12
12GB was the amount of space the photos from this trip so far took on a hard drive when I checked it a week ago. So dear friends, no photos presentation when I come back! (More likely, Flickr will do the job for me)
Monday, May 21, 2007
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Brainwashed
I forgot to bring along something to connect my MP3 player to the car. Therefore I was obliged to listen to the local stations. I found one that I could receive everywhere, when I had reception. It was Sea FM Hobart. I spent most of my driving time with these guys , which was fun, but I the station has a top 40 limited play list, so I was brainwashed. Here are the songs I was brainwashed to like:
JT - What goes around
Nerina Pallot - Everybody's gone to war
The Fray - How to save a life
Thirsty Merc - 20 good reasons
Evermore - Light surrounding you
Avril Lavigne - Keep holding on. Another waltz song similar to the one from the first album (I'm with you?)
Snow Patrol - Hands open
TV Rock vs Dukes of Windsor - The others
MIKA - Grace Kelly
KT Tunstall - Suddenly I see
Missy Higgins - Steer
I forgot to bring along something to connect my MP3 player to the car. Therefore I was obliged to listen to the local stations. I found one that I could receive everywhere, when I had reception. It was Sea FM Hobart. I spent most of my driving time with these guys , which was fun, but I the station has a top 40 limited play list, so I was brainwashed. Here are the songs I was brainwashed to like:
JT - What goes around
Nerina Pallot - Everybody's gone to war
The Fray - How to save a life
Thirsty Merc - 20 good reasons
Evermore - Light surrounding you
Avril Lavigne - Keep holding on. Another waltz song similar to the one from the first album (I'm with you?)
Snow Patrol - Hands open
TV Rock vs Dukes of Windsor - The others
MIKA - Grace Kelly
KT Tunstall - Suddenly I see
Missy Higgins - Steer
My Tasmanian tour
I circled Tasmania in ten days. It was intensive and exhausting and you might want to focus on one area instead. Here's my itinery, which is mostly based on walks.
23-25 April - Hobart. It took me a while to decide what I want to do. It is not necessary to stay there for three days, though it's a neat place.
Things I did and saw:
Cadbury factory - They really have chocolate flowing in their pipes, unlike Max Brener.
Mt. Wellington - Either by walk or by a tour, there is no bus going all the way up. Check the pinnacle state before going, and cross your fingers, it can disappear in minutes. Mt. Nelson is an alternative
Eating fish and chips at constitution dock
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery - Hey, it's free.
Cascade Brewary - I actually missed that.
The botanical garden - A nice place to sit and relax, even if you're not into flora.
Salamance place - For coffee and for the market if you're on Saturday (which I haven't)
Battery point - For historical buildings
North Hobart - Restaurants and pubs. More live than the center at evening. Just go up Elizabeth st. (quite a bit).
Get a car and start moving! (A note about renting cars: The insurance doesn't cover/charges more on accidents happening on unsealed roads. Now guess what? Half of Tasmania has unsealed roads!)
I refer to walks at the 60 great short walks booklet, http://www.discovertasmania.com.au/pdf/GreatShortWalks.pdf
26 April - A taste of the South East. Tahune Forest reserve and Air walk, lake Esperance (30) or South Cape bay (33). In real I haven't done neither of the two walks because I started a bit late. The later one is less recommended because it is a bit far. On the other hand, you'll be on the South most point in Australia. Next stop Antarctica! A night in Dover.
27 April - This was an insane day. Dover lake, then a drive to Kettering, a ferry to Bruni island(check the schedule beforehand so you won't miss a precious hour!), South Bruni walk (34) all the way up to Fluted Cape. Then a ferry back, a drive back to Hobart and to Port Arthur, arriving just on time for a Port Arthur ghost tour, without killing any animals on the road, including yourself. A night in Port Arthur.
28 April - The Port Arthur Historic site includes an introductory tour (a good way to start) and a short cruise (oh well). At one thirty the devils are fed at the Tasmanian Devil Conservation park, you can hand feed a kangaroo at two thirty and continue to the bird show at three thirty. I could use more time at Port Arthur, but that's compromising. This time a night at eaglehawk neck, not far away.
29 April - The blowhole, Tasman arch and Devil's kitchen, then a walk all the way to waterfall bluff (36 + more). I mistakenly started at Devil's kitchen and did exactly walk 36, though you can drive more, get to the bay and start walking from there to the Bluff. A night at Coles bay, quite a drive away. If you have time do walk 44 (too long name, oh well, Loon.tite.ter.mair.re.le.hoin.er.) from Swansea. It was too late for me. I also totally skipped Maria island.
