The trip to Milford Sound
Or as it should rightly be called Milford Fiord.
We were up half an hour later than the previous day but it was still early and having a shower before a cup of coffee is no joke.
We were showered and breakfasted and out in the cold waiting for th E bus to arrive. In fact we were very glad he was a few minutes early. We then trawled the town for other likely participants before setting out on the road to Milford. The drive was very scenic, hugging the shore of Lake Te Anua for the first thirty kilometres and then climbing into the mountains, before going through the Homer Tunnel and dropping into the port of Milford, from pick up to port it was three hours.
We then had ten minutes to catch our boat, The Wanderer, a three sailed yacht, but unfortunately we did our two and a half hour cruise using the Diesel engine. We did see Fiordland Crested Penguins, Southern Fur Seals, that are not seals at all really as they are a variety of sea lion and an albatross.
The Sound is dramatic and we spent some time deciding whether we preferred Doubtful to Milford. Milford is much narrower and steeper but I think I preferred Doubtful which had an elegant beauty.
After the cruise we were back on the bus and after stopping for a walk around a Chasm and several photo stops we were back. Milford by 4.30pm. We went straight for a pint as both of us were feeling thirsty and we sat in the heat of the afternoon enjoying our beer on the pavement.
We had decided to go out for a meal as we had not. Been out alone since we were in Melbourne and so at seven o'clock we walked back I to town and eventually settled on an Italaina restaurant where we had a a really good meal.
We got back to the campsite at about 9.30 and settled down for the evening. We eventually decided it was bedtime and both is went to the loo, on our return we found an elderly German woman standing in the middle of the road turning around and round. Being the kind people we are we aske if we could help and she replied ,"64" which we took to be the number of her camp site. So here were were in the pitch black with no torch wandering around with a German who had no English looking for plot 64.
We strolled one way and asked a man outside his camper what number site his was, all the numbers are at the back of the plot and it was I possible to see them I the dark. He replied "Number One" so we were no better off ,ours fifty metres down the road was plot eighteen. We started to walk one way, and our now German captive started saying "Ni Ni Ni" so we rather assumed she wasn't recognising anything, so we turned 180 degrees and walked back. Joy of Joys our new friend suddenly recognised her camper. We were very grateful and watched her carefully until she was inside, as no one threw her out we can only assume it was home.
Why is it these things keep happening to us. The Expedition Manager to give her her credit took immediate control of the situation and was very kind to the lady concerned despite the language barrier, neither of us has good German. However alls well that ends well.
Wednesday 27 February 2013
2 Germans
How do you get two Germans on their stomachs underneath your camper van? I was sitting there blogging out yesterday when two Germans walked by our van and suddenly became quite agitated. They pointed at the van and having moved by then decided to retrace their steps. I was sat in the shade on the opposite side of the road to the van, watching this with some interest. After some more pointing and gesticulating at our van I very bravely stood up and asked them if they would like to,see inside the van, after all why would they be interested in the exterior? They then told me, in very broken English, that they had lost heir spare wheel and that having lost it they had to carry it around in their van with them. It became clear to me that what they wanted was to look at how the spare wheel was fixed on. As soon as I said "Please have a look" they were on their stomachs and under the van. We do have photographic proof of this for all you unbelievers. After three or four minutes of intense German spoken under the van they re-emerged and told me they now understood and were highly delighted. So the moral of this story is that you can please some Germans some of the time.
Yesterday we were up at 5.45 for a trip to Doubtful Sound so named apparently because Captain Cook felt it was a doubtful harbour.
We were picked by a coach and taken to a port where caught a boat for fifty minutes to the other side of Lake Manapouri. It was her that we did engage in mortal combat a swarm of sandflies. I have to inform you that our kill rate is now higher than our bite rate.
We then caught a bus over a mountain for a fifty minute journey which took us to another boat where when we boarded we were treats to a three hour cruise along a beautiful fiord before reversing the whole journey. The only problem was the weather which was cold and uncheerful. However it didn't dampen our spirits in any way and Doubtful Sound is very beautiful. We were very tired when we returned to mission HQ and I slept for an hour before we cooked tea and had an early night, early because tomorrow we have to be up early again for a mission to Milford Sound. Who says us oldies can't pack it in?
In a curmudgeonly vein what is about some people who believe they have to be first in the queue for everything? This was very much the case today with a rather elderly couple who made sure they were at the head of every queue and were first onto everything, even if this meant using sharp elbows and techniques you wouldn't normally associate with an elderly couple whatever their ethnic origin. Their trip must be spoilt if they are not first in the queue.We are nothing like that , whilst the expedition's master planner likes to be first off the plane or the boat we don't worry at all if we are not first in the queue to get onto something.
Te Anau wher we are at present is a multicultural melting pot with quite a large number of Germans, our next door neighbours are Canadian and Danish and on the site there are Spanish, Japanese, French, Australians and Americans. Do you know or can you work out which nationality wanted to be first onto everything?
How do you get two Germans on their stomachs underneath your camper van? I was sitting there blogging out yesterday when two Germans walked by our van and suddenly became quite agitated. They pointed at the van and having moved by then decided to retrace their steps. I was sat in the shade on the opposite side of the road to the van, watching this with some interest. After some more pointing and gesticulating at our van I very bravely stood up and asked them if they would like to,see inside the van, after all why would they be interested in the exterior? They then told me, in very broken English, that they had lost heir spare wheel and that having lost it they had to carry it around in their van with them. It became clear to me that what they wanted was to look at how the spare wheel was fixed on. As soon as I said "Please have a look" they were on their stomachs and under the van. We do have photographic proof of this for all you unbelievers. After three or four minutes of intense German spoken under the van they re-emerged and told me they now understood and were highly delighted. So the moral of this story is that you can please some Germans some of the time.
Yesterday we were up at 5.45 for a trip to Doubtful Sound so named apparently because Captain Cook felt it was a doubtful harbour.
We were picked by a coach and taken to a port where caught a boat for fifty minutes to the other side of Lake Manapouri. It was her that we did engage in mortal combat a swarm of sandflies. I have to inform you that our kill rate is now higher than our bite rate.
We then caught a bus over a mountain for a fifty minute journey which took us to another boat where when we boarded we were treats to a three hour cruise along a beautiful fiord before reversing the whole journey. The only problem was the weather which was cold and uncheerful. However it didn't dampen our spirits in any way and Doubtful Sound is very beautiful. We were very tired when we returned to mission HQ and I slept for an hour before we cooked tea and had an early night, early because tomorrow we have to be up early again for a mission to Milford Sound. Who says us oldies can't pack it in?
In a curmudgeonly vein what is about some people who believe they have to be first in the queue for everything? This was very much the case today with a rather elderly couple who made sure they were at the head of every queue and were first onto everything, even if this meant using sharp elbows and techniques you wouldn't normally associate with an elderly couple whatever their ethnic origin. Their trip must be spoilt if they are not first in the queue.We are nothing like that , whilst the expedition's master planner likes to be first off the plane or the boat we don't worry at all if we are not first in the queue to get onto something.
Te Anau wher we are at present is a multicultural melting pot with quite a large number of Germans, our next door neighbours are Canadian and Danish and on the site there are Spanish, Japanese, French, Australians and Americans. Do you know or can you work out which nationality wanted to be first onto everything?
Monday 25 February 2013
Monday we moved to Te Anau
Having spent the night carousing with Julian and Fran it was quite the early start we had thought we might get. However, we were up and on the road by 10.00 and having driven through some wonderful scenery were on our campsite by 1.30. This gave us some time to have lunch and to go and explore the town.
The town itself is picturesque, set beside a large lake with mountains in the background. It has a population of about three thousand and is one of the more peaceful places we have been to. We had a beer in a pub that had about five customers and visited several shops including both of the town's supermarkets. One had almost nothing on its shelves whilst the other was clearly in the dominant supermarket mode. We also had a look through a few clothes shops and Rosemarie was very taken with some expensive merino wool products. We even went back into the town later to have another look supposedly to have the chance to walk along the lakefront.
Part of the reason the town is quiet throughout the days that a lot of people leave here to go on day trips in fiordland. Having said this there are a lot of restaurants and cafes in the town which may well do a roaring trade in the evenings but which were decidedly empty as we walked past them.
I have to say here tht the weather has been glorious during our stay in New Zealand and today was no exception with temperatures in the low thirties. They are complaining here that they haven't had any rain in three weeks.
The evening was quiet and after a pleasant meal we headed of to bed as were booked on a trip for Tuesday that entailed us getting up at 5.45 am.
Having spent the night carousing with Julian and Fran it was quite the early start we had thought we might get. However, we were up and on the road by 10.00 and having driven through some wonderful scenery were on our campsite by 1.30. This gave us some time to have lunch and to go and explore the town.
The town itself is picturesque, set beside a large lake with mountains in the background. It has a population of about three thousand and is one of the more peaceful places we have been to. We had a beer in a pub that had about five customers and visited several shops including both of the town's supermarkets. One had almost nothing on its shelves whilst the other was clearly in the dominant supermarket mode. We also had a look through a few clothes shops and Rosemarie was very taken with some expensive merino wool products. We even went back into the town later to have another look supposedly to have the chance to walk along the lakefront.
Part of the reason the town is quiet throughout the days that a lot of people leave here to go on day trips in fiordland. Having said this there are a lot of restaurants and cafes in the town which may well do a roaring trade in the evenings but which were decidedly empty as we walked past them.
I have to say here tht the weather has been glorious during our stay in New Zealand and today was no exception with temperatures in the low thirties. They are complaining here that they haven't had any rain in three weeks.
The evening was quiet and after a pleasant meal we headed of to bed as were booked on a trip for Tuesday that entailed us getting up at 5.45 am.
Sunday 24 February 2013
Sunday dawns as a day of adventure.
Julian and Fran have been to Ellington as part of a group exploring New Zealand in twenty four motor homes with a group leader. Luckily they don't all travel in convoy but they do eventually all end up at the same campsite.throw this into the melting pot with a Pat Benatar concert on I town and the result is one heavily over crowded campsite. Anywhere a van or a tent could be put there was one.
Anyway their group had booked an excursion on a steam boat up the lake to the Walter Peak Farm, and so we had agreed on Saturday afternoon that we would accompany them. Having agreed this we booked in the reception of the campsite and were issued with a voucher
We had agree the previous evening to rendezvous at 09.15 tour an to walk down into the town. We had to be at the quay by 9.40 as it was we arrived by 09.30 and were first in the queue for boarding.
We were determined to be first up the gangplank. So when the gangplank was opened, if that is possible, we tried to board only to be told that we had to exchange our voucher for proper tickets. At the ticket office. So Fran and Julian were allowed to board but were repelled.luckily the very pleasant man collecting the tickets told us to return to the front of the queue once we had exchanged our voucher so within ten minutes we were sat beside our friends on the foredeck. The voyage across the lake was wonderful and despite a chill wins appeared to be over much too quickly.
