Sunday, January 15, 2012
Good Thing Greater Western Sydney Chose That Name
The newest AFL team, Greater Western Sydney, or GWS, should be glad that they chose that name. If they had called themselves the Sydney Funnel Webs, after the spider of the same name, they may have been unfortunate enough to have drafted fallen-from-grace former AFL footballer Brendan Fevola. Fev, as he is more widely known, appears to have been bitten by a spider recently and ended up in hospital. That wouldn't have been good publicity, would it?
Sunday, January 08, 2012
Melbourne-Tassie Holiday 2011 - Day 15
Overnight it was pouring with rain which made me very glad that I looked at Cradle Mountain last night as it would be shrouded in cloud and an utter disappointment today. And so it proved to be. After breakfast I looked for some fuel but it was $1.965/L at the visitor centre and I asked if fuel would be available in the town of Moina, some 24 kms away. A woman who lived in Perth but worked at the park said that it would be.
In a bid to conserve fuel I drove at 60-70 km/h which was a good idea as the cafe/servo at Moina was closed for winter. Winter which finished six weeks ago mind you. The nearest fuel was, you guessed it, at the visitor centre 24 kms back up the road (and up the mountain). I decided to drive to Staverton and was a little disappointed to find only three or four houses and one antique fuel bowser. Knocked on a couple of doors to ask where the nearest petrol station was and one guy told me that it was 15 kms down the road (in Sheffield). Drove very slowly until we reached Sheffield then discovered a petrol station that was completely automated. I must have driven for close to 25-30 kms with the low fuel light coming on and off.
On the journey to put fuel in I'd noticed a sign for a town called Nowhere Else and decided to backtrack to investigate. Turned out to be nothing more than a couple of farms. Bit of traffic about though.
Back in Sheffield I found murals all about the town. No wonder they call it the Town of Murals. Very pretty and a great tourist attraction. Bought some souvenirs and asked for directions to Marakoopa for the caves to which the shop owner quickly provided a map.
As I approached the turnoff for Marakoopa Caves I noticed that we only had a few minutes until the next tour started - but we weren't the last to join. Brian, the guide, gave a great tour complete with stalactites, stalagmites, mightytites, flow, melted cheese, straws, pendutites, two rivers and glowworms! He has done more than 1755 tours. We went 400m inside the cave and weren't disappointed. The fine for breaking off some of the furniture for a souvenir is $15,000 and they've fined three people to date. Tour finished at 1pm and we headed to Perth, Tasmania. I drove quite slowly as fuel was getting low once again.
By the time we arrived in Perth it was raining quite heavily. No postcards available, except at the post office which was closed, so we hunted for food. I ate a wallaby sausage at Utsi - a cafe made from a converted church. The lady at the visitor centre at Cradle Mountain had said to try the food there. Finally found a place that sold food, the restaurant at the petrol station, and we had nachos and a King Island pie. Not bad.
Asked for directions to the airport, as there were two ways to go. They told me the quicker way which was about three kilometres further - not that I had the fuel for it.
Well, I'm sure that the car was out of fuel. My rental agreement was that I purchased a tank of fuel and any fuel that was in the vehicle was free for Avis. They weren't getting any freebies from me, not after the insurance incident at the start of the car hire. At Avis' desk the girl tried to inform me that the total price payable would have fuel added to the rental/insurance, etc, but I pointed out that I had paid for a tank of fuel. After telling her she was then able to inform me that I was correct. Their slogan, "We Try Harder", may be correct in that they try it on. Not a pleasant experience, really.
Quite a queue for the check-in for Qantas Link. And right behind us was a Japanese family that took the cave tour with us. Down in the waiting lounge there was a Jetstar flight that was delayed for 30 mins. We started boarding at our scheduled departure time and so were some 20-25 mins late in leaving. With a 150 km/h headwind we weren't going to make up any time into Melbourne. No probs as we had four hours to kill anyway.
