Apologies for anyone tuning in to this blog expecting some kind of regular update....I've procrastinated to the point of inertia, so I'll try to do some sort of catch up for the last few months!
October was full of events, starting with a hilarious show by one of our favourite comedians, Kinne, at the Town Hall and lots of dinners and lunches with Wayne and Josie, Thurza, Mark W and Mark C, as well as coffee mornings with the old boys. I'm doing some exercise physiology classes as well, so that continued every week as well as our daily walks. The month culminated for my niece Ellen becoming "Suddenly 30!" and a special party she hosted, along with and amazing event where an actual Beatle graced Newcastle with his presence!
Ellen's such a sweety, and she was delightful as always in hosting her birthday bash, with Vince's band providing live music and lovely speeches delivered by all. Paul McCartney rocked the football stadium in a spectacular light and sound show, defying his advancing years by energetically attacking all sorts of favourites for hours without a break. We'd secured great close up seats on the main floor and we had a ball. Hard to believe that both McCartney and Elton John played in Newcastle last year.
We'd been threatening to "do the loop" of Tasmania for many years, but in November we finally did it, Spirit of Tasmania crossing and all! The new car purred down the highway to Gundagai for the first night before we arrived in the Geelong terminus for the ferry the following evening. It was an experience to load the car and quite an exciting and different one. Our luxurious queen cabin was on the corner of the ship and even came with some wine and chocolate!
Stanley was our first stop and we cruised the northern beaches and towns on the way to this quaint outpost. Our cottage nestled below the famous Nut and we did the steep climb of same before dining on lobster (crayfish) and seafood at Hursey's. The following two days we spent hiking in Cradle Mountain and staying overnight at Ulverston. The scenery was picture book perfect, more incredible than our imaginations had conjured up, and the trails were challenging but manageable. We negotiated our first and only spot of rain on the trip down the winding mountain passes to spend the first night of three in Strahan on the rugged and isolated west coast.
We were both marvelling at the different feel of this island state. It's natural beauty was a part of it, the small and spread out population was another, but somehow it felt like another country entirely. It was so laid back and languid, giving us vibes of the remote areas on the south island of New Zealand. Our day on the Gordon River on the luxury deck of a motor yacht in whisper mode, was one of life's special experiences: the fine food and free flowing wine and drink adding to the ambiance of the ancient forests and mirrored surfaces of the river enroute to convict penal islands echoing with history. We had an on-train experience and a high tea the next day on the West Coast Wilderness Railway before leaving to experience Queenstown's denuded lunar-like landscapes, high lookouts and the beauty of more hiking at Lake St. Clair, a lunch at a remote pub in the middle of the island before motoring onward to our accommodation in a rustic cabin in the middle of nowhere at Bronte Park. We visited a tiny, ramshackle store down the road and bought some soup for dinner, which we ate in front of a roaring wood fire that night!
Our beautiful car was looking very dishevelled after negotiating some dusty sections of dirt road so we felt it was about time to head to civilisation again. Enroute to Hobart we stopped by picturesque Richmond for some lunch and touristy visits before checking in for our two night stay at the ultra luxurious Henry Jones Art Hotel. Wow, what a room (almost a suite) it was! Shaun came and picked us up later and took us to their beautiful home in Battery Point. It was so wonderful to see Shaun and Katie and we dined on a cheese plate and had some drinks before dining that night with them at the much vaunted Pepperina. Fantastic, and a perfect entrée for our trip to the iconic MONA the following day!
The journey up the Derwent on the dedicated ferry was made even more colourful by a sighting of the band The Brian Jonestown Massacre onboard as well as in the museum. We spent the day scouring the underground levels of this spectacular jewel in Hobart's crown and it didn't disappoint. We can both tick this off our bucket list now. We met up with Shaun for a couple of beers and a chat that evening before getting ready for a final night at Henry Jones and a trip to the atmospheric Port Arthur the following day. It was an incredible site full of shocking history both from the early days of Van Diemen's Land penal colony and the more recent shooting massacre which changed our gun laws. Both aspects of history were subtly acknowledged and we did an extensive walk of the grounds as well as a ferry ride to fully appreciate the remote location and the privations experienced by the prisoners. It was yet another glorious day, weather wise, and we fully enjoyed our experience. We left in the late afternoon to drive to Spring Beach to check out Shaun and Katie's beach "shack" enroute to our accommodation at Orford overlooking the river where we prepared for a short drive the next day to Triabunna and the ferry terminal for Maria Island.
