Colin

4th April 2011 It was close to midnight when we arrived at the long term parking, which is about 10 minutes away from Melbourne Airport. I drove the car undercover and parked next to the other cars whose owners had already travelled out of Melbourne. Unloaded the two suitcases and signed in. We were flying to Malaysia for 18 days and the first part of our journey was about to begin. Our luggage was put in the back of the mini van, probably the gentlest treatment it was going to get for the next twelve or so hours. We shared the mini van with another couple as we made our way along wet back roads to the airport. Arriving in time for a two-hour wait for our flight. Before that, we had to check in our ... read more

Day Fourteen of Fifteen: Last Night in Tasmania After a night of rain falling on the tin roof of the cabin I half expected the view of clouds in the sky, ten minutes later blue skies were starting to break through. We packed the gear back into the car and dropped the key off at the reception. The last destination for the holiday was back to Devonport. Along Highway One we headed east and found the small village of Latrobe just a few kilometers south of Devonport. My girlfriend wanted to visit a chocolate factory, we had a quick look around the museum and tasted a few samples before traveling on to Port Sorell where we found a nice beach where some of the locals were fishing off a jetty. We had killed enough time ... read more

Day Twelve of Fifteen: Back roads to Burnie Two more days could easily have been spent in Cradle Mountain on walks that centered around the mountain. If I had realised so much could be done here I would have booked at least another night instead of the next two nights in Burnie. At this time of the year the Spirit of Tasmania only sails during daylight hours on the weekends and during daylight is the time we wanted to make the journey to and from the mainland. Moina was the only town of note that we passed through this morning. Other towns such as Upper Castra and Nietta were significantly smaller. We were back in farming country, cattle and sheep grazed in the green paddocks. The back roads were taking us to the Leven Canyon. ... read more

Day Ten of Fifteen: What to do in Strahan? We slept well and missed the sunrise again. Weather looked promising. Had a good breakfast and by 9 am, we were heading down to the docks to find out how much the tourist train ride to Queenstown was going to cost. It was booked up which saved us some money. One of the many pamphlets we have picked up on our travels was "Tasmanian's 60 Great Short Walks" - Hogarth Falls is in that pamphlet and we started walking from the Peoples Park along side a typical forest creek. Because it wasn't a large falls there appeared more water coming over the rim. When most people come to Strahan they catch a cruise on one of the many vessels that leave from the local docks. I ... read more

Day Eight of Fifteen: Drive south of Hobart We left the park and followed the now familiar road across the Bowen Bridge, turned south onto the Booker Highway and drove into Hobart. Found Davey Street and were very lucky to find a parking space only a few metres from the Salamanca Market. Old sandstone buildings on one side and a line of magnificent trees grew on the other, nestled in between were the stalls. The market stretches almost to the docks with craft and food stalls selling everything from fruit and vegetables to amazing photos of Tasmania. As usual in places like this, my girlfriend went one way while I went another. I particularly wanted to capture the atmosphere of the famous market. In a few gaps between the stalls, buskers entertained the tourists. Although ... read more