Melbourne-Tassie Trip 2011 Photo Album No.3 - See photos 105-162.
In a bid to conserve fuel I drove at 60-70 km/h which was a good idea as the cafe/servo at Moina was closed for winter. Winter which finished six weeks ago mind you. The nearest fuel was, you guessed it, at the visitor centre 24 kms back up the road (and up the mountain). I decided to drive to Staverton and was a little disappointed to find only three or four houses and one antique fuel bowser. Knocked on a couple of doors to ask where the nearest petrol station was and one guy told me that it was 15 kms down the road (in Sheffield). Drove very slowly until we reached Sheffield then discovered a petrol station that was completely automated. I must have driven for close to 25-30 kms with the low fuel light coming on and off.
On the journey to put fuel in I'd noticed a sign for a town called Nowhere Else and decided to backtrack to investigate. Turned out to be nothing more than a couple of farms. Bit of traffic about though.
Back in Sheffield I found murals all about the town. No wonder they call it the Town of Murals. Very pretty and a great tourist attraction. Bought some souvenirs and asked for directions to Marakoopa for the caves to which the shop owner quickly provided a map.
As I approached the turnoff for Marakoopa Caves I noticed that we only had a few minutes until the next tour started - but we weren't the last to join. Brian, the guide, gave a great tour complete with stalactites, stalagmites, mightytites, flow, melted cheese, straws, pendutites, two rivers and glowworms! He has done more than 1755 tours. We went 400m inside the cave and weren't disappointed. The fine for breaking off some of the furniture for a souvenir is $15,000 and they've fined three people to date. Tour finished at 1pm and we headed to Perth, Tasmania. I drove quite slowly as fuel was getting low once again.
By the time we arrived in Perth it was raining quite heavily. No postcards available, except at the post office which was closed, so we hunted for food. I ate a wallaby sausage at Utsi - a cafe made from a converted church. The lady at the visitor centre at Cradle Mountain had said to try the food there. Finally found a place that sold food, the restaurant at the petrol station, and we had nachos and a King Island pie. Not bad.
Asked for directions to the airport, as there were two ways to go. They told me the quicker way which was about three kilometres further - not that I had the fuel for it.
Well, I'm sure that the car was out of fuel. My rental agreement was that I purchased a tank of fuel and any fuel that was in the vehicle was free for Avis. They weren't getting any freebies from me, not after the insurance incident at the start of the car hire. At Avis' desk the girl tried to inform me that the total price payable would have fuel added to the rental/insurance, etc, but I pointed out that I had paid for a tank of fuel. After telling her she was then able to inform me that I was correct. Their slogan, "We Try Harder", may be correct in that they try it on. Not a pleasant experience, really.
Quite a queue for the check-in for Qantas Link. And right behind us was a Japanese family that took the cave tour with us. Down in the waiting lounge there was a Jetstar flight that was delayed for 30 mins. We started boarding at our scheduled departure time and so were some 20-25 mins late in leaving. With a 150 km/h headwind we weren't going to make up any time into Melbourne. No probs as we had four hours to kill anyway.
Melbourne-Tassie Trip 2011 Photo Album No.3 - See photos 105-162.
Melbourne-Tassie Holiday 2011 - Day 14
Early start to the day as the cruise on the Gordon River started at 8:30 am and we had to be ready before then. Brekky and check out to take care of before finding parking all day for $2.
Boarded the Lady Jane Franklin II amongst the 89 passengers and we had a seat in the middle of the lower deck. But we were free to wander around on all decks. The captain, Rob, took us through Hell's Gates, at the entrance to Macquarie Harbour, and the entrance was only 65ft wide. Our ship was 9.5m wide, a smidgen over 31ft, so there wasn't much room for error. Met up with the Davies couple, from yesterdays train ride, and said hello.