We got a tip from am ex-student to see Maria Island and it was yet another in the highlight reel of this trip. A long ferry ride delivered us on to the island where we spent hours trekking across grassy plains that plunged precipitously into aquamarine waters on the edges of the island. There were ancient fossils, wandering wildlife including wallabies and wombats, restored colonial buildings and sculptured foreshore rock formations. It was a treat for all the senses and yet another mind-blowing day. We drove further along the east coast on the famous drive, next stop our next luxury stay at Freycinet Lodge and more hiking around Wineglass Bay.
Our apartment was luxurious, the food mouth-watering and the hiking scenery spectacular at Freycinet National Park. Our trek up to the top of the mountain the next day was a thigh burner but nothing compared to the return journey from Wineglass Bay, where we elected to cross the isthmus then scramble across the headland back to our lodge. We hiked nearly 17km across rough and unforgiving terrain: no wonder we enjoyed a couple of drinks that evening. How beautiful the mountains and beaches were: we couldn't stop taking photos! The following day we embarked on yet another luxury cruise covering a lot of the same ground but this time from an ocean perspective. Sea lions, dolphins and whales frolicked but we couldn't enjoy our seafood lunch as Cassy succumbed to a bout of queasy seasickness and we spent a long time at the bow gazing at the horizon. The cruise staff kindly packed our lunch and Cass recovered sufficiently to have it for tea...winning!
After our cruise we travelled further up the scenic east coast highway all the way to St. Helen's, gateway to Binalong Bay and the famous "Bay of Fires". Yet another superb apartment for the night, we camped in, enjoying the luxury and had our packed lunch before a good night's sleep and a long and interesting drive the following day taking in the fiery rocks and crystal clear waters of the remote beaches, cute coastal towns and inland forests, farms and re-invented mountain towns including the famous mountain bike mecca of Derby, and a delicious coffee with jam and scones at a farm café in the depths of the north-east forests. Our final destination was Launceston, and after an aborted mission to sample Tasmania's "best" scallop pie (sold out!), we pulled in to the fancy Country Club golf course and hotel where we checked in and prepared for our planned funky evening!
Originally we'd planned to stay in the city but as fate would have it, iconic 80s pop-rockers Pseudo Echo were scheduled to play that night just outside Launceston at the country club, so on Cassy's urging I cancelled that booking and rebooked the show and room at the other venue. Much to my surprise, It ended up being one of the great musical/concert moments of my life when they gently warmed the crowd with an entertaining, up-beat set then clouted them over the head with a bell ringing, extended version of their famous version of Funky Town. We were drugged with the majesty of Tasmania's beauty and wonder at the end of a superb and successful trip so I suspect this has a little to do with the euphoria, but despite all that, it was a polished, professional and fun-filled concert!
We eased out of our Tasmanian experience with a leisurely day in Cataract Gorge, riding the chairlift and enjoying the sights before driving to Devonport to meet the ferry for our overnight trip back to Geelong. A little hiccup when the thermostat light came on necessitating an extra night in Victoria to check the car at Mercedes, Geelong, before the all clear to travel to Gundagai, dinner at the pub then breakfast again at the beautifully restored Paragon Café prior to driving back home to give the car (and us!) a much needed rest.
Phew....I haven't written this much for a while! Since our trip, December and January have seen various Christmas celebrations which were lovely, meetings with friends (including a fun New Year's Eve at Wayne and Josie's brand new harbour apartment!), dinners for anniversaries and lots of lap swimming for me in preparation for the annual harbour swim. My goal was to make it across and not need to be rescued....mission accomplished!
Here is the Tasmanian album....