Happy New Year!!!

Odd architecture in Federation Square, Melbourne









Melbourne Train Station


For those of you who are still with us on our travels, we say "thanks" and wish to let you know that internet cafe's are few and far between...simply because distances are so great and destinations are not always towns but parks and small villages. We believe the updates will be every week or so and if we have an opportunity to update more frequently, we will be certain to take advantage of any opportunity.

We left you back in Melbourne and had a fabulous second day there, exploring all the beautiful sites and narrow streets (very Europe) that are now used for pedestrians only. Beautiful cafe's where anyone who wishes to see or be seen can sit outside and sip their latte's while the rest of the world rolls by.

My friend Marny's husband Marc send a lovely email with suggestions on what to see while in Melbourne. One of his suggestions was to partake of the excellent pastries available there. We tried (albeit not very hard) to ignore that particular suggestion however in the end we gave in and stopped at a little chocolate shop (not exactly what you suggested Marc) to ask where the BEST pastry shop in town was to be found. As it happened, we were right around the corner from what is considered the best. It is called "Laurent Boulangerie Patisserie" and if that and the beautiful building it is housed in wasn't enough to convince us we were in deep arterial trouble, the sight of ambulances idling by the curb and cardiac paddles slung on hooks on the walls inside were enough to give fair warning. It was Christmas after all so why shouldn't we take the plunge and be really stupid with our diet? We each selected two of the most decadent pastries and off we went with our heart-stopping prizes in the most beautiful box seen this side of Pusateri's.

Lunch was at a terrific sushi restaurant and we strolled the main drag past windows with animated Christmas stories. Remember the Eaton's windows? Well most of us know that The Bay does that now however we had seen nothing like this! The theme was "Wombat Christmas" and all the characters were critters of Australia. It was a hoot and the lineup to view numbered in the thousands. Very cute!

Back to the camp where we prepared for departure to the ferry dock and Christmas Eve on the Tasmanian Ferry. What a beautiful location! It is set among trendy restaurants and looks much like Miami. Tall palms and beautiful boulevards.



Unlike Canada where everything stops early on Christmas Eve, stores and restaurants are open here quite late. Our boat sailed at 9 pm and many well dresses people were arriving at restaurants at the dock just before we sailed.

Just as we were about to be boarded, a huge black cloud appeared and it had a funnel appearance. This cloud was accompanied by 90 km winds (so they say). I actually asked one of the security people if this was a tornado and if the ship would sail. He expected it to be momentary...he said....and so on we went.

You may not be aware that in Australia you are not allowed to transport fruit and veg between states because of fruit flies. Kind of ironic to a Canadian who experiences them every summer and also considering there are so many other creatures here that I wouldn't wish to see transported state to state. There is a quarantine so it means you must dispose of all of it. It makes it interesting when organizing one's cupboards and it also meant that we wouldn't have mashed potatoes or fresh veg with our chicken for Christmas Day dinner. The quarantine officials on both sides (Melbourne and Devonport) inspect inside the vehicle. I had garlic buds in oil and even that was confiscated.

The ship was top drawer and we had business seats which meant reclining chairs with leg support so we were able to get a few good hours sleep.

The trip was extremely rough with high winds and 5 m waves....and apparently there were several passengers who didn't fare that well (enough said!). We arrived in Devonport at 7 a.m. Christmas morning and following another quarantine check, we rolled off to find the closest phone booth so we could call our families.

We know that Canada and especially Ontario has been very warm and let me tell you that the world was definitely upside down on Christmas Day. The temperature was only 5C and with the high winds, it was pretty nippy in that phone booth!

We drove across the top of Tasmania to the north-west tip of the island. We wanted to visit the spot where there is nothing between Tassie and Argentina. Such huge surf and rough coastline. It is beautiful there and the vegetation is much greener than the mainland. The fires Tasmania had been battling were now out and were in the north-east corner of the island where it is much drier than the west. They lost 85,000 hectares, approximately 10% of what the mainland has lost so far.

Pressing on down through the middle of the island, we stayed the night at Cradle Mountain Park and were thrilled to find a momma wallabie and joey in our campsite. Each site was nestled among trees and very private from the next. The cookhouses had log fires and it was all very sweet. Our site was not powered so we went to bed "rugged up" as they say here with heavy wool socks, sweaters and jammy's and good hugging.