On arrival at the farm we were invited to join the group in the shearing shed where we were given a brief insight into the difficulties of farming in the high country. This was followed by a display of sheep shearing, masterfully done in a few minutes, a sheep dog display, which would not have won "One Man and His Dog?" Then to cap it all we as a group were offered the opportunity to hand feed some fairly mature sheep. Now it might just be me, but all four of us were truly surprised by the immediate rush forward to do this by the Japanese and the Germans. Perhaps these two nationalities just don't get the chance to see sheep all that often?
After the sheep feeding we were offered morning tea in the homestead, which was cheeses and onion scones and scotch pancakes with jam and cream on them. Both were really nice and we enjoyed sitting on the verandah overlooking the lake, taking in the scenery.
After tea we were introduced to some deer and to some long horned highland cattle and we saw some of the sheep dog's puppies who were truly adorable.
After a brief visit to the gift shop it was time to board the steamer for the trip back to Queenstown. We had lunch in a pub, and then after a visit to the local supermarket decided en masse to go up the
Cable car to the top of a mountain overlooking the town. The views were stupendous and we sat there and enjoyed an ice cream in the sun. So far the weather has been incredibly kind to us. Of great interest to us was the paragliding launch site which was interesting to watch, the kite is u packed and laid on the floor the strings are sorted out, the willing victim is strapped into their harness and then the instructor/pilot gets into theirs and before you can blink, the kite is in the sky and three or four steps and the couple is airborne. Julian was very keen to try this but I have to say it didn't really appeal to me.
On our descent we repaired to Fran and Julian's motor home for an evening meal. We set up on the space outside their van, knowing full well it was another site and as soon as we started to eat long came a giant motor home whose driver apologised for troubling us but who had in fact been allocated that site for the night. Our recourse was to move across the road to another vacant site and continue
there.
As the temperature fell we moved into Fran and Julian's van and enjoyed a good meal and some good conversation. The red wine and the white wine flowed and we had a great evening. The last two days appear to have passed very quickly.
Saturday
A slow Saturday with a small journey to Queenstown. Why is it when you have all the time in the world it takes you an enormous amount of time to get ready? We were up relatively early and then seemed to take hours to get going , in fact it was such a slow start that at 11.00 am a guy towing a caravan turned up at our site and told us he had just been allocated it. It then took us less than five minutes to complete our packing up and to move out. We did feel a tiny bit silly.
The journey to Queenstown was very quick, we went up through Cardrona and over the dividing range, where there were some spectacular views and some amazing hairpin bends which Vanessa and Rosemarie dealt with stoically. The descent into Queenstown is one I shall treasure for a long time.
We found our site with a modicum of difficulty and booked ourselves in. Between us and the next van was a pleasant area of grass which Rosemarie and I put our chairs and tables on and there we had a drink whilst Rosemarie texted Fran to inform her that we had arrived.Two minutes later Julian came bounding around the corner and it was a huge pleasure to see him. He informed us that the grass area we were sitting on was in fact anther site and as we looked around it became very clear that it was.
We shot off to meet Fran and settled down to a beer or two before they came back to the site we had annexed to watch us have lunch. After lunch we all went for a walk into town down a very steep hill similar to Clovelly in steepness.
At this point it became clear to me that Rosemarie and Fran wanted to have a look around the shops, particularly those that sold female apparel, so I suggested to Julian that we might repair to the nearest hostelry and involve ourselves in sampling one or two of the region's ales, a suggestion he readily agreed to.We repaired to an Irish pub and sat there chatting and joking, sharing old memories and telling each other new stories.
Fran and Rosemarie duly appeared with a small purchase each and we sat there over another beverage enjoying each others' company.
After the beers we returned to campsite where we enjoyed a meal at our motor home talking long into the night and enjoying a few bottles of wine. Always a great pleasure to be with people you have known for a number of years and who you don't have to engage in social pleasantries with. It is a bit like putting on an old pair of shoes they just feel truly comfortable.
On reflection it was also good for both of us to have the chance to chat to someone who wasn't family and it allowed both of us a bit of personal space.
Friday
We left Fox Glacier this morning and made the long drive to Wanaka. We stopped at Haast believing, for some silly reason, that there would be a town and some shops there but there was neither. The drive was good and very pleasant.
It has struck me that the whole of the New Zealand travel industry appears to revolve around the motor home, there are literally thousands of them criss crossing the country taking their passengers from one sight to another, many of them young, several of them silver surfers like us. They must be people who like the idea of living in a home on wheels for a short amount of time and who appreciate the freedom it gives them.It is almost like being in Europe withe the Dutch, you can't go anywhere without seeing one. This is not meant as a criticism of the Dutch, but rather it is a song of praise to their adventurous spirit.
Wanaka was quite a large town and we parked on the lake front whilst we went and had a look around. We found a supermarket and stocked up with so much stuff that I had to go and fetch the van who was resting quietly,contemplating the lake. Having replenished our supplies we drove off to find our site which was a good thirty minute walk out of the town, so having booked in and put everything away in cupboards we went back into the town for a real look around, not just a quick perusal of the supermarket. The highlight of this trip for me was the chance to purchase a handmade ice realm which we devoured on the lake front in the late afternoon sun. One of the great joys of travelling, is of course, the chance to sample some local ice creams and beers. Personally I prefer the latter, but Rosemarie probably prefers the ice cream.
We were perched high on a hill looking down towards the lake on our campsite, but unfortunately we couldn't actually see the lake. The high country was magnificent and we enjoyed the sunset after which the temperature fell surprisingly quickly.the night sky was magnificent thousands of stars stretching as far as the eye could see.
We had thought we might spend two nights at Wanaka but as we were so far out of the town we decided to curtail that to one so that hopefully we could lend some time with our friends Julian and Fran who are going to be at our next stop, Queenstown. They are travelling in a motor home and purely by chance we are both here together. At one point we didn't think we would get to see them but we had a moment of mental clarity and reversed our direction of travel around the South Island so that there would be a possibility that we could meet. After four months travelling it will be good to see someone from home.
We left Fox Glacier this morning and made the long drive to Wanaka. We stopped at Haast believing, for some silly reason, that there would be a town and some shops there but there was neither. The drive was good and very pleasant.
It has struck me that the whole of the New Zealand travel industry appears to revolve around the motor home, there are literally thousands of them criss crossing the country taking their passengers from one sight to another, many of them young, several of them silver surfers like us. They must be people who like the idea of living in a home on wheels for a short amount of time and who appreciate the freedom it gives them.It is almost like being in Europe withe the Dutch, you can't go anywhere without seeing one. This is not meant as a criticism of the Dutch, but rather it is a song of praise to their adventurous spirit.
Wanaka was quite a large town and we parked on the lake front whilst we went and had a look around. We found a supermarket and stocked up with so much stuff that I had to go and fetch the van who was resting quietly,contemplating the lake. Having replenished our supplies we drove off to find our site which was a good thirty minute walk out of the town, so having booked in and put everything away in cupboards we went back into the town for a real look around, not just a quick perusal of the supermarket. The highlight of this trip for me was the chance to purchase a handmade ice realm which we devoured on the lake front in the late afternoon sun. One of the great joys of travelling, is of course, the chance to sample some local ice creams and beers. Personally I prefer the latter, but Rosemarie probably prefers the ice cream.
We were perched high on a hill looking down towards the lake on our campsite, but unfortunately we couldn't actually see the lake. The high country was magnificent and we enjoyed the sunset after which the temperature fell surprisingly quickly.the night sky was magnificent thousands of stars stretching as far as the eye could see.
We had thought we might spend two nights at Wanaka but as we were so far out of the town we decided to curtail that to one so that hopefully we could lend some time with our friends Julian and Fran who are going to be at our next stop, Queenstown. They are travelling in a motor home and purely by chance we are both here together. At one point we didn't think we would get to see them but we had a moment of mental clarity and reversed our direction of travel around the South Island so that there would be a possibility that we could meet. After four months travelling it will be good to see someone from home.
Friday 22 February 2013
Thursday is the day for walking
This was to be our second day in Fox glacier , where you might remember no one ever spends two nights. We were up relatively early and off on the walk up to Fox glacier by 10.00.The walk was entirely different to the Franz Joseph walk, steep sided cliffs lined the route and the walk was probably half the length. The outcome was pretty much the same though, stand there open mouthed in front of several thousand tons of ice. Another major difference was that we could hear this glacier creaking and groaning as it moved and we watched minor ice falls. We were really pleased we had been able to see both glaciers in such excellent weather , in fact it was so hot at Fox glacier we both took off our sweatshirts.
I have to say that the final gradient up to see the Fox Glacier was very steep and that it took a little effort to get there. We were there fairly early but there were still hundreds of people walking up and when we arrived there were already three or four guided groups out on the glacier itself. You are not allowed out on the glacier unless you are with a guide.
On our downward journey we stopped at the old suspension bridge cross the river, no more than five adults allowed on the bridge at one time and the expedition photographer got some good shots of the mountains.
It was then off to Mathieson Lake where there were supposed to be magnificent reflections of the mountains. The very pleasant walk around the lake took us about two hours but no one had told the wind or the water that they needed a few minutes peace, when we reached Reflection island, as you have no doubt guessed there were no reflections. However it was an excellent walk through native NZ foliage and whilst you might imagine it was a flat walk around the shores of a lake, it certainly was not going up hill and down dale all the way around often a hundred feet or so from the lake.
We went back to the campsite for lunch which was I have to say very late, and did mundane things like our washing and going shopping at the convenience store in Fox Glacier as well as filling up with diesel. Emptying the van's waste water took so long that I almost lost the will to live.
The rest of the afternoon was spent in the sun. Now travellers be aware there are some very nasty biting insects in NZ called sand flies, these have a bite like a horsefly and can draw blood.
This particular species of cruel insects seem to have regarded me as a gourmet delight. Whilst they ite Rosemarie and there is no affect on her their bites on me swell and become mottled. These are not creatures to be messed around with. I have now taken to applying liberally a coat of anti insect lotion in a bid to quell their enthusiasm. I have to put it on my feet particularly as this is an area of my body they seem to enjoy with some relish, well when they bite it does rather feel as though someone has stuck a needle in you.
We managed to have our tea outside of the van and were really pleased that we managed to cook a Spanish omelette whilst camping, it almost tasted like something we might do at home. The day o Re we retired to be tired but content, not really looking forward to the long drive ahead tomorrow.
This was to be our second day in Fox glacier , where you might remember no one ever spends two nights. We were up relatively early and off on the walk up to Fox glacier by 10.00.The walk was entirely different to the Franz Joseph walk, steep sided cliffs lined the route and the walk was probably half the length. The outcome was pretty much the same though, stand there open mouthed in front of several thousand tons of ice. Another major difference was that we could hear this glacier creaking and groaning as it moved and we watched minor ice falls. We were really pleased we had been able to see both glaciers in such excellent weather , in fact it was so hot at Fox glacier we both took off our sweatshirts.
