12th January
6.30am waiting for the alarm to go off at 7am. A quick shower and breakfast before heading to the airport to pick up Kel. Plane was on time and with a quiet airport it was pretty easy to spot her coming through. Outside to collect baggage and back to the caravan park so Kel could have some breakfast. A phone call to James Boag brewery to book in and found it was only the premium tour available that day, and either 10.30 (25 minutes time) or later in the afternoon. So all systems go we got ready and headed off, arriving at 10.25, perfect! Donned our sexy fluro vests and safety glasses and headed on our tour, finding out all the history of Boags and how they had nearly gone under until they released their Premium beer. They were now expanding to keep up with d
emand! Time then to head upstairs to sample their finest – which apparently their management do at 10am every Monday morning, as their quality assurance! Even mum managed to drink all of the beers – and enjoyed most of them too!!! Mind you, she was feeling a bit lightheaded heading up the steps to look at the see their displays. Downstairs for some merchandise and we were on our way to Georgetown and the lighthouse at Low Head before stopping at the pub for lunch, where Kel and I of course had a beer – Boags Blonde. On our way to Beaconsfield we stopped at Tamar Ridge for a taste of their wines, but wasn’t particularly impressed by any of them. Arrived at 
Beaconsfield and found the mine pretty easily, deciding to go on a tour (well I wanted to go, so the rest just sorta followed) and ran out of time to see it all, but did spend a lot of time reading about ‘that rescue’ of Brant and Todd, and the unfortunate loss of Larry. Back to Launceston via photos at Rosevear (for Bill) and some napping from Kel and I. We arrived, had some cheese and biscuits and decided to head off on a walk, so made it up and down the hills to Cataract Gorge, which was packed and beautiful! Across the suspension bridge and over to the peacocks, which were gorgeous! Around the end of the lake and then the trek home, back up and down the hills! Kel headed for an early night while mum, dad and I watched tv and played on the internet. Big day ahead of us tomorrow!
6.30am waiting for the alarm to go off at 7am. A quick shower and breakfast before heading to the airport to pick up Kel. Plane was on time and with a quiet airport it was pretty easy to spot her coming through. Outside to collect baggage and back to the caravan park so Kel could have some breakfast. A phone call to James Boag brewery to book in and found it was only the premium tour available that day, and either 10.30 (25 minutes time) or later in the afternoon. So all systems go we got ready and headed off, arriving at 10.25, perfect! Donned our sexy fluro vests and safety glasses and headed on our tour, finding out all the history of Boags and how they had nearly gone under until they released their Premium beer. They were now expanding to keep up with d
emand! Time then to head upstairs to sample their finest – which apparently their management do at 10am every Monday morning, as their quality assurance! Even mum managed to drink all of the beers – and enjoyed most of them too!!! Mind you, she was feeling a bit lightheaded heading up the steps to look at the see their displays. Downstairs for some merchandise and we were on our way to Georgetown and the lighthouse at Low Head before stopping at the pub for lunch, where Kel and I of course had a beer – Boags Blonde. On our way to Beaconsfield we stopped at Tamar Ridge for a taste of their wines, but wasn’t particularly impressed by any of them. Arrived at 
