Max Down Under - Blog

Hi everybody,

finally made it after a quite busy, but also chilly weekend to upload the pics from the Manly Scenic beach walk a couple of weeks ago...
as you can see on the pics, we did this walk along the coast from Manly into City, along lonely beaches (bays), through a couple of nice forests full of lizards and above some cliffs..started the day with some chicken and a bunch of grapes on a field close to manly wharf, and afterwards just walked 6 hours along the sea, stopping from time to time to dive in the ocean...awesome, really great day!!
pls see pics to get envious...

well, besides that I had my first exam this week, pretty easy, another presentation which was quite good and finished my first assignment..yippie!
Now I'm sitting on my 2nd, have to finish that (as well as some stuff for group assignments) til I leave on Thursday early morning...
but it was still a good week, killed the last bed bug in my room i hope (closed all gaps in the walls, I'm fed up with all the stuff..), hit my first ball over 150m on Tuesday's Golf course..man what a feeling to stand there and see the ball flying..I'm looking forward to my first 18 hole round in a couple of weeks...;-)
Friday nite Fabian and me prepared some feel good BBQ to celebrate our hard week, shrimps and pure beef steak right from the barbie..yummy!!! Saturday though was again full of work, but today we've been to the Red Bull Flugtag to watch some drunk blokes jumping of a ramp in self-build flying machines into the ocean at Botanical garden, big event, I guess more than 30k people there...we've just been sitting on the grass to watch it and went for some dinner to Darling harbour afterwards...
well, makes even the stressiest life pretty good..;-)

now I'm sitting again, trying to write at least 4 more pages today...will be hell..;-)

Have a good Sunday,
cheers from Down Under...
and btw, next week this time I'll be lying on top of a sailing ship cruising along white beaches....oh my god, this will be the best trip of my life...YEEEEEAAAAAAHHHH!

Tschüss out!
max

(number in brackets refer to pics in the album on the right side!)

Hey Guys,

it's Thursday early, early morning, I can't sleep anymore so I finally found some time to update this blog....today just in English since I don't have that much time at the moment and gotta catch the train in an hour!

Last weekend in the Blue Mountains was great, this is an area just outside Sydney also part of the World Heritage List, named so because of the blue air all around it due to the eucalyptus trees (on clear days you can really see some blue vapors all over the place) and it's Rainforest area..which is really impressive, first time I've ever been toa Rain Forest!
We left Saturday morning to Katoomba, 3 hours by train, got a Hostel there (9 of us, 2 guys, 7 girls) had a huge dormitory with 12 beds just for us, that was quite cool....this day we also went to the closest view point (Echo Point), unfortunately we couldn't see anything due to Rain and Fog.(#1)..so we decided to just get back and rest and take it on the next two days, went back with stops at a real beautiful cafe (#2-4)and shopping mall (I tell you, just buying breakfast for 9 people if everybody insists on exactly what he (well, let's say She!) eats everyday can be a bloody pain in the ass....;-)) ) ; we also got some booze there so we had a nice evening to come...which it also was in the end, ordered some Pizzas at Domino's (Yummy!) and played some games (U got it, more people like Kings now!!)

We also planned a lil' bit the next 2 days since we wanted to see as much as possible, the Blue Mountains area is famous for it's beautiful hiking paths both through the rainforests and above on the cliffs with amazing viewpoints (it's like you got a wall right behind all these villages there (which are on top of the "wall", and you gotta climb it down to be in the rainforest or walk on the cliff to have the view...)
Most famous are the 3 Sisters, a rock formation named so after an old aboriginal tale...

Easter Sunday was awesome then, got up at 8 to do a lot of hiking, first went to Leura Cascades and Leura Falls, afterwards on a long way down to the rain forest (I guess around 1000 steps..) but with beautiful water falls all over the place, absolutly gorgeous...(#5-14)
when we've finally been down, we took a short rest and hiked on then around the 3 sisters and further on through the forest until we got to a station from where a track railway was leaving to bring us back up (we've been too tired too walk up some 1000 steps again..;-) )..well, u might think now, Railroad, boring...NOOOT! (#15-17) it was actually the steepest railroad in the world, when it was standing and u entered it u were almost laying on your back because of the seat construction, and when it started you suddenly almost stood there because it was sooo steep...I can't really express that feeling, but it completely felt like we are just about to fall lunge over...and since we went with our back upwards (so we could see the whole forest beneath us), we suddenly just entered a cave, all dark, then out again, the whole forest suddenly under your feet...WOW!! definitely something to repeat...
on top, we enjoyed once more the beautiful view, split up then (some girls went home, 4 of us incl me took a pathway back on the cliffs) and had a beautiful walk back on the cliffs (#18-24), again to Echo Point where we could see the 3 sisters finally, and then down again to actually enter the first of the sisters...(#25/26)
back home, we cooked some Pasta and played Poker that nite; next morning then we left to catch a train back home with one more stop at Wentworth Falls, again bloody amazing track, again waterfalls, again beautiful! (#27-37)

Well, that's been Easter, some of us couldn't join due to Classes (why the hell is there an Easter break on Easter weekend if everything goes on normal for Master students, incl me having class on Good Friday and one guy I know who's got class the whole (!!!) Easter Sunday?
anyways, after getting home I had to face again the tough sides of life, still bed bugs all over ( I think I'm actually the first guy for whom a Hostel bed is an upgrade..;-) ) so I've spent again the whole Wednesday with cleaning my stuff, floor and bed linen...and hurray, today's the first day I wake up without any new stitches (not that I can count them) and no blood in my bed...that's also where the Headline comes from, I'm on war with some Bugs, like in this crappy Hollywood movie...

Well, what else, next 2 weeks will be hell lot of work, soo much to do, 2 assignments due, one test, plus planning of Springbreak trip (up the east coast to Cairns!), but will still try to keep you updated...

Pics of this trip will come, I'll just put the numbers of these pics then in brackets at the respective part of the text here, so maybe just check it out once more on Friday or so, then the pics should be here!!

and because some of you asked regarding the football team (I didn't really mention the outcome), well I got kicked out, wasn't good enough (It didn't help either that I skipped Training the decisive week due to my move and that I had a long run just the day before final training -which focused on Fitness-, but that would be just excuses) and could play now for Team #3 or #4, but decided to leave it like that (don't have the time to play every weekend, not to mention all the travelling plans I got), good thing is I can still train with the guys so I play a little bit each Wednesday, not too bad!

Anyways, gotta go to class now,
I'll try to put the pics here asap,
would be great to hear from you, hope you all had some nice easter break!

cheers,
Max

Hola, as promised, here are some new pics!

pls see album  on the right side, here's some further information:

1. view from the AMP Tower, this is, along the sea, my jogging route I was talking about! the middle park is the Botanical garden, the tongue of land on the right is Mrs. macquarie's point...and on the left (not to be seen) is then the Opera House!

2. view on Darling Harbour

3, this is actually the port of Darling Point, where I've stayed with Pip and Andrew the first couple of weeks, really a nice place

4. nice pic while partying on the Harbour Cruise...

5, well, should be clear .-)

6-10. pics from our Trip to the Gap (that's THE suicidal rock of Sydney, but also a beautiful viewpoint on the edge of Sydney bay, beautiful view across the sea!) and really nice beaches!

11.-14. BBQ party at our place, this is the terrace with the corridor to the main building

and finally some pics of my room, looks still a bit chaotic, but it's all in progress, so a few more days and it will look better!!

Pics of Manly Scenic Walk will follow asap!

cheers,

Max