Holiday Catch-Up

I finally have the use of my phone back. Who knew that most of Tasmania would be a black zone for my service provider? And who could foresee that we'd enter the black zone just when we wanted contact with home. Doesn't matter now. Brisbane survived without us.

The last few days have been fun, exciting, interesting and boring. The boring part was Swansea. It's on the east coast and it's a land that time forgot. The first thing we saw was a note saying that water needed to be boiled before consumption. Really?!! In the 21st century in Australia. Then there was the room. Imagine an old spinster aunt's room back in the 1950s and you'd pretty much have it. (minus the smell of moth balls) I'm not terribly fussy when it comes to accommodation - I do like a bathroom but that's about it - but this room was pretty below average. And it wouldn't have mattered if we'd been able to get out and do what we wanted. But it was raining - no, pouring with gale force winds.

After 2 days in a time warp we moved on to Tarraleah. This little town was the site of a village of workers who were building a hydro-electric plant in the 1930s. It's now a holiday resort. We were put into a lavender cottage which was huge. We managed a couple of bush walks and that night went for a spot-lighting trip, looking for animals. Success- lots of wallabies, pademelons, possums, a wombat and a spotted quoll. It was fantastic!

The next day we went to Cradle Mountain. If you ever get to Tasmania, this place is a must!! The walking tracks are as challenging as you choose and you could spend weeks here and not walk all of them. We did 3 1/2 hours on Saturday and that's when we got to get up close and personal with a wombat. I must say he wasn't very nice to pat. He was bristly and had scurvy skin but it was still a high-light.

Day 2 at Cradle Mountain saw us walking again. We'd planned on walking to Crater Lake and Falls but that was shut so we ended up at Crater Peak. 1 hour up then one hour down. It was a really challenging workout.

This morning, before we left, we went on a trail ride. I'm no horse woman but Iven used to ride. The trail went through national park to a high point where you're supposed to be able to see Cradle Mountain but it was rainy today and there was no view. And it was bitterly cold. But I had a ball. I was given Jack, a grey gelding, who had a bit of an attitude. He pretended to be good but if you were lulled into a false sense of security, he would just take off. We came to an understanding after a short battle of wills. I would be boss and he would do what he was supposed to. And by the time we got back to the stable we were good friends.

We're back in Launceston for the last two days. Tomorrow is our 25 th wedding anniversary and we'll have a nice day exploring the city. But I am looking forward to getting home.