Beaconsfield and found the mine pretty easily, deciding to go on a tour (well I wanted to go, so the rest just sorta followed) and ran out of time to see it all, but did spend a lot of time reading about ‘that rescue’ of Brant and Todd, and the unfortunate loss of Larry. Back to Launceston via photos at Rosevear (for Bill) and some napping from Kel and I. We arrived, had some cheese and biscuits and decided to head off on a walk, so made it up and down the hills to Cataract Gorge, which was packed and beautiful! Across the suspension bridge and over to the peacocks, which were gorgeous! Around the end of the lake and then the trek home, back up and down the hills! Kel headed for an early night while mum, dad and I watched tv and played on the internet. Big day ahead of us tomorrow!13th January
After a restless night I woke at 8am – that’s more like it. Off for a shower and breaky before dropping dad in town to collect their hire car. Decided we wanted to make the 10.30am river cruise of Cataract Gorge, so we threw everything into the cars and made our way down, with
Kel, dad and I running to the boat after parking the cars. Made it (they waited for us) and loaded up. The 50 minute tour was probably long enough (glad we didn’t do the 2 ½ hour one) and gave us a heap of information on Launceston, the boats, 100 year floods and of course the gorge, including the 2 000 pound walkway that took almost 50 years to recoup the cost off by charging 1 shilling per entry. The tide was coming in, and has a 4m turn around, hence the floating jetties! Finished the cruise and off for a cuppa in the marina before heading off for a walk back along the gorge, via the art gallery on the waterfront. Fish and chips for lunch (which were really yummy) before we set o
ff at 2pm for the Cable Hang-gliding. I decided to give it a miss, so took video and photos of Dad and Kel. It was then time to say goodbye to the folks (no tears from mum) and Kel and I headed into town, only to park right behind mum and dad! We went for a walk, didn’t find much and set Millie for Railton, only to find a Coles on the way, so did some shopping, and a top up of fuel and we said goodbye to Launceston at 5pm. Drove on for an hour (and Kel napped) until we reached Railton and the topiary that lines the streets. Quick stop for photos and onto Sheffield, known for its murals. I had intended to spend the night there, and head to the pub for the cricket, so after a quick look around their park I went to find the caravan park on their map..... nope, nothing. A drive down 
the rest of the main street didn’t turn up anything, so a stop into the service station and discovered the caravan park had gone, head onto Gowrie Park, think there is one there, just over the bridge. We went just over the bridge, and found a free campground, full of bogans as Kel said, and before I had time to turn around we came across another sign for a caravan park – sort of. $8 per head for a powered site – beautiful! We drove in and spoke with the caretaker, who informed us other than power and bathroom facilities there was also a camp kitchen, tv room and free laundry and internet – awesome! So we plugged in and headed for a walk around to check it all out. I stopped at the tv (cricket) and Kel on the net before deciding to organise some dinner... and found that there was no power to the van. Crap. Checked the plug, power, changed outlet, no luck. Through a process of elimination figured it was a fuse (god only knows where the fuses are though) so fridge onto gas (Kel was thinking she was some kind of curse). We stuck the only 2 beers we had in a freezer in the camp kitchen. With reception like a snowstorm in Europe, we muddled our way through the Saffa’s innings before it improved – and with a tribute to Hayden at the interval the reception improved enough for us to at least see who was batting. We were joined by the (noisy) school group who were staying in the back-packer style accommodation, but luckily they had a curfew and left just as the cricket got exciting. Mike Hussey, Punta and White saved us from what looked like a possible defeat, in a close match. Shower and bed, ready for a big day tomorrow!