30 April - Wineglass bay lookout (47) to Wineglass bay(48) and back through Hazards beach (Basically we did 49, the whole bonanza. Looking at the map again, I think we had a mixture of the walks. Oh yeah, and that day I walked with Eric and Maike). Cape tourville (46) is your next stop, a nice lookout. A short drive to Bicheno, where I barely arrived to the Penguin tour. Later I discovered I could go and see the penguins on my own, but the tour does add some extra information and knows where and what to look for. A night in Bicheno
1 May - Bicheno foreshore walk, then Apsley river waterhole (50) and gorge (51). The river was a bit high for me to cross it so I had to pass on seeing the gorge. So I went to St. Helens and went to see the bay of fires. At that point I was getting a bit sick of the beaches scenery and look forward for a change.
2 May - St. Helens point walk and Peron dunes. Then I started the drive on highway A3 to Scottsdale, which is the most scenic road I had. On the other hand, it's the most curved one. On the way I stopped at St. Columbia falls (31), in which the walk was more interesting than the waterfalls themselves. For late lunch I stopped at the Pub in the Paddock. Then a long drive to Launceston, and a walk to see the Cataract gorge at night.
3 May - Walk around Cataract gorge. It was raining and I wasn't prepared properly, so I spent most of the time in the cafe there. Then a drive to Sheffield, city of murals, and from there to Cradle valley.
4 May - Dove lake circuit (5) adding the Marions lookout (there are two ways to climb there, one more steep that the other), Wombat pool, Ronny creek and back to the starting point with the free shuttle. Be prepared for harsh weather conditions. A drive to Strahan.
5 May - Vacation! Rivers day. I went on a cruise to rest a bit with Gordon river cruises. We saw Hell's gate, the Gordon river and Sarah island, lunch included. There are different seating options, but you can basically walk everywhere. A drive on Lyell highway and stops at Donaghys lookout (17) and the Franklin river (18). It was quite dark then, and add to it a walk in a forest, creepy! A night in lake St. Clair.
6 May - Echo point walk (21), which is inside a rain forest, full of fungi (watch out for leeches) and the short walks in the lake (19). The short walks are not that great and I had to skip Russell falls (23) as a result. A drive back to Hobart.
Well done, you made it! Now I need a vacation...
I circled Tasmania in ten days. It was intensive and exhausting and you might want to focus on one area instead. Here's my itinery, which is mostly based on walks.
23-25 April - Hobart. It took me a while to decide what I want to do. It is not necessary to stay there for three days, though it's a neat place.
Things I did and saw:
Cadbury factory - They really have chocolate flowing in their pipes, unlike Max Brener.
Mt. Wellington - Either by walk or by a tour, there is no bus going all the way up. Check the pinnacle state before going, and cross your fingers, it can disappear in minutes. Mt. Nelson is an alternative
Eating fish and chips at constitution dock
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery - Hey, it's free.
Cascade Brewary - I actually missed that.
The botanical garden - A nice place to sit and relax, even if you're not into flora.
Salamance place - For coffee and for the market if you're on Saturday (which I haven't)
Battery point - For historical buildings
North Hobart - Restaurants and pubs. More live than the center at evening. Just go up Elizabeth st. (quite a bit).
Get a car and start moving! (A note about renting cars: The insurance doesn't cover/charges more on accidents happening on unsealed roads. Now guess what? Half of Tasmania has unsealed roads!)
I refer to walks at the 60 great short walks booklet, http://www.discovertasmania.com.au/pdf/GreatShortWalks.pdf
26 April - A taste of the South East. Tahune Forest reserve and Air walk, lake Esperance (30) or South Cape bay (33). In real I haven't done neither of the two walks because I started a bit late. The later one is less recommended because it is a bit far. On the other hand, you'll be on the South most point in Australia. Next stop Antarctica! A night in Dover.
27 April - This was an insane day. Dover lake, then a drive to Kettering, a ferry to Bruni island(check the schedule beforehand so you won't miss a precious hour!), South Bruni walk (34) all the way up to Fluted Cape. Then a ferry back, a drive back to Hobart and to Port Arthur, arriving just on time for a Port Arthur ghost tour, without killing any animals on the road, including yourself. A night in Port Arthur.
28 April - The Port Arthur Historic site includes an introductory tour (a good way to start) and a short cruise (oh well). At one thirty the devils are fed at the Tasmanian Devil Conservation park, you can hand feed a kangaroo at two thirty and continue to the bird show at three thirty. I could use more time at Port Arthur, but that's compromising. This time a night at eaglehawk neck, not far away.
29 April - The blowhole, Tasman arch and Devil's kitchen, then a walk all the way to waterfall bluff (36 + more). I mistakenly started at Devil's kitchen and did exactly walk 36, though you can drive more, get to the bay and start walking from there to the Bluff. A night at Coles bay, quite a drive away. If you have time do walk 44 (too long name, oh well, Loon.tite.ter.mair.re.le.hoin.er.) from Swansea. It was too late for me. I also totally skipped Maria island.
