From the Beginning - A Comedy of Errors
Trip Start
Jan 08, 2009
1
4
Trip End
Ongoing
Devonport, Tasmania, Australia
Sunday, February 8, 2009
8th February 2009
Dear All,
Sorry for the group email but internets like the Tazzie Devil in these parts, and the slim encounters we have had have been extremely brief! Anyways hope everyone's well? We are loving van life. It’s been just over 4 weeks, 4000kms and 3 states!
No major dramas to date – unless of course you count: - Toad losing his mobile phone due to its lack of swimming abilities; the minor incident of me locking the keys in the van at 10:30pm on a Sunday night in the middle of Wilsons Prom!! – that was fun; oh there was that small issue of using the crock lock in Camden just an hour or so into the trip and not having the keys to unlock it!!; and then there was the day the water pump and TV stopped working; and the day we broke down on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere!! But other than that - it’s all good.
Today we find ourselves back in Devonport awaiting the ferry - after exploring the forgotten but spectacular state of Tasmania! We are so in love with Tazzie especially after our introduction!! Thanks Greg - the quad biking the sand dunes in Arthur River has definitely been a highlight and the chance to glimpse a Tazzie Devil feasting one night - priceless! The 6hr 8km trek to the top of Cradle Mountain also rates up there although I’m not sure the days of muscle suffering afterwards will support that! This truly is the forgotten wilderness down here!!
Hobart saw us enjoy the delights of the Cadbury factory (yum but a tourist trap), feasting on seafood on the Docks, spending hours roaming up and down Salamanca markets and partaking in the shooting of a TV commercial (any op to be on telly...he he), enjoying whiskey from the Lark Distillery and walking about town. The historical value of Port Arthur was well worth the drive and the Freycinet coast – words can’t describe its beauty! Such a diverse little place – highly recommend the trek!
The drive from Sydney to Melbourne consumed some 2000kms of the trip but was just spectacular – Toad fell in love with the Victorian coast through East Gippsland in particular! From Sydney to Jervis Bay – Tuross Head – cross the NSW/VIC border to Mallacoota – Marlo – Bairnsdale – Wilsons Promitory – Phillip Island – Melbourne then Tazzie. We’ve taken in all the possible sights along the route and caught up with many good friends. A massive thanks to the Melbourne crew and especially our personal tour guide Bee for showing us the more entertaining side of her/their home city.
We hope everyone’s well and look forward to hearing from you all either via facebook, email or text. Next stop The Great Ocean Road!
Love always
Mr & Mrs Toad, J.J (Jolly Jumbuck) & Shrek