The weather in Australia has definitely not been what we expected and we understand it is very unusual. Since our arrival early December we have only had 5 days with temps above 24C. The Tasmanian temps ranged from 5C to 21C so we haven't suffered, it's just been strange. We heard that there was some snow however we didn't see any of it.

So there I was, getting out of the van in bare feet at our camp site and just as I was about to step down I saw .......












So, did you believe me? Just messing with your minds because it's what you've been waiting for right? This is one of Australia's deadly snakes and thank the lord, it was in captivity. God will no doubt punish me for this rotten trick. I believe if I do see one in the wild I'll be on the next plane home!!!

The next day we visited a privately funded reserve and educational centre where they breed and study Tasmanian Devils. The devils on the east side of the mountain range have a facial cancer that is spread when they scrap with each other for food. The tumours adhere to the scratches on the faces of their opponents and gradually as the tumours grow, the devils starve to death. This centre is new and working with the government to determine how they get the tumour in the first place and also to prevent the spread to the animals on the west side of the mountain.

Our guide Gail brought us a juvenile female and she let us pat it. So very cute and not the horror that they are reputed to be. They are scavengers not predators so will eat only dead animals. Their enemies are man and the cancer that is killing them. They find their food on highways and of course are killed by vehicles. The devils used to be on the mainland however are now extinct there.









We moved on to Tarraleah for the night, a lovely camp although a bit strange in that it looked like a ghost town. It used to be a busy little town for those who were building the local power plants and once the plants were built and all technology moved to the city, the town was abandoned. A Tassie family purchased the entire town, apparently for a song we were told, and have turned everything into rental properties. The school is now backpacker residences, the cinema is now the tavern and the houses are longer term rentals. It is top drawer and a good stop for people moving from the top of the island to the bottom as it is just about 1/2 way to Hobart.









Photos: Water pipes to drive the power plants at Tarraleah. Bob and the lupens

There is a huge battle between conservationists and loggers in Tassie. Our Lonely Planet Guide stated clearly to avoid any discussions re logging. Here's some perspective for you. According to a senator here, 150,000 logging trucks left the island last year, loaded with ancient eucalyptus and other trees....off to the chippers for chopping and shipping to Japan. Following the logging, the land is firebombed, killing any living thing left behind. We did see signs of some reforesting however not as much as we would have expected. What we found very shocking about these facts is that the island is only about 350 km wide and 500 km in length.

December 27 - Snug Harbour, a beautiful camp on the water just south of Hobart. We spent the day in Hobart walking through trendy Salamanca District, visiting and eating fish and chips at the harbour and watching the preparations for the Sydney to Hobart Boxing Day sailing celebrations. They expected the boats to arrive approximately 72 hours after the departure. You may know that due to heavy seas and high winds, there were some disasters however no lives lost.









Dec 28 - Left Snug and started up the east coast to Bicheno. Great highway sign and not certain what it meant "Speedo Check Ahead" however it got our imaginations going and we had a huge belly-laugh. Thank God Bob didn't pack his Speedo for this trip!

We stopped along the way at Eaglehawkneck on the Forestier Peninsula; saw Devils Kitchen where the sea throws itself through holes in the limestone outcroppings and Tessellated Concrete which is rock etched by the sea and sea salt to create a result that looks like etched concrete.

At Dunnelly we stopped to pick up fresh fish on the wharf. The owner, his wife and two children run the shop and they have made it extra interesting with old-fashioned bathtubs filled with exotic fish for viewing. We bough flathead which is a fish we'd not seen until then. He declared it the best fish you could eat and said most people in Australia would not agree. We DO agree! It was wonderful!! We also bought oysters, smoked salmon and tuna.

Dec 29 - Bicheno is a great place. Our camp was on a cliff overlooking the sea. We watched for the sailboats participating in the Sydney to Hobard race however didn't see any. Wallabies bounded around the property and one startled Bob as he came back to the van in the early evening. We love watching them!

Dec 30 - We had to return to Devonport to catch the ferry back to Melbourne and on the way we stopped at Natureworld to see some of the wildlife we thought we might not see in the wild. To date we had not seen a wombat so that was first on our list. It was feeding time and we got to pat the wombat and see koala's for the first time. There was a cockatoo that called to us as we passed "Hello cockee!" So adorable and smart.













We stopped for lunch at Elephant Pass Pancake House. They make European style pancakes which are simply delicious! Yum Yum!!!

Arriving in Devonport around 2 pm gave us time to wander around, buy some cd's and have dinner before we were boarded at 7 pm for the 9 pm sailing.

