When someone says hello, they also ask the question “How are you going?”; ‘G’day mate’ is in fact very commonly said and this won’t be a surprise to almost anyone anywhere; “Uni” is the common way to say University, in fact there are many things abbreviated like this, “pav” for pavlova which is a wonderful meringue and fruit dessert; ‘chook’ is a chicken; ‘lollies’ are sweets or candies; “doona” is a duvet or quilt; “no worries” which is used for many things but mostly to reassure you that everything will be fine and the job will be done; “magic” is an exclamation to indicate approval or if something is fine or even beautiful. Actually I think there are so many Aussie and Tassie words and slang expressions that they should have their own dictionary. In fact, on the internet, they do! If you are interested go to Australian Slang. You can bet I’ve not the full quid if I look for tucker at Maccas! Hooroo!

The final days of our vacation are spent in Sydney. We have a room at The Russell, an older hotel/bed & breakfast right in the heart of Sydney, in an area called The Rocks. The Rocks is where the first convict ships anchored and the take-over of Australia from the Aborigines began. There are not many rocks left but the area is a very bohemian mix of old and new with little alley ways and lanes leading all over the place. A veritable rabbit’s warren! It is much fun exploring this area dominated of course by the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. By the end of our first day we are comfortably ensconced in our room after a several hours walk around the area.

On our second day we take most of the day wandering around. Believe me you can spend several days here and still not discover everything. We visit a very nice museum called The Rocks Discovery Museum. It is very good at describing the history of the area and for getting a feel of the development from the first inhabitants to present. The hardest thing we do today is deciding where to have lunch and supper. Oh the stress of vacations!

We are very busy on our final day in Australia. We booked a harbour cruise the day before and start our morning off with this. Sydney Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in the world. And even though our tour is over two hours long we still do not see the half of it. What a wonderful place to live.

After all that ocean air we have built up quite an appetite so we are off to meet one of our friends from the Overland Track for lunch. We met Chris Carlon and his dad Graham on our first day on the Track, when they arrived at the first hut quite late in the evening, wet, shivering and just a little hungry. They had started their trek right from the bus at 3:15 in the afternoon and didn’t arrive at our hut until 7:30 in the evening. That meant several hours hiking in the dark. Combine that with the wind and the rain, and as they say over here, good on them for even making it. Anyway they have their own stories to share and we hope they take some time and add them to our travel adventures in the comments.

Chris took us on a brief little tour of the banking district of Sydney. It’s amazing, one minute we are walking down this busy street full of the hurly burly of business and with just one turn we are in a back alley all by ourselves. The building Chris showed us was the main waterworks for Sydney from the first days of settlement. You can still see the original building which now serves as a fancy nightclub and a very good eatery. We can vouch for the eatery because we have lunch there. A very enjoyable hour or so is spent with Chris finding out more about him and a little bit more of Sydney.

Chris points us in the direction of King Street Wharf and the Queen Victoria building. The Wharf is in Darling Harbour and is okay but the Queen Victoria building is something else. Three floors of Victorian and Edwardian charm and all kinds of shops and stores. It also has the best men’s room I have ever been in!

With afternoon coming to an end, we take ourselves back to the Russell for a shower and change because tonight … tonight we have tickets for the Bohemia concert in the Sydney Opera House! After seeing pictures for so many years, it is so hard to believe that we are actually here and can touch and marvel at the splendor of this magnificent building. The interior is nothing like we had imagined. My command of the English language is not good enough to convey the magnificence of the inside. Suffice to say that the inside is all curving and soaring concrete supports and carpet and wood and glass and windows, oh it is so inspiring. And the symphony is just as magnificent as the setting, with flashing bows, thunderous horns and wondrous woods. Just the perfect ending to our fabulous visit to Tasmania and Sydney.

And now we are on our way home … a very long long flight with a very useless, tedious, stupid waste of time, customs stop in Hawaii! Keep those security folks occupied in the middle of the night though!

