January 24, 2010

meet the flippers

Last week we went on a tiny roadtrip to Sorrento, 90 min from Melbourne, to go on a little adventure. We were going swimming with seals and dolphins in the sea. Swimming with dolphins has been my childhood wish, so I was really excited, but swimming with 300kg seals.... Gees, we were sooo excited and a tiny bit scared as well. They sure are really cute, but up close and personal... mmmmhhh might be another thing. ;-)

After like 10 min out on the sea we were already there.... seals all chillin and hanging out on their little thingy. We already in our wetsuits, fins, masks and snorkels ready, bravely jumped into the water and swam towards the seals. That was fun, they didn't care less, doing their thing in the water and playing around. It was really funny when looking under water, they swam beneath you and just stared at you with their button-like eyes. cute little fellas... but hey, do they stink!! juck. and funny noises they make as well. That was so much fun.

After that we went further out towards where the dolphins were supposed to be. The bottlenose dolphins are regulars in this area, they have created a sanctuary for them as well, so there had to be some around. And surely there were. Six dolphins popped up shortly arond the boat and started jumping and swimming alongside the boat. Ready to go in the water again... we forgot about the freezing sea and rushed in, got hold of the rope that was behind the boat, so the boat could drag us while the dolphins swam next to us. Unfortunately the dolphins didn' t come that close, they just did their thing and soon passed the border to their sanctuary, so we had to get out of the water. They stayed close to the boat for a while, so we watched them play. Although we didn' t get the chance to really swim with the dolphins, it has been an amazing trip and nevertheless dolphins are wild animals, we were just as happy to get so close to them again.

The afternoon we spent strolling around beautiful Sorrento and later on we hit the beach to enjo some champagne, turquoise water and some sun. Life is a beach.

Watch the video or see the pics from our little escape roadtrip to Sorrento here.

January 02, 2010

this was my 2009 ...



This is a summary of my twitter status updates collected over the last 12 months. bringing a smile to my face, it has been the best of times, the worst of times and unforgettable memories on my journey down under. Another 14 months to go... let the adventure begin. I can't wait.

January 01, 2010

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Wishing you all the best for 2010 from rainy Melbourne.

May all your wishes come true.

Stick to your new year resolutions... one day already counts... ;-)

As one of the first countries in the world to enter the new year, Australia did it with a bang, of course. Instead of spending NYE in Sydney, i stayed in Melbourne where it rained like cats and dogs starting at sunset after a hot day of 37 degrees. Pretty refreshing but not too great for an outdoor party. Nevertheless we danced the night away under the australian stars.



thunderstorms just before midnight


fireworks in the pouring rain

next year i will be standing here to watch the world's most stunning firewokrs. spectacular.



images by the herald sun