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Hobart

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    • Day 68

      Zu den Tassies

      January 19 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

      Der Flug von Melbourne nach Hobart dauert nur 1 1/4 Stunden. Der Pilot muss die 737 bei starken Windböen von der Seite ziemlich hart auf der sehr kurzen Landebahn aufsetzen. Das Bremsmanöver treibt uns in die Gurte. Aussteigen tut man über die Treppen und dann überquert man zu Fuß das Vorfeld. Alles so wie früher.
      Eine angenehme Temperatur und eine auffallend frische Luft (angeblich die sauberste Luft der Welt) empfängt uns.
      Zur Übernahme unseres Campers sind es vom Terminal aus nur wenige Meter, die wir zu Fuß gehen können. So sind wir recht schnell wieder mit einem mobilen Heim ausgestattet, das diesmal schon einige Jahre und Kilometer auf dem Buckel hat. Bevor wir den vorgebuchten Campingplatz bei Hobart ansteuern versorgen wir uns beim Cooles mit Lebensmitteln und allen anderen fürs Campen nötigen Dingen.
      Der Campingplatz ist dann etwas ernüchternd. Er ist gerammelt voll - es ist immer noch Ferienzeit - und es ist ein einfacher Schotterplatz der gerade renoviert wird. Toiletten und Duschen gibt es nur in Containern und davon nicht allzu viele.
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    • Day 57

      Hobart, Tasmania. AU

      February 28 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 82 °F

      For some reason I overlooked this port. Nothing was planned.
      All ship tours were sold out. I found short one tour online to go to Mt. Wellington. Great, we can spent the rest of the day in the town.
      When we came to meet our tour, I asked if they have any afternoon options. They had a tour to historic Richmond Village and Bonorong sanctuary. Great, we will have one hour break between tour to grab some lunch.
      When we got on the bus, the tour guide/driver told us we can stay with him all day long. Some people were taking all day tour.

      The morning drive to Mt. Wellington took 30 min.

      The views from Mount Wellington are amazing. We were fortunate to have a lovely clear day and were able to wander around and see the views in all directions. The road up is narrow, steep, winding and 2 way traffic, including buses, so it's a bit hairy.

      We came back around noon and our next stop was The Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. Beautifully manicured grounds, unfortunately we had only 40 min to walk around. We rushed to see beautiful Japanese gardens and rushed back to our bus.

      Fifteen minutes later we arrived to Richmond Village.

      The intact colonial-era town has more than 50 Georgian buildings, many operating as cafes, restaurants, galleries and accommodation. Richmond Bridge (1825) is the oldest bridge in Australia.
      We settle in one of this restaurants and has a great lunch. Unfortunately, that did not leave us time to explore the village.

      Back on the bus we went to the sanctuary. Lots of animals. The only probe it was an afternoon and quite warm and animals were resting and hiding from the sun. I had a chance to walk among kangaroos and feed them. Also we saw Tasmanian devil.

      Overall it was a good stop.

      We came back on the ship at 5:30PM, took a shower and were planning to go back on the shore (the ship was in port till 5:00AM next day), for dinner, but then we felt so tired and not very hungry and decided to have a light dinner on the ship and go to sleep. It was a good decision as around 6;30 there was a pouring rain and lightning.
      Tomorrow we have another port day.
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    • Day 2

      Its easy to get lost in Tassie.....