The cruise through Macquarie Harbour, at a cracking pace, took us past some salmon/trout farms. With no natural predators the fish do quite well. As we approached the Gordon River the pace slowed considerably. This was to protect the river bank.
I wondered about the lack of birdlife on the river and it turns out that the river is too deep for normal waterbirds near the bank. All of the big Huon pines have been harvested from the area by convict labour in the 1820s and 30s, and by the piners in later years, so there wasn't a lot of big trees to see.
We stopped at Heritage Landing and The Boy was given the job of counting chimneys created by burrowing crayfish, of which we didn't spot one (probably because they are nocturnal). He reached 1,031 in the 30 minutes that we were there.
The ship turned around and lunch was served. Luckily I noticed that the pasta had pesto as The Boy had quite a bit on his plate and with his allergy that could have been very serious. New plate required. Lots of tasty salmon to eat.
Cruised back to Sarah Island which was settled by convicts in 1822. A total of 131 ships were built in 12 years (96 in the five years that Captain David Hoy was in charge). We were given a tour by Jane Flanagan, from The Round Earth Company, and that was very informative. After the play last night I wanted her to be our guide.
Once back on dry land I did some searching for decent souvenirs and went to the sawmill. There is a huge fine for cutting down the protected Huon pines so only driftwood, which doesn't rot, can be used. Therefore the wood is quite expensive. Bought a mixing bowl and spoon for the missus.
Back in the car and The Boy remembered where the road to Zeehan was. Some dumb woman stopped in front of us, in the middle of the road halfway down the highway, with no indication, just so that she could take a photo. And it was in a spot where overtaking was not allowed! Some people should just not be allowed to drive vehicles. Full stop.
Much to my disgust, and against of the guarantees I had been given, it wasn't raining when we reached Zeehan. Strahan has only 40 days a year when it doesn't rain and we enjoyed two of them consecutively. I planned to visit Montezuma Falls nearby but with a three hour return journey on foot I thought "bugger that".
Drove into Cradle Mt - Lake St Clair National Park and had another person stop in front of me in a no overtaking zone - on a bloody steep hill this time! Stupid tourists should be barred entry into Tasmania. It would seem that idiot drivers flock to Tassie.
Cradle Mountain itself was experiencing clear skies and great views. Called into the YHA to book a room and they upgraded us to a 4-bunk room at no extra charge. In fact, we had the 6-room bungalow to ourselves. Bought some very expensive groceries also.
Across the road to the Visitor Centre to buy a Parks Pass but as it was already ten past five they had shut for the day. Was fortunate enough to see an employee and asked about the pass and she showed me the after hours pass, of which there were only two left to buy, and told me how to fill it in. I put $24.75 in coins into the envelope only to discover that I couldn't put it into the box.
Drove into the park which has some 40 one lane sections until you reach Dove Lake near the mountain. Had to fill in a booklet detailing our planned walk - to Dove Lake boat shed and Glacier Rock at Dove Lake. Certainly came in a bit colder and the clouds finally came in. Beautiful walk and fantastic scenery. A terrific place to visit.
The drive back to our accommodation was about 18 minutes without traffic so we certainly picked a good time to visit. Tea time and then off to our room. The tiniest bit of rain fell at 8pm.
Melbourne-Tassie Trip 2011 Photo Album No.3 - See photos 41-104.
Boarded the Lady Jane Franklin II amongst the 89 passengers and we had a seat in the middle of the lower deck. But we were free to wander around on all decks. The captain, Rob, took us through Hell's Gates, at the entrance to Macquarie Harbour, and the entrance was only 65ft wide. Our ship was 9.5m wide, a smidgen over 31ft, so there wasn't much room for error. Met up with the Davies couple, from yesterdays train ride, and said hello.
The cruise through Macquarie Harbour, at a cracking pace, took us past some salmon/trout farms. With no natural predators the fish do quite well. As we approached the Gordon River the pace slowed considerably. This was to protect the river bank.
