The Lone Traveller

The plan for Australia changed a bit. With Tom's budget at full stretch and a diminished inclination to do any work, we're cutting it short to make seeing New Zealand feasible.


While here though Tom had things to do, a wedding in Queensland to attend and friends to visit in Melbourne. So after a few days in Sydney he made his way north. I decided to spend the spare week taking a look at Tasmania and booked a flight to Hobart.


I booked a hire car for the duration, a bit of a luxury but it made sense with lots to see and not a long time to see it. After some free upgrade I left the airport in a punchy little Mitsubishi Colt, rather than the expected budget Hyundai. Not quite the Cadillac DeVille upgrade of California 2004 but pleasing all the same.


I didn't have much of a clue where to go, and for the first time since the trip started nobody alongside to run that lack of a clue past. Rather than stick around Hobart I went south to the Huon Valley, arriving at a quiet Far South Backpackers Lodge in the evening. Little did I know at the time but that was the busiest nights accommodation I would see on the island, with long weekends away in progress due to a public holiday Monday for the Queens birthday. Seemed faintly odd that its worth a holiday here but not at home, but I'm told we get just as many and thats all ok.


The next day I got myself down to Cockle Creek with a supply of sandwiches, fruit and water for an afternoon five hour return trek to South Cape Bay, the southernmost tip of Australia. The walking was a mixture of forest and meadow and took well under the advertised time at my solo walking speed. After a sandwich and some gazing out over the Southern Ocean towards the Antarctic I made an equally speedy return so as to be back at the car before the sun dropped. I thought the sun might win for a while, until I realised it doesn't get as high or go down as quickly as back in SE Asia. Plenty of thinking time you see, but I'll try not to recount it all.


Via Hobart and any touristy scenic route I could find I made for Port Arthur the following day, for some historic convict culture. By the time I got there it was dark. I tried a backpacker lodge at Eaglehawk Neck but it was pitch black and appeared to be deserted. I tried a Best Western hotel but couldn't find a door that opened.


Bothered by the difficulty of it all I decided to skip the area and drove two hours of near deserted roads up the east coast to Swansea. After three lengths of the pretty much one street town I couldn't find the hostel there either, but did find someone who could tell me. Turned out to be a spectacularly good place, though lacking a bit in atmosphere as I was one of only two people staying there.


I made for Freycinet National Park the next day, once again arriving a bit late to do as long a walk as intended. So I opted to take a look at Wineglass Bay. The most popular trek is a shortish one to the lookout, but I continued on down to the beach. View admired and sandwiches ingested I spotted a path to Hazards Beach, which would set me on a five hour loop rather than a three hour return. I didn't have five hours before the part time sun was off again, but encouraged by the previous walk and the knowledge I was already half and hour up I went for it anyway. It was a good choice, a more varied walk and I finished it in three hours. If anything it was easier than back the way I had come, more level so good for my dodgy knees which still get intimidated when too many steps are involved.


Before heading back to Swansea I dropped into Bicheno in the evening to see if there was any life there after dark. The answer is no. All of Tasmania except the few cities seem to be on a five o'clock curfew. I went into a cafe with internet at five thirty. Tried to order a schnitzel but was told they didn't have any in stock, tried to use the internet but was told actually the cafe closed between five thirty and six thirty. Odd. I went back to Swansea.


The next day I continued north without much of a plan. A plan created itself when I came across a closed road which meant an hour detour back to continue north or a change of direction to Launceston, where my flight would be two days later. I chose the latter.


In Launceston it rained for half of the time, and you know how good my waterproof is. When it didn't I made a visit to Cataract Gorge, right in the city, and took a walk out to Duck Reach "Historic Power Station", provider of the first hydroelectric power to any Australian city. From there I found another path through woodland right back to where I'd started at the first basin area of the gorge. Across that bit of the gorge is a chairlift with the longest single span section in the world. I was suitably impressed but not willing to shell out the dollars necessary to experience it from above.


Looking up I seem to have written a lot of words with very little to talk about. It's a bit late to tell you now, but all you really need to know is - went to Tasmania, looked at scenery, did walks.


With a few days in Melbourne and back in the company of Tom, we saw a friend of his playing Australian rules football. I spent the game asking constant questions to find out the what was going on. I can now make a lot more sense of it, interesting game taking good bits of various other ones. The game in question was entertaining too, a second quarter collapse by our side followed by a long fightback which was only just short at the final whistle.


We got a lift to the airport on 16th June for our plane to Christchurch but then were greated with the sight of "CANCELLED" against our flight due to fog the previous day putting things in the wrong place. Rebooked onto a plane for the following day we spent extra time in Melbourne. While there we booked some more flights, after discovering we wouldn't be allowed into New Zealand without proof we were booked to leave.


So the flights home are now arranged. Via a few weeks in the US we'll be touching down back in the UK in early August. A bit shorter than once envisaged but only because we haven't worked anywhere. Some action packed weeks in New Zealand first, no need to bother reading the next one, it'll probably read "went to New Zealand, looked at scenery, did walks".

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