      March 6 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

      We had a great day today! A beautiful day dawned and after breakfast and showers etc we hit the road, but first coffee at the Grocer near here. And the coffee wasn't bad either.
      Our plan was to head inland to the two historical towns of Richmond and Oatlands.
      There are so many roads - many main arterials and lots of link roads known as junctions. We made the early mistake of getting onto Highway 1 heading in the opposite direction to where we should be heading - on a busy highway in a new car with traffic travelling at over 110 it was a bit confronting.
      But we managed to find a special U Turn spot (just for us??) and got going and with the help of Google got to Richmond.
      This was a very busy town with lots of tourists - the cafes were buzzing and tour groups everywhere. The town had lots of restored houses from the mid 1800's - mostly stone. And a manificent stone bridge that was built by convicts. We walked the main street and visited the bridge and walked along the river.
      We decided we would lunch at Oatlands so headed in, what we thought was the right direction, but soon realised our mistake, so turned back and found the correct turnoff.
      The route to Oatlands was some 60 or 70 kms of rural farmland with very few animals. We have realised that Tassie is suffering from a severe drought. Everywhere is dry yellowy grass.
      Oatlands was not what I expected - it was a quiet town, no tourists and few cafes. But the buildings were magificent - probably 100's of Georgian style buildings from 1800's. We had lunch at a simple looking cafe, that was quite busy - I had a crepe - with bacon and mushrooms, salad, tomatoes, coleslaw - the crepe was swimming in a sauce. The whole thing was large, but very tasty. Gran had a hamburger which was quite large with the same salad and coleslaw as me. It was 26/28 degrees in town with no wind. We walked the main street and visited a magnificent windmill used to grind grain - I took some photos and then we decided to see if we could navigate our way home - and we did with the help of Google going cross country as we got near to the outskirts of "our area". We thought we'd get a coffee and check out some of the other beaches.
      We went to a cool beach - Clifton Beach, a surfing beach and there were swimmers and a surf school for young people that was getting set up - we watched them all run to the far end of the beach and back. The squad had to be 25 or 30 teens and boy did they get some exercise. We watched them paddle a long board out to a buoy about 500 to 600 metres out and back then up the beach around a marker then swim the same distance and back then repeat the about sequence again.
      The evening was just lovely - calm and warm. Then we drove out to Opposum Bay. This too was a lovely bay but it was lined with beach houses right to the shoreline. We walk from one end to the other were the beach ran out to rocks and then turned back. Back to our house as the sun was just setting.
      Yeah I think we had a great day - tomorrow we plan the first of two days at Port Arthur.
      I will post the beach photos on a separate post.
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    • Day 3

      Port Arthur

      March 7 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

      Today we drove the 80km to Port Arthur - we are not staying there, but a pass gets you 2 days visit.
      When we awoke and checked on the weather forcast it was for highs of 17 or 18 so we dressed for a cooler day. But it was quite warm at Port Arthur and the sun was full on - so really it was a nice day weather wise.
      The drive was threw typical aussie outback, lots of gums everywhere - the road was pretty good - great surface, and quite winding in places.
      Got to Port Arthur at around 11:30 and there was quite a crowd then.
      We started in the tour centre and learned about the site, British prisoners in Oz and the wider world. We all got a card that represented an actual prisoner and learned about his/her life at Port Arthur, why they were there and their life at PA.
      Standing at looking at the world map and all the convict sites around the globe (every continent and island groups everywhere) - established by the British I realised that these prisons were not just about punishment - but really a way to provide labour and manpower to assist the Brits colonise their way around the world. So many of the crimes were petty - "off you go and build roads, bridges, dig mines in Australia".
      And there was a prison for children there too on a smaller island - mostly teenage, but as low as 9. And of course they were all there to "better themselves" and this included religion. The church (which was burned down a century ago - but the stone and brick walls were faithfully restored) held church for 1,100 people.
      The prison was only functioning for just over 40 years, and as the convict shipments slowed and eventually stopped it closed.
      And so it all fell into rack and ruin. Now a lot of the area has been restored to what we see now - not completely restored but you get the idea what it was like.
      The main penitentiary building was orginally a mill and probably a grain store - it was converted to the main prison. We walked through it and it is mostly a shell - we could see the small cells, one prisoner per cell - they were probably 1.5 metres by 1 metre - so it was solitued. Kitchen, ablutions etc
      We had a quick bite for lunch - cost $20 for 2 sandwiches. Then we did the harbour tour - last about 45 minutes - we saw where the childrens prison was and also an island known as the "Island of the Dead" where apparently 1,100 prisoners and prison staff were buried - a tiny island - the prison staff got headstones.
      Back on land we then explored areas were staff and families lived - the hospital, asylum, Post Office, and a range of normal town facilities.
      By then our legs were telling us that they'd had enough and it was time to head home.
      Bought some groceries for tonights dinner and that's the day.
      A normal evening here - saw Gavin in the garden, the rabbits we see most nights and morning, the assortment of birds and a few wallabies.
      Tomorrow we will probably head in the same direction - there is quite a lot to explore off the beaten track.
      I just remembered that some of you would be old enough to remeber the massacre of 1996 when 35 people were killed by a madman. Such a sad event and we saw the memorial garden.
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    • Day 5

      A new day

      March 9 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

      We decided today to get out and do some stuff, even if it was just some quiet activity.
      We bought a takeaway coffee and drove to Seven Mile Beach to sit and enjoy. There was a large crowd on the beach and the sun was fierce, with an aftermoon promise of 35, the early birds trying to beat the heat.
      Then we drove over the Hobart bridge and went into the Botanical Gardens - it was lovely to just stroll and sit in the shade. We had lunch there and had a visit from a mother duck and 4 little ducklings.
      Then we came home and went to Roches Beach which is just down the road from our house - it was quite busy too, but extremely hot and decided that was enough exercise for the day.
      Tomorrow we get the campervan!
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    • Day 15