I have to say that the final gradient up to see the Fox Glacier was very steep and that it took a little effort to get there. We were there fairly early but there were still hundreds of people walking up and when we arrived there were already three or four guided groups out on the glacier itself. You are not allowed out on the glacier unless you are with a guide.
On our downward journey we stopped at the old suspension bridge cross the river, no more than five adults allowed on the bridge at one time and the expedition photographer got some good shots of the mountains.
It was then off to Mathieson Lake where there were supposed to be magnificent reflections of the mountains. The very pleasant walk around the lake took us about two hours but no one had told the wind or the water that they needed a few minutes peace, when we reached Reflection island, as you have no doubt guessed there were no reflections. However it was an excellent walk through native NZ foliage and whilst you might imagine it was a flat walk around the shores of a lake, it certainly was not going up hill and down dale all the way around often a hundred feet or so from the lake.
We went back to the campsite for lunch which was I have to say very late, and did mundane things like our washing and going shopping at the convenience store in Fox Glacier as well as filling up with diesel. Emptying the van's waste water took so long that I almost lost the will to live.
The rest of the afternoon was spent in the sun. Now travellers be aware there are some very nasty biting insects in NZ called sand flies, these have a bite like a horsefly and can draw blood.
This particular species of cruel insects seem to have regarded me as a gourmet delight. Whilst they ite Rosemarie and there is no affect on her their bites on me swell and become mottled. These are not creatures to be messed around with. I have now taken to applying liberally a coat of anti insect lotion in a bid to quell their enthusiasm. I have to put it on my feet particularly as this is an area of my body they seem to enjoy with some relish, well when they bite it does rather feel as though someone has stuck a needle in you.
We managed to have our tea outside of the van and were really pleased that we managed to cook a Spanish omelette whilst camping, it almost tasted like something we might do at home. The day o Re we retired to be tired but content, not really looking forward to the long drive ahead tomorrow.
Thursday 21 February 2013
Vanessa is quite a handful but we are getting used to each other. The drive down the West Coast wa marvellous, with spectacular scenery in then distance all day, that and the odd Auk pursuing a hapless hobbit and the world seems to be on the right axis. We arrived at Franz Joseph glacier in time for lunch and treated ourselves to a pasty from a "European" bakery rather than make sandwiches , we had the pasty in the car park of the glacier walk and quite enjoyed it. Now whilst this was the same shape and size as a Cornish pasty, it was there that all similarity ended. The filling was to say the least rather odd.
After our pasty lunch we set off to walk to the glacier which was a great experience, you walk along the river bed marvelling at the forces of nature. I have a strong suspicion that this walk would not be possible in the snow melt season. The glacier has 16 metres of rainfall a year but luckily for us it was a dry day.
The glacier itself is huge but has shrunk back ver the years possibly due to climate change. We stood in awe at the base of it looking up at its majesty. The expedition photographer wsas enjoying very minute of it.
After we had walked back down we drove another 20 or so kilometres to Fox Glacier where we booked into our campsite. When we said we wished to stay for two nights the receptionist said "No one stays two nights, Fox Glacier is much too small". For some reason we felt that this was our sort of place, and tomorrow we have to walk up to Fox Glacier and around Mathieson Lake, so we almost have a full day.
We did have a slight discussion about what is meant by guiding the van not a space when you are reversing as Rosemarie made no signals until I was almost touching a tree. When I asked her about this she replied "Well I thought you could see it", anyway no damage done and we were able to laugh about it.
Ther are some very nasty little insects here which are black and quite small that seem to concentrate on biting one's feet, we think they are sand flies. Anyway their bite hurts and the bites are very itchy. Definitely a case for wearing insect repellant.
After our pasty lunch we set off to walk to the glacier which was a great experience, you walk along the river bed marvelling at the forces of nature. I have a strong suspicion that this walk would not be possible in the snow melt season. The glacier has 16 metres of rainfall a year but luckily for us it was a dry day.
The glacier itself is huge but has shrunk back ver the years possibly due to climate change. We stood in awe at the base of it looking up at its majesty. The expedition photographer wsas enjoying very minute of it.
After we had walked back down we drove another 20 or so kilometres to Fox Glacier where we booked into our campsite. When we said we wished to stay for two nights the receptionist said "No one stays two nights, Fox Glacier is much too small". For some reason we felt that this was our sort of place, and tomorrow we have to walk up to Fox Glacier and around Mathieson Lake, so we almost have a full day.
We did have a slight discussion about what is meant by guiding the van not a space when you are reversing as Rosemarie made no signals until I was almost touching a tree. When I asked her about this she replied "Well I thought you could see it", anyway no damage done and we were able to laugh about it.
Ther are some very nasty little insects here which are black and quite small that seem to concentrate on biting one's feet, we think they are sand flies. Anyway their bite hurts and the bites are very itchy. Definitely a case for wearing insect repellant.
Wednesday 20 February 2013
Tuesday travelling down the coast.
An early start and off to the seal sanctuary or was it colony. About fifteen minutes down the road from where we were camping was a seal colony so off we set to investigate. The seals, sensibly, were a fifteen minute walk away from the main beach up onto the cliffs we strolled and were rewarded with the sight of an adult seal basking and then as we looked more closely, it is apparent that seals are awfully good at camouflage, we saw several more lurking in the shadows, and for our patience we were treated to the sight of several one month old cubs cavorting amongst the rocks. As someone said the more you looked the more you saw.
The coast itself is marvellous and after the seals we set off to drive south. We stopped at pancake rocks which were a geological marvel and then headed off into Greymouth because we had not got the expedition's communications officer a new SIM card. Apparently these are very hard to come by in New Zealand, especially if you want a NZ telecom one. No one in Picton sold them , the next day was Sunday and on Monday we couldn't purchase one in Westport. Is it as hard to get a BT is card in Launceston , I ask myself?
We found the telecom shop in Greymouth , more by luck the judgement, it looked nothing like a shop, had no displays in the window and was tastefully signed "Telecom", in what I thought were quite small letters. The deal was done with haste the card purchased and the requisite number of dollars put onto it. The young lady who helped us was charm personified and was extremely helpful. She checked our phone would work on the Telecom system before selling us a card, installed the sim and put the dollars onto it for us. Who could ask for more?
After the thrills of the telecom shop we were off on the open highway again, stopping at Hokitika for the night, where we at a in the late afternoon sunshine and read for a while. A morsel of NZ steak for tea accompanied by a glass of NZ Pinot Noir, who could ask for more. A close inspection of the stars and an examination of the Milky Way before bed ended a really wonderful day.
An early start and off to the seal sanctuary or was it colony. About fifteen minutes down the road from where we were camping was a seal colony so off we set to investigate. The seals, sensibly, were a fifteen minute walk away from the main beach up onto the cliffs we strolled and were rewarded with the sight of an adult seal basking and then as we looked more closely, it is apparent that seals are awfully good at camouflage, we saw several more lurking in the shadows, and for our patience we were treated to the sight of several one month old cubs cavorting amongst the rocks. As someone said the more you looked the more you saw.
The coast itself is marvellous and after the seals we set off to drive south. We stopped at pancake rocks which were a geological marvel and then headed off into Greymouth because we had not got the expedition's communications officer a new SIM card. Apparently these are very hard to come by in New Zealand, especially if you want a NZ telecom one. No one in Picton sold them , the next day was Sunday and on Monday we couldn't purchase one in Westport. Is it as hard to get a BT is card in Launceston , I ask myself?
We found the telecom shop in Greymouth , more by luck the judgement, it looked nothing like a shop, had no displays in the window and was tastefully signed "Telecom", in what I thought were quite small letters. The deal was done with haste the card purchased and the requisite number of dollars put onto it. The young lady who helped us was charm personified and was extremely helpful. She checked our phone would work on the Telecom system before selling us a card, installed the sim and put the dollars onto it for us. Who could ask for more?
After the thrills of the telecom shop we were off on the open highway again, stopping at Hokitika for the night, where we at a in the late afternoon sunshine and read for a while. A morsel of NZ steak for tea accompanied by a glass of NZ Pinot Noir, who could ask for more. A close inspection of the stars and an examination of the Milky Way before bed ended a really wonderful day.
Monday 18 February 2013
Picton to Motueka
After a really good night's sleep we were up and ready to get our van on the road. We asked the campsite to book us into another site at Motueka and off we trolled. We had a little difficulty finding the right road bit once we did it was magnificent following the Queen Charlotte Sound.
Full of bends and frequent stops for the expedition photographer it was a great way to learn the foibles of our new monster machine, like she does't like going up hills in fourth and that 80kmh seems very fast. That and having to use the road with good manners , means pulling over to let the queue of traffic that has for we behind you past made for an interesting drive. The van rattles rather a lot and we will have to see what we can do about that. As we ride over the engine it is also rather noisy, having done 172900 km, it is hardly new. In fact for a five year old vehicle it seems sadly battered.
We had a lunch stop in lay by at the top of a mountain where little black insects decided to make a feast on my feet and boy did they hurt when they bit.
We arrived in Nelson and I made my mistake of the day getting in the wrong lane, as I attempted to put this right I seemed to have upset a young female NZ driver who decided to give me the finger as she drove past.some people just don't have the necessary manners on the road any more. I had signalled I was turning into the left lane and I had waited for her to under take me but apparently this was not enough.
The drive from Nelson to Motueka was lovely clearly on a reclaimed road with water on both sides with mountains rising in the distance. We arrived at about 4.00pm having done about 170km but having now gotten a much better picture of what the van will do and what she won't.
We found a nice site, explored the camping ground, sat in the sun reading our books for quite a while had a beer or two and cooked our tea. A nice glass of NZ Pinot noir and we decided to face time Emma just for the sake of it . this led to a minor discussion about the time in England and both of us got it wrong, with the result that we woke Emma at about 7.30 in the morning. after the call we had a frank discussion about how many hours England is behind NZ and it took some persuasion on my part to get the expedition mathematician to understand it was thirteen and not eleven hours. this discussion eventually had to be finished in biro on a piece of paper before the light came on. Still us retired folks are allowed to get things wrong from time to time.
Having successfully annoyed Emma we made our own way to bed fairly satisfied with our day's activities.
After a really good night's sleep we were up and ready to get our van on the road. We asked the campsite to book us into another site at Motueka and off we trolled. We had a little difficulty finding the right road bit once we did it was magnificent following the Queen Charlotte Sound.
Full of bends and frequent stops for the expedition photographer it was a great way to learn the foibles of our new monster machine, like she does't like going up hills in fourth and that 80kmh seems very fast. That and having to use the road with good manners , means pulling over to let the queue of traffic that has for we behind you past made for an interesting drive. The van rattles rather a lot and we will have to see what we can do about that. As we ride over the engine it is also rather noisy, having done 172900 km, it is hardly new. In fact for a five year old vehicle it seems sadly battered.
