An emotional day today as Claudia and I put Amanda and J on the plane home. It was cold this morning, there was snow on Mount Wellington which is just up behind the B&B. On the way back from the airport, Claudia and I went to the Hobart Botanical Gardens. Another highlight for me. The vege patch isn't quite what it was during Peter Cundell's days but it was still there and good fun to see it for real. Claudie particularly took to the Japanese Garden wit...

Our last full day together on the trip. This morning we drove out to the little historic town of Richmond. It deserves all the hype it gets as it is very pretty and impressive with historic stone buildings everywhere! We went there mainly to visit ZooDoo. It's a zoo that looks like someone decided to convert their farm, so a bit daggy, but lots of fun. Unfortunately the weather was pretty horrendous with wind and rain making everyone co...

Amanda drove today. She has driven a few times during the trip. I really appreciate it and often sleep but today I sat with Claudie in the back and worked on her diary. The drive from Launceston to Hobart isn't too long at all by Australian standards - only about 2 ½ hours. We stopped at Ross for a pie from the historic bakery. The wool museum was interesting. The female factory was scary. It's the site of an old female convict prison. They took thei...

Today was another excellent day. After another excellent cooked breakfast made by our host Janie, we drove over to Treetops, which is only 30 minutes away. It's a state forest with several distinct sections. There's pine plantation forest and native gum forest. A quick history lesson from the guides was interesting. It was settled in the 19th century and cleared for farmland. Oak and Ash trees were planted at various times and some are still there. The A...

A and I went for a walk/jog along the river trail this morning. The weather was actually very pleasant - although it's single figure temperatures overnight, it's probably 10 - 11 this morning, bright and sunny. The trail starts at a park near the water outlet from their hydro scheme here. In this tailrace, I spotted a seal playing! The walk takes in the wetlands along the edge of the Tamar river and it's a lovely place for a bit of exercise. Lots of ducks ...