Blogs from Tasmania, Australia, Oceania - page 131

Ciao a tutti! Con un bel voletto sono arrivato in Tasmania! La Tasmania e' uno degli stati dell'Australia e Hobart, che e' una delle piu' antiche citta' del paese, ne e' la capitale. Purtroppo la citta' non e' niente di che. Piccolina, il centro e' molto moderno a parte una parte chiamata Battery Point. In due ore si gira tranquillamente! Nulla di interessante a parte qualche negozio per lo shopping (ovviamente io sono arivato sabato versdo le 17, e tutto ormai era chiuso!) Il tempo particolarmente uggioso (con rovesci copiosi quanto brevi) non aiuta il turista. Inoltre fa quasi freddo.... Non per nulla da qui partono le spedizionei per il polo Sud che si trova a tre giorni di viaggio in nave.... In ostello ho conosciuto un ragazzo inglese che vuole girare l'isola. Probabilmente affitteremo una ... read more

The irony of this latest side-trip wasn't lost on me: as recently as 1840, the mere mention of the phrase 'Van Diemen's land' would send shivers down the spine of London's most hardened criminals, for Port Arthur had the dubious distinction as the destination for those transported for their transgressions to what at the time was tantamount to another world. How people of those times would gawp if you were to tell them that their counterparts in 2006 would make the voyage voluntarily; if modern day Tasmania is testament to the community that grew from that convict settlement, then maybe the old POHMS weren't that bad at all. The day before I was to discover that my tour would consist of the guide, me and 7 girls was my first without travelling for more than a ... read more

Hi lovely readers - here's our last Taz blog. So, there are two things that this blog is about: 1) Visit to the Tasman Peninsula (bottom right as you look at the map) to experience the Port Arthur historical penal site (convicts, not mens' bits). 2) Trip up the top of Mount Wellington on a sunny but windy day. In keeping with our recent tradition of being Blog Lazy, we're mostly doing photos and keeping it tidy on the story front, but we have a couple of things to say up front. Port Arthur is famous for two reasons. Firstly, it ws an early settled convict outpost, which was famed for either completely reforming through trade skills, or totally breaking the men who were sent there, from the UK. There were various methods of punishment ... read more

As promised - a Gourmet blog outlining some of the delishamundo snacks we've been endulging in while here in Tasmania, or as Alan's started calling it 'Shazmania'. Sure there's a compliment in there somewhere (?!). There's been chocolate factories, cheese factories, country pubs with ace lunches, mega breakfasts, classic coffees, special cakes, raspberry farms, wineries, smashing restaurants, fish n' chips by the water, lavendar farms, delicatessens with excellent meats, pies and sausages, and wonderful breweries. We've even found some Edinburgh Rock, and to our absolute delight....some Irn Bru!!!! Unfortunately the new jeans we bought in Sydney are now straining to the point of almost bursting. In earnest, Tasmania is teaming with wonderful produce, so if you are a foodie, and in the Aussie area - we advise you to take a trip - you won't regret ... read more

3 Feb - Strahan Well our journey begins! So far our travels have taken us down Tassie's West Coast and to Strahan, which is pretty much as far as we can go, before taking a big left turn inland. We're taking some time out here on the edge of this beautiful harbour before we tackle the next leg on foot. But first an update of our adventure so far... The Spirit of Tasmania from Sydney was a very comfortable cruise down. It was a little overcast leaving the harbor, unfortunately not the sunny harbor we know and love, then the wind picked up outside of the heads. We stayed on the top deck in the face of a chilling South-Easterly until we could sight Coogee landmarks. Our homage paid, we descended to the comfort of the ... read more