We happily browse this very quaint place for about three hours and then travel on to Oatland. There we find a great little cottage to stay the night. It is called Thimble Cottage and I gather it has a thimble collection, but I totally missed it! Lawrie noticed though, so we weren’t both oblivious. There is a knit wear industry here, Casaveen by name. Missed the last tour by half an hour, drats! Still, there were two lovely sweaters that found their way to the car with us.

The next morning we amble about the partially restored flour mill and then find some topiaries that are in the development stages, but worth taking pictures of. All in all, Oatlands is a nice surprise and has an authentic historic appearance to it.

After a small debate we decide to go back to Carrick via the main highway. We haven’t seen Tasmanian devils nor platypuses in the wild and know that there are interpretation centres where we can get a close up look at these unusual creatures. We also thoroughly enjoyed this area and look forward to spending the last couple days here. On the way to Carrick we stop in at Woolmers Estate and National Rose Garden. Very interesting and worth the time for the tour and a pleasant hour in the Rose Garden. Beautiful!

Unfortunately Innes and Nicole at The Stables are booked for Saturday and we are shunted off to Westbury. This shunt finds us in a wonderfully appointed historic bakery redone into a cottage and having the best dinner ever at a restaurant called Hobnobs. Bonus!

Our final full day is spent at the Tasmanian devil research centre just a stone’s throw from Mole Creek. In addition to the devils there are wombats and kangaroos and spotted quolls and koalas. There is even a bird aviary as well as a few snakes and lizards.

Then it’s a quick walk to view the Alum Cliffs nearby. The sun was in the exact wrong position to get any really good pictures so they don’t do the place justice. Nevertheless you do get some impression of the depth and size of the cliffs.

Another cross country marathon finds us at Beauty Point to view another of the Australian marsupials – the duckbilled platypus. We don’t manage a picture that is worth including, but it has certainly been quite a day filled with some wonderful animals and the ever present incredible scenery. At the end of the day we are back at The Stables, just where we started almost a month ago. Sigh! We are not really looking forward to leaving tomorrow and hope there is something that prevents us from getting on the airplane!

The last day dawns very bright and sunny. Our airplane doesn’t leave until 1:20 pm so we take these few extra hours to go in search of a picture of the rare and elusive Tasmanian Panda Cows. After much driving about the countryside we do locate a small herd and here they are for you … the rare Tasmanian Panda Cows (LOL) Good bye from Tasmania!

We can think of forty different captions for this picture … and would love to hear any you think of when you see this. How about “A cow in goat’s clothing” or “Watch me turn into a cow right before your eyes?” You get the idea … share them okay!

Thursday, today as we reckon the day to be, is spent on the beach called Bay of Fires. We arrived before dawn to catch some good photos. Then we packed up and travelled down the coast to Bicheno. Found a lovely cottage and hope to spot some penguins tonight. Holidays are wonderful things!

Penquins are found. They came in around 6:30. These are Fairy Penguins and are about foot high and look sort of furry. They come to shore after spending the day in the ocean feeding, returning to the same spot each night. These penguins come in only in the dark and scramble over the rocks and into the vegetation on the shoreline. They have individual burrows into which they disappear for the night and will re-emerge before light in the morning. Since you have to use a flashlight (torch, the Tassies call them), we do not stay long nor do we take any pictures.

After seeing about half a dozen we retire to our cottage to enjoy each others company and wonder at the navigational abilities of these little creatures. Holidays truly are wonderful things.

The journey was also about connecting with other hikers. And a wonderful community of people they were too. From the father and son team, the four physios of fruitcake fame, the Darwin couple, the overly energetic young men, the uncle and his two nephews, and not least, our card playing, happy hiking team. These fellow hikers were friendly, interesting, interested, helpful, and fun to be with. If we had been all alone it wouldn’t have been near so wonderful. Thanks to all of you!

Lawrie now has the keyboard. Sometimes you just need to hear each of our versions of an adventure. So here is mine.

The Overland Track leads you from Cradle Mountain overland to Lake St. Clair. You could hike it the other way around, however, at this time of the year it can only be hiked as outlined. It is a hut to hut hike with the option of tenting if desired or room in the hut dictates. It is approximately seventy something kilometres in length.

