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Today I made my way from Coles Bay to Hobart. This meant traversing most of eastern Tasmania. The drive was beautiful and the weather could not have been better. Here I stopped for a quick photo, but most me the day was the same view; bright blue ocean and bright green countryside. I am in Hobart now awaiting my flight to Perth tomorrow, but I know I barely scratched the surface of Tasmania. What an amazing place.
Well it wasn't a great Saturday! After arriving early to Devenport I set out east to the coast. I needed to cover a lot of ground that day on my way to Coles Bay. The road was very twisty and narrow, fun but not as much with a big camper. Somehow I managed to get a flat tire which was a bit of a pain, cost me about 30 min. But later I had a worse encounter with a short street post (trying to make room for am oncoming truck). It will cost me some money on the return. Then it started to rain! I was happy to finally reach Coles Bay and since then it's been a much better time.
I'm on the Spirit of Tasmania II on my way to Devonport Tasmania. The sun is setting, this is an all night journey. The ferry is more like a cruise liner, with a few bars and a casino. I have a spot in a 4 bed shared room, this is paid for with my camper rental. It looks to be a great journey, and I am excited to see Tasmania. But I hate to leave Melbourne. It's got to be one of my favorite places and the weather has been perfect (as you can see from the blue skies). But off we go anyway!
On Philip Island I also stopped by a wildlife park. It's spring here so there are lots of babies. This gray kangaroo and her Joey were curious enough to come say hi.
I spent last night on Philip Island which is about 2 hrs south of Melbourne. I camped in my van, but first I went before sunrise to the coast where hundreds of tiny Penguins come ashore at dusk. No photos are allowed there, but today I found this little guy under a walkway. I guess he took the day off, or maybe he is watching the nest.
Well, this morning I picked up my campervan. It's big, which is a bit of a pain but the one way price was right. I decided to drive it down to Philip Island tonight. I have to get back to Melbourne tomorrow to catch my overnight ferry to Tasmania. It's nice here, sunny and around 65. I am going to head over and try and see some penguins tonight.
Well I've been in Melbourne for a couple days now; staying in style at the Marriott (with my Marriott points). It's been a good time in a great city. Yesterday I rented this Focus and drove to a few race teams shops around here. Most are near Melbourne. I got a decent response, but they were busy prepping for this weekend's event in Queensland. I decided as long as I have this car I'd head out of the city, so I am driving around Mount Dandenong at the moment. It's a fun little car, another one that Ford inexplicably does not sell in the US. It's a manual transmission so good thing I had some practice in England! That's the last time I drove a car so it was easy. Tomorrow I am picking up my camper van and starting the trip to Tasmania! Can't wait.
I spent two nights in Byron Bay after the Blue Mountains. It is a beach town, popular with locals and tourists. It's pretty small but with good restaurants and shops. I took a three mile or so hike around the cape, there is a lighthouse there as well as the most easterly point of Australia. I also went surfing a lot. Great weather for surfing but the waves were a little weak. Still fun. Today I am flying from Brisbane to Melbourne.
Photo of The Giant Stairway in the Blue Mountains near Katoomba. Over 900 steps going down the face of the cliff.
Near Katoomba, the major town in the Blue Mountain area west of Sydney, there is some spectacular mountain scenery and wildlife. The most famous part is this rock formation known as the Three Sisters. After taking this picture I went down the Giant Stairway to near the bottom of the valley. It is over 900 steps, carved out of the rock in the 1930s. It is very steep but well maintained. Then I made about a 2 mile hike to Scenic Railway. This is a short ride in a rail bar up the mountain. It is amazingly steep, 52 degrees! Quite the experience. The weather here is very strange, warm then cold, rain then sun, sometimes rain with sun. A very interesting place.
Well I made it to Australia on Monday. I flew (as a welcome surprise) on an Airbus A380. This is the double decker mega cruiser that has only been flying about 2 years. It was my first time, and on the upper deck in Business Class is the only way to fly! It was a Qantas flight and the lie-flat seats were hands down the most comfortable airplane seats I've ever experienced. There was also a Business Class lounge on board! I am sure before long they'll have seats in there. I took a taxi and stayed at Coogee Beach the night of my arrival to Sydney. The next day I relaxed on the beach in the morning, then took a bus to Circular Quay where I snapped this photo of The Opera House. Then I grabbed a train to Katoomba, the blue mountains area, where I'll be staying for a few days. I really love Australia, it's great to be back!
Through the power of the internet I found that I knew someone in Malaysia! When I went to Japan in 2007 for work I met someone there who now works for Honda of Malaysia. She is from Malaysia, and lives back in her hometown of Melaka now. Anyway she convinced me to check out Melaka so I took a bus here from the airport. It is really a cool city. Lots of history. This is a church ruins built by the Portuguese in 1521. They conquered and ruled this city for a couple centuries and many buildings still remain. It is a great little city. I am staying in Chinatown and it is a good value with lots to see. I'm only here today though, then back to Kuala Lumpur.
My time in Ho Chi Minh City was short. It didn't help that I was under the weather. Still, I managed to go see the Cu Chi Tunnels which was on my short list of must do's. The Tunnels were very interesting but also there is something odd about seeing the war from America's opponent's eyes. Ho Chi Minh City is like Hanoi but much less conservative. More tourists, more westernised. But still Vietnam. I was fortunate that it didn't rain while I was there. It was forecast to rain every day! One day was 100 percent chance. My good fortune with the weather continues. This photo is of a fairly typical form of Transport in Vietnam. I want one!
On Saturday we made the ride to Halong Bay. It took a lot of the day, but we had time for a boat tour. There are hundreds of rock islands jutting out me the bay here. It's really something. On Sunday we took a ferry to Cat-ba island. After exploring that island (very impressive) we hopped a couple ferries and rode back to Hanoi. It was exhausting but fun.
Not the best photo me the bunch but the only one I thought to take with my phone. Matthew and I rode to the top me this mountain near Sapa, Vietnam. It was raining and as we got to the top it got colder and colder. We were yet and cole and tired of rain pelleting our faces! And at the top was a girl under a tarp with a quote and hot tea. She made up some rice and cooked a couple little birds on a stick. It was a great break from the weather. On the other side of the mountain, the rain stopped and it was warmer so we had a nice couple hours in that valley.
My friend Matthew has kept me busy here! Sorry for the lack of updates. Vietnam has been pretty amazing. Here is a photo of Hanoi traffic near my hotel. Matthew and I took am overnight train and bus to Sapa on tuesday night and rode around the mountains and villages there. There are some incredible views although it was cold and rainy at times. Today we are headed to HaLong Bay.
