Tasmania here we come

With the out of control bush fires, immense property damage and stranded people on the Tasman Penninsula we were a little reluctant about traveling to Tasmania. It almost felt we were flying in to watch a "state wide disaster", rubber necking so to speak. As this is typed the news is reporting that the firefighters might be making some progress. Nevertheless we had booked inns, a camper van and flights months ago so we proceeded to Launceston in northern Tasmania.It was a bit of a rocky landing but the pilot advised it was typical of this area of Tasmania given the winds.

After landing and settling into a quaint heritage inn in Launceston we explored parts of the CBD - central business district - , walked along the marina and in the parks, relaxed in the evening and planned for the next day..

 

The next morning, after a devonshire tea breakfast we walked / hiked the beautiful Cataract Gorge and strolled the riverfront along the Tamar and North Esk rivers. In the arvo we went to the Queen Victoria museum. Supper consisted of a variety of Chinese dumplings, both for the meal and desert........hmmmmm

 

Gold Coast

The weekend was fairly low key although we did manage to get a couple short and somewhat painful morning run/walks in and have a small pie and picnic at Redlands Esplanade. On Monday, Margaret, a fellow Year 1 teacher of Nancy's, and two of her kids were kind enough to give us a day tour of the Gold Coast as far south as Coolangatta in Queensland and/or Tweed Heads in New South Wales. The surf was up in many areas with the lifeguards being kept busy hauling swimmers out of strong riptides created by the high surf. Nevertheless we had a fantastic day swimming (sort of), sunning ourseves, walking and generally exploring the area.

A Day trip to "Straddie"

The prior day we debated whether to travel north to the Australia Zoo or go out to the beaches of North Stradbbroke Island by ferry and bus to explore its beaches and hike the Gorge walk. Based on the wise advice of a gracious welcoming host with whom Nancy will teach - Thank you, Margaret - we opted for the latter. The Australian Zoo apparently is a must see but with a long train ride to and fro, the oppressive heat and the fact that it is the summer holidays it will be - pun intended - a zoo!

While we only opted for a day trip to Straddie (as this was the maximum that our winterized white skin could reasonably withstand) the scenery was fantastic. A short 20 minute ferry ride aboard a local catamaran, a bus ride of similar duration and a little walking and stair climbing brought us to the fantastic Gorge walk and to Frenchman's Cove, Deadman's Beach and Cylinder Beach.

Wellington Point and Koala Sightings

We spent the day doing chores, both about the house and in town, and generally getting the lay of the land including navigating roundabouts. While we haven't had the temperatures currently being experienced by our fellow exchangees and Australians to the south and in the interior, we continued to find it terribly hot - at least I (Boyd) did. Today was 34C to 35C degrees in the shade on our patio and no doubt several degrees hotter in the intense afternoon sun. We are fortunate to have a lovely shady patio and a cool(er) breeze is usually blowing.

We had to do a little shopping and even some of the locals were saying that, while the heat was great and they were enjoying it, the high humidity of approximately 90%+ was draining. Nevertheless we forged on.

To cool down a little by getting closer to a sea breeze we decided to pack a nice picnic and drive down to Wellington Point Park for supper. While there we walked out to King's Island via a narrow sand isthmus that rises from the ocean at low tide.

After a bit of a saunter on the beach, a rest, and a bite to eat we headed back to Cleveland (Australia!).Upon arriving home just before sunset we walked over to a local park about 5 blocks from our house that was supposedly renowned for having a small population of "wild" koalas. And yes, there was success! After only a half hour of craning our necks to the heavens we spotted one sitting on a tree branch. In addition to that, a kind couple pointed out a kookaburra and its nest in a burl created by termites.

 


Another nice day had by all.

We Arrived

Finally, we are here despite a few delays and hiccups. Travelling from -25C to approximately 30C in less than 24 hours is a shock to the system but we are nevertheless here. The flight was oh so long, the humidity was higher than expected, our camera decided to stop working somewhere close to the International Date Line and morning comes early for the numerous species of birds, all of whom are colourful but very loud at 4:00 a.m.. Nevertheless we were greeted by wonderful people at Brisbane airport and Nancy was taken shopping at a local Woolies to stock up on a few supplies whereas I (Boyd - the non-teacher) stayed home and sweated.

Within a few days we unpacked (sort of), sussed out downtown Cleveland to stock up on a few more necessities, opened a bank account, replaced our camera with a new one from Harvey Norman (like our Best Buy) and otherwise supported the Australian economy.  We explored our new home which included listening and watching the nightly swooping and fighting of the huge fruit bats, cleaning up fallen palm fronds, trying to lure multicolored lorikeets and galahs to our backyard with the prospect of fresh water, etc., etc..

On New Year’s Eve we took the train to South Bank – a colorful suburb on the south bank of the Brisbane River - to watch an incredible display of fireworks and a laser light display along with thousands of other entranced celebrants.

The following day, in an effort to practice driving on the left hand side of the road, we drove to Victoria Point and proceeded to Coochiemudio Island to hike (walk) and subject our pale skin to the intense Australian sunlight on one of its many beaches. Tonight we may go to a local park to look for koalas but our energy level is quickly dissipating.....................zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.