30 April - Wineglass bay lookout (47) to Wineglass bay(48) and back through Hazards beach (Basically we did 49, the whole bonanza. Looking at the map again, I think we had a mixture of the walks. Oh yeah, and that day I walked with Eric and Maike). Cape tourville (46) is your next stop, a nice lookout. A short drive to Bicheno, where I barely arrived to the Penguin tour. Later I discovered I could go and see the penguins on my own, but the tour does add some extra information and knows where and what to look for. A night in Bicheno
1 May - Bicheno foreshore walk, then Apsley river waterhole (50) and gorge (51). The river was a bit high for me to cross it so I had to pass on seeing the gorge. So I went to St. Helens and went to see the bay of fires. At that point I was getting a bit sick of the beaches scenery and look forward for a change.
2 May - St. Helens point walk and Peron dunes. Then I started the drive on highway A3 to Scottsdale, which is the most scenic road I had. On the other hand, it's the most curved one. On the way I stopped at St. Columbia falls (31), in which the walk was more interesting than the waterfalls themselves. For late lunch I stopped at the Pub in the Paddock. Then a long drive to Launceston, and a walk to see the Cataract gorge at night.
3 May - Walk around Cataract gorge. It was raining and I wasn't prepared properly, so I spent most of the time in the cafe there. Then a drive to Sheffield, city of murals, and from there to Cradle valley.
4 May - Dove lake circuit (5) adding the Marions lookout (there are two ways to climb there, one more steep that the other), Wombat pool, Ronny creek and back to the starting point with the free shuttle. Be prepared for harsh weather conditions. A drive to Strahan.
5 May - Vacation! Rivers day. I went on a cruise to rest a bit with Gordon river cruises. We saw Hell's gate, the Gordon river and Sarah island, lunch included. There are different seating options, but you can basically walk everywhere. A drive on Lyell highway and stops at Donaghys lookout (17) and the Franklin river (18). It was quite dark then, and add to it a walk in a forest, creepy! A night in lake St. Clair.
6 May - Echo point walk (21), which is inside a rain forest, full of fungi (watch out for leeches) and the short walks in the lake (19). The short walks are not that great and I had to skip Russell falls (23) as a result. A drive back to Hobart.
Well done, you made it! Now I need a vacation...
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Tasmania resources
In every visitor center in Tasmania there are loads of brochures and help. Be careful about the information centers, which are less on information and more on selling stuff, though they are helpful too.
Online:
http://www.discovertasmania.com.au/ - The main web-site
http://www.discovertasmania.com.au/home/index.cfm?siteid=89&subsiteid=1026 - Brochures page, some of them can be downloaded. I used the 60 great short walks, http://www.discovertasmania.com.au/pdf/GreatShortWalks.pdf
You can get a brochure's package by calling them. "Fortunately", the package arrived while I was away. It includes a rather essential map of Tasmania, if you have a car. Luckily I got the same map when I rented a car.
The country is organized to touring routes, explained here http://www.discovertasmania.com.au/home/index.cfm?SiteID=783 though the information is a bit overwhelming.
A park permit is necessary. The recommended one, if you're seeing more than one park (which is rather obvious) is the holiday permit http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/natparks/current_fees.html
The latest Lonely Planet Tasmania was a great help, though it is almost two years old, a time span where things have change at accommodations (which is not a big problem anyhow).
In every visitor center in Tasmania there are loads of brochures and help. Be careful about the information centers, which are less on information and more on selling stuff, though they are helpful too.
Online:
http://www.discovertasmania.com.au/ - The main web-site
http://www.discovertasmania.com.au/home/index.cfm?siteid=89&subsiteid=1026 - Brochures page, some of them can be downloaded. I used the 60 great short walks, http://www.discovertasmania.com.au/pdf/GreatShortWalks.pdf
You can get a brochure's package by calling them. "Fortunately", the package arrived while I was away. It includes a rather essential map of Tasmania, if you have a car. Luckily I got the same map when I rented a car.
The country is organized to touring routes, explained here http://www.discovertasmania.com.au/home/index.cfm?SiteID=783 though the information is a bit overwhelming.
A park permit is necessary. The recommended one, if you're seeing more than one park (which is rather obvious) is the holiday permit http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/natparks/current_fees.html
The latest Lonely Planet Tasmania was a great help, though it is almost two years old, a time span where things have change at accommodations (which is not a big problem anyhow).
Tasmania
To all of you who have wondered where I was the last two weeks, and to all who have not, I have been to Tasmania. Land of endless green, tons of wallabies, tiny villages, vineyards and dairies.
