Thursday
23rd February, 2012
When
I brought back the key of the caravan, the lady at the reception
apologized for not entering my name to the booking table. Now my trip
continues further southwards. In Richmond I stopped, there are a few
things to see. I visited St. John, the oldest and still used catholic
church in in Australia. Directly below the church is the oldest
bridge in Australia. It was constructed between 1823 and 1825 by
convicts. In Richmond there is also the oldest prison of Australia. I
visited the buildings. In such a cell I would get claustrophobia.
I
continued after getting food for myself and petrol for the car in
Sorell. At Dunalley I had to stop as the bridge was turned away to
let a ship pass. Then I drove to Tessellated Pavement. Here the sea
salt broke the rock and so created slabs. Further I visited the
natural rock arch Tamar Arch. From here I hiked to Devil Kitchen, a
formation of heavily fragmented rocks. When walking along the road I
met a huge lizard. Back at the parking I drove to Port Arthur and
visited the ruins of the prison. The compound is very big and there
are 30 historical buildings to see. I started with a small boat ride
to the Isle of the Dead. Still on the sea it started to rain and
there was a strong wind. As it was already late afternoon, I decided
to go to the accommodation. The entry is valid for two days and so I
will come back tomorrow. In the evening I observed parrots breaking
nuts. That looks quite funny. A short walk on the beach ended my
programme for today.
Monday
20th February, 2012
Today
I wanted to lie in, but my inner clock woke me up already at 8am.
After I moved all my stuff to the car again, I started. To Coles Bay
there is just one road and thus the way was the same as two days ago.
On the way there was someone with a camera standing beside the road
and shortly after an emu. So I made a U-turn and came back. The emu
did not bother. A few days ago I told Konrad, I could fly home as I
now have a picture of most animals. Konrad replied the emu is
missing. There I am. Still I would like to stay a bit longer as I
like it here. Only the weather might get a bit warmer. The only road
to the west goes through the interior. I drove along wines and olive
trees, saw flocks of sheep which had nearly the same colour as the
ground. As I had plenty of time, I drove to the Nine Mile Beach and
walked a bit on it. This beach is just opposite to Coles Bay and
Freycinet National Park. Beside some sea birds I saw again a pelican
swimming in the watter. Then I drove on to Swansea. Here I visited
the Bark Mill Museum. It show how crop was milled in earlier times.
It was the only mill where everybody could mill his crop. In the
village Swansea I walked along the beach and had again a full view to
the Freycinet National Park. There was a strong wind and a few drops
here and there. My trip continued to Spiky Bridge which was
constructed in 1840 and is still in use. Short after 14pm I arrived
in Triabunna. In the tourist office I reserved a got a ticket for the
boat going every morning to the island. Then I was looking for the
camping, as I reserved a room there. The owner showed me my room and
explained that for the same price I could stay in a caravan, this
would be more comfortable. I had a look and decided to stay in the
caravan. Here I can train already for the west coast where I will be
on the road with a friend in a camper. At it was only afternoon I
walked along the sea. Not far from the shore is Dead Island. You make
walk to this small island if there is low tide. A bit later there was
a sign that there are pelicans to see here. I had no luck, there was
none. After a short sightseeing in Triabunna I went back to the
camping and passed the rest of the afternoon reading.
Tuesday
7th February, 2012
During
breakfast I was asked by a hostel staff what I will do today. As it
was sunny I was thinking about going up to Mount Wellington to enjoy
the view. He explained me that there are three possibilities to get
there. First with the car, but I do not have one. Second with the
tourist bus, but there I just have 20 minutes time up there and I pay
a lot. The third possibility is to go with the public bus to Ferntree
and to hike up for two hours and then back down again. As I had time
and the weather was good I chose variant 3. Later it turned out to be
not the best one. I went by bus to Ferntree. There I asked in a shop
how to get to Mount Wellington and they explained me the way. Following
different pathes I hiked uphill. As long as it goes up it must be
right. It got higher and higher and I could view out into the
country. Slowly the clouds gathered and a light shower started. But
the sun was back soon and I went on. Then the rain started again, but
this time stronger. I was not sure if I should continue. After 10
minutes of thinking, the sun was back again. OK, lets go to the
summit. A bit below an Australian told me that here is the best view.
I sat down and enjoyed it. We talked a little. As soon as I arrived
on the top, the rain started again. Still I viewed the sight and then
stood below the roof of a hut. The rain did not stop anymore. Some
guys which passed me when going up were looking for a lift. I thought
this is a good idea and asked a man in about my age if he is driving
to Hobart. He is from Hobart so I could join him on the way back. On
the way he told me that it is in Tasmania quite difficult to find a
job. Many go to the mainland to work. But they are missing nursing
personnel like in all Australia. Back in Hobart it was sunny again.
According to this nice young man the weather is very annoying this
summer. It was not a real summer so far. In the late afternoon the
rain came back all the time, so that I went into a museum about
Antarctica.