G'day again!

Well Phil survived his skydive over Broome and absolutely loved it, got a good DVD of it which he wil be showing off when he gets home! That evening we flew down to Perth to stay with family friends. We visited them 5 years ago and they kndly put us up again.

Had 5 days here and didn't do a lot. It was nice to be staying in a lovely home and chilling out. We did manage to have a bbq on the first evening but then the weather turned a bit cooler, not like the tropics we were used to! Mary and Don took us to the Swan Valley for a day of wine tasting. Was very nice and we were all very tipsy by the end of the day except Don who was the designated driver! Also visited Kings Park in Perth and got great views over the city skyline. Went to a couple of beaches for a walk and had oysters by the sea, yum!

From there we flew to Melbourne and straight out again to Hobart, the capital of Tasmania. This is a little state below the Australian mainland which often gets forgotten about! Our first impressions of the island were that it didn't seem like Australia at all, more like New Zealand or Scotland. It is beautiful though, lots of open countryside. Hobart itself is a pretty coastal city but looks more like a British town. There is a running joke in Australia that the Tasmanians are backward and inbred - apart from the odd 6 fingered hand we didn't really notice it!

We had 2 days in Hobart to explore before starting our 6 day trip round the island. This was another organised tour and there were 17 of us on it. Our guide was called Matt (originally from North Yorks!) and he and Phil got on really well. It was a great tour, we did loads of activities, saw some amazing scenery and also learnt about the island's history. For example did you know that 99.9% of Tasmanian Aboriginal people were wiped out by the British in the 1800s - shocking.

It was too cold for camping in Tassie so we stayed in lovely houses owned by the company, and had exclusive use of them. We headed west from Hobart and stayed in the only real settlement on the west coast, a place called Strahan. Below this there is total wilderness, it is thought that no human has ever set foot in some areas of this land. Whilst in Strahan we saw the BEST sunset we have ever seen in our lives! It was so so beautiful and Phil said it even made him feel a bit romantic! Must have been a good one! Will upload some pics soon.

One of the highlights was visiting a huge area of sand dunes along one of the wildest coasts in Tassie. Here we did quad biking! I was a little nervous but it was so much fun. There was only 5 of us that did it and I was the only girl! The bikes were easy to control and we followed our guide up and down huge dunes, stopping a couple of times for a breather and photos! On the open stretches we got up to 60kph which feels really fast on a quad!

The best thing we did was a 6 1/2 hour hike/climb in the Cradle Mountain National Park. This is listed as Tasmania's Wilderness World Heritage Area. wow! It was a gruelling walk up to the base of the rocky peak. Matt kept giving us the option to leave the track and head back if it was getting too hard, several people did so but we pushed on. It was hard work and Matt said that the climb to the summit was not for the faint hearted as we would have to climb over big boulders without ropes. When we saw it we though there was no way we could climb up, it was so steep! I was a bit unsure about doing it but I took on the challenge. Nine of us made it to the summit! Yey! It really was a scary but fun climb and Phil was off like a mountain goat as usual. He kept going really close to the edge and everyone kept shouting at him not to! There was lots of snow still high up on the mountain so we built a little snowman on one of the ledges! A snowman in spring! The summit was over 1400 metres above sea level and we had climbed 600 metres in altitude, phew! The view was just mountainous wilderness as far as the eye could see. It was such a good feeling of achievement having reached the top.

Needless to say our legs/knees hurt the next day! No walking today though, this was a relaxing day! We explored some of the east coast beaches but it wasn't sunbathing weather, it was freezing! Had a quick visit to a nature park to see the famous Tasmanian Devil! The devil is a carnivorous marsupial the size of a small dog. It has a strong bite, only 2nd to the salt water crocodile! They are only found in Tasmania and are now endangered so we'd never see them in the wild. We watched them being fed and fighting over their food, it's true they really do make a crazy screeching noise like on the cartoon!

That evening it was time for more wildlife spotting - we went to see the Fairy Penguins of Bicheno. These penguins are tiny - the smallest in the world, about as tall as a 2 litre bottle of coke! We were led along by our guide in the dark, only he could have a torch, and the penguins were amongst our feet. They come in to shore every evening after feeding all day at sea. They look so funny waddling over the rocks and up the beach to their burrows! It was brilliant how close we got to them and seeing them in their natural environment.

Next day my legs were still a bit stiff but we only had a short walk to do. Went to Freycinet NP and walked up to a lookout over Wineglass Bay. This bay is one of the most photographed in Tassie and is used in most of the tourist brochures. If you ever see an advert for Tassie with a bay on it, that'll be the one! It did look beautiful, a long curving white beach next to torquoise blue waters. Down below we spotted a whale feeding near the rocks! wow. Matt had his binoculars so we all had a look.

The last stop for us was at Port Arthur, the most visited tourist spot in Tassie. This is the site of the last penal colony in Tasmania. Most of the buildings are still there as well as some ruins. Had a walk around the site and learnt about the history of convicts coming to Australia. It was a good deal if you behaved yourself and served out your time working for the settlers - a free ticket to stay in the country! If you were naughty you got sent to Port Arthur! It was a really harsh place and all convicts had to spend 6 months in solitary confinement on arrival. We went in some of the cells, which were small, cold, dark and damp - must have been horrible. It was closed in 1877 and since then has become a tourist attraction for people like us (!)

Back in Hobart after a wonderful 6 days most of us went on a night out. Had met some great people on the trip, we were the only 2 Brits though! Lots of drink was had and we got to bed at 4am, oophs! Had to fly the next day too - Hobart to Sydney......

.....which is where we are now! Yey back in this brilliant city 5 years after first visiting. It is good to be back, athough the first 2 days were a bit dull and it rained! How rude. Since then the warm spring weather is back and we've had days sat out in the sun down in the harbour by the famous landmarks. Called in at the cafe where I used to work. It was still there and had the same owners, as soon as I walked in they recognised me but couldn't remember my name. Had lunch here and it was nice to be back, felt like i'd never left! We did another walk down memory lane and went to see our old flat, that was still the same too! Had a wander round the suburb where we used to live and Phil wants to move back here permanently!

Spent one afternoon and evening visiting my dad's cousin, who we also stayed with last time we were here. Had a roast dinner cooked for us, yummy! It was really nice to catch up with them. Also caught up with an old friend of Phil's from Uni. She was on the same course as him and has emigrated here, lucky girl! Enjoyed Sydney's vibrant nightlife again, and again another late night, 3am! We really are partying our way round the world!

It hasn't all been eating and drinking in Sydney. Did one of our fave coastal walks again, from Coogee beach to the famous Bondi beach. It's a gorgeous coast with lots of little bays and loads of surfers to watch! Spent our last day here walking round Circular Quay by the harbour bridge and opera house. It was lovely and hot and we treated ourselves to a bottle of fizz at the opera house bar. Sat outside and watched the sun go down, perfect.

Unfortunatley we fly out later today, really looking forward to the next leg of our adventure but don't want to leave Sydney yet. This is one of our fave cities in the world (well Phil says it's his favourite!). We fly to Singapore later but only for one night. Have a room in the airport hotel then tomorrow we fly to Hanoi, time to explore Vietnam! Two months in Asia then we'll be home...........

Hope all is well back home, don't be freezing too much!

lots of love us 2 X