So to make the most of it, we decided to take Monday off and go to Tasmania for a few days. Tasmania is a small (small being about the size of Scotland) island south of Victoria, only about 45minutes flight away. Apart from a few rumours of inbreeding, people tend to say good things about it.
On Saturday morning we arrived in Launceston, pronounced Loncesston and definitely not Launce-ton or Lawncesston, which is a small city in the north. It's old and it's got some very pretty buildings. We had a look around and then went off into a nearby forest to do some zip-wiring through some tall trees.
We had a short walk through Cataract Gorge, which is right in the centre of the city and probably very popular on most weekends, except we found it pretty deserted because it was raining a bit. It was cool - very quiet apart from the peacocks.
We had a good roast dinner in a pub then when it got dark, we went on a ghost tour led by a guy in a flat cap. There was only a small group of us, and we walked around listening to stories. None of the stories were particularly chilling or convincing but they were told well. I think it was to make up for the lack of convicing stories that at the end of the tour they took us into a garage (old stables), closed the door so it was dark, and played some spooky music. The tour guide distracted us while he pushed a button to release a stuffed dummy, which swung down from the rafters on a noose.
On Sunday we left Launceston early and started driving along the Tasman highway, which I had guessed was the scenic route to the coast. Unfortunately, it started to rain pretty heavily and the fog closed in when we were going over the forested mountains. The road was full of sharp bends and we could hardly see ahead of us. But Paul is a very good driver so it wasn't too worrying. Here is a sample of the not-so-amazing view...
The road continued like that for a couple of hours. We did go through some small town but it was early on Sunday morning, and everything was deserted. We did not find anywhere for breakfast until we came across a middle-of-nowhere roadside stop selling postcards, instant coffee and raisin toast. So that was breakfast.
We drove on to reach the coast and got to a town called St Helens, where it was still bucketing down with rain. Here is me standing outside a coffee shop looking wet.
The tourist information had a helpful lady who made a few suggestions. She persuaded us to book ourselves in for a penguin tour that evening, but there wasn't much else we found to do. We went to a scenic lookout to have lunch, but predictably the scenic lookout was surrounded by fog, so we couldn't actually see anything. We also went down to the ocean. Here is Paul looking bedraggled.
We were not having very much fun at that point so we decided just to get to Bicheno, an hour or so down the coast, where we'd be staying the night.
When we arrived, we had a look around and found the blowhole:
Then miraculously, the rain stopped.
So we climbed a rock.
Had some fish and chips for dinner.
Then watched the swell breaking on the rocks in the evening light. Very pretty.
And later we went on the penguin tour. Unfortunately even though the rain had stopped, it was extremely windy so it was difficult to make out what the tour guide was saying. Also the wind meant that the penguins were behaving very cautiously because it made the grass and bushes quiver a lot, and made it harder for the penguins to look out for their enemies. But they were still cool. Very small things. The tour is designed so that you see the penguins as they come ashore in small groups after dark. We were encouraged to stand still with our legs apart so the penguins could walk through, but they didn't. It must have been the wind.
On Monday it was still sunny but cold. We had another early-ish start and had a great drive down through Hobart (capital city) and beyond down the Huon valley where they grow apples. We did a bit of cable hang-gliding:
Followed a sign to 'The Big Tree':
Then headed back towards Hobart.
Mount Wellington overlooks the city and there's a road which goes right up it, so we went and had a look at the views.
(Not feeling so grumpy as I look there.)
We got down in time to have a quick look around Hobart before everything closed, then went for dinner on the harbour. The place only did fish and chips, but they presented it in lots of different ways. I had a grilled salmon on chips with a side-salad. After discovering there was not much more to do in Hobart at that time in the evening, we headed back to the airport. As a whole, the trip was pretty good and generally less wet than it seems from the pictures. Tasmania definitely reminds me of the UK more than Victoria. Apart from the kangaroos, wallabies, Tasmanian devils, and rumoured Tasmanian tigers.
No plans for next weekend and I'll try to keep it that way.
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