Right-oh here I go again!!!! The next day I checked out and was relieved that it wasn't raining! Rang up to book my accomodation for Cradle Valley, my next stop, but they said that the hostel area was full and all there was is alpine huts that are small sheds basically with 3 beds and no heating! I needed to stay there and there were no other hostels as it was in a national park, so had to go for it! Then me and this German girl went for a walk to Cataract Gorge, which was just a short walk out of the city, then a short walk (about 2 miles or so) round the gorge - you walked along one side of the gorge/river then crossed a swing bridge and walked back down the other side. Was really nice, very steep sides and all rocky and the river was really fast because of all the rain. There were peacocks on the other side by a cafe and tons of people taking photos of them as if they had never seen them before! Me and this girl got on really well, and had a good laugh, especially when we were back in the city and I went in a hilarious loo that played classical shop type of music when you closed the door and to get out the loo roll you had to press the button and a certain amount came out electronically! After lunch in the hostel I spoke to a guy who's wife I had spoken to earlier at breakfast - he did not stop talking! They were from Devon and emigrated out here so it's nice when you speak to people that are from the same place as you. He said I could pop in on my way up the East coast - lives near Noosa. Then went to shops as my next place was very remote and didn't know how big the other places beyond that would be either! The drive to Cradle valley wasn't too bad, the roads were great to start with then got windy as I headed off through the national parks areas. Was very beautiful again though but very cold in my car. The rain started soon after we had got back from out walk when we were in the city so I had that all the way - nice. I got to the touring park where I was to stay in my shed - it was a massive park, but my shed smaller than I had thought! Was ok though, and it wasn't as cold as when I stayed in that hut in NZ! Went to the kitchen to make a cup of tea then realised that it really wasn't anything like a hostel at all - there were no cups, plates, cutlery, pans, nothing! Ahhhh!!! So no tea, and then I wondered how on earth I was going to cook my tea but luckily I had bought meat that I could cook on this hot plate thing and there was a microwave, and I had my cutlery I had bought for my hike in NZ - yay me! Spoke to lots of people tonight, but I really wanted to do my written journal - oh well! Met 2 Ozzy couples touring Tassie they were really nice - one recommended going to this Dismal Swamp forest/art interpretation centre which was on my list anyway, so I decided I should definitely not miss that then. Later on whilst sat by the real log fire and feeling very toasty, a nice group of international students (mostly from various parts of Europe) studying in Melbourne came and sat by the fire too to toast marshmallows, so I had some of those and chatted to them for a while. They were going walking the next day and asked if I would like to join them - after that long Tongariro crossing in NZ with a companion I thought that sounded like fun, but when they said they were planning to get away at 9am and return probably for tea time I had to say no, as I needed lots of sleep after all the driving and had to get away to my next destination at about 4pm. Had a great nights sleep in my hut, and saw a wallaby on the way back and also at 6am when I had to brave it to the toilet block in the rain! Also another animal which may have been a bandicoot but not sure. Weather was fine to start with the next then the rain began....... Didn't set out for my walk till about 11.30 as had phone calls to make and there was 15 minutes free internet which I take to take advantage of (see v brief Tasmania postcard!) Then figured out where to walk with the help of a nice man in the visitor centre (it's all very organised here, walk leaflets, good signs and expensive visitor centres!). He advised against certain tracks as very steep and slippery, especially in the rain! There was a free shuttle bus that you took with various stop off points, which ended at Dove Lake. From there the summit of Cradle mountain was 6-8 hours return which probably would have been fab on a nice day but there was no way you would have got me up there on that day, it must have rained 80% of the time - was actually sunny for very small parts of the day! I got off half way to Dove lake and as soon as I got off it started raining really hard so I sheltered for a bit in the bus stop, when who should appear but the moaning French lady that I had seen in Launceston and Bicheno! She was moaning again of course. She had got the bus at 7am and it had taken 3 hours and she was going back that day - how silly! Luckily she had declined my offer of the lift the day before, she must have thought I was too happy for her nature! When the rain stopped a bit I did a really nice circuit past some streams and waterfalls and lots of different lakes - there were really good views across the valley and of the lakes. Talked to some nice people on the way, lots of them putting me to shame as about 30 years older and had walked for 6 hours yesterday in the rain (but why?!) I managed to get into a boat shed that was on one lake to shelter from the rain and eat lunch - was a welcome relief! When I got to the end of my walk at Dove lake, who should I see again but the French lady! She must have been following me! I also saw a nice family with 2 young girls that I had seen earlier in the cooking shelter - they had seen a Tas devil in the wild last night how lucky are they! The sun decided to come out for ages after I had finished my walk - how typical! Then it rained again. I got the bus back to the visitor centre and had a good read of all the displays then went on a short boardwalk just outside that went to really nice and big waterfalls. There was a boardwalk all the way from the v centre to D. lake, all around the lake and for much of my walk too - all must have been about 20 km - they really spend a lot of money on their national