Matilda

No doubt that we had to give our car in Australia a name as well. For 2 months it would be our ‘home’. However, after spending so much time with Jack in the States, this was not easy at all…

Our car is a Mitsubishi Outlander which is younger than Jack but also more sportive and at the same time more elegant. A car to cruise around rather than a 4 wheel drive. (even if it has a 4 wheel drive gear which we sometimes use for sandy parts). Compared to tough Jack this beauty of a car with a white color must be a lady so we had to choose a female name. Well, in Australia there is a female name which every kid knows – Matilda! That is the Australian hymn about a waltzing worker who has all his belongings with him in a small bundle. Well, that is how we travel as well in our car and we are kind of waltzing so that is the appropriate name for her.

The song ‘waltzing Matilda’ is a national anthem which people sing at the campfire. Compared to the real Australian anthem ‘Advance Australia Fair’, every Australian knows the text of ‘Waltzing Matilda’. The lyrics are about a hungry wanderer who has to steal a lamb and therefore people search him. However, instead of being caught he decides to die in a billabong. Our journey will not end that sad. However, we are sure that till x-mas we will have some adventures to tell with Matilda.

Btw. even one of the most traditional and friendly gas station in Australia is called Matilda.

Also Australias women's national football team is called “The Matildas”.

Vacation from Traveling

After over 8 months of traveling (with short stopover in Germany) and well over 150 nights we've spent in our tent we decided to have the luxury of an apartment in Agnes Water. The apartments are called self-contained ones. It is a dream.

It is small and has everything we did not have for the last couple of months which kind of belongs to normal life – an own fridge, an own washing machine, chairs, couch, bed, bathroom, power, stove and dish washer. That is great!

A fridge in which we put all our stuff we had bought. Of course there were fridges on campgrounds as well; however we always had to share them with other campers. Unbelievable how big a fridge is if you have one for yourself and if you compare it with our cooling box.

Washing machine - in the last couple of months we had that luxury at Mike’s house in N.Y. and Bettina’s one in Seattle. Thus we really enjoyed to wash our stuff without inserting any coins and to go to a laundry store. This is so convenient.

A couch and chairs on the balcony. On the campground we can only sit down on our camping chairs and our luxury is our hammock. Well, a couch definitely has more comfort.

Washing machine - in the last couple of months we had that luxury at Mike’s house in N.Y. and Bettina’s one in Seattle. Thus we really enjoyed to wash our stuff without inserting any coins and to go to a laundry store. This is so convenient.

A couch and chairs on the balcony. On the campground we can only sit down on our camping chairs and our luxury is our hammock. Well, a couch definitely has more comfort.

Our bedroom is our tent and our mattresses are 3 cm thick and filled with air. What a difference it makes to have a bed with a real mattress.

An own bathroom with toilet and a shower just some steps away from the bedroom and without sharing with anyone. We did not have that luxury while traveling - feels so good.

Power – we have at least 10 plugs so that we can charge several things at the same time. Nice.

Light! One turns on the light and the whole room is bright, even if it is dark outside (here it gets dark at 6pm). Isn’t that a little wonder? For one week we did not wear any headlights in order to cook or to read. We could sit and do whatever we were up to and thanks to this small ‘turn on’ switch without paying attention to the time. Perfect!

For cooking we have four hotplates, a microwave and a barbeque grill on the balcony. Our gas stove only has only one option to cook on. That is super. So many options no one really needs.

Dish washer. While we camp our sink is 30 cm big and you can fold it. The size of our dish washer is 80 cm high, wide and depths. Unbelievable what you can put into one and how quickly everything gets clean.

Every little thing counts for us and thus we really enjoyed our apartment. Besides that it was next to the café and grocery store, the newsagent and the surf board rental. A beautiful beach was 3 minutes walking distance. Moreover, the town is so small and has characters and the guys here are still real surfer mates. Backpackers here are limited. Thus we had 7 fantastic days in our little paradise.