It was amazing how dirty the caravan was, both inside and out. It took me two days to clean properly, but it cleaned up a treat. The car wasn't so bad but it was still a big job to detail. The washing machine hadn't stopped for two days. Mandy and I were finally sorted and ready to head to Melbourne to board the Spiriy of Tasmania.

Kids and clothes packed we headed to Altona after lunch where we met Mandy's parents, brother and sister and their families. We then all drive down to the warf and by 5:00pm were all boarded on the Spirit of Tasmania. On board the kids were very excited and enjoyed exploring the boat. It has a dining room, shop, movie theatre, bars and games rooms.

We all dined on boat as it departed around 7:30pm. It was smooth sailing until we got
"The Heads", also known as "The Rip". This is a dangerous stretch of water connecting Port Phillip and Bass Strait. It is the only entrance for shipping into Port Phillip and hence into Melbourne. Because of large tidal flows through the relatively narrow channel from the bay to the ocean, and a high rocky seabed, The Rip has claimed many ships and lives. Geographically, it is the roughly triangular area of water between the land points of Point Nepean, Shortlands Bluff and Point Lonsdale.

Once pased through the heads the rocking settled and we all managed to get some sleep. However it was quite a rough trip all the way across. We had be up at 5:30am to be organised and off the boat in Davenport by 6:30am. Despite the early start we were all looking forward to a great four days exploring Tasmania with Mandy's family.