parks. Probably why there is a fee of $20 per car - I didn't bother anywhere apart from Cradle valley due to the amount of staff! Everywhere else is so remote there's no way they would have checked! Where I walked was the start of the overland track (4 days) - didn't realise it was $100 to do - that's a reason not to do if you needed another reason that is! After my walking I headed off to the north west coast, where I stayed for 2 nights. Went on another long, windy road mostle in the rain so was glad when I got there to find out that I was in another tourist park with my own little room with a double bed! Wasn't as luxurious as the one in Eaglehawk neck with practially en-suite everything, as I had to go outside to toilets and kitchen etc. but was really nice and cosy and right by the sea so really nice, and the couple had lived in Torquay for 3 years how mad! Had a relaxing evening and spoke to some nice Ozzy couples that were very surprised to see me there on my own! Felt well off the backpacker route those 2 nights, was a very different and great experience to be somewhere like that. Was quite sunny in the morning, but you can see from the photo it didn't last! Drove west, and this was the least remote place (apart from the cities) that I had been in so far - there were more cars, the roads weren't windy and there was more of a human presence from the road - more garages, buildings and more fields rather then openess! Was quite like the West country, which is actually why that couple running the tourist park had moved here after being in the UK in the West country. My first stop was at the Dismal swamp centre. I didn't really know what to expect but the leaflet made it sound very interesting with lots of information and things to see and do on the walk and that couple said it was really good, but it was rubbish! There was just a short walk in a forest (not swamp!) with loads of interconnecting board walks with random pieces of very 'budget' looking art work that really were not good. There were loads of little signs saying 'look up' and 'look out' but there really wasn't anything to look at!! There was a big slide and a maze there too but I hate mazes and wasn't going to pay $20 would you believe to go on a slide on my own - not good. I really thought I must have missed something somewhere, what was there meant to be here - that was a lot of boardwalk effort for nothing! But couldn't get any more from the visitor centre so walked out feeling very confused! Carried onto the coast on the west which involved a totally off-road track with massive pot holes (poor beetle!) It survived it though, and when I got there I really felt like I was in the wilderness of Tasmania - there were massive waves rolling in and big craggy rocks and big sand dunes in the distance and it was really windy and the sky all stormy. Then suddenly a truck appeared from a track below me which I didn't realise went anywhere - was very surprising! When they went no-one else turned up so I walked down to the rocks and sea looking for aboriginal rock carvings, as the lonely planet said they were there! No sign of any though, but found some beautiful shells - there were so many! Had some lunch then drove back the same way as I had come, stopping on the way at a place called Stanely where I climbed up a big volcanic hill called the Nut and walked all around the plateau on top which had great views of the coast. Was refreshingly windy up there but couldn't believe it didn't rain as it looked like it would! Then drove on to Rocky cape N.P and went to a beautiful beach called sisters beach. Took a picture of me with the beetle in the car park - you have to take advantage of self- timers! Then on the road on the way back I was going to have a quick stop in this persons house which said 'natural oddities - drive in' with a piece of wood shaped natually like a man with eyes added. It looked really interesting and was, but I wasn't planning on being there for nearly 2 hours! Not really out of choice - I know I take ages looking round places but the reason was is becase the guy that finds all these natural oddities and spends hours polishing them up showed me round, which involved looking at every single object pretty much (there were hundreds!) After the 30th or so walking stick with strange fungi or vines wrapped round or something I was starting to tire, then there was interestingly shaped bark, and all sorts of roots and bits of tree that looked like animals/famous people, etc. etc. I think you get the picture. He wanted to tell me a story about where he found it, why it looked like that, what someone thought it looked like etc. about nearly everything and as he was about 90 he constantly forgot what he wanted to say! Was very tedious, and I thought I was going to get away after about 30 mintutes when he said 'oh sorry are you in a rush' and I said 'well I want to get going in about 10 mintutes', so I thought he was going to go quickly through a few more of the best things but he still continued for about an hour or so, just felt like I couldn't leave he was so enthusiastic and just kept thinking - he will finish soon surely?!!!? When I said I really had to go when I thought that was the end he gave me a hug but then continued for another 15 minutes! Then when I actually went he hugged me again! Was so glad to be in my car and going back! Was very random, he had a book about GB and it had a picture of Corfe Castle on the front - when I said I lived near there he looked very amazed, but thank god didn't start asking me about it - I swear I go looking for trouble sometimes! Stopped at a look out point with an old lighthouse on my way back, but was too late and cold and me too hungry to walk at all! Had to go to the shop on the way back so didn't eat till about 8.30! Saw one of the couples that I met last night and told them about my hilarous stop with the oddities and they said they were going to go in there so glad they hadn't! He wasn't even trying to sell the stuff, just showed people round for ages out of enthusiasm - what I character! I'm glad I went there now and some other places that I know tours don't go, and it makes me appreciate even more that I go wherever I wanted whenever I wanted in my beetle!