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Published: January 23rd 2009
We're heading down Under! Firstly we must apologies for not being in contact sooner, we can imagine that you must have all been worried about our well-being, but there’s no need, we made it to Australia about 4 months ago….meaning you can call of the search parties. We have just been so busy with seeing family, looking for jobs and accommodation and lounging on the beach we haven’t had any spare time to update our blog. But as we are quite quiet at work, it is the perfect cover to help us look busy…….
Boarding the flight to Melbourne we were a little teary eyed as we had spent 6 amazing weeks in New Zealand and had experienced so much. We landed in Melbourne and got a taxi to our hostel called the Claremont Guest House. It was based in an area called South Yarra which seemed quite similar to Oxford Street in London…..Expensive wine bars, trendy boutiques and lots of pretty people, basically not a place we have been use to for the last 3 months.
We spent the next 3 days sight seeing around the city, visiting the beach/backpacker area of St Kilda and
generally lazing around the hostel. One night we decided to blow the budget and sample a few of the neighbouring wine bars, but as James refused to wear smart shoes in place of flip flops (or thongs as the Australians call them) we were denied entry to everywhere, even the Gay bar we tried to blag our way into. Feeling rejected we wandered back to our hostel via an off-licence and proceeded to get blind drunk in our room.
We didn’t stay that long in Melbourne as it was quite expensive so we contemplated our options :
a) Get a flight straight to Sydney to see Kim’s sister.
b) Get a flight over to Tasmania for a week.
c) Drive along the Great Ocean road to Adelaide and then over land to Sydney.
We discussed our ideas with Kim’s sister; Sally, and laughing she said we were either crazy or naïve to drive all that way as it would take a lot longer than we had predicted. James stressed that it was only an inch on the map, how far could it possibly be? So we decided to hop on a plane and visit Tasmania for a short
while.
The following day we were up very early to catch a 6:00am flight, which was the cheapest one available ($89) and James now wishes he had spent the extra $20 and got the 10:00am flight. When we arrived at the airport at 4am we had a massive argument with the taxi driver which we really could have done without. He was trying to charge us $70 for the taxi ride claiming that we had to pay for three ‘invisible’ toll booths that we past and then added tax onto the fare….cheeky git! Feeling tired and exhausted James pulled out the credit card, paid and slammed the door as hard as he could…..that will teach him. Grrrr
A short flight across the Tasmanian Sea we landed in Hobart; Tasmania’s largest city. We checked into our YHA hostel and were lucky enough to have a 6 birth dorm to ourselves for 2 nights. Prior to arriving in Tasmania we had decided that we wanted to explore the island and therefore hired a car which Kim nicknamed - Bettie, a little blue Hyundai Getz from Hertz. Once the insurance policy was negotiated, we packing our worthy belongings, filled her up
and off we went to explore.
Armed with enough maps to challenge Google Earth, we planned where we wanted to go and the landmarks we wanted to visit. Our first day consisted of driving along the ‘Convict Trail’ from Hobart to Port Arthur visiting the many historic tourist attractions, including Australia’s oldest church in Richmond.
As Tasmania doesn’t receive as many backpackers as New Zealand or main land Australia, the youth hostels and cheap accommodation are few and far between. After crawling the internet for a while we managed to find a hostel that was located quite close to Port Arthur, but when we arrived we soon realised that it wasn’t like hostels we had previously stayed in, but more like a cross between a Scout/Brownie campsite and an army barracks!!
For starters the ‘bunk beds’ were on three tiers, half of which had no mattresses, the window was broken and it seemed that the room and no source of heating therefore being the middle of September we were a little worried we may freeze! We decided to dump our stuff and visit the nearby attractions while considering other accommodation options.
First stop was the Tasmanian Devil
The rubbish hostel near Port Arthur
Look how shaby those bed's are! Can you imagine kim going up and down everytime she needed to loo....sanctuary, home to endangered and injured owl’s, Kangaroo’s, birds of prey and not to forget the famous Tasmanian Devil. We didn’t know what to expect as the only Tasmanian Devil’s we had seen was the crazy, spinning cartoon character on TV…you know who we mean.
The real Tasmanian Devils are very different however and don't spin around in a tornado! At first appearances they actually look quite cute and cuddly, but once feeding time arrives all hell breaks loose and they turn savage!
They are the size of a small dog and are actually carnivores who have an excellent sense of smell and will eat anything, including fur and bone! They also have the strongest bite force of any living animal with a staggering jaw strength of 4000 pounds per sq inch! (A great white shark only has 1000 psi) Also, when the females give birth, they have up to 30 babies - the size of a grain of rice - but only 4 survive as the female only has 4 teats. The ones with the strongest sense of smell find their way to the teats first and survive.
