Ondrej Machart

kangaroo with joey on grass field during day

Maria Island was one of those isolated places far from the rest of the world where you would be taken if you were a convict in the 19th century. Today, it is a place where Australian nation brought their most precious animals to keep them from the diseases and predators on the mainland. 

Roy's peak is not the highest mountain, lake Wanaka beneath it is not the largest lake and the trek to the peak is not the most challenging one (although challenging enough) - but together they may create the most breathtaking experience one can enjoy in New Zealand. 

yellow van beside man sitting under starry sky

It was already dark when we got back to the car from a full day trek at Mt. Amos - and being spontaneous the day before, we decided to deal with searching for some nice place to stay when the time comes. Well, the time has come and we soon realised all camps are full, leaving us wandering on the winding road in Freycinet National Park and enjoying a chilling night in the beautiful and wild Tasmania. Lucky couple we are, though. A lonely old signpost lead us to a sandy camping spot free of charge, electricity or showers, but rewarded with amazing night sky filled with the magical Milky Way.

For thousands of years, aboriginal people brought their children here to teach them ancient stories infused with old wisdom, life lessons about how to treat others and live in harmony with the nature. They still do. If you slow down a bit and listen to their stories, you can see it for yourself how they are written into the red walls of Uluru, how its features act as characters in old plays and how every furrow and stone has its own meaning. This is the place to bow in front of our mother nature and its extraordinary element, resting majestically in the middle of endless desert…