Across the Bass Strait we sail, destination.........Tasmania.

We arrive in Devonport in the evening and immediately begin heading west, which included driving through a cute little town called Penguin and staying overnight at a free camping spot in Sulphur Creek. We awoke in the morning (Neil looking rather blurry eyed) and found a beautiful place at Table Cape where we sat having our breakfast and admiring our first real view of Tasmania. We had a look around Rocky Cape National Park and then on to Stanley.

Stanley is a delightful place famous for The Nut, which we had to admit was a pretty steep climb, but definately worth it. It was Australia Day so we treated ourselves to dinner out and a bottle of fizzy wine, which was lovely. The following day Neil made friends with a guy called 'Wolfie',a real character dressed in dungarees, I couldnt quite understand what he was saying, but Neil seemed to (although perhaps he was just doing that nodding and agreeing at the right time thing he does to me when I am drunk and talking excessively). They spent the day fishing and we had mullet for tea.

Moving south west we found ourselves fishing in the Arthur River (I caught two australian salmon at the same time) and then camping in the Arthur Pieman Conservation Area. The following day we took a long and dusty drive with plently of twists and turns through the Tarkin Wilderness to arrive at a quaint place called Corinna. We got ourselves a kayak and paddled down Pieman River. The day was so calm and prefect that the river looked like a sheet of glass and the symetrical reflection of the trees in the water was perfect. We paddled to Little Lovers Fall (blink and you would miss it, not very impressive but the story behind it was lovely) and then on to Savage Creek.

Changing direction we headed to the east coast and spent a few days at MacQuarie Heads and Strahan, where we fished and walking up water fall. We moved on to Queenstown, which looked like what you would imagine an abandoned villiage to look like on the moon. That evening we camped out next to Lake Burbury. The following day we did a 11km walk in Franklin Gordon Wild Rivers National Park and had another brief encounter with leeches!

A short trip up the Heritage Highway throught Ross, a quaint village with a lovely bridge built by convicts and onto Swansea to find a place to stay where we could watch the tennis. However everywhere closed at 8.30pm. So on to Bicheno, where again everywhere closed at 8.30pm. Therefore, completely lost our heads by 'laughing in the face of the budget' and rented a cabin for the night so we could watch the mens final.

Next was The Bay of Fires. Never had we seen such turquoise water and white sand. We stayed at cosy corner campsite, a great site with a beautiful view and we did our usual, cooked freshly caught fish (thanks Neil) on an open fire. From here we went to the north eastly point of Mount William National Park and the accross to Bridport.

Moving inland we spent some time in Launceston, completed the maze in Westbury, enjoyed a stroll around Deloraine and saw some Tasmanian Devils and wombats in a animal rescue sancturary. Tasmania is wonderful in that it has such an abundance of wild life, however on the downside there tends to be a great deal of road kill. Unfortunately we never got to see a wild Tasmainian Devil during our 3 month stay in Tasmania, although some creature did steal Neils flip flops when they were left outside Matilda one night at Mole Creek National Karst National Park (there was not a single person around for miles). So I think we had a close encounter with a devil,although when I tell others they say it was probably a common possum. I prefer to believe the former! Nearby we visited Marakoopa Cave, which was pretty impressive. We were told a story about how a man and a woman met each other for the first time during the tour around Marakoopa, a few years later they returned and got married in the cave.

You cannot visit Tasmania without seeing one of its main attractions.....Cradle Mountain. Although its only a 1,545m climb, it turned out to be a real adventure with such rewarding scenery. Initially we began the walk with sunglasses on, however half way through we were faced with rain which then lead to hail. Fortunately this eased as we began scrambling steeply over big boulders. Then there was snow! Eventually we reached the summit, slight dissapointment, as all we could see was cloud. However Cradle Mountain and its unpedictability surprised us again and within minutes the cloud dispersed. We had never experienced such an extreme change in the elements in such a short space of time. Oh...almost forgot to mention the other pleasant surprise, we saw a spotted quoll (a small carnivorous marsupial).

Prior to arriving in Tasmania we had decided to live and work in Hobart. This did not happen initially as we hoped, but eventually a local Tasmanian girl open her doors to us and provided a roof over our heads (along with miseading information about the cathedral rock walk). I got a job at the Hospital in the private sector (which was a some what different experience) and Neil initially worked at Bunnings (similar to B&Q), then delivered phone books, then worked at a vineyard (consequently thinks he is a bit of a wine connoisseur theses days) until eventually in the final week due to the job crisis he resided to playing golf! Between working we spent time looking around Southern Tasmania, visiting Mount Field National Park, Port Authur, Bruny Island (did not manage to see any fairy penguins though) and much more.

Hobart is a great place. Its more like a country town than a city. However has everything you could possibly need. A lovely waterfront, great eateries and you only have to drive 15 minutes out of the city and you can be by a beach or in the countryside. Its been wonderful experiencing Autum here too. The other day I took a walk, the air was crisp and to my left I could see Mount Wellington standing in all its glory speckled in snow and to my right I watched the sun shimmering on the Derwent River. I just had to smile and feel pleased with myself for having experienced living in such a truely wonderful city (if only for a short period of time).

Anyway once again far too much waffle has occured........

We cant quite believe that we are at the end of our "Aussie Adventure" with only 6 days left before we fly to New Zealand.

Tan and Neil x