I wondered about the lack of birdlife on the river and it turns out that the river is too deep for normal waterbirds near the bank. All of the big Huon pines have been harvested from the area by convict labour in the 1820s and 30s, and by the piners in later years, so there wasn't a lot of big trees to see.
We stopped at Heritage Landing and The Boy was given the job of counting chimneys created by burrowing crayfish, of which we didn't spot one (probably because they are nocturnal). He reached 1,031 in the 30 minutes that we were there.
The ship turned around and lunch was served. Luckily I noticed that the pasta had pesto as The Boy had quite a bit on his plate and with his allergy that could have been very serious. New plate required. Lots of tasty salmon to eat.
Cruised back to Sarah Island which was settled by convicts in 1822. A total of 131 ships were built in 12 years (96 in the five years that Captain David Hoy was in charge). We were given a tour by Jane Flanagan, from The Round Earth Company, and that was very informative. After the play last night I wanted her to be our guide.
Once back on dry land I did some searching for decent souvenirs and went to the sawmill. There is a huge fine for cutting down the protected Huon pines so only driftwood, which doesn't rot, can be used. Therefore the wood is quite expensive. Bought a mixing bowl and spoon for the missus.
Back in the car and The Boy remembered where the road to Zeehan was. Some dumb woman stopped in front of us, in the middle of the road halfway down the highway, with no indication, just so that she could take a photo. And it was in a spot where overtaking was not allowed! Some people should just not be allowed to drive vehicles. Full stop.
Much to my disgust, and against of the guarantees I had been given, it wasn't raining when we reached Zeehan. Strahan has only 40 days a year when it doesn't rain and we enjoyed two of them consecutively. I planned to visit Montezuma Falls nearby but with a three hour return journey on foot I thought "bugger that".
Drove into Cradle Mt - Lake St Clair National Park and had another person stop in front of me in a no overtaking zone - on a bloody steep hill this time! Stupid tourists should be barred entry into Tasmania. It would seem that idiot drivers flock to Tassie.
Cradle Mountain itself was experiencing clear skies and great views. Called into the YHA to book a room and they upgraded us to a 4-bunk room at no extra charge. In fact, we had the 6-room bungalow to ourselves. Bought some very expensive groceries also.
Across the road to the Visitor Centre to buy a Parks Pass but as it was already ten past five they had shut for the day. Was fortunate enough to see an employee and asked about the pass and she showed me the after hours pass, of which there were only two left to buy, and told me how to fill it in. I put $24.75 in coins into the envelope only to discover that I couldn't put it into the box.
Drove into the park which has some 40 one lane sections until you reach Dove Lake near the mountain. Had to fill in a booklet detailing our planned walk - to Dove Lake boat shed and Glacier Rock at Dove Lake. Certainly came in a bit colder and the clouds finally came in. Beautiful walk and fantastic scenery. A terrific place to visit.
The drive back to our accommodation was about 18 minutes without traffic so we certainly picked a good time to visit. Tea time and then off to our room. The tiniest bit of rain fell at 8pm.
Melbourne-Tassie Trip 2011 Photo Album No.3 - See photos 41-104.
Thursday, January 05, 2012
Mission Impossible 4 - Ghost Protocol
Seeing as it was the holidays and new movies were in the cinemas, coupled with some free movie tickets, we decided to go out and watch something. After seeing Tintin the previous week we narrowed down the selection to the following:
Mission Impossible 4 - Ghost Protocol
Tower Heist
War Horse
After watching the trailers we deemed that MI4 was the best choice. Thought that we'd better get there a little early in case it was busy. With it being the last day of the holidays you couldn't be sure.
I parked the car where the missus said to even though it wasn't anywhere near where I wanted to. We tried to get in through the food hall area entrance but the doors were locked. Managed to talk our way through one shop that they were doing renovation work on. It was then that I remembered that I'd left my bag in the car and would have to retrieve it. Bought the tickets first and then headed out to go the long way around to return to the car.