After a restless night I woke at 8am – that’s more like it. Off for a shower and breaky before dropping dad in town to collect their hire car. Decided we wanted to make the 10.30am river cruise of Cataract Gorge, so we threw everything into the cars and made our way down, with
Kel, dad and I running to the boat after parking the cars. Made it (they waited for us) and loaded up. The 50 minute tour was probably long enough (glad we didn’t do the 2 ½ hour one) and gave us a heap of information on Launceston, the boats, 100 year floods and of course the gorge, including the 2 000 pound walkway that took almost 50 years to recoup the cost off by charging 1 shilling per entry. The tide was coming in, and has a 4m turn around, hence the floating jetties! Finished the cruise and off for a cuppa in the marina before heading off for a walk back along the gorge, via the art gallery on the waterfront. Fish and chips for lunch (which were really yummy) before we set o
ff at 2pm for the Cable Hang-gliding. I decided to give it a miss, so took video and photos of Dad and Kel. It was then time to say goodbye to the folks (no tears from mum) and Kel and I headed into town, only to park right behind mum and dad! We went for a walk, didn’t find much and set Millie for Railton, only to find a Coles on the way, so did some shopping, and a top up of fuel and we said goodbye to Launceston at 5pm. Drove on for an hour (and Kel napped) until we reached Railton and the topiary that lines the streets. Quick stop for photos and onto Sheffield, known for its murals. I had intended to spend the night there, and head to the pub for the cricket, so after a quick look around their park I went to find the caravan park on their map..... nope, nothing. A drive down 
the rest of the main street didn’t turn up anything, so a stop into the service station and discovered the caravan park had gone, head onto Gowrie Park, think there is one there, just over the bridge. We went just over the bridge, and found a free campground, full of bogans as Kel said, and before I had time to turn around we came across another sign for a caravan park – sort of. $8 per head for a powered site – beautiful! We drove in and spoke with the caretaker, who informed us other than power and bathroom facilities there was also a camp kitchen, tv room and free laundry and internet – awesome! So we plugged in and headed for a walk around to check it all out. I stopped at the tv (cricket) and Kel on the net before deciding to organise some dinner... and found that there was no power to the van. Crap. Checked the plug, power, changed outlet, no luck. Through a process of elimination figured it was a fuse (god only knows where the fuses are though) so fridge onto gas (Kel was thinking she was some kind of curse). We stuck the only 2 beers we had in a freezer in the camp kitchen. With reception like a snowstorm in Europe, we muddled our way through the Saffa’s innings before it improved – and with a tribute to Hayden at the interval the reception improved enough for us to at least see who was batting. We were joined by the (noisy) school group who were staying in the back-packer style accommodation, but luckily they had a curfew and left just as the cricket got exciting. Mike Hussey, Punta and White saved us from what looked like a possible defeat, in a close match. Shower and bed, ready for a big day tomorrow!14th January
7am alarm to check out the sunrise... nope, not behind the mountain, back to sleep. Up about 7.45am and over for a shower before stirring Kel and heading over to the internet for 10 minutes (which turned into 25).
Back for breaky and giving ourselves an hour deadline, we were driving out of the park at 9.30am – not bad going really. All uphill to Cradle Mountain we arrived in the car-park, made lunches and packed backpacks before heading to the information centre where we bought a map and headed back to the car for the van pass for the shuttle bus service and decided on some more water. Leaving just on 11am we were at Ronny Creek car park and had registered to be on our way at 11.14am. Started with a good pace, although it was fairly flat and definitely the easy section. Up through the rainforest and waterfalls which were beautiful it was really starting to warm up by the time we were through to the other side. Stopped at Wombat Peak for another drink before heading up the first of the seriously steep sections where the view was quite amazing, only to improve on arrival at Marions Lookout. Fairly popular rest stop we weren’t there long before continuing on. Arrived at Kitchen Hut just after 1pm and stopped for more water, snakes and sun cream top-up in the cool and shade of the hut. Started our ascent up to the summit at 1.15pm. Now Kel had been getting some interesting comments about her footwear, which were slip-on shoes. Concerned about the chance of slipping I gave Kel an out at the hut, and again just after we started the ascent, but she was determined to make it all the way. The first section is steps, which then turns into rock steps, which then turns into rocks, with just the odd metal stick scattered amongst the rocks to give you a guide of the track. 