We manage to make the first drop off shuttle time of eight in the morning and are on our way by about twenty after. It is, which will be the main feature of our trip, raining and blowing, however, there is boardwalk most of the way and the bush keeps most of the wind at bay. This first leg of the trail has the most elevation gain and in no time at all we have climbed into the sub-alpine and into the open and exposed ridges that allow you the impressive views of Cradle Mountain, Crater Lake and so on. We do not get any of those impressive views as we are in the clouds and can only see several hundred feet around us. It is also raining and blowing quite hard. Several gusts almost knock us off the track, sometimes a few extra pounds around the tummy and on your back comes in handy. Halfway point is at Kitchen Hut and we arrive fairly wet and wondering if we have bitten off a little more than we can chew. I am mildly hypothermic and we know we need sustenance. Things are complicated by the wind, rain and clouds. Oh, and I forgot, snow. There are patches of snow, that really heavy stuff that makes great snowballs, that has been blown into drifts about thigh high. I find some drier, warmer clothes and we both have little to eat. Hiking becomes ever so more difficult as these snowdrifts show up with more and more regularity. There is water running underneath them and from time to time you break through up to your calf or thigh. Despite all, our spirits are high and we do arrive at the first hut called Waterfall Valley Hut (and yes there are waterfalls all around us) by three o’clock. First days total K’s are around ten.

It is on again off again rain showers when we leave the next morning on the next leg for Windemere Hut. Distance today is the shortest, at about eight kilometres. The hike is mostly sub-alpine with walks over open moor land, a few ridges and some shallow valleys. The ever present wind and rain are our travelling companions, but the hike is quite pleasant and we arrive at Windemere by noon. We discover however, that we have left our small stove back at the Waterfall Valley Hut and since we need it to cook our meals (fires are not allowed), one of us must make the return journey to retrieve it. It takes me three hours and forty-five minutes to make the round trip but I have really made a major mistake. In my zeal, I have severely blistered my feet. They will be a constant concern for the remainder of the trip.

Hey guess what, it is cloudy but not raining when we leave on the longest leg of our journey. The section from Windemere to Pelion Hut is approximately seventeen kilometres and will take us about seven hours to complete. My feet are sore but not too bad as Lynn has done an amazing job taping them up with moleskin and surgical tape. It is during this section of the trip that we are introduced to the great sport of “root-walking”. Without too much further fan fare … they are a pain to walk over. It is a very long day! There is a major, not steep, but steady hill climb right after crossing over Frog Flats, before arriving at Pelion Hut that saps both your energy and tests your determination. We are both up to the challenge but arrive at Pelion very, very tired. There are good people here though and it is not long before we have our supper and are playing cards with a group of four people that we have struck up a friendship with. Oh yes, there are leeches at Frog Flats, little ones that live in the small pools, the grass and the bushes. I find two on my gaiters and one on Lynn’s boot. Further inspections are negative. Phew!

Day four is nine kilometres to Kira Ora Hut. It is not raining when we leave and looks like the weather might break. Ha! Ha! Within the hour it has socked back in and we are back into our rain gear. Most of this walk is in the rainforest and is a nice break from the arduous day before. You do have to walk over the Pelion Gap which is again not steep but a steady climb into the sub-alpine. The weather breaks a little, giving us a brief view of Mt. Ossa, the highest point in Tasmania, before clouding over once again. Kira Ora is a small hut and our new found friends recommend that we secure a tent platform and camp outside. Good advice, however the temperature has dropped and the wind and rain have risen alarmingly and so we opt for the hut. It storms most of the night and almost all of the tenters move into the hut.

There are some good side trips to some pretty impressive waterfalls on the next leg of this “walk”, and Lynn joins our new found friends in finding them. My feet are not up to the extra challenge and I make my way to Windy Ridge Hut mostly on my own. It has turned into a very pleasant day with no wind and almost constant sunshine. What a relief after four straight days of wind and rain. We camp outside that night under a beautiful sky of stars and a full moon.

