near the hostel, where I ate a few cashews.

The other days were more productive. On Monday I went on a Bay and Fish market tour, that my hostel offered. What was interesting to learn, is that there are currently a lot of little jellyfishes swimming through the Darling Harbour. They also warned us to not jump into the water there, not only because it is a harbour, but because there are sharks swimming even through these areas. At the fish market I got myself a delicious grilled salmon with fries (Yummy!!!). I also went to the Travel Talk they offered, but before I went there, I opened my first Australian bank account. In the evening I talked to the first few German people here, but like every other person I met here they were not here to work and travel but worked a lot back in Germany and were now just enjoying their journey.

But after all of that happening on the first day, my second day was even more productive. I not only went on a seven hour walk by myself and saw pretty much everything in Sydney’s centre, but I also went to a house party (hostel-bar) were I just as the day before, dared myself to talk to strangers, this time meeting a British, Norwegian, and Irish person. They all seemed nice, but after they decided to walk to other bars I decided to split off that group, since they seemed already a bit tipsy.

Wednesday was my last day at the hostel where I went on a costal-walk from the Coogee to the Bondi beach where we also got our lunch. The views were beautiful and the Graffiti Wall at Bondi beach inspiring. At about 5 pm I then made my way back to the hostel. I planned on going to the hostel-bar afterwards, but due to me having to wake up early the next morning I decided against it.

The check-out ended and I got my last toasty and hot chocolate (my free breakfast there), I also thought about getting smoothie at the Roy’s Cafe, like I did the days before, but decided against that as well, because I needed a free hand for my suitcase. And then I made my way back to the fish market, where my next destination was laying ahead.

I know you have all been waiting for this moment… Just kidding, I am excited to finally tell you guys about my little vacation in Singapore up to the situation I am currently in. 

But let’s start with my flight to Singapore. During that flight I still could not believe that I was doing it. So, while watching movies, I had to remind myself repeatedly that I was not in my room chilling but far away from there… in an airplane… After my first movie I became tired and slept for a couple of hours what I do not usually do while surrounded by strangers. Because of this the flight went by rather quickly and lucky for me without any turbulences.

The weather in Singapore was hot and humid you could say tropical.

I was driven to my hotel but did not stay there for too long so that I could start that evening with seeing a bit of the city. Lucky for me two different areas, first the Arabian Street, second Little India were located closely to my hotel. I visited the Arab Street in the evening where everything was justcoloured with different patterns, all together beautiful.

Little India which I visited the morning after was colourful as well and filled with different types of smells (probably because of their many spices). Since it was early and I wasn’t feeling thatwell, I shortened the visit of that area. What I can add is, that it packed with people, even in the morning (9-10 am)although not every shop had opened by then. Also like the Arab Street, both have terraced houses but in Little India it goes on for much longer.

After a short break in the hotel, I walked to Chinatown which was a foot walk of over 45 minutes. This area was a lot greener than the other two, although I did spend more time there. I walked through someof their parks and stopped in front of several restaurants. But my stomach was not having it.

So, I decided to go to my next stop. But this time I was not walking the distance but decided to use the train for the first time. Since I don’t own an actual credit card, but a Debit Mastercard, new issues arose which I than easily evaded by buying an ezlink-card, which only costs 10 dollars including a 5$ credit on the card. Compared to the German Tickets that is basically nothing (one ride only costs about 1.50S$).

At Geylang, another city district, I then visited the SingPost Centre where I bought a delicious strawberry Bubble tea.

When I left the mall, it started to get windy, so I decided to sit down at a bench and just enjoy that fresh air before going back to the orchard road which is located near China town. It was there that I realised that Singapore already started decorating for Christmas and while walking down the road it was impossible to miss how far they were with thesepreparations.

But then the funniest thing happened, they turned on the lights to early, at least I think that this is what happened because after just 5 to 10 minutes they turned them off again and left them that way for the next 2 hours. Additionally, on that road are quite a few malls and I did gointo one, the Orchardgateway. Comparing the two malls I’ve visited by then I realized that the malls are pretty similar tothe ones in Japan, they’ve got shops for cute “accessories” which I rarely see in Germany, a lot of food-shops and stores for trendy clothing.

After continuing my walk, I finally decided to go back to my hotel, not only because the sunset was almost over, but also because most of the shops were starting to close anyway. On my way back I had my first actual meal in Singapore (If we forget about the breakfast-buffet), chicken-curry with rice, which tasted so good that I ate it the day after as well, but at a different restaurant. If you wonder what it tastes like.. It is spicy… I could not actually “taste” the curry, but the texture was good… and the chicken tasted very good as well… I don’t know… (^-^;

The second night was the worst. I don’t know what these noises where, but my theory is that A LOT OF PEOPLE used the toilet between 4:30 and 5:30… because there was this banging noise which sounded exactly like the bathroom door closing (I tested it). Because of that I did not sleep well causing me to have breakfast at 8am which I wanted to have earlier. That is because I wanted to visit Sentosa for the wholeday. But because of my belated breakfast I only got there around 10am causing me to stay close to the Universal Studios gate so that I was able to get there as soon as they open. Luckily there was a Starbucks very close to it, so, I got myself a drink and then went to a staircase filled with rabbits, it kind of felt out of place, because everywhere you saw preparations for Christmas and then there is a bunny staircase… XD

But enough about that, Universal Studios was one of the best highlights. Even though I really dislike rollercoaster I went on four or five different ones (which made a lot of fun), although it must be said that they were firstly not too fast and secondly without any loopings.

