Betty & Katerina
 Show us your map of Tassie! Melbourne was definitely very much a ‘bright lights’ experience as it seemed so massive after everywhere else we had visited in Oz. Luckily Fred (and flatmate Paul) were happy to put us up for a few days in their flat so we had a home for a bit in St. Kilda (a trendy area to the South of the city by the sea with lots of cafes, restaurants and bars). As we knew we were heading back to Melbourne anyway we enjoyed getting to know the city at a relaxed pace (quite a novelty for us). Rode around on the free tram for tourists, visited possums in the park, strolled along the river and went to a party for the birthday of ‘Austria’ – a cool chick we met on our tour of Uluru. As we had a bit of extra time and didn’t want to outstay our welcome in Melbourne we decided to pay Tasmania a little visit. A Swiss girl named Sue joined us for the week. Thanks to the lovely Jetstar we got cheap flights and then rented a car. Surprise surprise it wasn’t what we rented but we weren’t complaining to be driving round in a racy little red number – every man’s dream! Hobart was our first stop and chance to spot the famed two headed locals. A pretty small place for a state capital but a great location nestled between the sea and mountains. Naturally, our hostel was chosen for its help yourself organic vegetable and herb gardens. A couple of days here gave us time to visit Mount Wellington (amazing views down over the city and beyond and even a sprinkling of snow on the top) and the Hartz Mountain National Park to the South. For the rest of the week our days were spent pottering around the East coast on our way to Launceston, taking in the beautiful natural scenery and visiting places of interest i.e. cheese factories, berry farms and bakeries. All under the umbrella term of ‘sampling the local culture’ and a nice little insight into the holidays we will be taking as pensioners. A few of the things that really stood out were getting to see Tasmanian devils being fed, hiking up for a spectacular view over ‘Wineglass bay’ on the Freycinet peninsula and watching little fairy penguins making their way home to nest at night time in Bicheno. Whilst we were away Sue had a birthday so we also took great delight in helping her celebrate by filling the car with balloons and using it as an excuse to blag discount into a national park (Onya Kaz!) Of course it would’ve been rude not to ‘sample the local (drinking) culture’ so we had a few Tassie Ales like Cascade Draught and James Boag’s. Disappointments of the trip included not being able to spot any Platypus, discovering a guy who we thought was a genuine Eco warrior was in fact a ‘dole bludger’ and perhaps the worst ‘Kate’ of ‘Kate’s Berry Farm’ was in fact a fella, more suited to the title ‘Barry’. Oh and we didn’t see anyone with two heads (Sorry Helen). We’ve spent the past week back here in Melbourne being extremely lazy, in fact as we write we are sat on Fred and Paul’s couch in our sleeping bags. It’s been great to have a semi home for a few days and catch up with a few friends. Victoria market was a definite highlight as we were in food heaven and took the opportunity to stock up on fresh fruit and veg, we’ve even made a few soups! Aside from that we’ve been to a couple of galleries and a couple more cafes. Tonight we are heading to Sydney and really looking forward to meeting up with some more friends for a few days. Then I’m sure you’ll all agree two months is far too long for us to have spent in the same country (although a rather large one) so we’re off to New Zealand for a month. Liz’s friend Anna will be joining us there so get ready for even more silly tales.
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Diary Photos
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Picture Postcard Tasmania |
 A Tassie Devil! |
 Swiss Sue & Kaz hanging out on top of Mt. Wellington. |
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