This was where it got interesting, and all dignity (or grace as it was put) was left behind as you scrambled any way you could up the rocks – hands and knees, your quads and arms getting a real work out as you lifted and pushed your way from one platform to another. After about an hour we stopped for something to eat, and watched people climb their way down, worried the return trip wouldn’t be any easier than the one there. We were getting positive feedback from those passing by though, only half an hour to go, downs easier than it looks, keep going the view’s worth it. So we soldiered on and up what everyone had said was the hardest part of the whole climb – great! And indeed it was. Needing assistance to make it up one section we soldiered on and at 2.45pm we were at the 
summit, with 360 degree views over the mountains. Nearing the top we had been passed by 3 guys (who incidentally I’d spotted earlier at Marions Lookout) and I commented on the knife one of them was carrying (that’s not a knife, this is a knife). Now the boys must of thought ‘token chicks’ so in having their photos taken at the summit asked us to join them, and we then spent the next half an hour chatting with Dan, Mark and Ben, who’s knife it was and who was only too keen to invite us to join them in their 6 day trek (thanks but no thanks boys!). So hot and sweaty we were still able to pick up, and of all places on top of Cradle Mountain – nice work! We left at 3.15pm for the downhill slide – quite literally! Kel had reapplied bandaids at the top, but I hadn’t quite realized the extent of her problems until about halfway down, when she had to put more bandaids on the blisters that had formed (and popped in some cases). The views were amazing, and as we could actually see them we were also stopping for more photos (in between sliding on our backsides down the rocks). Once we were back to the steps it was slow going, with multiple blisters in a variety of locations Kel was taking it easy. Back at Kitchens Hut I was able to fit Kel’s pack inside mine and at 4.45pm with the sun still blazing and nearly out of water we reapplied suncream and continued on, taking it very slowly. We started playing games (cadbury or nestle, coke or pepsi, scrunch or fold) to distract us from the surrounds (with Kel’s knees also complaining, but one lot of pain not taking her mind off the other.). Stopped for some fresh water at a creek, and to help out a couple of climbers who were without maps, we made it to Marions Lookout and were faced with the option of steep and shorter or easier and longer. I sussed out the track and we went with short and steep, which was rather extreme, and no way could be tackled by the faint hearted. Finally we made it to semi flat ground, and edged our way to the Dove Lake car-park, with the highlight of the whole day being a wombat that Kel spotted in the bushes, that then walked down the path in front of us and into the bush on the left. He was a noisy bugger, grunting away as he ate, but sooo cute (Kel contemplated patting him). We finally made it to the car-park (you’ve never seen someone so happy to be in a car park), and were on our way to the bus collection point when a couple who had passed us earlier (and spotted Kel’s feet) offered us a lift back to our cars,which we gladly accepted. Back to Ronny’s to log off (where I spotted mum and dad’s registration, but not return) for 7.24 – over 8 hours since we’d left. Down to the (now fairly empty) carpark we thanked our friends and I ran dad, to find out they had finished ages ago but forgotten to sign out. We left at 7.45pm heading for Strahan, and made it as far as Rosebery where a caravan park and a pub were 2 of the 3 essential requirements for the evening. There was no-where open for food (being 9pm on a week night and all) so we bought beers and headed back to the park for tacos. Those beers tasted sooo good, and the tacos (still no power) weren’t bad either. Hot shower (amazing) and bed for 11pm, although I was awake for a bit, having had a V after leaving Cradle Mountain I was still kinda buzzing........ lesson learned!
7am alarm to check out the sunrise... nope, not behind the mountain, back to sleep. Up about 7.45am and over for a shower before stirring Kel and heading over to the internet for 10 minutes (which turned into 25).
Back for breaky and giving ourselves an hour deadline, we were driving out of the park at 9.30am – not bad going really. All uphill to Cradle Mountain we arrived in the car-park, made lunches and packed backpacks before heading to the information centre where we bought a map and headed back to the car for the van pass for the shuttle bus service and decided on some more water. Leaving just on 11am we were at Ronny Creek car park and had registered to be on our way at 11.14am. Started with a good pace, although it was fairly flat and definitely the easy section. Up through the rainforest and waterfalls which were beautiful it was really starting to warm up by the time we were through to the other side. Stopped at Wombat Peak for another drink before heading up the first of the seriously steep sections where the view was quite amazing, only to improve on arrival at Marions Lookout. Fairly popular rest stop we weren’t there long before continuing on. Arrived at Kitchen Hut just after 1pm and stopped for more water, snakes and sun cream top-up in the cool and shade of the hut. Started our ascent up to the summit at 1.15pm. Now Kel had been getting some interesting comments about her footwear, which were slip-on shoes. Concerned about the chance of slipping I gave Kel an out at the hut, and again just after we started the ascent, but she was determined to make it all the way. The first section is steps, which then turns into rock steps, which then turns into rocks, with just the odd metal stick scattered amongst the rocks to give you a guide of the track. 
