One Day in Hong Kong

We left Brisbane early in the morning. After a good night’s sleep at the hotel, we took the train to the airport with ease. After three weeks in Australia, it was now time to say goodbye to the country as well as the continent. We had a wonderful time.

Our flight to Hong Kong was our first-time using Qantas and we were very impressed by the airline. It was a very relaxing flight, and the service was extra-ordinary. We arrived in Hong Kong around 5pm and shortly thereafter we already passed the integration and searched for the nearby train station. We stayed at the Panda Hotel in Tsuen Wan. From the station, it was just a short walk to the hotel. Yet, we first did the mistake of going down to the street level and not using the available walkways, which connect all buildings together. It is interesting to see that every building you pass has a large offer of shops and small restaurants. When we finally made our way to the hotel, we were told that our check-in desk is at one of the top levels of the hotel as we booked an executive room. The room itself was large, the bed comfy and the access to the lounge was a nice plus to an overall very good deal.

As our flight to Paris CDG would not leave until the very late evening on the next day, we had a full day of exploring Hong Kong. After a good breakfast, we made our way to the Monster Building (consisting of the Fook Cheong Building, the Montane Mansion, the Oceanic Mansion, the Yick Cheong Building, and the Yick Fat Building). This is one of the city’s top Instagram hotspots and one where I can fully understand that the habitants of the composite building don’t really like tourists. We therefore only took some pictures and left shortly thereafter.

With the classic double-decker tram, we made our way on the King’s Road towards the Western Market. After having a short look inside the building, we then moved on to the Central Mid-Levels Escalator, a large number of covered escalators which connects the Central business district with the Mid-Levels residential area.

We then made our way to Victoria Harbour, to enjoy a bit of the seaside view. We also took a ride on the Hong Kong Observation Wheel, which to our surprise was free-of-charge, as the AIA Group celebrated its 100th birthday and provided complimentary tickets for the first 1000 visitors every day for 100 days. We therefore enjoyed the views even more.

Our last stop of the day was – after a short stop at St. John’s cathedral – a trip up to Victoria Peak, by using the Peak Tram funicular. The journey up the mountain is a particularly exciting one, as the funicular is with a maximum incline of 48% a rather steep one. Once you reach the top of the mountain, you are provided with a superb view and all kinds of tourist attractions, whereby Monopoly Dreams might be the most exciting one, as it’s the only one of its kind so far. Victoria Peak is also a great starting point for walks, for which we sadly did not have the time.

Before we headed back to the hotel to collect our belongings and set off for the airport, we enjoyed the light show A Symphony of Lights. The 15-minute show is a stunning experience and the view from Victoria Peak was a great one.

When we arrived at the airport, it did not take long before boarding to Paris started. This time, our flight was with Air France and I have to admit that their long-distance flights are quite enjoyable. However, when we landed in Paris we had to rush a bit through the giant airport, and after the connecting flight to Hamburg, we were exhausted. It took me another two hours to get home, because all southbound trains were once again suspended due to a bomb discovery. While Aris had the chance to take a ride bus home, I called my aunt to collect me. 

Pictures Hong Kong

Conclusion of the roller coaster trip

Hell Yeah, Schnabelteah! was a trip of a lifetime and something I would love to do again. Australia is a great country and there is so much to do, even though a roller coaster trip is not the prime objective.


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Exploring Brisbane

Brisbane was the last stop of our Hell Yeah, Schnabelteah! Tour of Australia. Since we wanted to fly to Hong Kong by plane the next day, we dropped our car off at the car rental company Jucy as early as in the morning. Then we took the train to the main station where our hotel, the Pacific Hotel Brisbane, was located (unfortunatelly situated on a mountain). In retrospect it would actually have been cheaper to take an Uber…

However, I really liked the city. The big public swimming pool on the Brisbane River, the long promenade along the cliffs of Kangaroo Point Cliffs Park and the breathtaking Story Bridge, which I would have loved to climb and then abseil on. I really liked all of that and who knows how much more you can discover if you spend more time in the city than just an afternoon.

 


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Home of the Crocodile Hunter

History of the Animal Park

The Australia Zoo is probably the most popular zoo in Australia and that is due to just one person: Steve Irwin. The Crocodile Hunter himself made the zoo famous. The animal park itself has its roots back in 1970 when it opened as the Beerwah Reptile and Fauna Park. Its main attractions back in the days and even today are the large numbers of reptiles, especially crocodiles which can be found in the front section of the back. The large Crocoseum stadium houses a world-class animal show and can hold up to 5000 visitors.

Tour of the park

If you follow the paths next to the Crocoseum you will end up in a large Kangaroo and Wallaby enclosure, where you can pet all your favourite Australian animals or have a look at Echidnas. Right behind the enclosure there is a small Dinosaur path and a wetland area, where you can find many wetland birds, Jabirus, Brolga and Emus.

From here you can go either through a koala walk-through and have a look at red kangaroos as well as many colourful birds in the rainforest aviary before looking at birds of prey or a lot of wombats or continue your way straight ahead into an Asian themed area. Here you can find red pandas, as well as a beautiful tiger enclosure.

The path then continues onto Bindi’s Island, where you can find lemurs, parrots, and tortoises or directly into Africa. The large savanna houses Giraffes, zebras and rhinoceroses and reminded me a lot of the heart of africa savanna at Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. It is a genuinely nice area and probably the one, where you can spend the most time at. At the end of the cul-de-sac there is a small meerkat enclosure.

As we did not have that much time at the Australia Zoo our day ended in the African section of the park. Shortly before closure all remaining guests are collected by the tram and brought back to the entrance of the park.

Pictures Australia Zoo

Conclusion Australia Zoo

The Australia Zoo is a nice animal park, which surely did profit a lot of the Crocodile Hunter show back in the days. 13 years after the death of Steve, it is nice to see the zoo growing, although I find it kind of questionable to offer a lot of upcharge experiences and still try to hold on the Crocodile Hunter’s legacy to sell more merch. At least there is a new show now called Crikey! It’s the Irwins, yet it’s nothing more than a scripted image movie for the zoo. If you have some time to spend, the Australia Zoo sure is a nice place to visit; yet it is not the world-class zoo you might expect.


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