Airlie on the Square Launceston

... to Tasmania, so after putting my stuff in the left luggage at Melbourne station I had a wander around, getting back to catch the shuttle bus to the airport.
My flight to Launceston (pronounced lorn-ses-ton) took off at 4-45 and 50 minutes later I landed in Tasmania, after the 30-40 degree heat of the last few days, it was a shock to the system to walk out to 20 degrees, I was bloody freezing !!! So cold in fact that I have gone down with a cold AND bloody hay fever again ...

... suited our steaks perfectly (there is a $20 corkage fee for BYO, but we considered it worth the price, as the wine we got from the cellar door wasn’t available anywhere else and was still less than comparable wines at restaurant prices). The meals and restaurants are getting better as we travel. We can recommend the Black Cow Bistro if anyone is in Launceston looking for an exceptional meal with fantastic service…go there!

... we also visited the Ben Lomond National Park which is an easy drive from Launceston. It's mainly dirt road that winds through a spectacular wooded forest before heading up the range like a snake to the top of the mountain. This track is named Jacob's Ladder. This drive we would rate as the best so far on our trip, as the road winded up by dolerite organ piped rock columns that took your breath away as they seemed to travel endlessly towards the sky . Finally we reached ...

... I've had in almost a month.

I picked up my car with no dramas. I
think I was expecting them to tell me that there was a mistake and
none would be available. I guess I'm paranoid (duhhh).

A quick tour of Cataract Gorge and I'm
off!

... climaxing with a week spent with Mum and Rob in Adelaide and just loading up on Long Blacks and Flat Whites, I am giving my overstiumulated body a break! There is no "drip coffee here, it's all espresso based or instant. So I unwittingly went from 1 cup of drip coffee a day to super giganta double shots of espresso, 1 to 2 times a day. And i kept thinking i was developing diabetes, because the blood sugar havoc and head crashes i was feeling were so intense ...

... que logré entender, fue mas que nada por motivos racistas :S... la borrachera supongo que tb contaba... De imagenes me quedo con los rios de color amarillo y rojo y con la ES-PEC-TA-CU-LAR puesta de sol en ted's beach. Y cuando digo ES-PEC-TA-CU-LAR, es ES-PEC-TA-CU-LAR. Atras quedan ya los dias de frio, y ahora escribo en tirantes desde sydney again :P, con un moreno q lo flipas conseguido en 2 horas de sol con pocos milimetros de capa de ozono.

... lovely, supportive email after my grandfathers death, and is sending me a birthday present too. Thanks to Michellito, for writing me a long email in English, which must have taken a very long time. I'm glad you got the money I sent you ok and I love and miss you too. I miss you all and love you a lot! Emma xx p.s. If you ever come to Launceston, I recommend you visit the Elephant Pancake Palour...mmmmm, yummy!

... Freycinet National Parc, où se trouve une des 10 plus belles plages du monde, la Wineglass bay) 100 km à faire, on se dit que ça va aller, qu'on va pouvoir se poser dans des petites criques pour se baigner (croyez moi ou pas, l'eau ne dépasse pas les 12 °...... 20000 km du pole sud... les icebergs sont pas très très loin....) Le problème c'est qu'on arrive dans une ville où la fumée se fait plus épaisse, et où l'odeur du bois brûlé fait son apparition. et la source de la ...

... Kiwi and we could all just walk for several kms at our own pace, chatting away, stopping for photos when we wanted to (especially Crater Lake) and not feeling rushed (as we had at Uluru). When we were all back together we drove a relatively short journey up to the town of Devonport (which is where the mainland ferries arrive) for a meal in the local Irish pub (there are almost as many Irish pubs in Oz as there are in New Zealand), one beer (it was enough) and then off to bed.