      Day 1 at Cradle Mountain

      March 19 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 26 °C

      Morning broke and it was very overcast, and we both felt like that too – I don’t know why but I seemed to have had a relapse and Gran is still fighting her bout of Covid.
      We took our time doing the morning chores and decided we would do what we could and see. We bought some chocolate bars for sustenance and waited for the bus. All parts of the Cradle Mountain in the National Park are controlled and very few vehicles are allowed in. Transport to and from tracks is by bus. It is a very efficient service with buses all the time going down to the Dove Lake (the end of the road) and back to the bus centre at the info offices.
      We had decided to start at a place called Ronny’s Creek and we’d walk to Dove Lake and if we felt ok, do a some of the Dove Lake trail (it goes around the lake parameter 2-3 hr walk).
      Our walk started out on a board walk that sat above marshy, and/or bushy open ground. This was Wombat territory, and this was something Robyn in particular wanted to see. The going was easy, and we could see the Wombat droppings everywhere and, on the boardwalk, too – but not a sighting – so disappointing. Then about half way along our trail the track changed to stones and rocks and began to climb - not what we had expected. The surroundings changed to gums and bush.
      The scenery was fantastic, and the cloud began to break up and we had some warm sunlight. Parts of the trail were similar to our climb up to the Wineglass Bay viewing platform. It was in this area that a number of trails joined and we saw lots of people young and old tramping like us.
      We got to Dove Lake and sat in the sun and had some more water and a chocolate bar. We had a good rest and decided that was enough for the day and lined up for the bus.
      Back at the Info centre we thought we grab a snack for lunch and some coffee – the coffee was okay but the toasted croissants we had were not great.
      Back to our van we rested up which included periods of sitting in the sun or on the bed. We agreed that we hadn’t done the walk that we intended, but that we had enjoyed our experience today – this is an amazing part of Tasmania, well the world really and we had a taste of it. Perhaps tomorrow we can try some other shorter trails if we feel up to it.
      I processed my photos and Gran read.
      The weather is packing up for the next 2 or 3 days – tomorrow is a new day and we see what it brings.
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    • Day 63

      Hey Tassie

      December 12, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

      Tasmanien begrüßt uns zur glücklichen Abwechslung mit Frühlingstemperaturen und traumhaftem Kaiserwetter. Anfangs erinnerte uns alles eher an ein Fischerdorf in Skandinavien oder Alaska.
      Die ersten paar Tage haben wir Hobart erkundet inklusive Strand-Check und Fish&Chips schnabulieren. Gestern ging es dann hoch auf den Mount Wellington mit sagenhaften Ausblicken. Wahrscheinlich nur ein kleiner Vorgeschmack auf Neuseeland, denn Tasmanien wird nicht umsonst die kleine Schwester genannt. Zur Belohnung gab’s natürlich ein Bierchen aus Australiens ältester Brauerei. Die Erfrischung hat uns so gut geschmeckt, dass wir heute eine Führung inklusive Tasting gemacht haben.
      Die nächsten Tage, bevor das Malochen (kirschenpflücken) losgeht, düsen wir noch ein bisschen mit dem Mietwagen durch die Gegend - schauen wir mal was wird.
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    • Day 106