After leaving the Tasmanian Devil sanctuary we drove down
to Port Arthur, now an amazing historic site with many old ruins, extensive grounds and beautiful gardens. In the 1860’s it was used as a prison and asylum and is therefore a prime site for ghost tours. Unfortunately we didn’t expect the ticket price to be so high when we arrived ($65 each) and therefore we gave it a miss and drove back to the dodgy hostel.
We had decided that we weren’t going to stay in the hostel and as we had already paid for the beds we needed a way to get a refund. James came up with a genius idea, which was to tell a little ‘white lie’ and say that Kim’s sister had suddenly gone into labour and we were in a mad rush to dash back.
Kim, having more acting experience was opted to go into the reception and try her best to get a full refund while James sat in the car embarrass. When Kim came out 5 minutes later with a big smile on her face, James realised she had pulled it off and started up the car ready to speed off!! As we said earlier there wasn’t much budget accommodation in
Tasmanian Devil
Cute or Scary - You Decide.... the area, and therefore Kim persuaded James to drive back to Hobart which was 2.5 hours away, which he didn’t mind but wished that we had some CD’s in the car as Tasmanian radio isn’t exactly Chris Moyles and Radio 1!
After one more evening at the YHA in Hobart, we continued on our road trip up the Eastern Highway route heading towards St. Helens. This was to be an epic day of driving (estimated about 7 hours), so we set off nice and early. Our first sight-seeing stop was at Wineglass Bay for the amazing scenery and photo opportunities. As James had been driving for about 3 hours, he asked Kim to take a turn but soon had to question that idea because for some strange reason Kim was driving on the wrong side of the road (the right) with the windscreen wipers going full pelt (the indicators are on the other side) resulting in a near head on collision!! Thinking better of it, James jumped back into the driving seat and set off up to St. Helens.
Back in Hobart we had been recommend to visit a small farm called Sally’s Fresh Fruit Farm, which apparently
Port Arthur
The Historic ruins of Port Arthur had the best homemade ice cream in Tasmania. We are so glad that we did as the strawberry ice cream and scones with Raspberry Jam were the best we had ever sampled, plus the amazing views of the coastline contributed to the ambience of it all!
A few hours later we arrive in St. Helens, a small fishing town in the North-East of Tasmania. As there are hardly any cars on the road, the trip up had been very peaceful, only ruined when James got a bit ‘boyish’ and decides to drive like he is in a rally competition, that aside he did very well considering he hadn’t driven a car in a few years. Kim thinks he is starting to develop a strong bond with Bettie. Ha.
Our accommodation in St. Helens was again the YHA, it took us a little while to find the place as it looked like a normal house in the town. We were also the only people staying in the hostel that evening, so had the whole lounge and kitchen to ourselves and that evening we just chilled out watching DVD’s and munching lots of food.
St. Helen’s coast boasts white
sandy beaches, bright orange granite and turquoise sea and to the north lies the colourful, pristine coast of the Bay of Fires - travelling through this part of the Island, we were defiantly aware of the changing tones and hues of the land, the sky and the sea.
After visiting the Bay of Fires, we continued on our touring route, heading West towards Launceston, Tasmania’s second biggest town. As the drive from St. Helens was only short we managed to go off the beaten track and explore a little of the countryside.
Again the scenery was breath-taking and we ended up driving in a beautiful little valley called Pyengana, when we saw a sign that said, "Pub in a Paddock 3km - Come and see our Beer Drinking Pig"…..Sweet, thought James, that could be interesting! So we drove down, not knowing what to expect and sure enough, like a mirage out of the mist, a pub appeared in the middle of the field, surrounded by tractors, cattle and shit. James’s eye’s just lit up as this was combing his two favourite things; the countryside and beer!! Woohoo. Kim was starting to think that she might have to continue with
the driving to Launceston as James was already out the car and marching to the bar!
Kim cautiously entered the pub behind James, half expecting someone to come running out with a shotgun, but we were both pleasantly surprised when we got in. It was like being in a beautiful country pub like back home in the UK; roaring fire, home cooked meals and regular old men perched at the bar all included! After a great feast we went to enquire about this ‘beer drinking pig’ and was told by the barman that we could purchase a bottle of Pig Beer (it was actually a half bottle of ale mixed with water) and go feed ‘Slops’ who was residing outside.
Slops, in all his glory, was one of the biggest pigs we had ever seen and was waiting desperately for a beer. As his sign said, geez he looked dry. We wandered closer, and Slops started drooling in anticipation, his filthy mouth slurping helplessly mid air as he sought to satisfy his cravings. We obliged, holding the subbie out to see if he was interested. Slops surged forward, lips stretched, and started sucking on the neck with all
his heart. Having given Slops all the beer we had, we empathetically held up empty hands as we walked back to the car. Slops squealed a terrible squeal as we left, mouth still sucking helplessly in the air, his little black eyes darting back and forth….
