Hey look, it's Wine Glass Bay and I went there and it's stunning and yes it really looks like the photo. Well I'm still in Tassie and have a free day from the tour and staying in Launceston which is great as gives me time to catch up on stuff like sleep & washing (so boring I know) but also to visit Boags Brewery (2nd best beer in Oz) and have a walk to Cataract Gorge and maybe a swim too if I'm brave enough for the cold water. Oh and I'm in love again - it took a couple of days of wooing but I can finally confirm that I've been won over by this lovely little island. Tassie is so unlike any other part of Oz that I've visited, it's no wonder the Aussie's don't consider it to be part of their country. It's actually England in Oz (and that includes the unreliable and sometimes quite cold weather). The tour is ok and it's a good way to see the place when you have limited time but I wish I had more time to see some of the places we've visited as quite often it's felt a bit rushed. I'm taking a full tour of the island and have seen some of the most wonderful places and sites and I've even got used to all the walking (that's all you do here). So far I've been to Cradle Mountain which I think I mentioned before - that's in the West of Tassie and near the rain forest area and it's so beautiful there - the big Dove Lake at the top of the mountain is crystal clear but a kind of coca-cola colour which comes from the tannin on the rocks, then it was to Henry Dunes and Ocean Beach which is the start of the longest stretch of ocean on the planet (next stop South America). Strahan was a lovely little town (well village) and Lake St. Clair was very picturesque. However I finally fell in love when I got to Hobart and then went up the East Coast. Hobart is the capital city but it's just a town really and so English that I felt quite at home and it had pubs (oh yes!!) and from Hobart we visited Port Arthur which is where all the convicts were sent and probably the nearest thing you get to real history out here (apart from the old trees in the rainforest of course). Next day was Wine Glass Bay - as the Aussie's seem to name everything so obviously, guess why it's called Wine Glass Bay - but the weather was pretty dire (raining, very windy and pretty cold) so we could not hit the beach and swim but instead took a hike up a mountain to view the bay - knackering but worth it. And I saw my first Wombat and yes I wanted to take one home in my rucksack but seeing as I was not allowed to I held a baby one at a local sanctuary (piccys will follow when I can find a good Internet Café which will probably be in Melbourne). We also stayed at this little village called Bicheno which has little penguins, a pub and one of the cosiest backpackers in Oz (heaven...) However the best was saved until yesterday when we got to the Bay of Fires - this is one of the most outstanding beaches I've ever seen. I believe it was actually named 2nd best beach in the world by some travel magazine and it is worthy of that title (the best beach in the world must belong in WA). And the weather was kind to us and hot and sunny so we spent a nice time here (but not long enough) before having lunch in a little pub in the countryside with a beer-drinking pig called Priscilla. Just got 3 more days here now then it's back to Melbourne on Friday for a few more days before hitting Sydders to hopefully catch up with some old familiar faces from back home. Worst thing is I can't believe I've got less than 3 weeks to go before I have to leave here, as the time has just flown by, but I've kind of made up my mind to come back after NZ for another 3 months I want to go back to WA and make my way up from Broome to see the Northern Territories and then back down to Adelaide via the red centre so June, July and August will be an ideal time for this. God I love this country....