      Kirschen pflücken, wandern und MONA

      January 24 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

      Die letzte Woche haben wir wieder fleißig Kirschen gepflückt. Am Freitag war dann Australia Day, ein Feiertag in Australien, an dem auch wir Farmworker nicht arbeiten mussten. Wir haben am Freitag also erstmal ausgeschlafen und sind dann zum Mount Wellington gefahren, der hier in der Nähe ist, um wandern zu gehen. Wir haben tolle Aussichten auf Hobart und einen Teil von Tasmanien genossen. Nach der 3 Stündigen Wanderung waren wir dann ganz schön fertig und sind anschließend in eine Apfelscheune bei uns in der Nähe vom Campingplatz gefahren. Hier gabs dann für uns einen Apple Pie, einen Apple Crumble und heißen Apfelsaft. Damit waren unsere Reserven dann auch wieder aufgeladen und wir haben einen gemütlichen Abend bei uns auf dem Campingplatz verbracht. Samstag ging es dann wieder Kirschen pflücken. Die Ernte geht allmählich zu Ende und darum hatten wir am Samstag dann auch schon um 11:15 Uhr Schluss. Das war sehr überraschend für uns, weil wir eigentlich damit gerechnet hatten Samstag und Sonntag voll zu arbeiten. Aber auch denn Sonntag sollten wir frei bekommen. Letztlich ist es natürlich auch schön freie Tage zu haben, allerdings hätten wir uns auch gefreut noch etwas Geld zu verdienen und jeder Tag zählt nun mal. Durch die Planänderung und die freie Zeit haben wir uns Samstag dann aber dafür entschieden in das Kunst Museum MONA in Hobart zu fahren, was uns schon von vielen Seiten empfohlen wurde. Auch uns hat das Mona sehr zugesagt. Das Museum zeigt antike, moderne und zeitgenössische Kunst. Außerdem gibt es mehrere Live Konzerte am Tag und wir haben sogar ein Jazzkonzert erwischt und gelauscht. Ziemlich beeindruckend was dort auf die Beine gestellt wurde. Abends gab es dann ein Picknick im Zelt für uns, weil es draußen ziemlich regnerisch war. Sonntag sind wir nochmal zum Mount Wellington gefahren, um nochmal eine anderen Wanderroute auszuprobieren und noch höher zu wandern. Der Weg stellte sich dann aber eher als eine klettertour über riesige Felsen und immer bergauf heraus. Es hat uns beiden unheimlich viel Spaß gemacht und die Aussichten waren atemberaubend. Als wir dann den Berg erklommen haben, waren wir ganz schön erschöpft und haben uns erstmal Kaffee und Gebäck in der Sonne gegönnt. Hinterher haben wir noch eine kleine Wanderung zu einem Wasserfall gemacht und dann ging’s auch schon wieder zurück zum Campingplatz, weil der Montag wieder mit Kirschen pflücken startet.Read more

    • Day 5

      Wellington Park

      February 5, 2023 in Australia

      Der Tag startet heute super entspannt. Zu erst werde ich vor dem Wecker wach und ich schaffe es sogar nach Deutschland zu telefonieren. Danach kann ich mit einem guten Gefühl die Wanderung starten. Schau mir die Aussicht vom Mt Wellington an. Der Ausblick ist gigantisch und dadurch das ich schon so früh da bin hab ich die Aussicht fast für mich alleine. Es ist morgens noch sehr windig, sodass ich fast meine Cap verliere. Nun Startet der South Wellington Track via Smiths Moument. Das sind hin und zurück 6,84 km. Diese Kilometer versprechen Abenteuer. Es geht durch Pfützen, über Stock und Stein und kleine Felsen. Wieder angekommen an Ausgangspunkt fahre ich zu einem Café, welches sich The Spring nennt. Es gibt eine Cola und ein Stück selbst gemachten Brownie. Dieser gigantische Energieschub genieße ich im Schatten. Danach hatte ich so viel Power das zwei weitere Adventure Ausflüge noch drin waren. Der eine war sehr kurz. Es waren nur 640m. Hier gelangt man zu einem Lookout Point und man konnte von unten noch beide Berge sehen, welche ich eben erklommen hatte. Next Stop Free Tree. Mein Startpunkt um zum O' Grady Fall zu langen. Die Strecke war im Verhältnis zur Wanderung davor super easy, dennoch waren 5,19 Kilometer. Zuhause hatte ich mir dann meine selbstgemachte verdient. Zum Abschied des Tages war dann noch etwas Waschen nötig 😁Read more

    • Day 43

      Hobart: Happy Hour Al Fresco

      January 23 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

      Today was to have been our first day of sightseeing in the Hobart area. Although we did walk into town this afternoon, we switched a few things around and stayed home this morning. I needed some “catch-up time.”

      Our wander into town — about a 20-minute walk from the apartment — was mostly to run errands … and get some steps in. Mui wanted to check out the local R.M. Williams store. So that was our first stop.

      RMs, as the boots are referred to by those in the know, are world renowned as symbols of Australian style. Made by hand in the time-honoured tradition of cobblers since 1932, they are high quality and known for their durability and versatility. Yes, we each walked out with a pair!

      Next up was a haircut for me. My appointment at Ukiyo Hair turned out to be a relaxing treat … including a reclining massage chair while my hair was washed and my scalp received a gentle rub down.

      By the time we returned to the apartment, the sun was peeking through the overcast … just enough to warm up the evening so that we could enjoy happy hour al fresco on the deck. For me, Mui opened a bottle of Chenin Blanc that we picked up at the Woody Nook Winery during our Margaret River tour out of Geraldton. And he put a good dent in the Poesie Valpolicella, an Italian red, that Regatta’s Chief Engineer gifted us a few days ago.

      We’ll get back on schedule with our sightseeing plans tomorrow … though we might have to move a few things around since rain is in the forecast for much of the day. We’ll play it by ear.
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