NZ -- We Americans say 'en zee', but oh no - the Aussies and Kiwis say 'en zed'. throws me off every time.
I seriously need to write about my time in this AMAZING place...coming soon!!!! I have so much updating to do it's getting ridiculous. I wish I were good at pulling all-nighters...
Monday, November 26, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
Tasmanian adventures!
Tasmanian devils, wineries, and snow...That sums up my most recent trip to Tasmania - an island south of the Australian mainland - a 3 hr plane ride from Brisbane. This place was amazing! (i say that about every place i've visited in Australia) Ok, so this place was doubly amazing. Heather and Kelly flew in from the US (bringing with them some of my fave shampoo and a little liquour from the Sydney duty-free shop!) They were fortunate enough to go to the Whitsundays for a few days on the Great Barrier Reef (while I worked at the hospital here.) That's a whole other story of it's own. A pretty hilarious one at that. Then we celebrated my 27th birthday at this great Turkish restaurant and literally had a feast. At the end, we forced Turkish delights down our throats we were so full. The next morning we began our journey to Tasmania, we landed in Hobart, and as fast as the lady almost put us in jail for having fruits with us from the mainland, we rented our car and set out to first stop - The famous Cadbury Factory. You haven't had chocolate until you've had Cadbury. This stuff is 'heaven on earth' we say. Our cute tour guide (who thought he was hilarious), took us through the factory, and we saw chocolate like we've never seen it before. We saw all the steps- making, coating, wrapping, packages, and eating!! :) Our last stop was the gift shop and you can only guess what happened there! We drove to Strahan on the west coast, dodging wallabies (small kangaroos) left and right. We slammed on the brakes too many times to count and as the sweet innocent wallabies saw their lives flash before them. We didn't get the memo to not drive at dusk, but now we know. We also saw an echidna (porcupine-looking cute australian animal) on the drive as well as a Tasmanian devil crossing the road. :)
Once in Strahan, we took a cruise down the Gordon River - passing lighthouses, rainforest, fish farms, and yes, Sarah Island (where convicts used to live!). After the cruise, we drive to Cradle Mountain where it started snowing on our drive up the moutain. We checked into our Cosy Cabin and headed for Cradle Mountain Lodge. We sat inside the pub with a huge fireplace, wine/ hot chocolate, and snow flurries outside. Unforgettable! We sat around for "ages" (using the Aussie lingo). The next morning we prepared for the hike around Dove Lake. Heather bought a rainjacket (great investment), and Bobbi and i bought ski socks at the giftshop. That's what the weather was like in anutshell - cold and rainy. We arrived at Dove Lake - and decided not to hike around the lake for the sake of not getting frostbit. The weatherwas crazy. SO instead we hike up a trail for about 45 min and ended upat the visitor's center. We looked around there for a while, did 2 moreshort hikes, then called it a day a Cradle Mtn. We packed up and headed down the mountain to begin our drive to Launceston which is the cutest Tassie town. Once we arrived in Launceston, we ate at this great restuarant called Star Bar and retired to our hotel to get in the hot tub! We drove to some wineries the next day and made it to the east coast of Tasmania - which is the best! We saw fairy penguins in the wild that night coming in from the ocean...and were there for a couple hours! It was penguin mating season at the time. We spent the next day at Freycinet National Park and endured a 6 hour hike...we loved it and saw Wineglass Bay (gorgeous!) We took in all the scenery we could that day. Next day: drove to Port Douglas the and drove back to Hobart where we caught our flight back to Brisbane. Such a fun trip with Heather, Kelly, and Bobbi - and so many memories! :)
Once in Strahan, we took a cruise down the Gordon River - passing lighthouses, rainforest, fish farms, and yes, Sarah Island (where convicts used to live!). After the cruise, we drive to Cradle Mountain where it started snowing on our drive up the moutain. We checked into our Cosy Cabin and headed for Cradle Mountain Lodge. We sat inside the pub with a huge fireplace, wine/ hot chocolate, and snow flurries outside. Unforgettable! We sat around for "ages" (using the Aussie lingo). The next morning we prepared for the hike around Dove Lake. Heather bought a rainjacket (great investment), and Bobbi and i bought ski socks at the giftshop. That's what the weather was like in anutshell - cold and rainy. We arrived at Dove Lake - and decided not to hike around the lake for the sake of not getting frostbit. The weatherwas crazy. SO instead we hike up a trail for about 45 min and ended upat the visitor's center. We looked around there for a while, did 2 moreshort hikes, then called it a day a Cradle Mtn. We packed up and headed down the mountain to begin our drive to Launceston which is the cutest Tassie town. Once we arrived in Launceston, we ate at this great restuarant called Star Bar and retired to our hotel to get in the hot tub! We drove to some wineries the next day and made it to the east coast of Tasmania - which is the best! We saw fairy penguins in the wild that night coming in from the ocean...and were there for a couple hours! It was penguin mating season at the time. We spent the next day at Freycinet National Park and endured a 6 hour hike...we loved it and saw Wineglass Bay (gorgeous!) We took in all the scenery we could that day. Next day: drove to Port Douglas the and drove back to Hobart where we caught our flight back to Brisbane. Such a fun trip with Heather, Kelly, and Bobbi - and so many memories! :)
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