Thursday 23^rd 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 20^th 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 7^th 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.