Newington

We are pretty happy with things today. We planned to get up earlier so we could start the climb to the Wineglass Bay lookout.
We had breakfast (porridge and fruit) and showered - packed up the van, putting things safely away - took care of all the van things that needed turning off, packed away cables. Yesterday I topped up the water tank, delivered the black water to the dump site.
So we were off in good time, found our way to the carpark and set off. The lookout is 220 metres above sea level and the track winds it way up through natural bush and trees and heaps of HUGE red, marbled rocks that seem to tetter over an edge or look like they are about to roll down hill.
The track start off easy and was a sandy track, then we got to steps made of rocks and some very larger steps. It was hard going from about half way.
It took us 50 or 60 minutes to reach the platform. And it was a pretty good sight - the wineglass image you see in promotions of the site is taken from higher points or a drome. But it was still pretty special as is most of the scenery here.
The thing about the walk is the fun that you have with the people going up and down and there were 100's - all ages, all different nationalities.
Of course coming down was quicker, but you had to be careful on the rocky steps. Gran and I took it easy, with many stops and felt a level of achievement, as it was something we wanted to do and see.
When we got down to our van the car parks were very full, if not full.
We drove back down the hill into town and stopped for coffee and a bit to eat as it was now 12.
Soon we were back on the road, it was cooler, about 20c and heading towards St Helens where we are tonight. We booked this place last night and it is practically brand new - modern facilities - clean and tidy and great internet.
Todays travel was mostly in or near the coastline and the seas were pretty rough, which turned out to be a good thing. The first town we came to was Bicheno and on the outskirts I saw a small sign pointing to "the Blow Hole" and we parked up there and it was spectacular. See photos - there is a 1-2 series so you see the action. We couldn't find anything of interest in Bicheno and kept driving. The roads are so narrow and as a driver you must stay alert, not too close to the centreline and not to close to the edge cos the wheel could easily drop over the edge. We had a couple of beach stops to stretch our legs and arrived in St Helens.
Couldn't find a decent coffee shop so settled for an average one at a bakery - the barista would have been 14 or 15 and had just come in from after school!
We have just booked a site at a town called Bridport which is on the north coast towards Launceston. But tomorrow first we will drive up as far as we are allowed into the Bay of Fires.Read more