West Coast

I'm back from an AMAZING week-long trip that took me all around Tasmania! Since the trip was so awesome I'm dividing it up into 3 rough sections: the West Coast, the North, and the East Coast. Afterwards hopefully you'll have a good idea of where to go if you ever get the chance to visit Tassie!

The weather reports indicated a bit of rain all over island for the first couple days and then skies clearing for the rest of the week. Since we had been told so many good things about the East Coast, we decided to save it for the end with the good weather. Thus we headed off to the West Coast with Lake St. Clair for a destination in mind.

Map of Hobart in the bottom right to Lake St Clair in the top left

We stopped at a small town, not worth noting along the way for lunch, before going sight-seeing at a hydroelectric dam that cut through the landscape in a very shocking fashion. The roads, although a highway, were very narrow and windy as they followed the steep terrain.  Eventually, about 4 hours after starting out, we arrived at the campgound and information centre. We weren't too surprised to see it raining and drizzling with few breaks between clouds.

To enter National Parks, you need to have a park pass. You can purchase one for the day, otherwise the next option is for 2 months, which is what we bought. Lake St Clair is located at the end of the Overland Track which starts in Cradle Mountain and runs through the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park. Hence we saw many backpackers just arriving after spending a few days trekking down this famous route. Another thing to note is that no campfires are allowed in National Parks which is a safety precaution partially due to the chance that peat may be present.

A bit of info on Lake St Clair

The lake!

We set up our tents while there was still light and then head back to the info centre which had a fireplace and undercover dining spot nearby. After a using the rest of the daylight to do a couple very short walks we used  the dining spot to make our hamburgers along with a greasy sooty mess thanks to the camp stoves the bushwalking club had lent us. Still raining, but now dark and much colder, we head off early to bed.

It rained all night and our tents were a soggy mess to put away the next morning, but thankfully the camp had enclosed washrooms with warm water. Still quite tired due to the cold night, we had breakfast back at the info centre before it even opened as we had woken early as the day ahead was long.

Then we did our first hike to Shadow Lake, a small lake near Lake St. Clair. At the National Parks, they request you fill out a book with your information prior to taking a hike, just in case you don't return, they'll have an idea of where you went and how long you've been missing. Recently a Japanese tourist went off one of the walking tracks at Lake St. Clair and got lost. As no cell service is available up where she was, she was lucky they found her by searching the areas she had planned to hike along. Even then, it's suggested you travel in a group of at least 4 people.

Lake St Clair hiking trails

Shadow Lake

Our hike was quite a soggy mess, with the path now saturated with water, many puddles and muddy streams were along the trail. When we finally arrived at the lake, we were greeted with more rain and a cold breeze, so we turned around and head back shortly after. All of us were wet and just a little grumpy! So we drove of with our wet clothes arranged all over the inside of the car to dry off. The plan was to head to Cradle Mountain, but as no roads run directly there (ie through the park) you are forced to  drive quite a bit out of the way to the west.  This takes you through Queensland where we stopped to pick up some more food supplies.

Queenstown was a mining community that thrived back in the 1900's (not so much now) and recently has had a couple of house fires. The overall result is a bit depressing, although it may have had something to do with the looming grey clouds that still hung overhead. There were no Coles of Woollies here, in fact all small towns (ie everything other than Hobart and Launceston) only have expensive IGA grocery stores which although common on the mainland of Australia are basically scarce in Hobart...weird!

The rest of the route

A waterfall along the way

The hillside changes near Queenstown

Although the drive was much slower than anticipated as the roads are soooo windy and narrow (not shown on map!) we didn't want to miss out on Strahan (pronounced Strawn) which is basically the only community along the west coast. So expecting a late night, we head to Strahan which we were told would be a good hours drive out of the way.

Oh how plans change! Strahan was sunny after all that rain, and we were exhausted, so instead we decided to stay the night. We found an awesome cabin at a holiday camp site with hot showers, tv, a fridge, microwave, hot pan and heater!! It was cheaper than staying at the backpackers site too. Finally able to dry-off and relax we checked out the touristy sites and enjoyed the atmosphere the quaint town had to offer.  Prior to heading back for dinner, we drove 10 minutes to the longest beach in Tassie to watch the sun set along the western shores. Then back at our cabin we chowed down and slept quite soundly.

