Whistle-stop tour

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It was only in the last month that we booked the flights for Tasmania on the recommendation that we couldn't come this far & not go to Tasmania. Thankfully we had the time. We arrived early on the Sunday morning & left on the Thursday so we didn't have time to be lounging about. We rented ourselves a small car to get us around....."Mellow Yellow" was the car.

It was so cool having our own wheels again. You have so much freedom & because we were in a hurry to try see as much as possible in the time we had, it was the perfect. The first day we headed to Hobart. We took a detour & went to a small town called Richmond, got our Sunday gospel in a quaint chapel & lunch in a local cafe....yum! Then on we went to moutains south of Hobart...can't tell you the name of them cause I was so wrecked from hardly any sleepp that I was a zombie for most of the day. We decided anyway that it wasn't walking weather cause it was raining outside.....we're still "fair-weather" girls....I know this will have to change but not today. Back to Hobart for a good night's sleep please!

After a wonderful sleep in a cosy bed we started making our way north. Visited the Tasman Peninsula where Port Arthur is located. Long ago in the early to mid 1800s convicts were sent to Port Arthur because it was separted only from the mainland by a narrow strip of land. They were the worst of the worst I believe & they were put to work in the area; mining, building & farming. As I said there was a narrow bank of land separating it form mainland & after a few years of convicts escaping, they created a "dog line". So about 10-20 mean ugly vicious mongrels lined this bank of land & the number of escapees dropped dramatically. Clever eh?? Anyway we neber actually went into Port Arthur cause we didn't have a half-day to give to it but there are other places nearby that gives you the history....ie Eaglehawk Bay. There are some lovely lookouts around the area too.

That day we headed more northerly to a small quiet town called Swansea. The hostel was a new build & we were lucky cause we ended up with a 4-bed room to ourselves. The beds were so comfortable too & made it more difficult to get up each morning. So on the Wednesday we visited Wineglass Bay, taking pitstops at Sleepy Bay & a lighthouse, unusual rock formations or whatever there was to see. The walk to Wineglass Bay was an upward climb for half of the journey & then downwards but worth it....the turquoise waters all around the coast of Tasmania are absolutely beautiful. The waters glisten & the blue skies make the scenery even more impressive. Wineglass Bay is kind of shaped like a wineglass & hence the name.

After that we moved on to Geaorge Town on the northern coast. Didn't our own self-guided walk of the town & that night went to the penguin rookery to see fairy penguins or "little" penguins as they a re commonly known. Wrapped up & decked out with my torch, off we went into the night. They come in from sea each night in the first few hours after sunset. The mammy goes out to sea early in the morning, maybe doing a 40 round-trip to get food for the young. Daddy minds the young for the first few weeks & then the 2 of them have to go out to catch enough food to barf up for the baby penguins. After about 8 weeks I think, the babies are on their own....the parents abandon them & they have to take their first dip in the ocean on their own. They remain at sea for 2 years until they reach maturity & then come to land to meet a partner. The male attracts the female by his singing & his nest & they usually mate with the same penguin for life. However once they rear the kids they go their separate way for a time. Everyone wins!! Ok think that's all I know. They don't glow in the dark....yet.....I'm sure evolution could change that.....& white light blinds them for a few minutes damaging their eyes. They follow the same exact path to their nest every night, tripping over the same things every night apparently & sometimes it's a few miles away. Even though they waddle, they move pretty fast. Ok that's it. Very very cute. Enjoyed it.

So it was late by the time we got to Launceston to rest our heads for the night. Again we were fortunate to get our own room for a dorm price. Early next morning we hit the road, destination Cradle Mountain. It's a long enoug drive there but the scenery is lovely. Windy roads so I was in the driving seat to prevent the inevitable. We did 2 walks that day.....Dove Lake & Cradle Valley circuits. The latter was a tough climb. My hat goes off to those we met along the way who were camping & had rucksacks on their backs because it was steep in parts & a never-ending upward slog. Everyone was giving us strange looks...the 2 of us in shorts & vest-tops, everyone else wrapped up like they were in the Himalayas. It was cold when we started all right so we were like energiser bunnies on speed, pelting it around to keep warm & saving our jumpers for the high-ground....it felt like it was going to snow on top of the mountain. From the peak of about 1200m the scenery was cool. You forget about the horrible climb it took to get there.

So that was it for our touring of Tasmania. We had hoped to tour more of the north coast & the east but between forest fires & lack of time, we never got that far. In saying that we saw loads. We were in fruit-heaven in Tasmania.....stopping at farms & stalls on the roadside for fresh cherries, apples & berries. We got a big punnet one day & did a "pick your own" fruit stop. After eating my way around the fruit plants I managed to fill my punnet adequately!!!.....definitely value-for-money. It was so much fun.....give it a go. Tasmania is beautiful. Really enjoyed it & would definitely recommend a visit there but give yourself loads of time because there are loads of great walks to do & camping. It's very different from the rest of Australia. The landscape is more like home......less green but similiar. It was a nice end to Australia. We packed up & flew on to Melbourne, only stopping for a few hours & then connecting for our flight to New Zealand. It took us a while to warm to Australia but having come to the end now, it has been wonderful. Goodbye to 50m swimming pools, the unrelenting sunshine.....& the endless stretches of beach. Must admit, it's a nice lifestyle....if only you could transport all that makes home "home" over there!!

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