Tasmania Tour Day 3 (30/04/2011)

WHOA HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARINA. Ich denk an dich und hab dich ganz doll lieb :)

So my tour continued after a good night sleep in Strahan (pronounced Strawn). We started early at around 7:30 am and had a long way ahead of us as we were planning to arrive in Hobart at the end of the day.

We first stopped for breakfast and coffee, which I have to admit, was just excellent. On the way to the Nelson Falls we stopped at one of the lookouts and were able to capture an amazing view. It can’t repeat myself often enough; Tasmania is such an amazing Island with a stunning natural environment. I just love it.

We passed the Franklin Lake and River which has a very historically meaning for Tasmania and the Green Political Party, just look it up if you are interested in the details.

We arrived at the Nelson Falls and after just a 20 minute walk we were able to see a stunning natural fall. If it wouldn’t have been so cold I would have jumped right into it. You might remember that I love waterfalls since the time in Malaysia (Kota Kinabalu).

Next stop was the St Clair Lake with a walk around the area. If we would have hiked the overland track from Mt Cradle, we might have arrived here within the next three days. That is a walk I would actually consider doing if I ever go back to Tasmania.

Next on our agenda were the Russell Fall and Horseshoe Fall. Gorgeous falls and everything so natural, you can’t do anything else but love it.

In between the trips we had fun playing Frisbee and just joked around. I was really lucky with my group as we were a good mixture including the loved up couple, the always being late Chinese cameraman, the Frenchman, the loud American (called USA by all of us), the giggling Chinese girls, the mother who looked after everyone, and the “I know everything better” ladies as well as the all night drinking English bloke, all in all a very nice interactive group of 22 people.

We finally arrived in Hobart where the group split as some of them finished already with the tour (they started in Hobart and done already the east coast tour). We decided to meet up later that night for some dinner in the North Hobart area.  

As soon as I dropped off my backpack I realised that something small but very important was missing from my wallet…the key to the lock for my bag.

I have to mention that they put me in a room on the third floor and no lift available. So I walked downstairs to the reception and asked if they have some tools to break a lock open. He eventually gave me one of those press thingies and I tried my luck. Damn I bought a rather good lock, I couldn’t open it. I carried my bag downstairs again and asked him for help. Being a man he surely would be able to open it. But he couldn’t do it, so I had to carry my bag to another level where he stored some more tools. He tried it with various things until he opened it. Going all the way back to the third floor I was no longer happy to have a heavy backpack to carry around….but happy that my belongings were available again.

The North Hobart area is approximately 15 min from the city and a really nice relaxing place with a lot of choice. We decided for Thai and I went for my usual chicken and rice dish.

I have another tour booked tomorrow morning and went to bed instead of joining the group in the pub.

Tasmania Tour Day 2 (29/04/2011)

Last night wasn’t really pleasant as I woke up constantly. My back was hurting and I was really thirsty and my throat was itching. UHHHH I hoped I didn’t catch the flu….well a little bit later and a cuppa tea I was feeling fine and ready for another exciting day :)

Tasmania Tour Day 1 (28/04/2011)

I got up at around 9 am and had enough time to get a coffee before the driver picked me up from the Gingerbread House. We waited for another person who just arrived at the airport. When he arrived at the pickup place he quickly realised that he forgot his phone in the car of the person who gave him a lift. That meant another half hour waiting until we were able to pick up the last person from the Ferry Terminal, which was only 5 minute walk from my hostel. And if anyone is interested I booked the tour with “Under down under” who offer various tours in Tasmania for a reasonable price.

We were on our way to the Mount Cradle with a little stop in Sheffield to ensure we would buy our lunch and dinner as there were no shops around the Mountain. I am very excited to be on this trip and really hope I get a lot of experience out of it.

I found my long lost brother in Sheffield ;) He was so fluffy and cute. The owner was Dutch and a really nice guy who had enough time to tell me his life story. This was actually interesting and entertaining. Maybe he had made it up for the tourists, who knows, but it worked for me.

We arrived at National Park at Mount Cradle and dropped our bags at the bungalow where we would spend the night.

As soon as I stepped out of the bus I saw this absolute adorable little wombat. I wish I could have taken him home.

