I was greeted at Launceston airport by my smiley, long haired, surfer boyfriend, and Vikki and Dann who took us back to Pete's house to be fed a good bit of hearty, british grub! It took a matter of minutes for the banter between me, Ash and Ash's brother Dann to get rolling again and it was as if we'd never left Crawley Down!

For mine and Ashley's birthday Vikki and Pete treated us both to a days diving in Bicheno on the east coast. I was very excited to get in the water and see what sort of sea life occupated the water's of Tas however the water was FREEZING! Having dived in Thailand in waters that were around 27 degress C, i was in for a shock! We were all wearing two 7mm wetsuits with bootys and a hood - no more diving in a bikini for me! But we had two fantastic dives and saw Seaweed Dragons, Pot Bellied Seahorses, A 2ft Gummy Shark (Gummy meaning that it has no teeth!) and a 5 ft Eagle/Sting Ray!!!!

On my birthday Vikki took Ashley and I to Truwanna wildlife park which was a 40 minute drive from Pete's house. Here we saw tame Kangaroos which freely wandered around the grounds, had a cuddle with a Wombat (which they love!) stroked Koalas, which Ash decided would make an awesome pet as all they do is sit in a tree all day and eat whenever they're not sleeping - so ideal really! We watched Tasmanian Devils tear apart half a padimelon and saw all sorts of local birds.

Ash, Dann and i went on a roadtrip down to Port Arthur, near Hobart which is the other end (south) of tasmania. It took a whole 2 hours to drive there in Dann's new 4wd subaru forrester which we all had a go at driving on the way down! Port Arthur was one of the main convict camps in Australia and told the unfortuante tales of many of the convicts who were sent there in the 1800s and why. Children as young as 7 were sent there and for reasons such as stealing a loaf of bread!

For the 10 days i spent in Tasmania i was spoilt rotten by Pete and Vikki who cooked up some delicious meals and treated me to all sorts of nice things! Ashley and i made the most of the free home cooked food and laundry service and thouroughly enjoyed relaxing in Pete's house and seeing what there was to see in Launceston. On the 20th May Ashley and i flew to Melbourne to begin our road trip in a camper van!!!