As I entered the car park I saw a couple of guys pull up and start to walk inside. They looked a bit loose. After the long walk, reminiscent of when I first shopped at the Galleria and couldn't remember where I had parked my car (it is a big shopping centre with a BIG car park) I was in and driving towards the entrance where the cinema was situated.
Waited a few more minutes before entering before the start of the movie. The room was getting close to packed. And of course someone was sitting in our seats. There was a father and son who hadn't read the numbers properly so they only had to move over a few seats. But two guys, and guess who they should turn out to be, were in our seats. One of the guys, whom I'd seen in the car park, was upset that I wanted the seats that I had been allocated. He began to argue that they were his seats and that he was in row N. Well, my ticket was for row M and he was sitting in it. Then he tried to tell me that the alphabet went L, N then M. What a bloody dill. Even the father sitting nearby couldn't believe his ears. Well, it turns out that the people sitting behind these two were in the wrong seats as well. This guy even tried to argue that there were plenty of seats and it didn't matter. I made it quite clear that it did matter as we were a family of three and wished to sit together in OUR allocated seats. He and his friend finally moved. What a dick.
Talk about Mission Impossible. Tom Cruise had it easy compared with us just trying to obtain our seats.
Brilliant movie which everyone enjoyed. Full of action, stunts, fighting, great special effects, action, some humour, intrigue, and did I mention action? I would thoroughly recommend this movie and it is why you go to the cinema.
Mission Impossible 4 - Ghost Protocol
Tower Heist
War Horse
After watching the trailers we deemed that MI4 was the best choice. Thought that we'd better get there a little early in case it was busy. With it being the last day of the holidays you couldn't be sure.
I parked the car where the missus said to even though it wasn't anywhere near where I wanted to. We tried to get in through the food hall area entrance but the doors were locked. Managed to talk our way through one shop that they were doing renovation work on. It was then that I remembered that I'd left my bag in the car and would have to retrieve it. Bought the tickets first and then headed out to go the long way around to return to the car.
As I entered the car park I saw a couple of guys pull up and start to walk inside. They looked a bit loose. After the long walk, reminiscent of when I first shopped at the Galleria and couldn't remember where I had parked my car (it is a big shopping centre with a BIG car park) I was in and driving towards the entrance where the cinema was situated.
Waited a few more minutes before entering before the start of the movie. The room was getting close to packed. And of course someone was sitting in our seats. There was a father and son who hadn't read the numbers properly so they only had to move over a few seats. But two guys, and guess who they should turn out to be, were in our seats. One of the guys, whom I'd seen in the car park, was upset that I wanted the seats that I had been allocated. He began to argue that they were his seats and that he was in row N. Well, my ticket was for row M and he was sitting in it. Then he tried to tell me that the alphabet went L, N then M. What a bloody dill. Even the father sitting nearby couldn't believe his ears. Well, it turns out that the people sitting behind these two were in the wrong seats as well. This guy even tried to argue that there were plenty of seats and it didn't matter. I made it quite clear that it did matter as we were a family of three and wished to sit together in OUR allocated seats. He and his friend finally moved. What a dick.
Talk about Mission Impossible. Tom Cruise had it easy compared with us just trying to obtain our seats.
Brilliant movie which everyone enjoyed. Full of action, stunts, fighting, great special effects, action, some humour, intrigue, and did I mention action? I would thoroughly recommend this movie and it is why you go to the cinema.
Monday, January 02, 2012
Melbourne-Tassie Holiday 2011 - Day 13
No hassle this morning as our West Coast Wilderness Railway ride wasn't until 10:15 am. Yu-Jin and I walked to IGA to buy food for breakfast - pancakes. Took forever to cook without butter didn't taste very good. Played a bit of totem tennis and then I realised that my booking was made but I still had to collect the tickets and get to the station. Upon collection of the tickets I was informed that we had to be there at 9:45 so we still had a bit of time.