I booked a flight on the Internet (so easy!) and arrived to Hobart, capital city. After contemplating a bit I have decided to rent a car and see Tasmania on the road. The bus service is quite limited in schedule, sometimes running only every other day and usually just once a day. Renting a car made me rush through things. I started each day with a walk and then drove to the next destination, sometimes arriving a minute or two before the hostel's reception closed (some of them leave you an envelope with a key and a map if you are late) or before a tour began. In ten days I've circled the whole island and still skipped a lot. So it's a must return to destination. Bottom line: I need a vacation!
I visited Tasmania at the end of the season. This meant that I had sometimes a whole dorm room for myself, cheaper prices and easy bookings. On the other hand, I had some awful weather.
My days were consisted of walking and driving. Almost every day I did one of the great short walks (ranging from 5 minutes to 8 hours, so I stuck to the average 3-4 hours) and then drove to get to my next destination. Sometimes I had a tour at evening, so it kept me quite busy. As there is no daylight saving at the moment, dawn is around 17:00, when the animals come out. Luckily I did not run over any of them, but it was not a pleasant experience, and I had to take that into account, basically trying to start my day as early as possible.
At evening I used to plan the following days, which is something I haven't done yet, but was necessary though to the style of this trip.
Driving in Tasmania is great, but can be quite a challenge or fun, depends on your mood. A highway can be a two lanes in each way road, but it can also be a twisting road, with no shoulders, where the maximum allowed speed is 100Km/h but your average speed is somewhere around 40Km/h. This fact has to be taken into account when planning drives.
To all of you who have wondered where I was the last two weeks, and to all who have not, I have been to Tasmania. Land of endless green, tons of wallabies, tiny villages, vineyards and dairies.
I booked a flight on the Internet (so easy!) and arrived to Hobart, capital city. After contemplating a bit I have decided to rent a car and see Tasmania on the road. The bus service is quite limited in schedule, sometimes running only every other day and usually just once a day. Renting a car made me rush through things. I started each day with a walk and then drove to the next destination, sometimes arriving a minute or two before the hostel's reception closed (some of them leave you an envelope with a key and a map if you are late) or before a tour began. In ten days I've circled the whole island and still skipped a lot. So it's a must return to destination. Bottom line: I need a vacation!
I visited Tasmania at the end of the season. This meant that I had sometimes a whole dorm room for myself, cheaper prices and easy bookings. On the other hand, I had some awful weather.
My days were consisted of walking and driving. Almost every day I did one of the great short walks (ranging from 5 minutes to 8 hours, so I stuck to the average 3-4 hours) and then drove to get to my next destination. Sometimes I had a tour at evening, so it kept me quite busy. As there is no daylight saving at the moment, dawn is around 17:00, when the animals come out. Luckily I did not run over any of them, but it was not a pleasant experience, and I had to take that into account, basically trying to start my day as early as possible.
At evening I used to plan the following days, which is something I haven't done yet, but was necessary though to the style of this trip.
Driving in Tasmania is great, but can be quite a challenge or fun, depends on your mood. A highway can be a two lanes in each way road, but it can also be a twisting road, with no shoulders, where the maximum allowed speed is 100Km/h but your average speed is somewhere around 40Km/h. This fact has to be taken into account when planning drives.
The prayer, by Bloc Party
(ought to be a Spiderman 3 or another super hero soundtrack, ignoring the dancing theme)
Lord, give me grace and dancing feet
And the power to impress
Lord, give me grace and dancing feet
Let me outshine them all
Is it so wrong to crave recognition?
2nd best runner up
Is it so wrong to want rewarding?
To want more, than is given to you
Tonight make me unstoppable
And I will charm I will slice I will dazzle them with my wit
Tonight make me unstoppable
And I will charm I will slice I will dazzle
I will outshine them all
Standing on the packed dance floor
Our bodies throb in time
Silent on the weekdays
Tonight I claim what's mine
Is it so wrong to crave recognition?
2nd best runner up
Is it so wrong to want rewarding?
To want more, than is given to you
(ought to be a Spiderman 3 or another super hero soundtrack, ignoring the dancing theme)
Lord, give me grace and dancing feet
And the power to impress
Lord, give me grace and dancing feet
Let me outshine them all
Is it so wrong to crave recognition?
2nd best runner up
Is it so wrong to want rewarding?
To want more, than is given to you
Tonight make me unstoppable
And I will charm I will slice I will dazzle them with my wit
Tonight make me unstoppable
And I will charm I will slice I will dazzle
I will outshine them all
Standing on the packed dance floor
Our bodies throb in time
Silent on the weekdays
Tonight I claim what's mine
Is it so wrong to crave recognition?
2nd best runner up
Is it so wrong to want rewarding?
To want more, than is given to you
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