Well a visit to Tasmania wasn't in my original itinerary, but after meeting a great group of people from there while I was in Cambodia, they convinced me to take a short trip over. So no more Sydney and hello to the delights of Tassie...

Well I was pleased to leave Sydney behind on the morning of my departure. It was throwing it down with rain, pretty chilly and not much excitement there. So no thanks to the airport shuttle bus which forgot to come and pick me up (and that's not for the first time!) I made it to airport and when I hopped off the plane in Hobart the sun was shining - perfect!

My chaffuer driven mazda awaited me at the airport and first stop was downtown Hobart and on to the Derwent river for a lunch cruise to Peppermint Bay. After my stressful morning it was time to unwind with a nice bottle of Tasmanian red and some delightful company to match! We passed all the 'leafy' suburbs of Hobart on our way down the river, also passing marine research stations and stopping to tempt a sea eagle out of his tree with a big fish. The captain threw the gish into the water and after keeping us waiting for a good few minutes the eagle eventually decided to come and get his lunch, swooping down and past the boat, down again, posing for photos, and then finally grabbing the fish in his claws and heading abck to the safety of his tree. You should see the size of the nest though, it's as big as a small car - huge...

We had a yummy lunch on board the boat, with everything from oysters and smoked salmon to pate and salad - I was being spoilt. The boat also had an underwater camera that they dropped down every now and again so we could see the marine life on a big screen incside the boat, and it was pretty amazing - we saw really colourful sea kelp and some leatherjackets and puffa fish. There was even time for a quick stop in a little village called Woodbridge before we headed back to the city via some salmon farms, where we saw the fish jumping really high out of the water.

Once back on land there was no rest as it was time to catch up with some of the others from my Cambodia trip. We went on a walking pub tour around Hobart, where we learnt all about the history of the city, politicians, brothels etc etc. We got to taste some famous pepper gin and also cherry and apple liquors, along with the customary beer or two in each pub we stopped in. After that there was time to relax as we all went for dinner and a proper catch up about our fun and stories from Cambodia.

The next day brought more alcohol (you'll soon start to spot the theme of this week!) and it started early as we headed off for a tour around the Cascade brewery. It's the only brewery in Australia to still make its own malt. They bottle half a million bottles of beer a day and everything in the manufacturing process has its use. The gas produced from fermentation is recycled and used for the beverage side of the business to make fizzy drinks; and the yeast produced is sold to Kraft and made into Vegemite (our equivalent of Marmite for anyone who doesn't know what it is, although any australians reading this are now probably cursing at me as they reckon it's much better!). After the tour, complete with illuminous coat and goggles (attractive, huh?!) there was of course chance to taste several of the different beers and then go for a stroll in the stunning gardens surrounding the brewery.

The next day was Australia Day, a national holiday which gives everyone an excuse to light up the barbie and have a few beers...so that's just what we did. Was invited to a house party and experienced my first proper aussie bbq - no disposable ones here, there was a full on spit roast with both pork and beef, an table heaving under the weight of salads, bread, fruit etc etc and a pretty much limitless supply of alcohol...so a good day was had by all (I think..!). Was also introduced to the aussie tradition known as 'chook racing'. This particular version involved gathering 4 chooks (chickens to you and me) under a washing basket which was surrounded by a circle of hosepipe. After placing your bets on which one will win the basket is lifted and the first chook to put both feet over the hose is the winner...

I then left Hobart to see the north of Tasmania. Took a long drive up north, passing through Ross which has the oldest convict built bridge in Australia and had some lunch in Campbell Town, which used to be the but off point for the north/south beer line (Boags in the north and Cascade in the south). Stopped off for an ice cream in Launceston to line the stomach before time for the first of  today's alcohol intake - wine tasting at Roseveers vineyard. It is on a beautiful hillside overlooking the Tamar river so you can admire the view while you savour the taste. Then final stop of the day was the Beaconsfield gold mine where you might remember hearing about two men getting trapped sometime last year. After all that activity another bbq and evening of cold beers awaited.

After barbequed bacon and eggs for breakfast it was back on the road. I had my first aussie pie for lunch in Burnie as we made our way across to the west coast. Our destination was Strahan where the plan was to go quad biking in the sand dunes, but on the way we got a bit delayed by rain and didn't make it in time. Instead we headed straight for our accommodation for the night, the Platypus cabin, in a great little holiday park just across from the waterside. I made the most of the little lunxuries, like a bath, a sofa and a tv for a while (it's amazing how you miss the little things!) before heading out for dinner. The original plan had been to walk around the bay to Regatta Point, but after walking for about 20 minutes and still seeming to be no closer we gave in to the cold and wandered into the nearest pub...and bizarrely enough, no sooner had we sat down then through the door walked a girl I'd met on my trip to Exmouth from Perth - it's really random how you keep bumping into the same people in a country this big, from one side to the other...

And to prove my point I bumped into her again the next morning while getting smoe breakfast! This time we did make it round to Regatta Point (by car!) and saw an old steam engine and some pullman coaches which seemed to be used for some sort of dining experience. Then it was on to the quad biking...and as it turned out doing it this morning was a much better option as we had beautiful sunny skies to make the most of the views over Ocean beach and the Southern Ocean. I had so much fun, they go seriously fast over the dunes and I even managed to get myself into trouble for being naughty and leaving the tracks as I kind of overestimated how fast I could get round a corner! But we did make a few stops, with time to breath in the cleanest air in the world. Apparently the air at Point Grim is really the cleanest in the world and is used as the basis for all other readings worldwide.

Once the adrenaline had subsided it was back in the car to head back to Hobart. We went through Queenstown, which on the way out takes you on a steep climb with 99 bends. Then I was treated to a home cooked thai feast at a friend of a friend's house. She cooked us a spicy prawn tom yam soup and the most delicious thai green curry - brought back great memories of my time in thailand. And being a bit of an expert on wines (with a somewhat extensive cellar under the house) we had a 1999 night, making our way through several bottles, just to get an appreciation of the different grapes and texture you understand..!

So final day and I hadn't yet been to the top of Mount Wellington, the huge mountain that looms over Hobart city. As we started to make our way up the sun was out and we could easily see the top, but half way up the weather turned (as it so often does in Tassie!) and we were in a race against time to get to the top before the cloud and rain spoilt the view...we just about made it but it was so incredibly windy that I'm not sure how the cars didn't get blown over. We struggled across to the lookout point, battling against the elements, but when the cloud cleared you were rewarded with the most fantastic 360 degree view over the city. On the way down we took a quick walk out to Sphinx point for some photos and just made it back to the car before the rain came down.

I had time for a final lunch and final catch up with a couple of friends from the Cambodia trip and randomly while we were sat in the pub we got talking to this little old lady at the bar. Still have no idea what her name was other than her surname is Kelly(!) and she has irish heritage, but after telling us many tales of life she insisted on buying us a bottle of wine to have with our lunch, but didn't join us, just bought the bottle and then waved good bye!!! That's true aussie hospitality for you...