Watching the sun set in along the West Coast

And the beach goes on

With spirits high the next morning, we took in the view point at Strahan before packing back in the car just as the first big raindrops started to fall. On to Zeehan (very small now, but once a thriving mining town), then Rosebery for a bathroom break (ooh a waterfall...but thats basically all) and the even smaller Tullah (located at lake Rosebery and means the meeting of two waters in one of the aboriginal languages) for lunch.

Then off further north to Cradle Mountain we went on still quite winding little roads.

 But I'm going to stop there as I think thats quite a bit about the West Coast for now and I'll include Cradle Mountain in the North Section. So to summarize, I would still do Lake St. Clair, but in the summer when it's drier and you can appreciate the scenery. Although the towns here aren't too interesting, if you make it to Strahan I think you'll definitely enjoy it as the town is quite cute and you have to see the west coast and the very very long beach nearby!

And I'm off!

Off camping and trekking around the island that is! I can't say much about our plan since its rather thin and we keep on getting told to look at the weather reports before choosing if we want to travel up the east or west coasts. However I think it looks like we'll head west first to Lake St. Clair and then move on to Cradle Mountain. We plan on staying just one night at each location head on to Launceston area and then take in the Bay of Fires and Wineglass Bay on the east coast as we return. The east coast of Tassie is said to have the best weather normally so hopefully if we suffer through rain half our journey we'll be able to soak in the sun for t he last half.

Unfortunately due to needing to pack 4 of us into a car with a bunch of gear, we're only bringing one computer and it's not mine so there wont be any updates until I get back which will be late Wednesday.  But I hope everyone has a good Easter Weekend!

The difference between saying thank-you and sorry

I’ve been mulling something in my head for a little while now and think I may have figured it out.

The past two days in each of my Geography lectures the lecturer has thanked the class for being accommodating in allowing two of the lectures to be swapped after Easter. He mentioned he was going away with his family, so the other lecturer would start the next unit a bit early and the next class he would complete the previous unit. I personally am fine with this as I’m sure most of the class is. There is very little difference between the units, and each lecture is very complete in itself making the order rather unimportant.

The problem comes with the fact that he thanked us. During the lecture, it was the first time I had heard about this switch and yet he was thanking us as if we had given permission. I’m sure we could have revolted if we had wanted to, but really we had little say in the matter.

In my opinion it would have made more sense if he had apologised for the switch and just left it at that. Sure it puts 'the blame' on him but isn’t that where it should lie? I think it makes more sense if  he had just said he was sorry there would be a switch in the lecture order, but it would be to allow him to spend time with his family.

Anyway, tell me your thoughts? Is this just me, or maybe a Canadian thing, or do you think it really doesn’t matter?

Cocktail Party

With the Easter week just on the horizon, it seems all the clubs, groups and rental houses, which will allow it, have partying on their minds.

Back during O-week, Nya and I payed the membership cost to join the Engineering club, and while other groups and clubs have been having events, we hadn't heard anything from them. So Nya sent off an email to them along with some other clubs we hadn't heard much about, and that's how we found out about the bushwalking trip. The Engineering club also responded saying that they have had troubles with their email list, but they were hosting a 1920's Cocktail party with the Pharmacy club this Friday. Apparently these annual parties are very popular, so Nya was interested and asked if I would come too, since neither of us really know anyone in engineering or pharmacy.

Oh the 1920s!

So thats how I ended up shelling out some money for a ticket, and later accessories for the party. Nya and I spent a very busy Thursday afternoon in town, trying to find all the right accessories for a good costume. Luckily we both had a basic black dress to work with! Small handbags from the Salvos store (Salvation Army), shoes and nylons from Target, discount feather hairpieces from another shop, and eventually we  found a decent deal for feather boa's and "pearl" necklaces. The necklaces were probably our best find as we bought 1.5 meters of shiny Mardi-Gras type beads from a fabric shop for only $3.

