Feb 19, 2019 - Cradle Mountain

Cradle Mountain Sunday 17 February A bit cloudy and quite cool to start. Tessa had eaten a dove or pigeon last evening and didn’t wake us early, she wasn’t even pushing for her breakfast! There was a large patch of feathers in the garden! Louise, our host had not returned last night but did text this morning. We breakfasted, etc, packed and set off. North along the A7 to start, turning off at Legana, after refuelling, to head for Westbury. A lovely drive, we had driven this road two days ago, but it was still good! Across country to...

Feb 16, 2019 - Launceston 2

Launceston 2 Thursday 14 February Bright sunny morning, we just relaxed, fed the goats and chicken, chased the dog around the garden, clothes washing, updated finances, etc..... We drove into Launceston to a new development on the waterfront, called Seaport and to the Mudbar Restaurant to meet Greg and Debbie. Greg was a very close friend of David, Ruth’s first husband. We had a great time, Greg and Debbie were great fun and the food was really good. After lunch we were invited back to Greg and Debbies, in Hillwood, northward, on the east...

Feb 14, 2019 - UPDATE NOTES.....Sydney, Australia

Hi all A few more days at sea and more sites to see. Leaving Mystery Island in Vanuatu we travelled about 1000 nautical miles south to Tauranga in New Zealand from where we took a bus tour to Rotorau famous for its hot geysers and mud pools. The heated air and water comes from deep in the earth and comes out of vents in either pools of mud or as steam and water from fissures in the ground. The emissions are very sulfer loaded and the smell is very evident, its bad but interesting to see. From there we moved to Auckland where we had lunch...

Feb 13, 2019 - Launceston 1

Launceston 1 Friday 8 February We found the house, down a narrow muddy track and met our host, Louise and her dog Tessa. Unpacked, were shown the ropes and routines for the dog, chicken and goats, and settled down to dinner. Saturday 9 February Louise left early, she was undertaking a six/seven day hike in the southwest! Very heavy rain overnight which continued into the morning, much needed here. We set off to the Farmers Market in Launceston and then to the shops to top up on groceries. Ruth had arranged to meet with Leonie, a friend we...

Feb 9, 2019 - 90 days to go!

The days are counting down! I first thought of doing this trip over a year ago and slowly, all the planning has come together and is nearly finished. The bulk of the 7 week trip will be taken up with a 35 day Evergreen Tour, incorporating both the east and west coasts of Canada, a little of southern Alaska and some of north-eastern North America. When the tour ends in New York, I will extend my holiday with another week or so in New York and a few days in Philadelphia. My good friend, Cheryl, will be with me for all of it except...

Feb 9, 2019 - Stanley

Stanley 4 February We woke early-ish to find it was raining, not heavy but a steady fine rain. Washed the dust off the car! Packed up, drove to the visitor centre to check the local take on the road closures. The roads we wanted to take through Zeehan and Corrina were closed to all but local traffic, they were carrying out back-burning to contain the bushfires up there, so we had to change our plans. We drove back to Queenstown along the very twisting and winding road, visibility was bad as the clouds were so low. It was still raining. We...

Feb 3, 2019 - Strahan

Strahan 2 February A quiet night and beautiful clear and sunny skies this morning, nice and warm. We wandered down to the dock and booked a Gordon River Cruise for tomorrow before heading to ‘The People’s Park’ just kilometre around the bay. This Park was donated to the town back in the early 1900s in anticipation of the growth of tourism! It provides a 1.2km walk into the temperate rain forest to the Hogarth Falls at the end of the track. We walked in, and it was peaceful, we could hear the birds. Huge trees, blackwood, myrtle and black...

Feb 2, 2019 - Day 8 UPDATE NOTES

Hi All, First part of the trip completed, we visited Wollongong for a few days prior to boarding a cruise ship for a 12 day cruise of the Pacific Ocean which will visit Noumea, Mystery Island, its real name for the cruise industry, and 3 ports in New Zealand. We took 3 days to reach Wollongong with the van in tow, it's much more tiring driving with the van attached so we use caution and limit our driving to about 4 hours a day, that leaves plenty of time to set up and generally we do a bit of sightseeing where we stop. On the way this trip...

Feb 1, 2019 - Coles Bay to Strahan

Coles Bay to Strahan 31 January Topped up fuel at Bicheno before heading onto the Lake Leake Highway, climbing steadily until we reached the high point at 640metres before dropping down to Lake Leake. Managed forests here, felling and replanting. Looked in at the Lake, man-made, or at least to its current extent judging by the dead tree trunks poking out of the water, a beautiful setting in the forest. There was a campsite here which we could easily have stayed in, were we camping. On along the Highway, we saw an echidna by the roadside but...

Jan 31, 2019 - Coles Bay 2

Coles Bay 2 28 January A beautiful morning, completely cloudless but with a strong breeze. We checked the bush fire situation then left,early-ish, to travel north to visit the Bay of Fires. A small echidna walked across the road in front of us, managing to avoid being hit by two cars travelling in the opposite direction to us. We stopped to allow it to reach safety. On to Bicheno, bought a few things for lunch then drove on again, beautiful drive along the Great Eastern Drive, occasional glimpses of the ocean and in parts right alongside...

Jan 30, 2019 - Beautiful Sydney

Our trip to Sydney is uneventful, well sort of … Gail first leaves her phone in the bathroom at the airport, then she thinks in the bus to the hotel. While she is calling the bus company, I find that it on the floor fallen out of her purse. Then after happy hour drinks she leaves it on the bar and has to be chased down by the server. We are not off to a good start. We are staying at the Sir Stamford at the Circular Quay, a wonderful late 1800 hotel that has a lot of charm and an even better location. We can see the botanical garden and the...

Jan 28, 2019 - Coles Bay

Coles Bay 24 January So, along to Dunalley where we spotted a fish market. Stopped and called in, but they had no fresh fish, everything they had was for frying - it was close to lunch time! We and another couple, disappointed, moved on.we carried on the Arthur Highway until at Copping the gps told us to turn right on the Kellevie Road, a direct line north. Ok for a while but we then joined the Wielangta Road which soon became gravel, not in a bad condition but still..... Along the road through the Wielangta Forest, a lovely drive through...