Another month and another trip to report on, we really are in full swing now!
Tasmania was the only state we hadn't visited here so we can now tick that one off having spent a short week there a few days ago. The time away spanned a long weekend (as the Aussies call any weekend with an attendant bank holiday/public holiday attached to it) celebrating the Queens birthday of all things. They do seem quite pro-royal here it has to be said but despite our strong republican stance we weren't going to quibble as the extra day came in very handy. Annual leave is at a premium for both of us at the moment as you might expect.
We were obviously aware that we were visiting the coldest part of Australia in mid-winter. Not the best time to visit in some ways but it did give us a very different perspective. Snow was still lying on high ground from a heavy fall a few days before our arrival which made for some refreshing sights. Seeing the varieties of trees and bush that we now associate with a warm climate covered in snow was somehow enthralling.
Tasmania in general is a sophisticated corner of Oz, it was one of the earliest areas to be developed after Sydney and in contrast to the big city much of the old (historical?!) buildings are still actively used. That combined with locally produced produce and wines makes for a cultured experience. It also has a rugged beauty that we did our best to explore in the short time we had.
We spent a couple of nights out on the west coast in a small resort town called Strahan. It was quite wet and a drive into the high ground to see the famous Cradle Mountain didn't improve things. Put it this way, we only caught a brief view of the mountain as the cloud skidded across it. We had more luck on the East coast on the Tasman Peninsula where we took a boat trip to see the famous sea cliffs . We landed at Port Arthur where one of the first Australian penal colonies was built. We were told that the biggest problem back then was the inmates writing home to friends and family urging them to commit crime to ensure a passage out. Such was the relative ease of life compared to Britain in the throes of the industrial revolution. We took a drive and walk to the picturesque Wine Glass Bay, by now the sun was very much out and we enjoyed the views in the best possible conditions. We then topped off the trip with a couple of days spent in the capital Hobart. We visited the art galleries and climbed Hamilton mountain for a view over what is a small, sophisticated city by a wide estuary with the Southern Ocean in the background.
We're now back in Sydney for our last month here. So it's down to the business of wrapping things up and saying our goodbyes. Mixed feelings all round!
A couple of sets of photos this time:
- Tasmania
- Vivid Sydney (a winter festival of light show installations around the city)
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