06-09.05 Wellington
We had arranged a reconnaissance trip to Wellington for a couple of days to see if we'd like to live & work there.   We left cold & clear Christchurch for the unpredictable weather of Wellington.  The view across Wellington Harbour to the snow-capped mountain ranges in the distance.   No trip to Wellington can be complete without a ride on the Wellington Cable Car!  A short bus ride out from the city takes you to The Hutt. This is the view of Wellington from Petone Beach.   Installation Art - Fern Ball above Civic Square.   From the Waterfront - Panoramic of Wellington City & more installation art, Solace in the Wind.   Writing this post nine months down the line, I guess you can say that we loved the feel of Wellington and what it had to offer. In fact it felt very much like a mini-Melbourne, but not quite as warm! Labels: big_trips, christchurch, joanna, nathan, new_zealand, north_island, photos, wellington
10.02 Tas: Devonport
  We arrived in Devonport and drove out to the Bluff.   We then waited for the Spirit of Tasmania to come into port, before we headed off to catch a gourmet pizza on the quay side!   This may be a random photo, but we had followed this orange bus from Cape Tourville, Strahan, Cradle Mountain and now Devonport! This bus is run by a company in Germany called 'Rotel'. This bus is not only used as daily transport but also converts into sleeping accommodation! Looks like the road based YHA has been done before, but I still think there is a lot of mileage in this one!!  After nine hours of being in our Ocean View Recliner, how else am I supposed to look? Is there some weird John McCririck sideburn thing going on?! Labels: big_trips, devonport, devonport_bluff, joanna, nathan, photos, rotel, spirit_of_tasmania, tas_day_10, tasmania
10.02 Tas: Evandale
Our final full day in Tasmania, would see us drive down the east side of the Tamar Valley to Evansdale. At Evansdale we went to the Sunday Market, where the entry fee was just 20c! Once inside you could have a ride on a horse or a steam train! After our tea & latte stop we headed to Longford to look at the Georgian architecture, before heading back to Penguin via Westby and Deloraine. Enjoyed a lovely 'poverty-corner' special on the beach before making our way to Devonport!   Labels: big_trips, evandale, joanna, nathan, penny_farthing, photos, tas_day_10, tasmania
09.02 Tas: Low Head & Penguin Tour
After finding our pitch for the night at Low Head Tourist Park, which just happened to have the best facilities we had encountered on our entire trip! Although we were placed in the older section with the 'permanents', as we had asked for an unpowered site!? I was going to say that we were tucked in a corner again, but that was our choice for some natural cover, as the 'rope & pulley curtain system' would have had to extend all the way car if we had stayed where suggested! We had also seen on our drive down to the Lightstation that there were Little (Fairy/Blue) Penguin tours! So after much pestering I mananged to persuade Joanna that we should go, as I had never been on one before! Apparently it was the best tour Joanna had ever been on! We had watched the penguins coming up the beach, then we walked around the rockeries looking at their little nests and watched them waddle further up the beach!      Labels: big_trips, low_head, low_head_lightstation, magna, penguin_tour, photos, sunset, tas_day_9, tasmania
09.02 Tas: Port Sorell
On our way to Tamar Valley, we thought that we'd drop into Port Sorell. Sitting on the beach gave us a chance to write our postcards and watch the bogans ride a bike off the pier into the river!   Labels: big_trips, photos, port_sorell, tas_day_9, tasmania
09.02 Tas: Penguin
   We had a lunch stop at Penguin, and enjoyed delicious something at the Groovy Penguin Cafe! Penguin itself reminded us of a toned-down version of Mooloolaba!   This, we believe, was the freight train that woke us up on our first night in Deloraine! We didn't just have one that night, I think there were two of them! And surprisingly for Australian standards, were going passed at quite a lick! Labels: big_trips, groovy_penguin_cafe, nathan, penguin, photos, tas_day_9, tasmania
09.02 Tas: Stanley - The Nut
Woke up to a another bright day and decided that we'd climb the nut - a short, steep walk or there is the chairlift if your feeling flush! Didn't stay up there too long due to the fly issue, but there were some amazing views! Managed to have a look around Stanley before trying to find somewhere to buy a new tyre! No luck in Smithton or Wynard, as everything is closed on a Saturday & Sunday in Tasmania - this definitely isn't the mainland!       Labels: big_trips, chair_lift, northwest, photos, stanley, tas_day_9, tasmania, the_nut
08.02 Tas: Woolnorth Wind Farm
While having our picnic at Marrawah Beach, we had noticed the Woolnorth Wind Farm in the distance. From Arthur River we headed back to Marrawah and picked up the unsealed Harcus River Road to Woolnorth. About 20 kilometers into our journey I noticed that the back end was stepping out a little too much, although the surface was quite rough and loose. So I pulled over and explained to Joanna that perhaps things weren't quite as what they were supposed to be. As soon as I opened the door and looked back, my fears had been realised! There was no hubcap to be seen and we had a puncture!  After a little bit of time rearranging the boot with all our clobber, it was time to make sure that all the tools were in the right place and the spare actually had some air in it!  Something just isn't right here and I'm not just talking about the missing hubcap! How does the air stay in with all those holes? I guess there is no way of telling what caused this or where the puncture occurred?!  Actually the spare was a brand new tyre with plenty of air in it! Phew! A little Cossack dance for luck was performed, before it was firmly fitted in place!! During our time on the side of the road two people actually stopped and asked if we were okay! Anyway, the unsealed road was much smoother on the final three kilometers with the inflated tyre!!   This was as close as we got, as the wind farm was closed and there were some concerns over our tyre situation! So we went straight to the campsite at Stanley! Labels: big_trips, cossack_dancing, harcus_river_road, magna, nathan, photos, tas_day_8, tasmania, woolnorth_wind_farm
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We left cold & clear Christchurch for the unpredictable weather of Wellington.
The view across Wellington Harbour to the snow-capped mountain ranges in the distance.
No trip to Wellington can be complete without a ride on the Wellington Cable Car!
A short bus ride out from the city takes you to The Hutt. This is the view of Wellington from Petone Beach.
Installation Art - Fern Ball above Civic Square.
From the Waterfront - Panoramic of Wellington City & more installation art, Solace in the Wind.
Writing this post nine months down the line, I guess you can say that we loved the feel of Wellington and what it had to offer. In fact it felt very much like a mini-Melbourne, but not quite as warm!