Next stop was the Pyengana Cheese factory where we stopped for a while to look around the factory and try the free samples of delicious cheese they had on offer - a lovely cheesecloth mild, 18 month matured and 2 yr matured cheddar, and some cheddar with chilli, pickled onion, and herb (which was our favourite). We felt bad when we had to make false promises to return to actually buy some (looking back we wished we had now, as it was truly yummy!). Oh well we were on a roll and had more sights to see, for the next place on the schedule was St Columbia Falls, a 30 minute return walk down to the land that time forgot. Huffing and puffing we made it down to the valley floor so that we could see the waterfall in all its might! Every walk we have done so far has been pretty spectacular
and this one was no exception, and the falls were one of the most picturesque and reminded us a lot of New Zealand.
After arriving in Launceston we spent the next few days just chilling out and walking around the town centre to see what it had to offer. We thought Launceston was quite nice, but wasn’t that eager to stay much longer as it was just like any other town, so we consulted the guide books to see what we could do next. The best we could come up with was to drive back to Hobart so that we were in time for the market that is famous through-out Tasmania. So that morning we set off along the Heritage Highway (The main highway that splits the island from Launceston to Hobart) driving towards Hobart via a few historical towns. The day was very peaceful and relatively event free, up until the point the ‘Low Petrol’ light started flashing in the car……”Whoops”, said James “I must have forgot to fill her up back in Launceston. Oh well there should be a petrol station soon, we are on a highway”. 15 minutes goes by, then 30 minutes and still no
Us at St. Columbus Falls
We actually asked a guy to get a picture of us infront of the waterfall, but he was a bit 'backwards' and cut it out! petrol station. As the fear starts to creep into James, Kim senses something was wrong so James smiles bravely trying to reassure her that we will be fine. Another 10 minutes goes by and James suddenly takes the car out of gear as we zoom down a steep hill. Obviously Kim starts panicking and asks what the hell is going on. “Don’t worry babes, I have seen this done on TV and it will help save petrol as we must be running on fumes by now. Oh and do up your window, it will help with the aerodynamics of the car” James says in his more reassuring voice. Kim automatically gives him one of those looks, meaning ‘I am not impressed. We better not break down, for your sake’. So for the next 10 minutes we are roller coasting up and down the hills of Tasmania, trying to be as economical with the petrol as we can while praying to the gods that Bettie (the car) doesn’t break down……Luckily, it seemed that our prays were answered as we went over the steepest hill of the day, a small yellow building came into view on the horizon, we kept our fingers
Our life-line!
We have never been so happy to see a petrol station! and toes crossed and sure enough it was a Shell Petrol…we were saved!!
Back in Hobart we checked back into the YHA, the owners looking a bit bewildered as to why we were back again and were lucky enough to have the same room as before and were again the only ones in a 6 birth dorm. We chilled out in Hobart for the next few days, going to the cinema to see Wall-E and visiting the famous market. Kim decided that she wanted to get her fortune told by a dodgy looking tarot card reader, James being a non-believer walked away to observe a nearby stall but was soon dragged back by Kim, as she wanted him to sit in and listen. To say she was hopeless was an understatement, she kept trying to convince us that Kim had a brother and would be a Historian and James was soon to pursue a career within the building industry. Which we found quite amusing as his DYI skills extend to changing light bulbs and at a stretch putting up furniture from Ikea. The reading was cut short by an awful storm that swept in off the coast very quickly.
Our touring Map
Day 1 - Hobart - Port Arthur - Hobart
Day 2 - Hobart - St. Helens (via wineglass bay)
Day 3 - St. Helens - Launceston (Via Pyengana)
Day 4 - Launceston - Hobart Obviously everyone ran for cover, apart from us who offered to help Mystic Meg hold her ‘tent’ while she was running up the street collecting her cards that had been blown everywhere…..Soaked to the bone we wandered back to the hostel with James moaning the entire way.
After spending a week in Tasmania we were quite excited to be heading over to Sydney to see Kim’s sister and newly born niece - Isabelle (and not forgetting Simon). We enjoyed our time in Tasmania, especially having the freedom to explore at our own will and it reminded us a lot of New Zealand in terms of the scenery. For this fact it was quite hard to fully appreciate it for what it was, as the 6 fantastic weeks in New Zealand over-shadowed the time spent here. However, we still recommend that you go visit as the scenery is amazing and the little towns and villages have a lot to offer. After another early morning budget flight we will be in Sydney, reunited with Kim’s family……all very exciting!!
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Si
non-member comment
Alrite guys
Heya you two happy new year, was a brilliant read on a dull friday morning at work, slops looks like a proper dude, not sure about the legality of getting pigs pissed but i'm sure he was loving it. Pics look amazing especially wineglass bay. Come 'em coming guys, will message you on facebook soon and get you up to date on all the weird and wonderfull adventures i've been getting up to as well. Haha. Stay safe and keep smiling, Big Love, Si xxx