Next we headed to the Dove Lake where we would start our hiking tour. It was not as hard as I thought and the view was just amazing. Unfortunately the weather was not really with us that day and we mostly saw only clouds from the Marions Lookout. It was very cold and windy up in the mountains….

The total tour took us approximately 3 hours and was quite exhausting. I was really tired and happy when we headed back for dinner. I just had instant noodles and envied the other tour participant cooking up some lovely meals. Overall I really enjoyed the first day on the tour.

Good night……..zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Welcome to Tasmania

The day of my next adventure had arrived; I was very excited and nervous. But as most of you know, there are no adventures if everything works out smoothly and as planned. We will see how this will go. I am sure I will keep track of it again every day, because just now I realize the reason why I write so much when I travel and not so much when I am at places for longer: I don’t have internet. So I kind of put all my thoughts into this blog. Obviously not too personal ;)

I took the tram to the Port Melbourne. Of course they had track renewals on the route so I had to exchange twice to a bus until I finally arrived at the Spirit of Tasmania Ferry. I can tell you that after several weeks without running around with my backpack it was a very heavy feeling, but I have to admit I missed it. It feels nice and easy, no strings attached, being free is awesome. I can’t describe it differently.

I entered the terminal and only waited a few minutes until I checked in and dropped my bag off. The ship is stunning and huge. I haven’t been on a ferry since I was very young. First I did a tour through the ship; they have everything, from restaurant to cinema and casino. Well, in a very small version, but they had it.

My last day in Melbourne was great with a lot of sun and great people around me, which I will miss a lot. I dropped a few tears when I saw the lights of Melbourne fading away.

Melbourne is now behind me and I can see the skyline getting smaller by the minute. I miss it already.

I have a long night ahead of me, probably with a lot of thinking involved. I might do as well some reading after I finished writing this blog entry. Or just listen to music and dream away.

I have friends and a great family and cannot be thankful enough. I am happy that these people exist in my life, because without them it wouldn’t be the same. I love you all and miss you a lot. I know I am going to miss out on some great events in their life but will have at the same time my own adventure. So at this point I raise my waterglass and toast to being alive and living my dream.

Read you soon again.

The next morning
I had the most amazing trip on the ferry. Because I couldn’t sleep properly I got out on the deck around midnight and I have never seen so many stars shining so bright. It was beautiful and just that alone was worth the shaky trip on the Ferry.

The seats were quite comfy and luckily I only had one seat neighbour, so I could spread out my feet’s and legs for some rest.  But I am happy I booked a flight to Sydney, I couldn’t bare the thought of another night trip with rough sleep.

I arrived safely in Tasmania –Devonport at 6am, unfortunately way too early to check in into my accommodation. Luckily I found a nice  directly next to the Terminal. Of course I couldn’t resist to login to the internet (well only for 15 minutes/$2,50 -n Dockside café).

Around 11 am and quiet a few coffees later I arrived at my hostel. I was still a little bit pissed off with the tour operator. They haven’t told me that they could not pick me up at my booked hotel. I decided a few days ago that I deserved some luxury and actually booked a nice hotel room just for myself with a big comfy bed and ensuit bathroom. Only yesterday they told me that it wasn’t possible, so I had to rearrange my booking. Because of the cancellation policy of the hotel I was not able to get my money back for the room I booked. However, they owned a hostel in the area that the tour operator accepted. Well, I pay now a little bit more than the usual price, but have a room to myself anyway. Apparently the hostel has free wireless internet, but it isn’t working for me somehow. I will try it again later (YEAH it is working as you can see with this update).

After checking into the Gingerbread Hostel (http://www.gingerbreadhousehostel.com) and having a nice hot shower with refreshing cold shots in between I made myself on the way to the Devonport “City”. I had to take a little Ferry over to the other site which was only $2,50 one way.  I arrived in the “City” and had to giggle a little bit. It was such a small town and nothing really to see. They even had a visitor centre, however the information received were not really useful and I just walked around for four hours and returned. I have to say the town doesn’t offer a lot but the view around the town is amazing. Everything is very clean and natural. I had as well luck with the weather and enjoyed another coffee in the sun.

I will start my tour tomorrow morning and can’t wait to get finally some action.

Read you soon my dear follower. And for a change, why not leave a comment?