Blogs from Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, Oceania - page 6

Things progressed and we were confident that the Coaster would go around the corner (and into the carport) so we agreed a price with Lawrence and Deb and proceeded to make arrangements to get our Light Rigid Licences. A Light Rigid Licence is required to be held when you want to drive a vehicle that has a Gross Vehicle Mass that is greater than 4500 kg but less than 8000 kg. Small trucks and buses (with around 15 -25 seats) usually fit in to this category. The logistics were a bit tricky as we had to (firstly) get Lawrence to drive the Coaster into Hobart for a service and check-over and then when that was completed get the Coaster delivered out to Glenorchy where we would sit a written examination and then perform a practical test ... read more

This morning we took the 11.00am Mona Roma (fast catamaran ferry) from the Brooke Street Ferry Terminal up the Derwent River to Berriedale. We booked the 'Posh Pit' tickets which gave us access to an exclusive lounge, bar and private deck. As soon as we were seated we were offered a glass of Moorilla sparkling wine. OMG, the decadence of it, we started drinking before midday today! It's only a 20 minute cruise to Berriedale, but the staff were buzzing around topping up our glasses just about as quickly as we were drinking. I had to decline the third top up in order to be sober enough to walk up the 99 steps from the dock to MONA!! From Berriedale we had a good view back towards the city centre and up to Mount Wellington. It ... read more

We survived the night without mobile coverage, access to the internet and heating!! The accommodation at Lake St Clair is true 'wilderness' accommodation with no wi-fi and no service on either the 3G or 4G networks. And we turned the heating off to sleep and we were plenty warm enough under the doona. This morning we completed three of the short Cradle Mountain walks. First we walked via Cynthia Bay on the Watersmeet Trail to the point where the Cuvier & Hugel Rivers converge before entering Lake St Clair. As we walked along this path we saw three yellow-tailed black cockatoos which was quite exciting - certainly the closest that we have been to yellow-tailed black cockatoos. Hopefully we managed to take at least one decent photo! From the bridge at Watersmeet we completed the Platypus ... read more

An early start on Monday morning saw us competing with the peak hour traffic on the way through Hobart on the way to Kettering, lining up for the 9.30 am ferry to Bruny Island. Where else would you try driving your caravan through the CBD in peak hour…? It is a very short journey, and soon we were putting rubber to the road again albeit the last in the queue. There is a North Bruny and a South Bruny, bit it is only one island as such, joined by a 700 mtr long ‘neck’ which separates the ocean (Storm Bay) from the sea (D’Entrecasteaux Channel) We had planned to stay at a free camp just onto South ‘island’ and headed straight for that, arriving mid morning. After sinking the levelling ramps into the rain softened sand, ... read more

The city of Hobart is Capitol of Tasmania, and an interesting and busy hub on the east coast. The city is built around a very beautiful harbour and Derwent River valley. However, the dominant physical feature is Mount Wellington right behind the city. The rise from sea level is 1271 mtrs, or around 4150 feet. How do you get to the top? The choice is to climb, go by scheduled tour bus, drive yourself, or in our case, go up with Anne and Jim in their Troupie. We had talked to a number of people about the road and depending on their attitude to driving up mountain roads that include many twists and turns, we received both positive and negative advice about driving a motorhome up to the summit. So at 6.30 pm we set off ... read more