[internal] downdownunder in suspend mode

filed under organising by Florian

guess what…
as you may have recognized nothing has happened here during the last months – just due to the fact that both of us, jochen and me, are back to the upper side of earth.

the domain, the gallery and of course this blog will remain, and maybe you’ll be witness of its ressurrection one day. with a new design, a new idea and new content.

stay tuned!

cheers, flo & jochen

[internal] author changes

filed under germany organising by Florian

Due to the fact that my “mission tasmania” is definitely over with the end of february you probably won’t find any postings from me at this place any more. As I found a company for my diploma thesis at Bremen/Germany I’ll spend the next six months in the very north of Germany. Probably I will keep you up to date on my personal website or I will set up another blog or whatever – we’ll see.

Of course Jochen will continue posting ‘cause he finally made it to some more months downdownunder – lucky guy! ;-)

pitstop Singapore airport

filed under organising trips by Florian

It’s hard but slowly I realize that Tassy is over now… The last four months have been one of the best I’ve ever had!
Now it’s time to prepare for the climate shock from currently 34 degrees (75% humidity) to 5 degrees in Frankfurt.

I’ll post again when I’m back home, now it’s time to enjoy Singapore airport for 9 hours.

Greetz to all, Flo ;-)

the last week has begun...

filed under tasmania organising by Florian

12 days of silence and then 4 postings on one day – you can see how busy we are here in AAD ;-)
Well, on the one hand Christmas is the celebration of gladness but on the other hand my last week in Tassy has just begun… I’d really like to stay but imagine: In 10 days I’ll be able to enjoy original German Laugenweck, Bratwurst und Hefeweizen again ;-)

Well, but before Tassy will be over for me there are a few things going on during the next few days, so stay tuned:

Christmas from friday till sunday (Christmas eve party, Christmas lunch, Christmas tea, Christmas dinner, Salamanca market on boxing day)
The Hobart yaught race with the first ships arriving next tuesday

contact tassy

filed under tasmania organising by Florian

Before I forget it again and again – here’s my contact address and phone in Hobart:

Jane Franklin Hall
c/o Florian Buhl
6 Elboden Street
South Hobart
Tasmania, Australia
7004

mobile: ++61 (0) 411 743 561
wired: ++61 (0) 3 62 217 191 (Jane, only temporarily available)

++61 is from Germany to Tassy
(0) 3 is for Tassy
622 17 xxx is my number inside Tassy
191 is my room number in JFH

Northern Outpost is taken!

filed under germany organising by Jochen

After a hellride of 6:15h and neverending 755km I reached the Northern Outpost of the Downdownunder Project yesterday.

After a short orientation break I began to search for the house looking like a ship, as Mrs Davidis (the woman in charge for the guesthouses) told me. There I ought to find the facility-manager (who told me ten times where I got to drive) to get the keys to my rooms. I thought these guys around here know what boats and ships like, but they don’t! These house which is the main facility of AWI has nothing in common with a ship… whatever!

My next step was to move into my flat-sharing community. There is space for four people, but only one lives there atm. Tobias seams to be a cool guy and crazy biker. I think you’ll like him Flo!

But after packing my clothes into my dresser I realized the next hell!
THERE’S NO WAY TO GET ONLINE!!!

new pics online

filed under tasmania organising by Florian

After an upload marathon of three hours (14 kb up…) I finally made it to add some new pics to the gallery, now there are two new albums:

Our flight to Tasmania
A first visit of Hobart

all work done

filed under germany organising by Florian

Today I got my international drivers license from the district office (read the last entry “wanted by the police” *g), so I’ve got all the necessary documents now I need for the journey.
Three days and still counting until the trip begins…

tips for all the paperwar

filed under germany organising by Florian

Today at 4:30 pm there was a really convincing reportage about Tasmania on NDR – I think I’ll stay down-downunder… The german actor Hans Joachim Fuchsberger (“Blackie”) lives in Hobart for 7 years and will never leave because of the incredible untouched nature (1/3 of Tasmania is a declared protected area) and the easy way of living without any stress.
Anyways, I want to give you some hints of the different documents an other preparations I had to take care about for the trip to Tasmania. Note that this list will be updated in the future. No warranty ;-)