This was where it got interesting, and all dignity (or grace as it was put) was left behind as you scrambled any way you could up the rocks – hands and knees, your quads and arms getting a real work out as you lifted and pushed your way from one platform to another. After about an hour we stopped for something to eat, and watched people climb their way down, worried the return trip wouldn’t be any easier than the one there. We were getting positive feedback from those passing by though, only half an hour to go, downs easier than it looks, keep going the view’s worth it. So we soldiered on and up what everyone had said was the hardest part of the whole climb – great! And indeed it was. Needing assistance to make it up one section we soldiered on and at 2.45pm we were at the 
summit, with 360 degree views over the mountains. Nearing the top we had been passed by 3 guys (who incidentally I’d spotted earlier at Marions Lookout) and I commented on the knife one of them was carrying (that’s not a knife, this is a knife). Now the boys must of thought ‘token chicks’ so in having their photos taken at the summit asked us to join them, and we then spent the next half an hour chatting with Dan, Mark and Ben, who’s knife it was and who was only too keen to invite us to join them in their 6 day trek (thanks but no thanks boys!). So hot and sweaty we were still able to pick up, and of all places on top of Cradle Mountain – nice work! We left at 3.15pm for the downhill slide – quite literally! Kel had reapplied bandaids at the top, but I hadn’t quite realized the extent of her problems until about halfway down, when she had to put more bandaids on the blisters that had formed (and popped in some cases). The views were amazing, and as we could actually see them we were also stopping for more photos (in between sliding on our backsides down the rocks). Once we were back to the steps it was slow going, with multiple blisters in a variety of locations Kel was taking it easy. Back at Kitchens Hut I was able to fit Kel’s pack inside mine and at 4.45pm with the sun still blazing and nearly out of water we reapplied suncream and continued on, taking it very slowly. We started playing games (cadbury or nestle, coke or pepsi, scrunch or fold) to distract us from the surrounds (with Kel’s knees also complaining, but one lot of pain not taking her mind off the other.). Stopped for some fresh water at a creek, and to help out a couple of climbers who were without maps, we made it to Marions Lookout and were faced with the option of steep and shorter or easier and longer. I sussed out the track and we went with short and steep, which was rather extreme, and no way could be tackled by the faint hearted. Finally we made it to semi flat ground, and edged our way to the Dove Lake car-park, with the highlight of the whole day being a wombat that Kel spotted in the bushes, that then walked down the path in front of us and into the bush on the left. He was a noisy bugger, grunting away as he ate, but sooo cute (Kel contemplated patting him). We finally made it to the car-park (you’ve never seen someone so happy to be in a car park), and were on our way to the bus collection point when a couple who had passed us earlier (and spotted Kel’s feet) offered us a lift back to our cars,which we gladly accepted. Back to Ronny’s to log off (where I spotted mum and dad’s registration, but not return) for 7.24 – over 8 hours since we’d left. Down to the (now fairly empty) carpark we thanked our friends and I ran dad, to find out they had finished ages ago but forgotten to sign out. We left at 7.45pm heading for Strahan, and made it as far as Rosebery where a caravan park and a pub were 2 of the 3 essential requirements for the evening. There was no-where open for food (being 9pm on a week night and all) so we bought beers and headed back to the park for tacos. Those beers tasted sooo good, and the tacos (still no power) weren’t bad either. Hot shower (amazing) and bed for 11pm, although I was awake for a bit, having had a V after leaving Cradle Mountain I was still kinda buzzing........ lesson learned! 15th January