The lady giving the tour had only been doing it for three weeks and it was her first day with the whistle and flag. Her commentary was a bit muddled and she wasn't really confident in her delivery. Give her time though.
The stories that were told made the journey better. Train ride was OK, lunch was nice but the photo opportunities were few and far between. Quite difficult to obtain a decent photo at times. It is the case that the pollutants from the Mt Lyell Mine contaminated the Queen River and then the King River. No fish or wildlife can live in either river. Perhaps in 100 years time, after rehabilitation, the wildlife may return.
We had 40 minutes to wander around Queenstown until the coach left so wander we did. Not a great town to see either. The coach took 50 minutes for the journey, which took me 33 by car, and we watched a DVD entitled the West Coasters.
After the drive back to the railway station I visited Peoples Park and took the short walk to Hogarth Falls. Quite nice and I learnt that ferns only unfurl one new frond each year. Not really productive then.
Back at the YHA we went for a walk with Vince (co-owner) and Finn (his dog) around the area and past the beach. Best way to learn about the place is to take a walk with a local. The Boy and I played a few more games of pool and I had a chat with a South Korean who had trained in Melbourne to become a pilot. He was travelling around Tasmania by bus.
The Boy and I had dinner at the tavern. Schnitzels, veal, not too flash. Veggies left a lot to be desired.
Melbourne-Tassie Trip 2011 Photo Album No.3 - Photos 1-40.
The lady giving the tour had only been doing it for three weeks and it was her first day with the whistle and flag. Her commentary was a bit muddled and she wasn't really confident in her delivery. Give her time though.
The stories that were told made the journey better. Train ride was OK, lunch was nice but the photo opportunities were few and far between. Quite difficult to obtain a decent photo at times. It is the case that the pollutants from the Mt Lyell Mine contaminated the Queen River and then the King River. No fish or wildlife can live in either river. Perhaps in 100 years time, after rehabilitation, the wildlife may return.
We had 40 minutes to wander around Queenstown until the coach left so wander we did. Not a great town to see either. The coach took 50 minutes for the journey, which took me 33 by car, and we watched a DVD entitled the West Coasters.
After the drive back to the railway station I visited Peoples Park and took the short walk to Hogarth Falls. Quite nice and I learnt that ferns only unfurl one new frond each year. Not really productive then.
Back at the YHA we went for a walk with Vince (co-owner) and Finn (his dog) around the area and past the beach. Best way to learn about the place is to take a walk with a local. The Boy and I played a few more games of pool and I had a chat with a South Korean who had trained in Melbourne to become a pilot. He was travelling around Tasmania by bus.
The Boy and I had dinner at the tavern. Schnitzels, veal, not too flash. Veggies left a lot to be desired.
Melbourne-Tassie Trip 2011 Photo Album No.3 - Photos 1-40.
Sunday, January 01, 2012
Melbourne-Tassie Holiday 2011 - Day 12
Good start to the day. A hearty breakfast to attempt to finish off all of the food that Loic had prepared for us. Left at about 9:30 am for our five hour drive to Strahan and the first turn I took, on the Southern Outer, was the wrong way. Soon corrected that. Drove into Hobart looking for directions to Bridgewater or Glenorchy. Managed to head the correct way and we were on our way.
As we didn't get caught behind log trucks we made good time. In the Gordon-Franklin National Park we stopped at the Nelson Falls and walked to the 35m high falls. Pretty impressive, as were the snow covered peaks in the area. Not a great deal of traffic in the area but plenty of narrow and windy roads. It brought out the rally driver in me - albeit in a Hyundai Getz 3-door.
The entrance to Queenstown was like a moonscape and certainly not what I'd come to expect in Tasmania. Got caught behind a truck for about 2km from within Queenstown but luckily he wasn't headed down my turn off to Strahan. Managed the drive, not including the waterfall stop, in four hours for just over 300 km.