Great crossing with calm seas and no wind.

Dec 30 Off the ship at 7 am and on to the Great Ocean Road. Stopped at Geelong for breakfast. Passed through Torquay, Anglesea, Lorne and Apollo Bay. It is now peak season and these well known places were packed with tourists and Aussies on holiday. We breezed through and on to see the 12 Apostles, limestone formations in the ocean that are beginning to crumble but are still spectacular in their turquoise sea setting.










Our camp for the night was at Port Campbell and was an accidental find. We had stopped to call ahead to some camps at Warrnambool however found that non were available. We had been warned by many Aussie's that we should have booked far in advance because of holidays however were told by some of the camp managers that they hold several sites for people like us who fly by the seat of their pants. It seems that Aussie's aren't privy to this information....which makes it nice for tourists. Since we couldn't find anything down the road we decided to visit Port Campbell's tourist centre. As we left the van and were about to enter the kiosk I noticed a National Park sign to our left with a sign stating they had sites available. We booked in and had a wonderful evening. Down at the wharf at sunset we met two terrific local couples who frequently camp there. One of the couples lives in Cobden which is sister town to Cobden, Ontario, Cobden, Illinois and Cobden, New Zealand. Around 40 couples from each country get together every couple of years. They have been to Ontario and western Canada and loved it.
We had a good laugh with them.

Dec 31 - We travelled to Mt. Gambier to a camp set among craters...all dormant so we were told however after our experience in the Galapagos we wondered. One of the craters is sapphire blue and is the source of water for the city of Mt. Gambier. Another crater also has water and is a recreational area with a beach and boating. The third crater is filled with trees. A beautiful setting. Our site was under enormous trees and a great place to celebrate New Years.

We managed to stay awake until midnight and expected that since there were lots of families in the park, we'd have lots of noise as the clock struck. We sat outside in our comfy chairs and at midnight there was NOTHING!!! .....except for two guys who almost whispered "Happy New Year!" We couldn't believe it! We popped our Tassie champagne (yes, we got great wine and champers in Tassie!!!), had a kiss then went to bed. It was kind of surreal to be sitting outside at New Year's. We needed a sweater but it was still comfy.

Jan 1/07 - We liked it so much at Gambier that we decided to stay another night. Someone has turned the heat on and the temps are now in the 30's. Avoiding the mid-day heat we had two hikes; one early a.m. and another later in the day. Sleeping at night has been wonderful as the temperature drops into the teens. This city is definitely a "rich" city. The homes are fabulous and although it's dry here as well, irrigation is happening as evidenced by the lawns we passed.

Jan 2 - We left Mt. Gambier early and were rolling down the road toward Adelaide....a 470km drive. We passed through (keeping our eyes averted) lush wine country and vineyards bordered with amazing rose bushes. Towns here are much more upscale than we've seen as not as "strip mall" in their architecture. Enormous lavender farms bordered Hwy A66 and trenches filled with water bordered the fields. It seems this is the way they irrigate although we didn't see how they get the water from the ditches to the fields.

Our campground is beautiful and we are well shaded under huge trees. It is only 5 km to city centre and the temperature is now 35C. We used our air con for the 2nd time since we arrived and had a great sleep.

Jan 3 - Another beautiful day and an adventure in downtown Adelaide. This truly is a gorgeous city and it is obvious that it too is doing very well. Beautiful architecture, clean and nicely paced. The homes we rode past on the bus are spectacular. Lots and lots of money honey!!!

We are sitting in an internet cafe at the moment with groovy music belting in the background.

Tomorrow the temp is to rise to 40C and we will be off to Kangaroo Island so we can bask in the sea breezes. We'll be there for two days then back to Adelaide for a night....then on toward Perth. Many, many km's ahead of us....about 2900 from here to there however I'M NOW DRIVING!!! Don't fall off your chairs....I did it!

I have been asked why I've been nervous to drive. The one inhibitor you find here that you don't find at home is the roundabout......the most efficient of traffic filters however the most intimidating to me. At first it seems simply insane and then you begin to see how awesome they are. Reduced need for traffic lights and people have to slow down and respect others coming 'round. I must say that years ago in England I just couldn't fathom them and I felt slightly nauseous in N.Z. as we closed our eyes and bolted through the first 5000 Bob navigated. I'm up and running and will let you know how it goes.

All the best to everyone for 2007!

Blessings!!!