Visa: There is a huge variety of different visa-types. For a first overview visit the homepage of the Australian embassy to get some information how all the stuff works. In my case the best solution was getting an “ETA” (Electronic Travel Authority). It is a normal tourist visa which everyone can get on the website of the embassy. It takes about 2 minutes to fill in your data and costs AUS$ 20 (about 12 Euro), payment is only allowed via credit cards. You can get the same visa when you book your flight in a travel agency. If you have the right connections (as I have due to my job at the AAD *g) it is possible to change your visa type later when you’re in Tasmania.
Passport (Reisepass, Ausweis): You need a german “Reisepass” to travel into Tasmania which sounds much easier than it is: You are only allowed to apply for it at your local city hall where you are registered with your “Erstwohnsitz”. There are different kinds of passports: A final one (needs two pictures, about 13 Euros, 5-6 weeks) and a preliminary one (needs two pictures, about 13 Euros, 1 week) if you are in a hurry (as I was *g). Of course as we are in Germany only you for yourself are allowed to fetch the finished passport from the city hall (which often has VERY friendly opening times… no more comments) – e.g. it’s not possible to give your father a written permission to fetch it.
Flight (travel agency, airline, luggage limits): “The early bird catches the worm” – book early and save money. I didn’t have this chance so I had to pay about 1300 Euro (two-way) and a luggage limit of only 20 kilos (!) plus 7 kilos of hand luggage. The cheapest airline in my case was SIA (Singapore Airlines) and Jetstar for the distance between Sydney and Hobart. Concerning luggage, inofficially you may carry up to 30 kg with SIA and 25 kg with Jetstars – but don’t relay on that ;-) Hint: Grab a seat at the emergency exit – as long as you’re no contortionist…
Drivers License: If you have the “old” pink papermade drivers license you need at first the credit-card like euro-drivers license (24 Euros, 3-6 weeks duration). After that you can apply for an international drivers license (13 Euros, issued instantly). Tassys drive on the left side as you know. The great thing: There is no TUEV, your car just has to be ‘roadable’ to get registered… What you do is paying at least 39 dollars for registering your car and additional 100 dollars for the insurance. But as it’s valid for about one year you may have luck and get a car with three months reg left ;-) Note, that this insurance only covers human damage not material damage…
Accomodation: I had the great luck to get a room in Jane Franklin Hall which belongs to the University of Tasmania. They offer a full catered service in a very dignified ambiance. Of course it’s not that cheap (about 130 Euros a week) – but especially during the first days/weeks it’s perfect to have the head free looking for an alternative.
ISIC: As I mentioned before, either ask for it in the Asta-office of the University you study at or visit the website Asta Reisen – there you’ll find all the information you need.
Immunisation: You should get two immunisations: Hepatitis A/B and Polyo.
Travel Guide: (todo)
Power Supply: Tassies use 230 Volts – YES! But you need a special adapter
Living: Your rent is accounted weekly here, get a cheap accomodation in a molehole for ca. 65 $ a week (you’ll have NOTHING *g) or enjoy a full catered service like Jane Franklin Hall for ca. 240 $ a week which includes: Three great meals on seven days, laundry, huge rooms, huge community around, internal network, DSL internet connection, etc.
Money: Just remember the good old DM – one AUS Dollar is nearly the same than one former DM. Courses vary between 0.54 EUR cent and 0.70 EUR cent for 1 AUS Dollar.
Clothes: June – September = winter in Tassy with temperatures between 2 and 16 degrees, be prepared with some warm clothes as well.
Shopping: (todo)

By the way: To get informed about the meals of the different airlines check the website airlinemeals.net ;-)

living in Tasmania

filed under tasmania organising by Florian

Just got news from Virginia, my personal assistant for accommodation in Hobart. So the place where I’ll resident during the first weeks is called Jane Franklin Hall – an accomodation complex of the University of Tasmania.
Here’s a small preview of my room:

common room in Jane Franklin Hall

;-)

Of course not everyone has the privilege to use the upper-class suites:

student dorm room in Jane Franklin Hall

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