We had a lunch stop in lay by at the top of a mountain where little black insects decided to make a feast on my feet and boy did they hurt when they bit.
We arrived in Nelson and I made my mistake of the day getting in the wrong lane, as I attempted to put this right I seemed to have upset a young female NZ driver who decided to give me the finger as she drove past.some people just don't have the necessary manners on the road any more. I had signalled I was turning into the left lane and I had waited for her to under take me but apparently this was not enough.
The drive from Nelson to Motueka was lovely clearly on a reclaimed road with water on both sides with mountains rising in the distance. We arrived at about 4.00pm having done about 170km but having now gotten a much better picture of what the van will do and what she won't.
We found a nice site, explored the camping ground, sat in the sun reading our books for quite a while had a beer or two and cooked our tea. A nice glass of NZ Pinot noir and we decided to face time Emma just for the sake of it . this led to a minor discussion about the time in England and both of us got it wrong, with the result that we woke Emma at about 7.30 in the morning. after the call we had a frank discussion about how many hours England is behind NZ and it took some persuasion on my part to get the expedition mathematician to understand it was thirteen and not eleven hours. this discussion eventually had to be finished in biro on a piece of paper before the light came on. Still us retired folks are allowed to get things wrong from time to time.
Having successfully annoyed Emma we made our own way to bed fairly satisfied with our day's activities.
Saturday 16 February 2013
Saturday and our New Zealand Adventure begins.
We were up before the crack of dawn and our old friend tiredness reared its ugly head as we struggled to get our day nder way. We had decided to have breakfast on the ferry rather than at the hotel as doing that meant we could have thirty minutes more in bed, a complete luxury.
Our taxi driver arrived a few minutes earlier and twenty dollars later we were dropped at the ferry port to find the world and his dog standing in a huge queue.
We fought our way to the ticket office and once there were told by the lady behind the desk that she could find no record of our booking. Imagine our complete dismay. She told us to squeeze our way around to the ticket office as they had a different system. Squeezing around meant elbowing our way through the throng and once there we were more than relieved when the lady found us. Computers tell no lies. We were issued our tickets, our suitcases were summarily taken from us and we were instructed to join the throng at Gangway three. When I asked exactly where this was I w told to follow the queue, as the multitude began to move it was clear that everybody on foot was boarding though gangway three.
Imagine our further surprise when we eventually saw the boat to see that it had originally been called the Pride of Cherbourg, one used on crossings from Portsmouth to Cherbourg. It was now renamed the Kaitaki.
Part of our problem was that there was a super liner in port and all of her passengers were on a day trip to South Islan on the same boat were on. It was impossible to get a lounge seat and we had a breakfast of sorts, Rosemarie had an egg roll and I had a ham and cheese one.
After replenishing ourselves we went tot he top deck, one side was heavily overcrowded so we sat on the windy side watching the North Isalnd drift away and the Soutb Island come into view.it really is the most spectacular ferry crossing the last hour is in a sound with marvellous scenery reminiscent of Norway,as we came into port our side of the boat filled up too.
Disembarking was easy and we retrieved our suitcases with little bother and set off to walk to our van hire place, by now the sun was beating down. We found the place and ten minutes later people we has been sat behind on the deck arrived in a minibus provided by the van hire people for free. No one had thought to tell us.
The next hour was spent learning about the van and having mastered the basics we were on our way. We headed for the local supermarket to buy provisions and on having done that I noticed the engine braking was not working so we went back to the van hire people, who quietly adjusted the throttle and got the thing to work, all of two minutes work.
We then set off to our campsite about a mile outside of town and once we had booked in I tried to unlock the locker which contains the mains electric lead. I couldn't open it no matter what I did. In the end I had to admit defeat and tell Rosemarie, in disbelief she came to try her luck but to no avail. So we decided to go back again to the van hire people. I was glad to find the man there couldn't open it either even with a new key key he fetched. Eventually it did spring open and it was suddenly clear the key was doing very little as the lock mechanism was loose. A screw driver was fetched and repairs made and once again we were back to our camp site.
By now it was three pm and we had had no lunch so we remedied that and after a couple of small beers I suddenly felt the need for a nap.
Having woken we walked into Picton through the marina and saw three stingrays and about a million krill the latter of which had turned the water red.
We walked back to the camp and had delicious tea and an early night, after far too much excitement for one day.
We were up before the crack of dawn and our old friend tiredness reared its ugly head as we struggled to get our day nder way. We had decided to have breakfast on the ferry rather than at the hotel as doing that meant we could have thirty minutes more in bed, a complete luxury.
Our taxi driver arrived a few minutes earlier and twenty dollars later we were dropped at the ferry port to find the world and his dog standing in a huge queue.
We fought our way to the ticket office and once there were told by the lady behind the desk that she could find no record of our booking. Imagine our complete dismay. She told us to squeeze our way around to the ticket office as they had a different system. Squeezing around meant elbowing our way through the throng and once there we were more than relieved when the lady found us. Computers tell no lies. We were issued our tickets, our suitcases were summarily taken from us and we were instructed to join the throng at Gangway three. When I asked exactly where this was I w told to follow the queue, as the multitude began to move it was clear that everybody on foot was boarding though gangway three.
Imagine our further surprise when we eventually saw the boat to see that it had originally been called the Pride of Cherbourg, one used on crossings from Portsmouth to Cherbourg. It was now renamed the Kaitaki.
Part of our problem was that there was a super liner in port and all of her passengers were on a day trip to South Islan on the same boat were on. It was impossible to get a lounge seat and we had a breakfast of sorts, Rosemarie had an egg roll and I had a ham and cheese one.
After replenishing ourselves we went tot he top deck, one side was heavily overcrowded so we sat on the windy side watching the North Isalnd drift away and the Soutb Island come into view.it really is the most spectacular ferry crossing the last hour is in a sound with marvellous scenery reminiscent of Norway,as we came into port our side of the boat filled up too.
Disembarking was easy and we retrieved our suitcases with little bother and set off to walk to our van hire place, by now the sun was beating down. We found the place and ten minutes later people we has been sat behind on the deck arrived in a minibus provided by the van hire people for free. No one had thought to tell us.
The next hour was spent learning about the van and having mastered the basics we were on our way. We headed for the local supermarket to buy provisions and on having done that I noticed the engine braking was not working so we went back to the van hire people, who quietly adjusted the throttle and got the thing to work, all of two minutes work.
We then set off to our campsite about a mile outside of town and once we had booked in I tried to unlock the locker which contains the mains electric lead. I couldn't open it no matter what I did. In the end I had to admit defeat and tell Rosemarie, in disbelief she came to try her luck but to no avail. So we decided to go back again to the van hire people. I was glad to find the man there couldn't open it either even with a new key key he fetched. Eventually it did spring open and it was suddenly clear the key was doing very little as the lock mechanism was loose. A screw driver was fetched and repairs made and once again we were back to our camp site.
By now it was three pm and we had had no lunch so we remedied that and after a couple of small beers I suddenly felt the need for a nap.
Having woken we walked into Picton through the marina and saw three stingrays and about a million krill the latter of which had turned the water red.
We walked back to the camp and had delicious tea and an early night, after far too much excitement for one day.
Friday
And farewell to old Hobart Town, with a tear in our eyes and a lot of really good memories.
We arose fairly early and had breakfast with Rob and Toni before they went off to lead another walk. The master packer had almost finished but those last few things which seem to multiply really began to annoy her for some reason. We had to wait about an hour for Rennie to come and pick us up to take us to the airport, but he was early and we were on our way in no time at all.
After a sad farewell to Rennie at the airport we girded our loins to do battle with the Quantas reception desk. The very nice lady on the business only desk said kindly that she would look after us, much to our surprise. Clearly we are used to being treated like the hoi polloi.
Everything was going swimmingly until she asked us if we had any spare batteries, which were not in devices in out suitcases. Yes we had!, however, we had been told elsewhere that we couldn't put batteries in our hand luggage. The master packer was not pleased!
There is something rather disconcerting about opening your suitcases in public and rummaging through them to find some batteries you remember seeing but can't quite place where they are. Both suitcases had to be opened and piles of neatly packed clothes had to be shifted out until we found the little devils. In the end they were tucked into one of my shoes. Cue, repacking in public and a great deal of angry muttering from the master packer. We did note that several other people were also going through the same process at the check in desk, nothing quite like seeing everyone's clothes out at the airport is there?
Batteries stored safely in our hand luggage we were assured that our cases would go direct to Wellington and we needn't worry about them for the rest of our journey.
The flight to Sydney was good although there was more angry muttering when the served "lunch" turned out to be a spinach and feta Danish pastry which had been warmed. Naively we thought it was a starter, but no that was the whole lunch.
A Sydney we transferred easily to the international airport and treated ourselves to some much needed pasta in an Italian restaurant, this followed by shopping in duty free and a beer in the bar took up almost all of our time.
Before we knew it we were boarding our plane to Wellington, on which the on board dinner was chicken tikka or fish. Both of us had the tikka, which tasted nothing like a tikka at all. Generally the rest of the flight was boring.
We arrived in Wellington at 11.10pm found our luggage without too much trouble and took a taxi to our hotel. The taxi started with a 7 dollar fee for picking us up at the airport, so that was the end of his tip!
We arrived at the hotel about midnight and the bar was closed but a pleasant night manager opened it again for us so that we could had a beer, she also ordered us a taxi to take us to the ferry in the morning.
Who could ask for more, tired and exhausted, tetchy and somewhat stale we retired to our bed to see if we could get five hours sleep before our early morning alarm call. This travelling business can be quite exhausting at times.
And farewell to old Hobart Town, with a tear in our eyes and a lot of really good memories.
We arose fairly early and had breakfast with Rob and Toni before they went off to lead another walk. The master packer had almost finished but those last few things which seem to multiply really began to annoy her for some reason. We had to wait about an hour for Rennie to come and pick us up to take us to the airport, but he was early and we were on our way in no time at all.
After a sad farewell to Rennie at the airport we girded our loins to do battle with the Quantas reception desk. The very nice lady on the business only desk said kindly that she would look after us, much to our surprise. Clearly we are used to being treated like the hoi polloi.
Everything was going swimmingly until she asked us if we had any spare batteries, which were not in devices in out suitcases. Yes we had!, however, we had been told elsewhere that we couldn't put batteries in our hand luggage. The master packer was not pleased!
There is something rather disconcerting about opening your suitcases in public and rummaging through them to find some batteries you remember seeing but can't quite place where they are. Both suitcases had to be opened and piles of neatly packed clothes had to be shifted out until we found the little devils. In the end they were tucked into one of my shoes. Cue, repacking in public and a great deal of angry muttering from the master packer. We did note that several other people were also going through the same process at the check in desk, nothing quite like seeing everyone's clothes out at the airport is there?