From Windy Ridge to Narcissus Hut there are no hills and it is a steady descent. It is our best day yet, warm and sunny and at only nine kilometres we manage to arrive by twelve thirty even on my sore but improving feet. Our friends have booked us on the two forty-five ferry so we sit down in the glorious sunshine and have a very leisurely lunch while waiting for the ferry ride to Lake St. Clair visitor centre.

As Lynn talks about, it has been a very challenging trip but even without the “views” has many unforgettable moments and memories. We met some wonderful people and have made some new friends. This trip truly defines the hiking experience. It is worth the effort. If you ever visit Tasmania do take up the Overland Track challenge, you will not regret it.

On a closing note, it is storming again by nightfall … hunker down you souls on the Overland Track, your adventure is just beginning!

It’s a very beautiful drive down the South coast to Hasting Caves and “tepid pool”. It’s $4.50 for the pool and an additional $15.00 for the forty minute cave tour. Since we have already been into a cave, we skip the tour and opt for the pool. Don’t come here if you’re expecting “hot springs” like water temperature … on a hot day the pool would be great but was only so so when we were here. Do take the little nature trail, it was really neat. We heard a whole bunch of bird songs, saw some magnificent trees, some trout and an eel, but alas no platypus.

Do take the road from the town of Cygnet across country to Woodbridge, this is a really nice drive. All in all the weather was great, we saw some great scenery and bought a whole lot of chocolate, so the day was pretty fine after all.

Right from meeting our bus driver to leaving the people who run Bruny Island Charters make you feel like they have known you forever. Friendly, glib when called for, attentive, they just make you feel right at home.

Of course the whole idea of the trip is to get onto the South Tasman Sea, and did we get on the South Tasman Sea. It has been blowing in Tassie for the last four or five days and the seas are big. Get this 12 foot waves and huge huge swells. We can’t get to all the places the tour usually gets to, but it is more than made up for in the ride. I just love it when the boat crests a big roller and the bottom of the wave just falls out from below the boat. Your stomach just drops and there is a moment when you feel (well you are) suspended in air. This is of course before the boat comes crashing down on the back side of the wave. Incredible. We see lots of albatrosses even a rare sooty albatross, some of the highest sea cliffs in Australia, some pretty impressive waves breaking on the rocks and beaches and an incredible “blow hole”. When a wave hits this spot it is forced into and up a narrow fissure in the rock and explodes about two hundred feet, upwards and backwards towards the ocean. The guides say that this blowhole is “working” about once a month and this impressive every few years or so. It is without a doubt the highlight of this trip.

The Market is like a giant Farmers Market with all types of booths selling locally produced or made items. There is everything from soup to nuts here and we manage to find a few items and a delightful little wool shop where Lynn picks up some Merino sheep fleece and two Merino wool sports-type shirts. One for her and one for me. After our several hours at the market, we wander around downtown Hobart in search of an outdoor shop for camp fuel and a drugstore (or as they are called here a “Chemist shop”.

We have booked ourselves on a day tour of Bruny Island for the next day, so it is back to Richmond in the early afternoon for chores. Laundry, sorting out camping clothes, checking if the stove works, and sorting out food are all accomplished but fill in the remainder of the day.

Evening is concluded with a nice stroll through town to the bridge and return. We are off to bed at our usual 9ish in preparation for our day trip the next day.

We find our way back to Richmond and check into our charming self-contained cottage. The weather is very blustery so we don’t do much walking. There are some arrangements to make for the next few days which you will hear about later and then a connection to make to update this site. And so we will!

After our morning we are off to Richmond, a very historic village which we will not only spend tonight, the last night of our cycling tour, but also the next three days. The countryside continues to charm us with rolling hills, interesting vegetation, sheep pastures, and beef and horse paddocks. We are given the option to cycle the last 10 km into Richmond but we all decline! What a sorry bunch we are! Prospect House is a very charming Georgian mansion and we feel well treated.