Things that go bump in the night

Valentines Day, Devonport, Tasmania
Within a couple of hours we will be on the ferry back to mainland Australia where we shall have a bustling day, firstly meeting up with Saran and Dave, then Indra and Johnny before returning Mavis II and getting a late flight to Auckland, arriving at around midnight. Plenty of time though to contemplate Tasmania.
This is a truly fascinating place with an extremely laid back attitude to everything. Lu and I caught on to that quickly, but it has now enveloped us all. In packing the van this morning we noticed the kids have not touched tv, i-pods or playstation the entire 12 days we have been here.
Given that, we have covered a lot. After the tranquillity of Lake St Clare we headed south to Hobart for the weekend. An unscheduled stop en-route at Russell Falls saw us trek to some amazing waterfalls, take an absolutely exhilarating ice-cold shower under one of them and then attend a presentation by a Park Ranger on Tasmanian Devils who are slowly being wiped out by a facial cancer disease. Fortunately there are many good people working hard to save them as they are pretty cute animals and dont totally deserve the 'Taz' reputation they have got.

Taking an impromptu dip in the ice cold Russell Falls!

Hobart. Our campsite was not in a great place- some 14km from the city centre and in a pretty ‘bogun’ part of town. It proved tough to shake off our first impressions. However an invite to dinner with old golfing buddy Rich Sampson, very pregnant Fi and kids Olivia and Claudia changed things around. By the time we left town on Monday we had shifted camp to their ‘ranch’ just outside the city where Rich very ably demonstrated his recently acquired Aussie barbie skills. And we even fitted a round of golf at Pomeina Disc Golf course.
Farewell Hobart and on to Port Arthur where we had decided to take the nightime ghost tour. Port Arthur is the site of the old penal colony on Tasmania. Established in the 1830’s as a secondary offender institution, it housed the toughest of the convicts which had been already sent to Aussie. By the time it closed down some 30 years later it had left an awful lot of residents- almost entirely ‘spiritual’ ones.
Nightime fell, Maddie pulled out feighning sickness. We were advised Bugs was too young and would find it too frightening but that didnt account for parents who would also s___ themselves!! It was genuinely scary although we can report we did not see any ghosts- Georgia because she walked around with her eyes shut most of the time and Lu had covered almost every part of her body in case a hand tapped her on the shoulder. I was just scared.
As we left the following morning, we discovered ‘Federation Chocolate.’ Run by a kind elderly lady who makes her chocolate to order, it claims to produce the only Apple chocolate in the world. Bugs was in heaven.

Life in the Lucey Camper!

I think the initial sole purpose of including Tassie on our trip was to see Wineglass Bay. A big hike over Mt Amos took us there. The beaches here are pretty spectacular but this one ranks towards the top. Despite its tranquil appearance the history of this place is pretty gory. It was named in the 1850’s when the local population was doing its’ best to wipe out the Southern Right Whale. They very nearly, but thankfully didn’t, succeed but in the process the sand and waters of this beautiful place were stained blood red. The names remains but luckily the true colours returned.
(Apologies if I sound like a tour guide, you can imagine how Lu and the kids feels sometimes, but you gotta know your stuff!)

Wineglass Bay

We then discovered our Paradise. The Bay of Fires is ranked as one of the places on the planet you have to visit. It is a remote, totally unspoilt and absolutely magnificent area. We were welcomed by ‘Serena’- a bronze bikini clad statue who marked the entrance to Binalong Bay (‘been a long’ what we didn’t find out).

The Amazing Binalong Bay

Our breath was then taken away by miles of luminescent aquamarine water, white sand and no people. What makes the place unique however is the scattering of house size orange and green lichen boulders that litter the coastline. The landscape is almost alien. We camped by the beach and had a magical night. I think we will carry the memory of this place for a long time to come.

On the rocks in Bay of Fires.

Take care all.

Andy and Lu