Batteries stored safely in our hand luggage we were assured that our cases would go direct to Wellington and we needn't worry about them for the rest of our journey.
The flight to Sydney was good although there was more angry muttering when the served "lunch" turned out to be a spinach and feta Danish pastry which had been warmed. Naively we thought it was a starter, but no that was the whole lunch.
A Sydney we transferred easily to the international airport and treated ourselves to some much needed pasta in an Italian restaurant, this followed by shopping in duty free and a beer in the bar took up almost all of our time.
Before we knew it we were boarding our plane to Wellington, on which the on board dinner was chicken tikka or fish. Both of us had the tikka, which tasted nothing like a tikka at all. Generally the rest of the flight was boring.
We arrived in Wellington at 11.10pm found our luggage without too much trouble and took a taxi to our hotel. The taxi started with a 7 dollar fee for picking us up at the airport, so that was the end of his tip!
We arrived at the hotel about midnight and the bar was closed but a pleasant night manager opened it again for us so that we could had a beer, she also ordered us a taxi to take us to the ferry in the morning.
Who could ask for more, tired and exhausted, tetchy and somewhat stale we retired to our bed to see if we could get five hours sleep before our early morning alarm call. This travelling business can be quite exhausting at times.
Thursday 14 February 2013
Wednesday and the sun shines on the righteous walkers.
It transpires that Rob and Toni are keen walkers and they had planned a short easy walk with one of their walking groups which we could partake in. We pointed out that we had no boots but apparently walking sandals were fine. The sandwich lunch was prepared and we were off to meet the rest of the group in a pub car park.
In the car park we had a group huddle and everyone gave their names, there was a head count and we had to sign an insurance form in case, as guests we injured ourselves.
Back in the car and a two or three mile drive to another car park where we engaged in another huddle whilst there was a general discussion about who would go in whose car. As our car was full we stayed well out of it.
Back in the car for a mile long drive to the start of the walk. The first part of the walk was along the beach and we hadn't gone more than 400 yards when the whole group stopped for morning tea.20 minutes later we were on our way again reading carefully the Ministry of Defence sign that told us that there was unexplored ordnance in the area.
The next stop was the Lone Pine Memorial to Australian troops who had fought at Lone Pine in the battle for Gallipoli. There were seven separate markers for Australian soldiers who had been given the VC at that battle. We then walked on to Cape Direction for lunch. Cape direction is the hill which sailors used to guide themselves in to the River Derwent and thus into Hobart.
Lunch over we walked back again and had a grand time in the sunshine.
Back at the car we headed off to Goat Point to get a great view of Betsy Island before heading off to the most soulless pub in the world for a post promenade pint. The pub was very modern full of stainless steel and large windows and was huge. One side of it was reserved for one armed bandits and the part we were in was truly lifeless.
After our pint it was home for tea and I struggled to use Rob's computer to get our photos off the iPad and onto our new memory. Woe betide me if I have got it wrong!!!!
It transpires that Rob and Toni are keen walkers and they had planned a short easy walk with one of their walking groups which we could partake in. We pointed out that we had no boots but apparently walking sandals were fine. The sandwich lunch was prepared and we were off to meet the rest of the group in a pub car park.
In the car park we had a group huddle and everyone gave their names, there was a head count and we had to sign an insurance form in case, as guests we injured ourselves.
Back in the car and a two or three mile drive to another car park where we engaged in another huddle whilst there was a general discussion about who would go in whose car. As our car was full we stayed well out of it.
Back in the car for a mile long drive to the start of the walk. The first part of the walk was along the beach and we hadn't gone more than 400 yards when the whole group stopped for morning tea.20 minutes later we were on our way again reading carefully the Ministry of Defence sign that told us that there was unexplored ordnance in the area.
The next stop was the Lone Pine Memorial to Australian troops who had fought at Lone Pine in the battle for Gallipoli. There were seven separate markers for Australian soldiers who had been given the VC at that battle. We then walked on to Cape Direction for lunch. Cape direction is the hill which sailors used to guide themselves in to the River Derwent and thus into Hobart.
Lunch over we walked back again and had a grand time in the sunshine.
Back at the car we headed off to Goat Point to get a great view of Betsy Island before heading off to the most soulless pub in the world for a post promenade pint. The pub was very modern full of stainless steel and large windows and was huge. One side of it was reserved for one armed bandits and the part we were in was truly lifeless.
After our pint it was home for tea and I struggled to use Rob's computer to get our photos off the iPad and onto our new memory. Woe betide me if I have got it wrong!!!!
Tuesday and the relentless tour of the Hobart region continues.
Rob and Toni had planned to take us down to the east coast but had found theyncouldn't take their dog Gloria down there. As a result they aske Dua if we would like to visit Bruny Island instead. We leapt at the chance.
The day started leisurely and we set off calling at Mount Nelson lookout first where there is a marvellous panorama of Hobart. As always the sun was shining and the view was spectacular.
After a few pictures we wer on our way to a surprise stop at the Austaralian Antactic base where there is a very good exhibition. We both found it really interesting. Hobart is a departure point for voyages to the Antarctic and there was a ship in port stocking up with supplies. Apparently it takes between 10 and 14 days to get there by boat and the journey can be very rough. That and the freezing cold doesn't make it very appealing to me.however, there are some souls down there who clearly enjoy the six months of solitude.
We caught the ferry to the island at 12.15 and were amongst the last cars on. We were stowed below deckin a position where we couldn't get out of the car, much to the frustration of Rosemarie, who is inclined to have Joe Kodak tendencies.
Bruny Island is an attractive if somewhat windy place as we found at the first lookout we visited. After being nearly blown away we found a quiet beach for lunch and then had a still along the beach. This was followed by a car trip exploring the rest of Adventure Bay which was quite delightful.
We then tried to catch the 4.15 ferry back to the mainland and failed to do this by two cars. This meant we had to wait on the ferry port for an hour whilst he ferry returned to mainland and then came back to the island, the time was filled with an ice cream and we sat basking in the sun watching the sea roll by.
It was back to Rob and Ton i's for tea before a genuinely early night.
Rob and Toni had planned to take us down to the east coast but had found theyncouldn't take their dog Gloria down there. As a result they aske Dua if we would like to visit Bruny Island instead. We leapt at the chance.
The day started leisurely and we set off calling at Mount Nelson lookout first where there is a marvellous panorama of Hobart. As always the sun was shining and the view was spectacular.
After a few pictures we wer on our way to a surprise stop at the Austaralian Antactic base where there is a very good exhibition. We both found it really interesting. Hobart is a departure point for voyages to the Antarctic and there was a ship in port stocking up with supplies. Apparently it takes between 10 and 14 days to get there by boat and the journey can be very rough. That and the freezing cold doesn't make it very appealing to me.however, there are some souls down there who clearly enjoy the six months of solitude.
We caught the ferry to the island at 12.15 and were amongst the last cars on. We were stowed below deckin a position where we couldn't get out of the car, much to the frustration of Rosemarie, who is inclined to have Joe Kodak tendencies.
Bruny Island is an attractive if somewhat windy place as we found at the first lookout we visited. After being nearly blown away we found a quiet beach for lunch and then had a still along the beach. This was followed by a car trip exploring the rest of Adventure Bay which was quite delightful.
We then tried to catch the 4.15 ferry back to the mainland and failed to do this by two cars. This meant we had to wait on the ferry port for an hour whilst he ferry returned to mainland and then came back to the island, the time was filled with an ice cream and we sat basking in the sun watching the sea roll by.
It was back to Rob and Ton i's for tea before a genuinely early night.
Monday
As Guilia had to work it was off with Simon and Alison for us. They picked us up at 10 am and we headed off to New Norfolk, where the first place they took us to was the old lunatic asylum, we weren't too sure whether they were trying to tell us something or not! However the asylum turned out to be a very early barracks building and we were able to walk around the judge's house as well, where we saw the oldest vine in Australia, supposedly. Since seeing that one I have been told of two others that lay claim to that particular honour.
After a brief tour we were off to the salmon ponds , which is where the first salmon and trout ova were brought to Australia, there is a charming little museum there of fishing memorabilia. We had lunch in the pancake restaurant with Romy who joined us there and a jolly time was had by all.
After lunch we headed to Redlands on whose estate the salmon ponds had been built. I forgot to mention the five kilometres of irrigation channels dug entirely by convicts. Redlands was a house and estate built by the illegitimate son of George the third . The house and garden were charming and the garden I particular was full of European species. The great highlight of the day was that we saw four duck billed platypus in the wild. Two in the river Plenty at the salmon ponds and two in the frog pond at Redlands.
Rosemarie was more than highly delighted.
The bakery at Redlands is the oldest convict built bakery in Australia and normally they use it to produce about fourteen loaves a day. However, as our luck would have it it was shut for the day due to fire restrictions. There is in fact a very serious fire just outside Hobart at Molesworth.
Redlands is also becoming a distillery and we were lucky enough to get a two minute tour of the distillery just before we left to head home.
On the way home were taken to see a church and two orphanages built by Governor Arthur for the convicts which used to overlook the government farm. All in all quite a sad place as children were taken there at the age of three separated from their mothers.
Simon and Alison had invited us back to their place for an evening barbecue and several other members of the choir joined us for what was a great evening. Quite a bit of the conversation dwelt on how many Platypus people had seen in the wild and four seemed to be a very high number. Rosemarie was clearly able to claim bragging rights.
As the evening drew on our luggage was transferred to Rob's car and he took us to our new digs back in the same road where a previous host had lived. A great day full of history, politics and friendship.
As Guilia had to work it was off with Simon and Alison for us. They picked us up at 10 am and we headed off to New Norfolk, where the first place they took us to was the old lunatic asylum, we weren't too sure whether they were trying to tell us something or not! However the asylum turned out to be a very early barracks building and we were able to walk around the judge's house as well, where we saw the oldest vine in Australia, supposedly. Since seeing that one I have been told of two others that lay claim to that particular honour.
After a brief tour we were off to the salmon ponds , which is where the first salmon and trout ova were brought to Australia, there is a charming little museum there of fishing memorabilia. We had lunch in the pancake restaurant with Romy who joined us there and a jolly time was had by all.
After lunch we headed to Redlands on whose estate the salmon ponds had been built. I forgot to mention the five kilometres of irrigation channels dug entirely by convicts. Redlands was a house and estate built by the illegitimate son of George the third . The house and garden were charming and the garden I particular was full of European species. The great highlight of the day was that we saw four duck billed platypus in the wild. Two in the river Plenty at the salmon ponds and two in the frog pond at Redlands.
Rosemarie was more than highly delighted.
The bakery at Redlands is the oldest convict built bakery in Australia and normally they use it to produce about fourteen loaves a day. However, as our luck would have it it was shut for the day due to fire restrictions. There is in fact a very serious fire just outside Hobart at Molesworth.