On Friday before heading to Nya's place to get ready, we did some Easter trip planning. While the exact details are a bit limited, it looks like I'll be travelling around Tassie and doing some walks with my friends. Tents and other camping supplies are care of the Bushwalking club which is awesome!

After the meeting, Nya and I cooked up some pasta bolognese made from Roo! It tasted quite good, so I'm not afraid to pick up my own minced Kangaroo meat. We spent quite a bit of time getting ready and then I left my pack there so that we only had jackets and a tiny bag to take along. 

The party was held in the Cascade Brewery hall and gardens which looks really neat, so eventually I'm going to need day-time pics when I can get back there, maybe for a tour. The party was very lively (probably due to the free drinks!), and they had a live band playing some 1920's jazz and later a DJ.

Nearing 12am, double decker buses took us into town, so the party could continue on. (The clubs are all about a block away from Salamanca place)

Anyways, it was after 3am when Nya and I left, and since my stuff was still at her place, only a 10min walk away, thats where I ended up crashing for the night.

The band! (most other pictures are too blurry to see much!)

Needless to say, we had a very lazy morning but did manage to check out the Salamanca Market and meet up with some other friends before I finally made it back to my own home in the late afternoon. As mentioned, it's the party weekend, so I'll check out a house party later this evening which is being hosted by a bunch of international students, most of whom I haven't met. Good thing there are very few assignments I have due in the next while!

Sunrise Surprise

What a weekend and its not even half way!

My week was pretty tame with some homework getting done and I finally bought some Tim Tams! As told by my landlord I had to do the Tim Tam Slam. basically you nibble at both ends and then suck up hot chocolate through them. They don't really act as a straw but instead will melt the chocolate centre and wafers into gooey goodness.

2 for $4 means I get Double Chocolate and Dark Chocolate Mint to try

I believe on that shopping expedition home I came back to find a tree full of (well 4) large yellow tailed black cockatoos. One of them was making noise for at least 10 minutes while the others just sat there before they all flew off.

Just as big in real life

Later in the week I was informed by email that on Friday there would be a Geo Barrel. I think that since I have one geography class I got the email, as I don't recall signing up for their club. I also heard through Nya about a sunrise walk to the top of Mount Wellington, which overlooks Hobart, taking place Saturday morning through the bush-walking club. Since I hadn't been up there it sounded great...except for the fact we were meeting at 4am...

Anyway, I invited along Nya, Sam and a new German exchange student to check out the barrel on Friday. Basically all the different schools have these cheap alcohol BBQ get-togethers and although none of us are in geology I don't think it mattered. Its just a chance to meet some new students.

There were some canned drinks along with a weird punch concoction and then a small BBQ with crispy overcooked sausages aka snags and veggie-burgers. A game (drinking obviously) called boat race was played between the post-grads and first, second, and third years. It must have been a bit of an upset to watch the first years win!

We also learned that most of the post-grads studying geology were either Canadian or Australian, hence Sam and I got to talk Canadian to some others (aka hockey not "ice" hockey as said by Australians, and about the pending election).

Since I was surviving on about 2 hours sleep from the night before, I head home around 8:30pm while the others went to a bar located in a house (I'm kinda curious about this) before heading home a couple hours later. Unfortunately although I was in bed by 9:30pm, I had a sleepless night finally calling it quits at 2:50am. I couldn't believe I was functioning and getting ready to go climb into the wilderness on no sleep.

There were 10 of us all together meeting at the University at 4am and ready to go hiking. Luckily for Nya, the girl I caught a ride with stopped to pick her up, as I spotted her power-walking a little late to the pickup point. It was about a half hour drive to the parking lot at the springs (about 2/3 already up the mountain) and still pitch black. As Sam, Nya and I didn't have any torches or head lamps the club let us borrow theirs and then we were off....up the black and rocky path for the hour and a half hike. It was a pretty steep climb, and not having hiking boots, a little tiring on the feet. We made good time though and stopped a couple of times along the way to watch the horizon lightening.