Up at 7.30am I headed off to get changed. Breaky and we were on our way by 8.30am (I was rather impressed) with a stop in town to get Kelly a coffee. Arrived at Strahan just before 10am (beating the visitors centre open) so we headed for the pharmacy and shops before getting the low down on the cruises at the information centre. A drive down the main street, and deciding we were going to do an afternoon cruise that came with lunch stopped at Banjo’s bak
ery for a hot drink and snack to hold us over until then. Quite nice, sitting outside enjoying the sun and the view of the harbour. It was then time for a walk, so headed to Peoples Park and Hogarth Falls. Nice walk and the falls were quite pretty. Back through town to sort out the cruise and accommodation. In the mean time I’d decided to check out the fuse boxed (no luck) and then had a ‘confusing’ phone call from dad about what it might be... .and eventually realised the mains switch had been turned off... so once dad suggested checking that it was literally a 5 second job to fix it – how much of a dill would I have looked like if I’d gone into the servo? Back to the caravan park to check in before a beer and cheese on crackers for lunch (because we now know the earlier you drink the more flavour you get from your tastebuds) and the more you appreciate the cheese. Quick change and we walked down
to the boats, arriving at 2.55pm. Boarded the ship and both Kel and I started to nod of in the extremely comfortable seats! Right, time for a glass of wine and a walk around the deck for some photos. It sure was blowy when the boat got going as we stopped at the fish farms and watched them being fed, before going out into the open seas of the Roaring 40’s – and that they were! Likely to be the furthest south I was ever going to be!!! Back inside for another glass of wine (and an naughty chocolate) before we got to Sarah Island. Used for convicts because of it’s remoteness (and the chances of a successful escape very minimal) we went on the guided walk around the island with Mario, who was Spanish and had the best story telling ability. Back out of the rain and wind onto the boat for dinner, which was lots of cold meats and salmon (of which I couldn’t eat any, although I tried the salmon) but compensated for it with the cheese and biscuits!!! Yum o – bloody delicious!!! Made an absolute pig of myself and headed upstairs for a look from the captains viewpoint. Was very impressed with how he manoeuvred the boat to the dock when it was time to get off for another walk (thank goodness!), this time a nature trip and some more info on the Huon Pines, which are bloody amazing trees! After boarding I decided to take more photos from upstairs, so battled the winds and got chatting with Andy, the captain. I even got to sit in the other captains chair, and asked about the gauges and radars that had all sorts of flashing numbers and displays. Went down and took Kel upstairs (mainly so she didn’t think I’d gone overboard) and she got a turn in the captains chair too. Andy was great – and gave us the best pick up line ever ‘You two are so sweet you’re likely to dissolve outside in the weather’, even though I don’t think he was trying to pick us up! We thanked him for the trip and headed over to the playhouse to see The Ship That Never Was, the story of the escapees from Sarah Island. Well, it was bloody fantastic, with just two crew (plus us as the audience) getting involved, funny and great value. Kel even got a go as the cat, and the wild weather outside just made it more believable (althoug
h I’m was sure the roof was going to get blown off! So for liberty (or death) we were enthralled with the story of how they managed to escape from Sarah Island, avoid being prosecuted for stealing the boat (that was worth a thousand pounds, or more if you could find the right buyer) and living happily ever after. A must see for anyone in Tasmania! Luckily the rain had ceased by the time the play finished, and Kel and I made it back to George without too much hassle (although the trip seemed longer on the way home... in the dark). Kel headed for a shower as more rain came down, and we were snuggled up inside and asleep for midnight.
