Well, when we came to Tassie I was expecting English style rolling hills, narrow roads (by Aussie standards) and loads of good fresh seafood, fruit and veg. So, I got the last 3 right - the fruit and veg is plentiful and very fresh, being sold on the roadside at every turn. Cherries and apricots dominate but we were perplexed by the pinkeye. Turns out to be a potato! The seafood is everywhere too, scallops are so available that scallop pies are in every bakery and the lobsters and oysters are so cheap compared to the UK. Bob and I are in heaven! However, the rolling hills are not rolling, they are huge mountains and the narrow roads are narrow, even by English standards, but also very windy, as in hairpins not blowy!

So far the weather has disappointed. We knew it would be colder, even though it is the Tassie summer, but we were not prepared for the constant wind. Our awning has only been out once, we have not been able to cook outside and it has been downright chilly in the evenings. It's just one of those summers apparently!! But that hasn't stopped us and we have had a few amazing, and a few not so amazing, experiences to share with you.

The first was the Wilderness Railway, which runs into the depths of the Tarkine. We paid extra to be upgraded to the Heritage carriage where all food was included and boy, were we glad we did. We were welcomed on board the old steam train with a glass of sparkling wine and smoked salmon canapés. The carriage had a balcony at the rear, which our seats overlooked, and we were free to go out and take as many photos as we wanted. The railway is famous because it goes up such a steep gradient, due to its ABT system!! I am now an expert on this - there is a central 3rd rail, which is more like a serrated knife edge. There is a cog underneath the engine that engages with this rail and it literally hauls you up the incline tooth by tooth! And, conversely, slows you down on the return journey. Our engine was the first to do this journey 120 years ago! We stopped at a few stations along the way - one for gold panning but, alas, no luck! We were served a Devonshire cream tea - not a patch on the clotted cream though! The others were for views, which were spectacular, and to turn the engine around. This was bizarre, the engine 'chugged' onto a turntable and the two drivers then had to push the turntable, plus engine, around. It then attached to our carriage in front of the balcony for the return journey. Lunch was then served but we were so full already! However, the 'highlight' for us was getting off at one station and being able to walk under the bridge we had just gone across. OMG, it was just a wooden structure that you could see through. Going back over all the gorges was a bit of a worry after that!

And then for the drive out of Queenstown. I know I keep on about the roads but really, these are on a different planet. We went up, round, up and round, higher and higher until I had no idea which way we were facing. The views were of a bleak, scoured landscape, which had been rendered bare by decades of sulphur emissions from the local mines, strangely beautiful. And then we came to the Iron Blow lookout, with great views out over the disused mine. Well, they had only made a cantilever walkway out over the mine below. Bob decided to go back up the hill to take a pic of the cantilever bridge, and I, for some strange reason, decided to challenge myself and edge out towards the end. I had just reached the end when Bob took his photo, and he couldn't believe I'd done it when he came back down. Neither could I!!

Everywhere we went we were told we must visit 'The Wall' at Derwent Bridge, so we did. There are no words to adequately describe what we saw. 100m of Huon pine panels, each 3m high by 1m wide, carved with the history of Australia. That sounds boring but the horses and figures were so lifelike that you wanted to reach out and touch them. The facial expressions were so real that you felt the sadness when the woman's husband had died, the way the child held his teddy bear - it was so evocative. Some parts, such as a chain, the reins of a horse or a belt were actually just hanging in the air, completely free from the backing wood. The carvings were so clever that he had left bits undone, or with the outline drawing on, or even partly carved so that you could follow the process and see that they were actually real!! Unfortunately you couldn't take photos so I took one of the postcard we bought instead. Just look at the veins on the hand!

Unfortunately for us, Winnie's warning light had come on again as we descended from Queenstown. We limped into Hobart and immediately went to the Fiat dealer, who told us that the part we had had put in after the breakdown in Melbourne had water in it and was shorting! They patched it up with sealant and sent us on our way. That lasted a day and we were back again whereupon a new part was fitted. We are still in 'negotiations' with the garage in Melbourne for some recompense for a defective part!

Apart from that we loved Hobart, a very relaxed vibe to the city. There were a few 'highlights' - the road to the top of Mount Wellington not being one of them. Mount Wellington is 1271m high and towers over the whole city of Hobart. You can see it from anywhere in the city and from over 100kms away on a fine day! Without thinking too much about it we decided to take Winnie up. It started off fine but the road got narrower and narrower. We had forgotten it was Sunday so there were also a lot of cars coming the opposite way, and seriously stupid people cycling up!! Bob had to keep swerving in and out, pulling over and stopping to let cars through which was fine until we got nearly to the top. It was a 14km ride, of which most of it had me on the edge of my seat as usual. However, I am ashamed to say that the last bit was so high, the drop so huge and Bob had to pull right over onto the edge that I just burst into tears - I was so scared! You'd have thought I'd be used to it by now. Saying all that the view from the top was spectacular but I was always worrying about the drive down!

MONA, the Museum of Old and Modern Art, was another strange one. Everyone says it's a must-do whilst in Hobart. Let's just say you had to have a very open mind for some parts of the exhibition! Others were just weird - why would you make a machine that replicates the human digestive system and actually poos? Some were quite disturbing - taxidermied kittens having a tea party, and the guy, Tim, who has sold the tattoo on his back. He sits motionless in the gallery for hours each day and, when he dies, the skin on his back will be removed and displayed as a work of art. Just yuk!! There were some clever bits such as a display of guns. It was only when you looked really closely that you realised that they were made from items such as lanterns, loo rolls and a Noddy car! The 'Snake' was very clever too - over a thousand individual paintings to make one big wall. And we really liked the White Library - everything was just plain white - the books, the walls, the tables and chairs - but we still spoke to each other in a whisper. Why did we do that? It was just the aura of being in a library I guess.

Lastly, we came across a cheesery where they use ewe's milk. It was on the top of a hill with a great view and was called Grandvewe - very clever, and hence the name of this blog! However, they also used the whey byproducts to create vodka, vodka liqueuers and gin. Well, someone had to try them and very nice they were too!

What has amazed us has been the weather. Tasmania is very mountainous and it must be this which creates such differences between places only a few kms apart. The other day we were basking in sunshine while others were having a severe hailstorm that looked like it had snowed. Today we went to watch the Hobart Hurricanes play in the Big Bash (T20 cricket) and we were freezing, even with our big jackets on. We have experienced a 10 degree drop in temperature on the same day, and today we have only had 22 degrees whilst where we are headed tomorrow has been 32 degrees today. It also feels a lot hotter if that makes sense. 20 degrees here feels more like 25 degrees. Not sure why that is but could be because of the lack of ozone as mentioned in the first Tassie blog. The locals think it's funny that the 'mainlanders' (or those from the 'North Island'!) get sunburnt as they think it is not hot enough, and don't apply sunscreen. Here you can get burnt on a cloudy day so sunscreen is on all day and everyday!

So, that's it, Tassie Part 2 completed. Now for the Tasman National Park and the East coast!