Redlands is also becoming a distillery and we were lucky enough to get a two minute tour of the distillery just before we left to head home.
On the way home were taken to see a church and two orphanages built by Governor Arthur for the convicts which used to overlook the government farm. All in all quite a sad place as children were taken there at the age of three separated from their mothers.
Simon and Alison had invited us back to their place for an evening barbecue and several other members of the choir joined us for what was a great evening. Quite a bit of the conversation dwelt on how many Platypus people had seen in the wild and four seemed to be a very high number. Rosemarie was clearly able to claim bragging rights.
As the evening drew on our luggage was transferred to Rob's car and he took us to our new digs back in the same road where a previous host had lived. A great day full of history, politics and friendship.
Wednesday 13 February 2013
Sunday
Guilia let us sleep in and after breakfast we walked down to get the bus into town. The bus was free as were all business for the weekend. Perhaps Cornwall could learn something from this?
There were even more people milling around than there had been in Saturday. Rosemarie and I went off to look at some old surfboards and when we returned a flash mob was in the middle of singing, as we wanted to buy a print of Hobartbtotake home we decided to go to Salamanca market and lookmaroundna few shops there.
However, instead of a print we ended up with a new pair of walking sandals for Rosemarie, a new fleecy for each of us and a pair of new shirts for me. It was all rather frustrating, but the the expedition's master purchaser hadn't been anywhere near a shop for quite a while, so she had to be forgiven.
Although we missed the choir's roaving performances we did catch up with them late afternoon for another performance of Matthew Brady.
We had a great time and stayed on for a few beers to watch the next band, who were people we knew. We then got a lift back to Guilia's and went and met her mother who had come over from Italy and who at the age of eighty odd had cooked us a bolognese sauce for our tea.
We had a wonderful meal and after the washing up sat around listening to music of all kinds.
The boat festival has been something special and it is a shame that we are not more of the boat type. The harbour area has looked magnificent with hundreds of flags and pennants flying and there has been a huge buzz around the town. It has been a privilege to have been here for the festival.
Back at Guilia's we had to pack up to move on Monday as we are moving to Rob and Toni's for a few days.
We have enjoyed the music, the spectacle and the feel of the festival. Not sure we could have had a better time in Hobart, but it would have to have been something really special to be better than the experience we have had.
Guilia let us sleep in and after breakfast we walked down to get the bus into town. The bus was free as were all business for the weekend. Perhaps Cornwall could learn something from this?
There were even more people milling around than there had been in Saturday. Rosemarie and I went off to look at some old surfboards and when we returned a flash mob was in the middle of singing, as we wanted to buy a print of Hobartbtotake home we decided to go to Salamanca market and lookmaroundna few shops there.
However, instead of a print we ended up with a new pair of walking sandals for Rosemarie, a new fleecy for each of us and a pair of new shirts for me. It was all rather frustrating, but the the expedition's master purchaser hadn't been anywhere near a shop for quite a while, so she had to be forgiven.
Although we missed the choir's roaving performances we did catch up with them late afternoon for another performance of Matthew Brady.
We had a great time and stayed on for a few beers to watch the next band, who were people we knew. We then got a lift back to Guilia's and went and met her mother who had come over from Italy and who at the age of eighty odd had cooked us a bolognese sauce for our tea.
We had a wonderful meal and after the washing up sat around listening to music of all kinds.
The boat festival has been something special and it is a shame that we are not more of the boat type. The harbour area has looked magnificent with hundreds of flags and pennants flying and there has been a huge buzz around the town. It has been a privilege to have been here for the festival.
Back at Guilia's we had to pack up to move on Monday as we are moving to Rob and Toni's for a few days.
We have enjoyed the music, the spectacle and the feel of the festival. Not sure we could have had a better time in Hobart, but it would have to have been something really special to be better than the experience we have had.
Saturday is wooden boat festival day.
Anyone who owns a wooden boat is under an obligation to brin g it to the biennial wooden boat festival in Hobart.
We had watched several boats arrive up the River Derwent guided in by many smaller craft on Friday Morning but had no idea what the festival would be like.
We had a leisurely start to n the day and had an really enjoyable breakfast with Pam before we had to set off. Our first stop was to drop our cases off at at our new landlady,'s which we achievd fairly easily even finding the key hidden. Our bags dropped off we parked the car and walked into the festival. We were absolutely amazed at how many people were milling around and it struck me that wooden boat owners are a bit like Harley Davidson motorbike owners they are all getting older and greyer.
Our first visit was to get some fish and chips and after we had eaten those outside we moved down to the bar where the nun choir were performing their Matthew Brady folk opera. We really enjoyed the performance. It strikes me that every country must have a Robin Hood figure, someone who robs from the rich and gives to the poor, never hurts an honest man and is gallant to the ladies. Even Switzerland has the William Tell story, so why can't Tasmania have Matthew Brady? There are some lovely songs in the opera and we had a great time.
A the end of the opera we followed the choir around the show and watched them perform in different locations. We were also able to look at several boats as we moved a round.
A the end of the day we went with Giulia and Simon and a few others for a pizza. On the way Simon persuaded me to go for a beer, and my arm certainly took a lot of twisting. After the beer we went for the promised pizza with a several choir members who engaged in a sing song. The pizza was good and the company was great. At the close of the evening Guilia took us fr an ice cream before we caught a taxi home.
We sat around chatting for quite a long time before making our way to bed.
Anyone who owns a wooden boat is under an obligation to brin g it to the biennial wooden boat festival in Hobart.
We had watched several boats arrive up the River Derwent guided in by many smaller craft on Friday Morning but had no idea what the festival would be like.
We had a leisurely start to n the day and had an really enjoyable breakfast with Pam before we had to set off. Our first stop was to drop our cases off at at our new landlady,'s which we achievd fairly easily even finding the key hidden. Our bags dropped off we parked the car and walked into the festival. We were absolutely amazed at how many people were milling around and it struck me that wooden boat owners are a bit like Harley Davidson motorbike owners they are all getting older and greyer.
Our first visit was to get some fish and chips and after we had eaten those outside we moved down to the bar where the nun choir were performing their Matthew Brady folk opera. We really enjoyed the performance. It strikes me that every country must have a Robin Hood figure, someone who robs from the rich and gives to the poor, never hurts an honest man and is gallant to the ladies. Even Switzerland has the William Tell story, so why can't Tasmania have Matthew Brady? There are some lovely songs in the opera and we had a great time.
A the end of the opera we followed the choir around the show and watched them perform in different locations. We were also able to look at several boats as we moved a round.
A the end of the day we went with Giulia and Simon and a few others for a pizza. On the way Simon persuaded me to go for a beer, and my arm certainly took a lot of twisting. After the beer we went for the promised pizza with a several choir members who engaged in a sing song. The pizza was good and the company was great. At the close of the evening Guilia took us fr an ice cream before we caught a taxi home.
We sat around chatting for quite a long time before making our way to bed.
Tuesday 12 February 2013
Friday
Friday morning we were allowed to sleep in and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We did our washing and walked down to the beach where a force nine gale was blowing and I had to turn around as I was getting very cold.
Pam came back about 1.30 and we had a quick lunch before heading off to Old Hobart Gaol or the Penitentiary.
There was a guided tour at 2.30 which we made by the skin of our teeth and when we enquirer about hour long the tour was wee were categorically told that it would be an hour and a half. We then asked how many would be on the tour and were told it would be the here of us and two others.
This tuned out to be a highly memorable visit. Our guide, Brian, was brilliant and highly interesting. We visited the old courts, the so.itary confinement cells, the convict church, the gaoler's house and various other smaller rooms. The tour ended cup taking three hours and we enjoyed ever minute of it.
The visit to the gallows are was very somber and rather depressing but it did giveyou a good idea of what had gone on. The remaining one sixth of ten church was really worth seeing.
After our visit we drove back to the Eastern Shore where Pam took us to a waterfront pub for a beer which was great. We had stark for tea back at Pam's house and jaut sat there drinking red wine and putting the world to rights we felt very relaxed indeed.
It strikes me that the convict system was a much wider and larger organisation than I had previously considered. The gaol in Hobart was just as interesting as Port Arthur presented another aspect and made me think that waht we created in transportation was a system of white slavery. This in a Victorian Britain which had already ended the slave trade from Africa to the West Indies.
A relaxing Friday with a good historical input.
Friday morning we were allowed to sleep in and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We did our washing and walked down to the beach where a force nine gale was blowing and I had to turn around as I was getting very cold.
Pam came back about 1.30 and we had a quick lunch before heading off to Old Hobart Gaol or the Penitentiary.
There was a guided tour at 2.30 which we made by the skin of our teeth and when we enquirer about hour long the tour was wee were categorically told that it would be an hour and a half. We then asked how many would be on the tour and were told it would be the here of us and two others.
This tuned out to be a highly memorable visit. Our guide, Brian, was brilliant and highly interesting. We visited the old courts, the so.itary confinement cells, the convict church, the gaoler's house and various other smaller rooms. The tour ended cup taking three hours and we enjoyed ever minute of it.
The visit to the gallows are was very somber and rather depressing but it did giveyou a good idea of what had gone on. The remaining one sixth of ten church was really worth seeing.
After our visit we drove back to the Eastern Shore where Pam took us to a waterfront pub for a beer which was great. We had stark for tea back at Pam's house and jaut sat there drinking red wine and putting the world to rights we felt very relaxed indeed.
It strikes me that the convict system was a much wider and larger organisation than I had previously considered. The gaol in Hobart was just as interesting as Port Arthur presented another aspect and made me think that waht we created in transportation was a system of white slavery. This in a Victorian Britain which had already ended the slave trade from Africa to the West Indies.
A relaxing Friday with a good historical input.
Mona and Ladies who lunch
This was a meant to be a relaxing day and started off that way with a leisurely breakfast with Romy. after we had eaten we were taken to the ferry ticket office where Romy had booked us ona ferry. Apparently this is the best way to get to Mona, which was built by a man who had made all of his money out of gambling. Cue old man's anger when it transpires that the cost of a single ferry ticket is exactly the same as a return, made worse by the fact that Romy is taking her car to the museum and our new landlady is meeting us there with her car. So we will not be returning by ferry.
The ferry trip is great and the view of MONA from the river is worthwhile. The Museum of Old And New Art is entered by climbing about ninety stairs after which you find yourself n a full size tennis court off which the entrance beckons.
The museum is an eclectic collection of art, ancient Egyptian amulets next to a Damien Hirst. Video pieces next to waterfalls or Greek vases. We enjoyed a wonder waterfall which created words, the fat Porsche Car, a white library full of books with no words and a giant snake. The two themes of the museum are sex and death and both are fairly well represented. It had been described to us as being pornographic but we didn't feel this.
The museum is on several levels and prides itself on having no labels or direction signs, so on entry you are given a GPS system which can be opened at any time and which finds the work of art nearest you.