Up at 7.30am I headed off to get changed. Breaky and we were on our way by 8.30am (I was rather impressed) with a stop in town to get Kelly a coffee. Arrived at Strahan just before 10am (beating the visitors centre open) so we headed for the pharmacy and shops before getting the low down on the cruises at the information centre. A drive down the main street, and deciding we were going to do an afternoon cruise that came with lunch stopped at Banjo’s bak
ery for a hot drink and snack to hold us over until then. Quite nice, sitting outside enjoying the sun and the view of the harbour. It was then time for a walk, so headed to Peoples Park and Hogarth Falls. Nice walk and the falls were quite pretty. Back through town to sort out the cruise and accommodation. In the mean time I’d decided to check out the fuse boxed (no luck) and then had a ‘confusing’ phone call from dad about what it might be... .and eventually realised the mains switch had been turned off... so once dad suggested checking that it was literally a 5 second job to fix it – how much of a dill would I have looked like if I’d gone into the servo? Back to the caravan park to check in before a beer and cheese on crackers for lunch (because we now know the earlier you drink the more flavour you get from your tastebuds) and the more you appreciate the cheese. Quick change and we walked down
to the boats, arriving at 2.55pm. Boarded the ship and both Kel and I started to nod of in the extremely comfortable seats! Right, time for a glass of wine and a walk around the deck for some photos. It sure was blowy when the boat got going as we stopped at the fish farms and watched them being fed, before going out into the open seas of the Roaring 40’s – and that they were! Likely to be the furthest south I was ever going to be!!! Back inside for another glass of wine (and an naughty chocolate) before we got to Sarah Island. Used for convicts because of it’s remoteness (and the chances of a successful escape very minimal) we went on the guided walk around the island with Mario, who was Spanish and had the best story telling ability. Back out of the rain and wind onto the boat for dinner, which was lots of cold meats and salmon (of which I couldn’t eat any, although I tried the salmon) but compensated for it with the cheese and biscuits!!! Yum o – bloody delicious!!! Made an absolute pig of myself and headed upstairs for a look from the captains viewpoint. Was very impressed with how he manoeuvred the boat to the dock when it was time to get off for another walk (thank goodness!), this time a nature trip and some more info on the Huon Pines, which are bloody amazing trees! After boarding I decided to take more photos from upstairs, so battled the winds and got chatting with Andy, the captain. I even got to sit in the other captains chair, and asked about the gauges and radars that had all sorts of flashing numbers and displays. Went down and took Kel upstairs (mainly so she didn’t think I’d gone overboard) and she got a turn in the captains chair too. Andy was great – and gave us the best pick up line ever ‘You two are so sweet you’re likely to dissolve outside in the weather’, even though I don’t think he was trying to pick us up! We thanked him for the trip and headed over to the playhouse to see The Ship That Never Was, the story of the escapees from Sarah Island. Well, it was bloody fantastic, with just two crew (plus us as the audience) getting involved, funny and great value. Kel even got a go as the cat, and the wild weather outside just made it more believable (althoug
h I’m was sure the roof was going to get blown off! So for liberty (or death) we were enthralled with the story of how they managed to escape from Sarah Island, avoid being prosecuted for stealing the boat (that was worth a thousand pounds, or more if you could find the right buyer) and living happily ever after. A must see for anyone in Tasmania! Luckily the rain had ceased by the time the play finished, and Kel and I made it back to George without too much hassle (although the trip seemed longer on the way home... in the dark). Kel headed for a shower as more rain came down, and we were snuggled up inside and asleep for midnight.16th January