But the most fun where the attractions containing simulations, even though I lost my phone in the 4D-Theater. Never ever will I put it in my pocket again when I visit one of those (I hope that I don’t have to explain what kind of stupid mistake I did) … Another display that was a lot of fun was the WaterWorld-show. It was funny even before the show began,with kids in the front rows getting drenched because of the staff pouring buckets of water over them. The actual show then also included the front rows to be victimized and bombarded with water. I was about to get out without being hit by water at all. But one of the staffs (while playing with a child from the front row) got me, while walking up the stairs. (There were rows who are located further above which can be used if you do not want to get wet at all. So do not worry, if you go there, you can go away completely dry, but what is the fun in that. It is around 30 degrees there any ways, you’ll be dry in no time.)

That day I also went to the Siloso Beach. Really pretty, but easy to walk along in a timespan of 30-60 minutes. Sadly,while there I did not see one otter, my favourite water animal who are supposedly living in that area.

Another chance that I had but again did not use correctly (or so it seems), was the next day at the Gardens by the Bay. Where I went before being able to check in at my second hotel, Marina Bay Sands(MBS). The missed otter-viewing opportunity was on my way back, before that I went to the Heritage Gardens and the Supertree Grove (metallic trees in the middle of the garden that can be used to look over the garden, but also to catch rain-water to reuse it, as well as, converting solar energy and taking in some of the air absorbing and dispersing the heat), but because of a few bad reviews that I read and the time-limit that I had, I decided to get a ticket for the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest instead. The Flower Dome was filled with different types of plants, while the Cloud Forest currentlyholds an exhibition using the newest avatar-movie. I love how they mixed both themes, not only putting different figurines in between plants but trying to match everything with their given area.

After I left the Cloud Forest I decided to go to my room, which by then was ready, because I heard rumbles of thunder. I checked in and went to my room for about two hours, before walking through the gift-shop. After that I decided to visit the Observation Deck which people who are staying at MBS can do for free. After taking enough pictures I finally made my way up to get to the pool. The thing I was so excited about was great. It had a good skyline!

But sadly, it was not really used for its original purpose (swimming; that is what a pool is supposed to be used for, right?), because everyone was just walking through the pool, with their phones in their hands taking pictures. Me too, for the first 30 minutes, after that I decided to swim/walk through the entire pool looking out for angles that I needed to take a picture from. Afterwards I got my phone and went back to the positions to take those pictures. When the clock finally showed 8pm, the lightshow began, but everyone around me was just yelling or talking loudly etc. So, I decided that if I could not hear the music of that show anyways, I could just watch it from my room, which I did. After that fail, the lightshow at Gardens by the Bay was even better. It was pretty and well timed to the music.

Afterwards I hurried back to the hotel, since I had a reservation at LAVO for dinner. There I ate pizza and drank a cocktail. Since the day went on for quite a long time, I woke up late, at 9am, since the breakfast buffet was having their last walk in at 10, I really hurried to get ready, eat enough to make it worth the price and go ready for check-out (11am). The best thing at the breakfast buffet was the fruit buffet, so many different exotic fruits, it was delicious.

After all of that I drove around town with the Big Bus Tour, hearing all lot of intel about the places I have visited over the last couple of days. Followed by the last attraction I visited in Singapore. TheSingapore Flyer. A beautiful Ferris wheel showing another skyline, this time with the MBS on it.

Sadly, my luck with good weather was challenged at the end resulting with me having to run from the Ferris wheel back to the hotel while it was raining cats and dogs. Afterwards I was drenched from head to toe… My shoes had it the worst, I can still feel some of the wetness…

The flight went by, this time not as smoothly (one BIG turbulence, way too scary) and since I checked in later this time, the best thing that I could get was a middle seat on the right side. I at best slept 2 ½ hours maybe even less. Now,after finding the Sydney Super Shuttle that got me to my hostel, I am currently feeling EXHAUSTED! But I checked in, got everything done, e.g., my SIM-Card including the mobile data. After waiting for at least 4 hours and writing this blog post I am now sitting in my room thinking about what to do next.

Love you all.

Today I am taking on my longest and farthest journey yet.

The hardest part about today was saying goodbye to my family, my friends, my home…

I hope that it gets easier with time, but having to see my dogs wiggle their tails for the last time not knowing that I won’t be seeing them for the next year, seeing my siblings wave goodbye for the last time before driving to Frankfurt with my parents and then seeing them for the last time alone on the gate entry without me by their side, really got me…

But it all had to be done, because from there on out starts my new journey. It starts with me being alone, all by myself (and hopefully more and new friends in the future). Currently I am waiting for the boarding to start so that I can get on the plane and on my way to Singapore. <3

(BTW, of course I‘ll keep in touch with everyone. But it is a difference to talk with them in person vs. on the phone..)