Blogs from Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, Oceania - page 33

Hello All!! I am currently in Tasmania! For those of you who don't know... Taz is a State of Australia, but it is a separate island off the South East Coast. I arrived here on Wednesday, and am currently in the Capital... Hobart. It is really nice here and relaxed. It is a far cry from the Sports Crazy Melbourne and the hustle and bustle of Sydney! So what have I been up to sice I last wrote? Well as you will remember, my last blog seemed to have a bit of a 'Neighbours' theme... and unfortunately this does include a bit too. But all in all, I really enjoyed Melbourne, it truly is a great city. Last Friday I went to go and watch the Cricket at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground). And this ground ... read more

Sorry lost all our text when the website crashed... read more

Dec 17. zip Dec 18. Discovered Brighton just behind yacht club. Prosperous. All the right shops. Sadly trashy. Spruik ok. Called Perth. Flags being sent. Dec 19. Saw black swans overhead. But the birds are mainly mynah, blackbird and starling. Received flags! Beer at YC. Race tomorrow. Dec 20. Smoke haze. At least the northerlies were warm. Went to club. Got xcellent sail. Beautiful 36'. Nice red before we left the dock. Light wind. Perfect. With the haze we were out of sight of land. Christmas cakes at club. Dec 21. Nepean peninsula to Sorrento. Great spruik. Two people wanted flags. One for pole at house. The other to fly from boat at start of Melb-Hobart race. Neither could afford the $75 illustrating the dilemma of sourcing in Aussie or China. Northerlies again brought smoke and ... read more

Ok, I think if I mention one more time that it's weird to have a hot Christmas - people will accuse me of having an obsessive compulsive disorder. I have noticed,however, having Christmas in the sun is not the only strange thing over here- it has come to my attention that there are other strange idiosyncrasies in Australia. Regarding Christmas things (just one more time)I was shopping yesterday in Hobart and it was stinking hot. A female bus driver passed me by as I walked into town, wearing a full Santa outfit. In town, tinsel glistened in the sun, and Christmas lights outside people's houses tried desperately to make an impact on a very bright, sunny day. It doesn't get dark until 9,30pm!!! I felt very sorry for all the children who never see Christmas lights ... read more

We've finished!!! It's 30 degrees outside - and we have finished for an 8 week holiday!! How strange do we feel ??!!!- Doesn't feel like Christmas because it's Summer - and it doesn't feel like Summer because it's Christmas!!! We had a great day at school - culminating in a massive spread and lots of wine/beer in the staffroom. Unlike my other teacher friends - it's 16 months since I had my Summer holiday. Staff wore their "Christmas T'Shirts" (as opposed to Christmas Jumpers!!). Ivor and I have decided to do the South Coast track - a beautiful but fairly remote 84km walk - that has to be done over a week!! I have agreed to it only on the proviso that we have a satellite telephone with us in case of trouble - which he ... read more