Strahan is situated on the Gordon River. Considering that the population is only 637 there seems to be accommodation for thousands. It's just that our accommodation was pretty difficult to find and it is a case of what I was anticipating to be the easiest to locate was, in fact, the most trying. Irony, eh? Stopped in town for a bit to eat and found that all of the specials had sold out at the bakery/cafe. After locating our accommodation, pretty much by accident as it isn't well sign-posted, we had a snack and a couple of games of pool before I decided that we should see a play entitled "The Ship That Never Was" by The Round Earth Company. The Boy took some convincing to come along. I was annoyed to find that the entry fee had increased, in relation to the pamphlet that I'd read, but for children under 13 it was a gold coin donation and so was actually cheaper that I had planned for.
The pantomime was great and The Boy and I both got to play parts. Talk about a good laugh and an interesting story to boot. The Boy enjoyed it far more than he had expected to. If you are in town you can't afford to miss it.
Walked into town and up to View 42° restaurant and bar for a pizza and drinks. Nice. On the way back to the YHA we stopped by the supermarket to pick up some breakfast but it was already close. Only open till 7 pm and not 12 am like Hobart and Launceston. Shower and bed.
Melbourne-Tassie Holiday 2011 Photo Album No.2 - Photos 201-238.
As we didn't get caught behind log trucks we made good time. In the Gordon-Franklin National Park we stopped at the Nelson Falls and walked to the 35m high falls. Pretty impressive, as were the snow covered peaks in the area. Not a great deal of traffic in the area but plenty of narrow and windy roads. It brought out the rally driver in me - albeit in a Hyundai Getz 3-door.
The entrance to Queenstown was like a moonscape and certainly not what I'd come to expect in Tasmania. Got caught behind a truck for about 2km from within Queenstown but luckily he wasn't headed down my turn off to Strahan. Managed the drive, not including the waterfall stop, in four hours for just over 300 km.
Strahan is situated on the Gordon River. Considering that the population is only 637 there seems to be accommodation for thousands. It's just that our accommodation was pretty difficult to find and it is a case of what I was anticipating to be the easiest to locate was, in fact, the most trying. Irony, eh? Stopped in town for a bit to eat and found that all of the specials had sold out at the bakery/cafe. After locating our accommodation, pretty much by accident as it isn't well sign-posted, we had a snack and a couple of games of pool before I decided that we should see a play entitled "The Ship That Never Was" by The Round Earth Company. The Boy took some convincing to come along. I was annoyed to find that the entry fee had increased, in relation to the pamphlet that I'd read, but for children under 13 it was a gold coin donation and so was actually cheaper that I had planned for.
The pantomime was great and The Boy and I both got to play parts. Talk about a good laugh and an interesting story to boot. The Boy enjoyed it far more than he had expected to. If you are in town you can't afford to miss it.
Walked into town and up to View 42° restaurant and bar for a pizza and drinks. Nice. On the way back to the YHA we stopped by the supermarket to pick up some breakfast but it was already close. Only open till 7 pm and not 12 am like Hobart and Launceston. Shower and bed.
Melbourne-Tassie Holiday 2011 Photo Album No.2 - Photos 201-238.
Melbourne-Tassie Holiday 2011 - Day 11
After brekky we jumped on the Southern Outlet and headed down to Huonville. I wanted to use my expensive tourist pass to obtain a free jet boat ride. The weather was quite variable and some of the hills were a bit too much for the car on the way. Weird roads in Tassie too. Gotta really pay attention to where you are going and which lane you need to be in.
Visited Huon Jet Boat Company. We were the only customers which justified my decision not to make a booking. They even waited a little longer in case anybody else turned up. Which they didn't. Still had to pay $10 ea instead of $72/$49. Needed to throw on a few extra layers of clothes and a life jacket as it was going to be cold. They waited for the rain to clear, and made reference to a snow front, before taking us out. Our driver was Andy and he gave us a great ride. We went some 12km upstream at speeds of 75-80 km/h. There were a number of high speed spins and bumpy rapids to go over. We really enjoyed ourselves and The Boy even asked for extra spins.