No alarm so when my phone went off at 7.45am with a message I was not impressed. Found the phone, shut it off and went back to sleep – and with the rain outside that was all I felt like doing. 8.30am and I decided to get organised, over for a shower and back to get Kel up. We were out of the park by 10.30am, through town to find the queue for coffee too long so on our way to Queenstown. Arrived just as the rain hit, so parked outside the bakery and headed in for hot chocolates (the best in Tassie... possibly all trip) and shared chocolate cake. Walked down to the information centre, which was more of a museum, and spent a while reading up and checking out the photos of the town’s history. Very interesting and sad, with a number of tragedies, including the 1912 mine fires and gas leaks that killed 42 workers. Back up the main street with stops at the grocers, post office, fuel and then up to the lookout, which was the most extreme walk on a path I’ve ever come across. View was quite impressive, over the oval (made out of silicon) historic buildings and the town. Quick stop on the way out of town for more photos before heading to Nelson Falls (and the first real roads that felt like New Zealand – cliffs on one side, massive drops on the other and corners you take no faster than 30kms an hour). The rain was on and off, so when we stopped at Nelson Falls we decided to have lunch while it cleared. Did the 10 minute walk to the falls which were absolutely amazing, with spray coming back for miles! Luckily I had my tripod, and set it up for some beautiful photos (with bonus spray on the lens). It was quite amazing. Back to the car and onto Franklin River and the suspension bridge – through the mud and rain. Very interesting to stand over a raging river with not very much
under you to hold you there! Next stop, Lake St Clair, where after a bit of too and froing we decided to book a campsite for the night. All we needed then was our national parks pass....... which after 20 minutes of searching couldn’t be found. Decided the walk was out of the question (still raining) so headed for the restaurant (which was so warm) for drinks and dinner. Kel had the burger she’d been wanting all day and I had fish and chips, which was pretty average, but the red wine was very nice. Finished dinner and had another... and then another, drink before they kicked us out. Back to George for another drink and more gossip until we got too cold and decided it was time for bed. Over to the ablution block under torchlight and then back to set up the bed (with an extra sleeping bag for warmth). In bed at 11.30 I spent 20 minutes on the laptop before I crashed aswell.... with a long day expected tomorrow!
No alarm so when my phone went off at 7.45am with a message I was not impressed. Found the phone, shut it off and went back to sleep – and with the rain outside that was all I felt like doing. 8.30am and I decided to get organised, over for a shower and back to get Kel up. We were out of the park by 10.30am, through town to find the queue for coffee too long so on our way to Queenstown. Arrived just as the rain hit, so parked outside the bakery and headed in for hot chocolates (the best in Tassie... possibly all trip) and shared chocolate cake. Walked down to the information centre, which was more of a museum, and spent a while reading up and checking out the photos of the town’s history. Very interesting and sad, with a number of tragedies, including the 1912 mine fires and gas leaks that killed 42 workers. Back up the main street with stops at the grocers, post office, fuel and then up to the lookout, which was the most extreme walk on a path I’ve ever come across. View was quite impressive, over the oval (made out of silicon) historic buildings and the town. Quick stop on the way out of town for more photos before heading to Nelson Falls (and the first real roads that felt like New Zealand – cliffs on one side, massive drops on the other and corners you take no faster than 30kms an hour). The rain was on and off, so when we stopped at Nelson Falls we decided to have lunch while it cleared. Did the 10 minute walk to the falls which were absolutely amazing, with spray coming back for miles! Luckily I had my tripod, and set it up for some beautiful photos (with bonus spray on the lens). It was quite amazing. Back to the car and onto Franklin River and the suspension bridge – through the mud and rain. Very interesting to stand over a raging river with not very much
under you to hold you there! Next stop, Lake St Clair, where after a bit of too and froing we decided to book a campsite for the night. All we needed then was our national parks pass....... which after 20 minutes of searching couldn’t be found. Decided the walk was out of the question (still raining) so headed for the restaurant (which was so warm) for drinks and dinner. Kel had the burger she’d been wanting all day and I had fish and chips, which was pretty average, but the red wine was very nice. Finished dinner and had another... and then another, drink before they kicked us out. Back to George for another drink and more gossip until we got too cold and decided it was time for bed. Over to the ablution block under torchlight and then back to set up the bed (with an extra sleeping bag for warmth). In bed at 11.30 I spent 20 minutes on the laptop before I crashed aswell.... with a long day expected tomorrow!
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