10 latest experiences http://www.hereorthere.com/members/nina en-us One of the best things about travelling and visiting new places is coming across something totally unexpected. You are filled with a wonderful sense of excitement and the knowledge that you have discovered something out of the ordinary and off the beaten track. This is exactly how I felt when I was driving through the small fishing town of Ferragudo in the Algarve and I spotted a brightly coloured building at the side of the road. Pulling over, I saw that it was an Atelier, an art studio, and the door was open. Being an art lover and having a curious nature, I decided to take a closer look. Stepping through the big wooden door, I felt like I’d discovered another world. Ferragudo, Portugal Nina Mon, 08 Oct 2007 17:51:29 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/nina/experience/1004 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/1004 How inviting the warm water looked: The sky was a glorious shade of blue, it was hot and humid, but Mindel beach was strangely deserted. Then we saw the large sign and realized that perhaps a refreshing dip in the ocean wasn´t really advisable! We had stopped off in Darwin for two days on our way from Broome to Cairns, because there are no direct flights. Most travelers see Darwin as a gateway to the stunning Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks, but the tropical city itself is unusual and definitely worth a visit. We took a walk through the beautiful Botanic Gardens and later spent the afternoon in the Northern Territory Museum and Art Gallery, which has fantastic displays of Aboriginal art. There is also a really interesting exhibition about Cyclone Tracey, which practically destroyed most of Darwin in 1974. If you´re thinking of going and want to avoid any natural disasters, May til October is the dry season! Darwin, Australia Nina Mon, 08 Oct 2007 17:10:01 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/nina/experience/1005 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/1005 Arriving in Australia for my working holiday, I thought that 12 months was plenty of time to see most of what the country has to offer. After six months, I realized that I was going to need a lot longer and so began my quest to extend my visa. It was either that or marry a random Aussie! At the time, you could get another 12 months on a working holiday visa if you did three months of agricultural work, namely fruit picking in rural Australia. I am probably as far removed from your average fruit picker as you can possibly get. However, I was a girl on a mission. I had been living and working in Perth and so I packed up my little Holden Barina and headed south to Donnybrook in search of fruit to pick. Donnybrook is a quaint little country town, surrounded by apple trees and lots of forest.I thought I had it all planned! Having decided that living in a hostel and getting up at the crack of dawn to spend 9 hours doing manual labour, was probably not my idea of fun, I had searched the ... Donnybrook, Australia Nina Mon, 08 Oct 2007 16:53:26 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/nina/experience/1003 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/1003 It was my last day in Broome and the conditions were perfect. If we were going to find them, we had to get to Gantheaume Point just before sunset. We´d poured over a book about tide times and moon phases and we were assured by the rather excitable hostel receptionist that we´d have no trouble locating them. Armed with a hastily sketched map and plenty of enthusiasm, we set off along Cable Beach towards the Point. The sun hung low in the sky, casting a beautiful golden glow along the expanse of white sand, making our destination seem a lot closer than it actually was. Broome, Australia Nina Mon, 08 Oct 2007 16:32:20 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/nina/experience/988 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/988 The wind howled around us, making my eyes water and my nose numb with cold. The waves were lapping worryingly higher. We still had a long way to go and I began to wonder whether we should give up and head back. We had spent the day in Busselton, a pretty seaside town in Western Australia, and I wanted to see the famous Underwater Observatory before we carried on our road trip down south. The problem with this was that the Observatory is at the very end of Busselton Jetty: The longest wooden jetty in the Southern Hemisphere. It´s nearly two kilometers in length and not only is this a fair walk for a strict non walker, but it was also the windiest day imaginable! Busselton, Australia Nina Wed, 03 Oct 2007 17:26:53 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/nina/experience/982 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/982 Skulls and cross bones! No, I am not talking about pirate stories. This was the macabre and rather disturbing scene before me as I stood and peered into the Capela dos Ossos (Bone Chapel) in the sleepy town of Alcantarilha. As I looked on in horror and fascination, hundreds of skulls stared back at me from the walls and ceiling of the small room found at the back of the main church in the town. The entire interior of the chapel is lined with the bones of over 1000 former parishioners. Disturbingly, when the local cemetery became too full, these bones were dug up and used to decorate the chapel . Alcantarilha, Portugal Nina Tue, 11 Sep 2007 19:18:51 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/nina/experience/926 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/926 The air was hot and I was grateful for the cooling breeze blowing in from the ocean, as I lay on the small beach of Senhora da Rocha, shielding my eyes from the bright sunlight. High up on the edge of the cliff top, I could see a small white church overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. I needed a break from the labours of sunbathing, so I decided to go and investigate. Senhora Da Rocha, Portugal Nina Tue, 11 Sep 2007 18:51:34 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/nina/experience/925 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/925 As I walked through the gateway, I felt as if I had been transported into another time and place. Huge banks of intricately sculptured sand loomed over me, as I wandered through the pathways, absorbing the magical atmosphere. Pêra, Portugal Nina Tue, 11 Sep 2007 18:18:04 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/nina/experience/923 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/923 As we descended the steep steps towards the entrance of the cave, I began to feel a little nervous. The towering Karri trees that surrounded the path seemed to close in, as we were led through a small fissure in the rocks and into what felt like the centre of the earth. The temperature dropped rapidly as we climbed down the steel ladder into the cave, hearing the clinking of our shoes on the steps echoing through the chamber. From the darkness there was a clattering crash as someone´s sunglasses fell off their head. The laughter broke the nervous tension, but the tour guide wasn´t too impressed. The Lake Cave, as it´s name suggests, is so called because of the large lake which fills it´s chamber. We were guided around the outside of the lake, close to the slimy, cold walls of the cave and looked in awe at the magnificent stalagmites and straw stalactites, which had taken hundreds of years to form. Margaret River, Australia Nina Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:12:55 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/nina/experience/880 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/880 I had arrived in Sydney a few hours before and now here I was looking up at the Sydney Harbour Bridge, as the ferry passed directly underneath it. Sure, I had seen the image hundreds of times before, but nothing had prepared me for how spectacular it looks in real life, set against the backdrop of the clear, harbour waters and the bright, blue Australian summer sky. Sydney, Australia Nina Wed, 29 Aug 2007 14:30:49 +0100 http://www.hereorthere.com/members/nina/experience/869 http://www.hereorthere.com/experiences/869