I planned to look through Huonville for arty things but there didn't appear to be any of those kinds of shops. So I ended up driving straight out of the place. Next stop - Mt Wellington.
Didn't take long to get back to Hobart, as the roads aren't bad, but the road up the Mountain isn't quite so good. The drive up the Mountain is over 10 kms long. I was worried about the car hire agreement which states that the car can't be taken above the snow line. We stopped the car at The Chalet, 1000m above sea level, and walked a fair way up the road. Enough snow for us to have a snowball fight. I copped a few hits to the back but The Boy got a nice one to the face. It snowed during our walk.
After finally seeing a car come down from the summit which wasn't covered in snow I had confidence to drive to the top. Actually, the road was still dry so there wasn't much to worry about.
The summit was very windy with snow falling. I collected some snow in a bottle and had a look at the observation area. Hobart started disappearing from view quite quickly as another blanket of cloud made its way over. Great view though.
The 10 kms descent took about 18 minutes. Drove around Hobart, through Battery Point and into Sandy Bay so that I could do some shopping for lunch. Back to the Signalman's Cottage for some hot chook. The afternoon was one of TV and napping. At night we looked at the city from the lookout on Mt Nelson.
Melbourne-Tassie Holiday 2011 Photo Album No.2 - Photos 153-200.
Visited Huon Jet Boat Company. We were the only customers which justified my decision not to make a booking. They even waited a little longer in case anybody else turned up. Which they didn't. Still had to pay $10 ea instead of $72/$49. Needed to throw on a few extra layers of clothes and a life jacket as it was going to be cold. They waited for the rain to clear, and made reference to a snow front, before taking us out. Our driver was Andy and he gave us a great ride. We went some 12km upstream at speeds of 75-80 km/h. There were a number of high speed spins and bumpy rapids to go over. We really enjoyed ourselves and The Boy even asked for extra spins.
I planned to look through Huonville for arty things but there didn't appear to be any of those kinds of shops. So I ended up driving straight out of the place. Next stop - Mt Wellington.
Didn't take long to get back to Hobart, as the roads aren't bad, but the road up the Mountain isn't quite so good. The drive up the Mountain is over 10 kms long. I was worried about the car hire agreement which states that the car can't be taken above the snow line. We stopped the car at The Chalet, 1000m above sea level, and walked a fair way up the road. Enough snow for us to have a snowball fight. I copped a few hits to the back but The Boy got a nice one to the face. It snowed during our walk.
After finally seeing a car come down from the summit which wasn't covered in snow I had confidence to drive to the top. Actually, the road was still dry so there wasn't much to worry about.
The summit was very windy with snow falling. I collected some snow in a bottle and had a look at the observation area. Hobart started disappearing from view quite quickly as another blanket of cloud made its way over. Great view though.
The 10 kms descent took about 18 minutes. Drove around Hobart, through Battery Point and into Sandy Bay so that I could do some shopping for lunch. Back to the Signalman's Cottage for some hot chook. The afternoon was one of TV and napping. At night we looked at the city from the lookout on Mt Nelson.
Melbourne-Tassie Holiday 2011 Photo Album No.2 - Photos 153-200.
Short Holiday in Bunbury
It's always nice to get away for a few days over summer. This year we visited Bunbury for a couple of days. The weather was kind, although hot and humid. New highway made the trip quite quick. Lady who looked after Hunter took good care of him and even removed most of the matted hair around his ears - I'm very grateful. Didn't do a heck of a lot, other than shopping, eating, and swimming at the beach and in the hotel's pool and spa. But what else should you do on holiday?
Photos.
Photos.
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