Hobart city under a star

Lightening sky

Nearly to the top, that pillar marks our destination

Finally almost at the top, we bundled up preparing for the strong wind at the mountain top and waiting a bit as we were still early.  The barren mountain top was sooooo windy and very powerful but the view was absolutely amazing!

Still early, with beautiful colours in the sky

From the very top, the lookout booth visible to the left

Pink clouds and the end of the Derwent River

With wind-chapped hands we huddled with our cameras out documenting the day...after all, even though the sight was awesome and definitely worth getting up for (or rather staying up for) and hiking in the night to, I don't think I'll be doing that again.

Heading back, the pinnacle thing which is actually a tv/radio transmitter off to the left

Really rocky mountain top nearby

The sun finally rising...it was actually bright red

Goodbye 1200+ meter mountain top

Goodbye sunrise

Can you spot the rest of the group? We were really lagging...

From a bit further down the hill

The three of us, now wide awake and giddy, kept on pulling out our cameras like obsessed tourists, all the way back down the hill. After a pit stop at the washrooms we drove on down to our hiking leader's flat, where she was serving up some pancakes. It was really nice to chat with other members, and in the end the three of us all payed the $10 club registration fee so that we would be able to join in other walks and get all the information.

So if anyone should find themselves in Tassie, I would highly recommend taking in Mount Wellington, especially at sunrise. I'll let you pass on the walking bit though as 4am is a bit much for anyone!

Not too surprising, after being dropped back off at Uni around 9:30am, I head home and crashed, adding 2 more hours of sleep to my tired body. Something tells me I should sleep well tonight!

Mount Wellington from Sandy Bay later that same day

These are taken a couple blocks from Uni...it rained later too!

Power Plant

The last day of March went out with R2-D2 background noise followed by some organ whistles powered by a vacuum. Confusing? Well to better explain, I along with 4 other international students attended another "Ten Days on the Island" event, held at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, called Power Plant.

This event was very popular with great reviews on the website and often had sold out shows. We wisely decided to book tickets ahead for the Thursday. Then it was just a matter of making our way to the gardens. Buses used to run, but they no longer go into the gardens, otherwise it's about a 2 km walk from the city centre. We decided to catch a bus to the base of the hill with the gardens situated above. From the stop it was just a bit longer to walk to the front gate than to the back one (about 10 minutes)...so taking the bus driver's advice, to the back we headed. Unfortunately, although there were cars parked outside the gate there was no open entrance. We may have miss-read the sign, as we managed to get in through the back anyhow..... Making our way to the entrance in the looming darkness, we crossed paths with a couple workers but they were pleasant enough to show us the way out so that we could pick up our tickets to get back in!

At the front entrance we picked up our tickets and waited in line for hot chocolate being sold from the back of a van. It was very busy, and well past our 8:10 entrance time before they shuffled our group in. It was basically a self guided tour and you just followed the path along, keeping some distance between you and the others along the way.

Lights highlighted some trees in green, or covered the tourist centre in the image of branches. R2-D2 must have been hidden somewhere in the greenhouse as beeping noises could be heard behind the flowers. Outside spinning lights stood like lollipops in the garden and a lit up gramophone played some eerie tune.

Spinning lollipop lights

Lit up gramophone

We passed under a tree with white swinging lights...almost as if it was full of faeries. Nearing what sounded like a haunted organ, we noticed trees being lit up in green as a sound echoed from them.

Under two trees with disco balls stood two more gramophones. What were they playing? Well the sound of trees and disco balls obviously!

Another gramophone

With the needle going round a chunk of wood

Smoke/light displays and lights flickering in tune to music made up some other displays. We even walked under a tree with lights flickering and making electric noises which sounded like they could shock you. Eerie old fashioned women's dresses lit by the lights, and benches lit by vintage lamps with a view of the fire display at the Japanese pond made for other interesting sights.

Fire display over the water

There were over 20 different types of sound and light displays set out across the garden. As we walked to the exit we remarked how relaxed we all felt, definitely having enjoyed our evening out.

Not knowing how to catch a bus back, we walked back towards the city centre, taking into account how quiet the city is after dark.