Blogs from Tasmania, Australia, Oceania - page 133

Another day another flight. This time we were leaving Asia behind and heading off to Australia. When your travelling, moving on is always exciting but this time was even more so, as after five months in Asia we were really in need of some western normality. The flight from Singapore only took seven hours but because of the time difference we arrived in Sydney at six am having had no sleep whatsoever. After going through customs where Becky was pulled up for having a sachet of tomato ketchup in her bag (apparently an offence if not declared)! we headed off to the arrivals lounge for a full English breakfast (heaven). After our hearty feed and a proper cup of tea we jumped on a bus to a hotel we had booked through the airport, where we ... read more

The Wild Green West is a three day west coast tour of Tasmania (otherwise known as Apple Isle) booked through Adventure Tours (www.adventuretours.com.au). Day one included hours of travel on the bus (and an opportunity to grab several naps to catch up on the time adjustment) from Hobart to Tullah. In between naps, I discovered the diversity of our group of 21 tourists. Combined, we represented a wide range of areas across the world: America, Asia, England, Ireland, France, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, Canada and Holland. Needless to say, I have been exposed to the surface of many cultures and now have a deep fondness for the French accent. Amber and I were the only Americans and were generally picked on by our tour guide, Adam (from Australia) because of our accents and Texas residence. First stop: ... read more

Hello! A Merry Belated Christmas to you!! And a Happy New Year's!!! I can't believe it's already this time of the year again! Time sure goes by very quickly. Thanks for all of your emails about the tsunami and earthquake and your concern!! Fortunately, I was in the middle of the woods at the end of a 4 day trek in Tasmania when the earthquake happened. I just learned of it yesterday evening and have been watching the news as much as possible. I'm still in shock that it happened in the area that I was just in and that it's nearly anhiliated by this massive movement of the earth's plates. Apparently there are islands that have completely shifted places. I feel very very fortunate to not have been anywhere near that area. I suppose if ... read more

Tasmania - February 2004 One of my trips back to my home from 1991 to 1998 - Tasmania, Australia... read more

From Hobart, I was headed back to Melbourne with a flight from Launceston. My plan to see Cradle Mountain fell apart when I realised it was the last weekend of school holidays, and all accomodation there was fully booked. When I had initially arrived on Tasmania it was beautiful weather - and looking out onto the rain swept streets of Hobart I could only visualise sunny Launceston. Even though all the weather reports showed it to be poor weather across the entire island, I had faith that the sun was shining in Launceston - and so bought a ticket back there. For once my instincts were right - I arrived and instantly the slightly depressed feelings that had been welling up in Hobart disappeared. It was great.  Due to the previous weeks bad weather, the gently ... read more