After a couple of hours we had luch outside looking down the River Derwent which was marvellous, me and five women who lunch, Romy, Rosemarie, Dale, Victoria, and Pam. The sun was shining and the view was fantastic.
After lunch we had another hour in the gallery before stopping for a coffee and a cake. After tea, we transferred our bags from Romy's car to our new landlady's car, and Pam took us back to her house .
Pam's house was wonderful set on the Eastern shore looking over the River Derwent towards Hobart and Mout Wellington. As the sun went down and electric lights came on the view became magical and both Rosemarie and I felt that this was a house we could have bought. Our room was wonderful a giant room with our own sitting area and an en suite bathroom, who could, ask for more.
After a pleasant supper of chicken salad and some conversation we retired to our bed, satisfied and full of memories of MONA
This was a meant to be a relaxing day and started off that way with a leisurely breakfast with Romy. after we had eaten we were taken to the ferry ticket office where Romy had booked us ona ferry. Apparently this is the best way to get to Mona, which was built by a man who had made all of his money out of gambling. Cue old man's anger when it transpires that the cost of a single ferry ticket is exactly the same as a return, made worse by the fact that Romy is taking her car to the museum and our new landlady is meeting us there with her car. So we will not be returning by ferry.
The ferry trip is great and the view of MONA from the river is worthwhile. The Museum of Old And New Art is entered by climbing about ninety stairs after which you find yourself n a full size tennis court off which the entrance beckons.
The museum is an eclectic collection of art, ancient Egyptian amulets next to a Damien Hirst. Video pieces next to waterfalls or Greek vases. We enjoyed a wonder waterfall which created words, the fat Porsche Car, a white library full of books with no words and a giant snake. The two themes of the museum are sex and death and both are fairly well represented. It had been described to us as being pornographic but we didn't feel this.
The museum is on several levels and prides itself on having no labels or direction signs, so on entry you are given a GPS system which can be opened at any time and which finds the work of art nearest you.
After a couple of hours we had luch outside looking down the River Derwent which was marvellous, me and five women who lunch, Romy, Rosemarie, Dale, Victoria, and Pam. The sun was shining and the view was fantastic.
After lunch we had another hour in the gallery before stopping for a coffee and a cake. After tea, we transferred our bags from Romy's car to our new landlady's car, and Pam took us back to her house .
Pam's house was wonderful set on the Eastern shore looking over the River Derwent towards Hobart and Mout Wellington. As the sun went down and electric lights came on the view became magical and both Rosemarie and I felt that this was a house we could have bought. Our room was wonderful a giant room with our own sitting area and an en suite bathroom, who could, ask for more.
After a pleasant supper of chicken salad and some conversation we retired to our bed, satisfied and full of memories of MONA
Friday 8 February 2013
Wednesday
So having walked all day Monday and then all day Tuesday, our host suggested a leisurely walk along the coast as our activity for the day. We drove around the coast and looked at the Huon River which was beautiful before arriving at Conningham beach was stunning. We prepared ourselves to the best of our ability and then set off at fifty miles an hour along the cliff tops. Now it may have been the twenty or so miles we had covered in the previous two days, but I had to fight all those feelings that were telling me that I didn't want to walk at all. However we got to Legacy beach and then carried onto an aboriginal cave.
It is difficult to walk if your brain is continually telling you to stop for no apparent reason. Generally I love walking but this was almost a stroll too far.
We decided to walk back to Conningham for lunch and Rosemarie and Ans went for a swim. The temperature was now well into the thirties and after lunch we set off to find Fossil Cove.
What we hadn't realised was that the walk to the cove was quite long, and from where we left the car was down hill all the way to the sea.
The walk down was worth it although my thigh muscles had now decided to go into revolt. The coastline here is well worth seeing.
After the steep walk up hill back to the car my legs were screaming at me to stop, but who was I to listen to them?
We drove back to Ans and Peter's and were then taken to Romy's house where were spending the night.
The evening was very relaxing, we watched a film about Tasmania called "The Hunter " and retired to our beds aching all over but full of memories and pictures of the beauty of Tasmania.
So having walked all day Monday and then all day Tuesday, our host suggested a leisurely walk along the coast as our activity for the day. We drove around the coast and looked at the Huon River which was beautiful before arriving at Conningham beach was stunning. We prepared ourselves to the best of our ability and then set off at fifty miles an hour along the cliff tops. Now it may have been the twenty or so miles we had covered in the previous two days, but I had to fight all those feelings that were telling me that I didn't want to walk at all. However we got to Legacy beach and then carried onto an aboriginal cave.
It is difficult to walk if your brain is continually telling you to stop for no apparent reason. Generally I love walking but this was almost a stroll too far.
We decided to walk back to Conningham for lunch and Rosemarie and Ans went for a swim. The temperature was now well into the thirties and after lunch we set off to find Fossil Cove.
What we hadn't realised was that the walk to the cove was quite long, and from where we left the car was down hill all the way to the sea.
The walk down was worth it although my thigh muscles had now decided to go into revolt. The coastline here is well worth seeing.
After the steep walk up hill back to the car my legs were screaming at me to stop, but who was I to listen to them?
We drove back to Ans and Peter's and were then taken to Romy's house where were spending the night.
The evening was very relaxing, we watched a film about Tasmania called "The Hunter " and retired to our beds aching all over but full of memories and pictures of the beauty of Tasmania.
Thursday 7 February 2013
Tuesday is Launceston day
Firstly I should have mentioned that on our way down to Port Arthur we passed through scenes of devastation caused by the recent serious bush fire. It is very distressing to see houses burnt down to the ground and in one town they have lost almost everything, their school, shop, garage and bakery have all gone.
It had been agreed that Simon would drive us to Launceston on Tuesday and so we had to get up at quarter to six to be ready for him to pick us up at seven o clock. Simon is a fount of knowledge and the two hour trip passed in a flash. He dropped us off outside the supreme court opposite some sixty or so people who were milling around. As we picked up our rucksack the court opened and they all milled in, perhaps they were jurors, who knows?
We set off in search of the tourist information office, which should have been relatively easy as all we had to do was to follow the large blue and yellow "i's" which had been conveniently placed on lamposts. Or so you would think. The signs took us to the old information office which very helpfully had a map in the window of where the new one was about half a mile away.
On arrival we explained that we were from Launceston in Cornwall and immediately got a lesson in pronunciation. We felt truly humbled. We did get a map and some instructions on how to get to the gorge, which is one of the major sites. This turned out to be very close to where we had been dropped off and so we trudged back. The gorge is spectacular but it took us a good twenty minutes to walk it to a little cafe at the top where we had a coffee and a piece of orange cake.
We descended by chair lift, which was a great experience however, this left us on the wrong side of the hill and we had to walk back into Launceston. How strange that both places are so very hilly.
One of our hosts had given us a contact in Launceston College and Jason met us at reception before showing us around the school.It was the first day back for students after their long summer break and there was the general milling around that one would expect. It is a strange feeling to be in a sister school on the other side of the world.
After our visit we walked into town and had some lunch and then just because we are gluttons for punishment we walked around the shops, failing in our objective of getting some postcards of Launceston, nobody seems to have made any postcards of the place.
By this time we had walked about eight miles and stupidly we decided to walk to the Queen Victoria museum which is meant to be one of the best small museums in Australia. Interestingly the museum had no postcards and so our postcard hunt was well and truly stymied.
The museum would have been great had the gallery on colonial art been open. It was closed for refurbishment, which is pretty much the story of our journey. We walked around the museum and really enjoyed an exhibition of high school students' work. As Simon was picking us up at three we had a drink in the cafe there and the very kind girl behind the counter, who obviously thought we were starving gave us a free greek salad, as she would only have to throw it away otherwise. It must have been our impoverished look.
Simon picked us up and we drove home the back way via Callington Mill a restored cap windmill and then on through Richmond a lovely little town.
We were truly exhausted on our return and almost straight after tea went to bed.
Firstly I should have mentioned that on our way down to Port Arthur we passed through scenes of devastation caused by the recent serious bush fire. It is very distressing to see houses burnt down to the ground and in one town they have lost almost everything, their school, shop, garage and bakery have all gone.
It had been agreed that Simon would drive us to Launceston on Tuesday and so we had to get up at quarter to six to be ready for him to pick us up at seven o clock. Simon is a fount of knowledge and the two hour trip passed in a flash. He dropped us off outside the supreme court opposite some sixty or so people who were milling around. As we picked up our rucksack the court opened and they all milled in, perhaps they were jurors, who knows?
We set off in search of the tourist information office, which should have been relatively easy as all we had to do was to follow the large blue and yellow "i's" which had been conveniently placed on lamposts. Or so you would think. The signs took us to the old information office which very helpfully had a map in the window of where the new one was about half a mile away.
On arrival we explained that we were from Launceston in Cornwall and immediately got a lesson in pronunciation. We felt truly humbled. We did get a map and some instructions on how to get to the gorge, which is one of the major sites. This turned out to be very close to where we had been dropped off and so we trudged back. The gorge is spectacular but it took us a good twenty minutes to walk it to a little cafe at the top where we had a coffee and a piece of orange cake.
We descended by chair lift, which was a great experience however, this left us on the wrong side of the hill and we had to walk back into Launceston. How strange that both places are so very hilly.
One of our hosts had given us a contact in Launceston College and Jason met us at reception before showing us around the school.It was the first day back for students after their long summer break and there was the general milling around that one would expect. It is a strange feeling to be in a sister school on the other side of the world.
After our visit we walked into town and had some lunch and then just because we are gluttons for punishment we walked around the shops, failing in our objective of getting some postcards of Launceston, nobody seems to have made any postcards of the place.
By this time we had walked about eight miles and stupidly we decided to walk to the Queen Victoria museum which is meant to be one of the best small museums in Australia. Interestingly the museum had no postcards and so our postcard hunt was well and truly stymied.
The museum would have been great had the gallery on colonial art been open. It was closed for refurbishment, which is pretty much the story of our journey. We walked around the museum and really enjoyed an exhibition of high school students' work. As Simon was picking us up at three we had a drink in the cafe there and the very kind girl behind the counter, who obviously thought we were starving gave us a free greek salad, as she would only have to throw it away otherwise. It must have been our impoverished look.
Simon picked us up and we drove home the back way via Callington Mill a restored cap windmill and then on through Richmond a lovely little town.
We were truly exhausted on our return and almost straight after tea went to bed.
Monday and Port Arthur
It was agreed that we would borrow Rennie's car to make the trip to Port Arthur.We had to be up at 6.45 so that we could pick Guilia and John up at 8.30 outside Hobart Town Hall. this was the first time I had driven this car and after a few teething problems soon got the hang of it. We set off and arrived at Port Arthur about an hour and a half later. The setting of this penal colony is wonderful ad it looks like paradise but unfortunately the beauty hides a very sinister history. The only convicts sent here were the ones who misbehaved in Hobart and there was really no escape.
