Memories of Down Under

Politics
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One of the things I got used too is that Australians love to joke about their politicians. So why not making fun of their first female prime minister Julia Gillard? And then also the not so much liked prime minister (at least all my friends in Perth don’t like him) Colin Barnett... Although Colin got re-elected by WA voters. And Julia... as quickly she took the place of Kevin Rudd as quickly she also lost it to Kevin Rudd. Tragic :)<br /><br />
Actually politics was one of my topics with the professor of CWR. At the same time as researcher we are far away from politics, but at the same time it’s them who ought to take decissions based on our presented facts.<br /><br />
With national elections in September we might or might not have a new person in the spotlight for political jokes.
Food
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Don’t expect too much, since the Australian kitchen is not the best in the world. If you want vegetarian or gluten free? That is readily available. Pretty good for a country where its citizens love that big stake...
<img src="https://i0.wp.com/amarnanda.nl/ecotrip/ecotrip/Blog/Artikelen/2013/8/7_The_core_of_Down_Under_files/shapeimage_5.png" alt="Top 10 national parks in Australia</p><br />
<p>It’s so easy to forget why you come to a place or country, because of all that distraction. Maybe not so much the case in Australia with vast national parks and wildlife reserves. The best part to my opinion is Australia’s south west which is known as an international biodiversity hotspot. Therefore it is not a coincidence to choose Perth (again) as my destination. </p><br />
<p>Looking at the many national parks I’ve visted throuhout Australia (so far); I can make the following top 10.</p><br />
<p>Fitzgerald NP: Rugged coastline with beautiful coastal walks and beaches. The area is especially great for a little piece of rainforest near the coast (nature on its weirdest to say).<br /><br />
Stirling Ranges NP: Taking nice photos is nowhere that easy as here. Blue water, impressive rock formations and a rough sea made this a surprising stop. Never would have thought is was that impressive great site.<br /><br />
Walpole-Nornalup NP: The place where I saw most of my wildlife in Oz. Plenty of kangaroos, wallabies, emus, possums, and other animals live here. Here I hiked to a spectacular view point overlooking the park.<br /><br />
Millstream NP: A thriving wetland in the middle of one of the dryest places of the country. Great plant diversity and many birds. This park only gets few visitors per annum.<br /><br />
Watarrka NP: A combination of aborignal culture and spectacular landscape features such as canyons and a garden of eden.<br /><br />
Ningaloo Marine Park: Mother Nature has made it easy for you to swim to the diverse coral reefs that stretches for hundreds of kilometers along the coast, but with a distance of only 2 meters from the beach!<br /><br />
Grampians NP: Enjoy broad views in an old landscape. Great hiking opportunities and the place to see emus, kangaroos, wallabies, snakes, birds, spiders, insects, and many eucalypts.<br /><br />
Cape Otway / Great Ocean Road: This leech infested part of temperate wet eucalypt forest is one of the few remainings of an acient ecosystem. The road along the coast has spectacular views and suits everyone to take breath taking photos.<br /><br />
Nambung NP: Famous for its pinacles that glow at sunset.<br /><br />
Cradle Mountain – Lake St Clair: Travel back in time and spot the wild part of Tasmania. With some luck and experience you’ll spot wombats, a Tazzie Devil, and many other inhabitants of this great park.” />
Top 5 sights and must do in Australia</p><br />
<p>Climbing the Bicentennial Tree<br /><br />
Swimming in William Bay Greens Pool NP<br /><br />
Walking on the canopy bridges through the valley of the giant tingle trees<br /><br />
Rock climbing in one of the desolated cliffs with as desolated and nice beaches<br /><br />
Go whale watching in Albany

As from now on I’ll be in Perth. So if you feel like coming to Down Under… you’re more than welcome to visit me 😉 There’s still enough to see around Perth, such as Kalgoorlie, Wave Rock , Esperance, and more.

This month is going to be important as I need to work on my PhD proposal. Let’s hope that this will be the first step of starting my research within water quality. So exciting times, but also busy times to come. All for the good things!

Ciau,

Amar