We had a boat trip which was great although the winds coming from Antarctica were very cold. I was more than glad to get off the boat. After our maritime adventure we had a look around the exhibition and found the convict I had been allotted on entry. It turned out he was there because he refused to take orders which Rosemarie found highly comical. We then went on a guided walk with a chap who had the most unfortunate way of talking, he put pauses in sentences where they should not have been and had inflections at the end of each sentence.
After the walk we went off to have lunch before we all went our separate ways. Rosemarie and I visited the ruined church, the solitary confinement unit the commandants' cottage.
On the way home we visited Remarkable Cove where the coastline is very like that of Cornwall, nothing beyond but a 10 day trip to Antarctica. We drove back via Pirate's bay which was wonderful and arrived back in Hobart at 5.30.
We headed straight off to a barbecue which was great until the sun went down when the temperature went down rapidly. Ans and her partner Peter took us home and we had an early night, tired but also very thoughtful about what we had seen.
It was agreed that we would borrow Rennie's car to make the trip to Port Arthur.We had to be up at 6.45 so that we could pick Guilia and John up at 8.30 outside Hobart Town Hall. this was the first time I had driven this car and after a few teething problems soon got the hang of it. We set off and arrived at Port Arthur about an hour and a half later. The setting of this penal colony is wonderful ad it looks like paradise but unfortunately the beauty hides a very sinister history. The only convicts sent here were the ones who misbehaved in Hobart and there was really no escape.
We had a boat trip which was great although the winds coming from Antarctica were very cold. I was more than glad to get off the boat. After our maritime adventure we had a look around the exhibition and found the convict I had been allotted on entry. It turned out he was there because he refused to take orders which Rosemarie found highly comical. We then went on a guided walk with a chap who had the most unfortunate way of talking, he put pauses in sentences where they should not have been and had inflections at the end of each sentence.
After the walk we went off to have lunch before we all went our separate ways. Rosemarie and I visited the ruined church, the solitary confinement unit the commandants' cottage.
On the way home we visited Remarkable Cove where the coastline is very like that of Cornwall, nothing beyond but a 10 day trip to Antarctica. We drove back via Pirate's bay which was wonderful and arrived back in Hobart at 5.30.
We headed straight off to a barbecue which was great until the sun went down when the temperature went down rapidly. Ans and her partner Peter took us home and we had an early night, tired but also very thoughtful about what we had seen.
Wednesday 6 February 2013
Sunday was bright and hot and we were off to Hobart again to follow a walk in the morning about William Cuffay, a leading Chartist. The walk was a really good experience and although we walked miles we saw a lot of great architecture and we learnt a great deal about convict history.
The walk was a dramatic affair and included readings from newspapers detailing events of the time, we all had a good laugh and at other times it was very sad and thought provoking.
After the walk was over we walked back to Rennie's car and went off to North Hobart to find a bakery where we could buy something for lunch. Having achieved this we went back to a park to eat it. Rennie was determined that I should be I time and rushed us off to the venue I needed to read my notes so went off to another bar to do that. The afternoon went well and every one seemed pleased with my input.
When the talks were over we stayed for a beer and chatted before heading back to Guilia's for a wonderful pasta meal.
There is something very pleasing about finishing an event you have planned for months and talks you have worked on for a long time.
After the meal we headed back to Rennie's where an early night seemed very appropriate.
The history school went well and all concerned seemed to be very pleased, it was a fantastic time and everyone had been so helpful and kind it was a privilege to do the whole thing. At the end I was given a bottle of wine and a Tasmanian cheese which was a really nice gift.
So a job that went really well with a goup of really nice people, who could ask for more?
The walk was a dramatic affair and included readings from newspapers detailing events of the time, we all had a good laugh and at other times it was very sad and thought provoking.
After the walk was over we walked back to Rennie's car and went off to North Hobart to find a bakery where we could buy something for lunch. Having achieved this we went back to a park to eat it. Rennie was determined that I should be I time and rushed us off to the venue I needed to read my notes so went off to another bar to do that. The afternoon went well and every one seemed pleased with my input.
When the talks were over we stayed for a beer and chatted before heading back to Guilia's for a wonderful pasta meal.
There is something very pleasing about finishing an event you have planned for months and talks you have worked on for a long time.
After the meal we headed back to Rennie's where an early night seemed very appropriate.
The history school went well and all concerned seemed to be very pleased, it was a fantastic time and everyone had been so helpful and kind it was a privilege to do the whole thing. At the end I was given a bottle of wine and a Tasmanian cheese which was a really nice gift.
So a job that went really well with a goup of really nice people, who could ask for more?
Tuesday 5 February 2013
What is it that will make 30 people come to listen to me talk on a Saturday afternoon?
Saturday morning was cold and we were up and washed and dressed fairly quickly. Rennie drove us down to Salamanca market where we met Guilia and Simon for a cup of coffee and what turned out to be breakfast. Rosemarie and I having eaten at Rennie's chose the savoury muffin which when it arrived turned out to the largest muffin in the world. It spread across the plate like the fall out from a nuclear explosion.
In fact it was so large that we couldn't eat all of it and had to leave some. After breakfast Rennie's had to go and do some shopping, so we said we would wander the market and meet him by the apple stall. This would have been a perfectly fine arrangement had an apple stall existed in the market! Rosemarie and I strolled the market from one end of the market to the other in search of the said stall and in the end had to ring Rennie to find out where he was. He swore blind that this was the first time that the apple man hadn't been there.
After the market we drove up Mount Wellington where the view was fantastic. Lunch at Rennie's followed and then Rennie took on the serious responsibility of getting me to the venue on time.
He achieved this in style and the talks went very well. Everyone concerned seemed very pleased. In the evening we attended the concert and I took part in a question panel session where I had to listen very carefully to all of the questions, many of which featured Australian issues which I found very difficult to get a grasp on. Luckily I seem to have done reasonably well and there are no hunting parties out looking for my scalp.
By midnight I was extremely tired and grateful when Rennie said we could go home.
Saturday morning was cold and we were up and washed and dressed fairly quickly. Rennie drove us down to Salamanca market where we met Guilia and Simon for a cup of coffee and what turned out to be breakfast. Rosemarie and I having eaten at Rennie's chose the savoury muffin which when it arrived turned out to the largest muffin in the world. It spread across the plate like the fall out from a nuclear explosion.
In fact it was so large that we couldn't eat all of it and had to leave some. After breakfast Rennie's had to go and do some shopping, so we said we would wander the market and meet him by the apple stall. This would have been a perfectly fine arrangement had an apple stall existed in the market! Rosemarie and I strolled the market from one end of the market to the other in search of the said stall and in the end had to ring Rennie to find out where he was. He swore blind that this was the first time that the apple man hadn't been there.
After the market we drove up Mount Wellington where the view was fantastic. Lunch at Rennie's followed and then Rennie took on the serious responsibility of getting me to the venue on time.
He achieved this in style and the talks went very well. Everyone concerned seemed very pleased. In the evening we attended the concert and I took part in a question panel session where I had to listen very carefully to all of the questions, many of which featured Australian issues which I found very difficult to get a grasp on. Luckily I seem to have done reasonably well and there are no hunting parties out looking for my scalp.
By midnight I was extremely tired and grateful when Rennie said we could go home.
Sunday 3 February 2013
Tasmania
Up at 4.30 to catch the flight to Tasmania, we ended up with a lot of red eye. The transfer from the hotel to the airport worked really well and having checked in we were able to have a yoghurt and a cup of coffee as our breakfast. Onto the flight with no fuss we were dished up breakfast which Rosemarie didn't like as it was muesli with no alternative. As soon as breakfast was over we were in the process of of landing .
Off the plane with no problems our bags arrived on time and we were out side waiting for our friend Renee to pick us up. He arrived within ten minutes and we whisked off to Hobart. In Hobart Renee had to work all day and so we were left to our own devices. Renee had suggested that we take a river boat cruise up the river Derwent or a bus trip around the city. We walked to the tourist office to book the boat trip only to discover that the boat trip only ran at the weekends and this was a Friday.
Whilst we were standing there, on the computer screen besides us a bus trip came up which advertised a trip around the city. After a brief discussion we decided to take the offer and bought our tickets. We just had time to grab a quick cup of coffee and board the bus.
The three hours on the trip were very enjoyable. We visited Angelsey barracks, Battery Point, Rosny Lookout, the Cascade Gardens, the women's factory, and the botanical gardens.
On our return to our starting point we walked around the shops before having a fish and trip lunch which was really good,after lunch we walked around the harbour and then went and had a quick half in a bar which had free Internet . This was a good excuse for me to have a ten fifteen minute snooze after which I felt much better.
After that we went back to Renee's office so that I could read my talks for tomorrow, after about quarter of n hour Renee came in and asked us to join him in a glass of wine with his boss.We then went off to the Lark pub where we were greeted with open arms by old friends, so we stayed for a couple of pints before heading back to Renee's with a pizza and retiring for the night. Everyone we have met has just been so wonderfully hospitable and we are truly grateful for everything people have done for us.
Up at 4.30 to catch the flight to Tasmania, we ended up with a lot of red eye. The transfer from the hotel to the airport worked really well and having checked in we were able to have a yoghurt and a cup of coffee as our breakfast. Onto the flight with no fuss we were dished up breakfast which Rosemarie didn't like as it was muesli with no alternative. As soon as breakfast was over we were in the process of of landing .
Off the plane with no problems our bags arrived on time and we were out side waiting for our friend Renee to pick us up. He arrived within ten minutes and we whisked off to Hobart. In Hobart Renee had to work all day and so we were left to our own devices. Renee had suggested that we take a river boat cruise up the river Derwent or a bus trip around the city. We walked to the tourist office to book the boat trip only to discover that the boat trip only ran at the weekends and this was a Friday.
Whilst we were standing there, on the computer screen besides us a bus trip came up which advertised a trip around the city. After a brief discussion we decided to take the offer and bought our tickets. We just had time to grab a quick cup of coffee and board the bus.
The three hours on the trip were very enjoyable. We visited Angelsey barracks, Battery Point, Rosny Lookout, the Cascade Gardens, the women's factory, and the botanical gardens.
On our return to our starting point we walked around the shops before having a fish and trip lunch which was really good,after lunch we walked around the harbour and then went and had a quick half in a bar which had free Internet . This was a good excuse for me to have a ten fifteen minute snooze after which I felt much better.
After that we went back to Renee's office so that I could read my talks for tomorrow, after about quarter of n hour Renee came in and asked us to join him in a glass of wine with his boss.We then went off to the Lark pub where we were greeted with open arms by old friends, so we stayed for a couple of pints before heading back to Renee's with a pizza and retiring for the night. Everyone we have met has just been so wonderfully hospitable and we are truly grateful for everything people have done for us.
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