Arrived at Strahan today which is about the remotest town in Tassie. Took us 5 hours to cover the 230km - yes that is an average of 46 kph. Very hilly and winding for the most part.

Could only get a reverse on site today so we had a few frustrations making this van go backwards.

Passed a lot of pine logging areas (tree farms). Pine close to Strahan but Tassie blue gum further north nearer Burnie. Not a nice look after it has just been stripped.

We plan to go on a cruise of the harbour and Gordon River so will hopefully have photos tomorrow. This red gum is from about 10 days ago.

Chocolate Factory

Had to stay a day over waiting for a site to be available at Strahan. Decided to phone and check which is just as well as the town is quite remote. Staying in Latrobe we visited the chocolate factory and museum. The free samples were very tasty but we didn't succumb.

Back in town we visited an amazing business called Reliquaire It consisted of 17 rooms crammed with an amazing variety of puppets, dolls, antiques and curios most of which are for sale. No photos permitted and I would hate to do the stocktaking.

Cradle Mountain

Woke to clear blue skies this morning so decided it was a good day for a run to Cradle Mountain. Went through some interesting small towns. Railton's claim to fame is topiary but nothing spotted that was worth a photo. Sheffield is known for it's murals. Any flat space has been decorated quite expertly. The chap with the alpaca was making good pocket money from posing for tourist photos.

After Sheffield the road became very mountainous with hair pin bends and little opportunity to pass. I was glad Rosemary was driving as she has a better head for heights. We switched to mini buses at the start of the national park - saves traffic and is better for the environment. When we got to Dove Lake we were pretty disappointed with the vista. Quite unimpressive but I guess that is alpine vegetation for you. Cost us $56 but that gives us a 2 month Natnl Parks permit.

We have decided to stay 2 more nights and move on Monday heading west from here.

Braddon's Lookout

It has been wet and miserable for the last few days but we got some sunshine today. Went for a drive along the north coast and visited Ulverstone, Penguin and Burnie. Took this shot near Ulverstone - it is a panorama so click for the bigger version.

Stopped at Penguin and had a coffee in huge cups. Rosemary said they looked like an old fashioned shaving cup. We had fresh scones with home-made mulberry jam and cream. Yummy!

The Spirit of Tasmania II.

We left our caravan park at 6 pm last night and set off to find Station Pier - the ferry terminal in Port Melbourne. Oce again owe GPS worked flawlessly to get us to the Terminal by 7 pm. Boarding was from 7:30 so we waited in a queue for almost an hour. We and the vehicles were subjected to a security check before proceeding to the queue

Because we have the van we had a very straightforward drive onto deck 3 along with other oversize vehicles. Cars on the other hand were directed up a type of flyover arrangement that serviced decks 5 & 6. We didn't mind giving that a miss.

Deck 7 had the usual fare - purser, gift shop, travel guides, as well as bars, a restaurant and cafe.

Deck 8 was all accommodation in 2 bed cabins. We had a porthole cabin although we were in the dark leaving and arriving so not much to see.

We were woken at 6:15 and showered and dressed and went to have a coffee while we waited for our deck to be called. We were called first and so we made our way down to deck 3 and almost as soon as we got in the ute the line started moving. Going through quarantine slowed six lanes of traffic down to two. Again the vehicles were checked and passed.

So here we were in just-light Devenport with a caravan site booked for 10 am (3 hours away). We parked in the street and tried ringing the park, and a few others but all we got was message bank. Just then a chap approached us with a flyer saying "This is the caravan park you need." It was about 10km out of Devenport at a village called Latrobe and is very new and very quiet and here we are on site by 8am. As soon as we had power I emailed the other park as to what had happened. With a shipload of vehicles arriving each day by ferry the parks need to be a bit more proactive eg handing out flyers like our park did.

The people next door were getting ready to leave but advised us to walk into town for a cafe breakfast. This we did and enjoyed bacon and eggs on toast with tomatoes and hash browns. It certainly was as advertised - a big breakfast for $9.50 each.

This has been a longer post - hope it's of interest. As you may have guessed there are platypus here.

Beaches

Went for a drive around Mornington Peninsular as far as Sorrento. It is an interesting drive made up of cliffside in some stretches, Shopping precincts in others but mainly fairly heavily wooded coastal strip. Lots of caravan parks including one 'permanent' spot reminiscent of Naval base in the 60s.

Passed an Aldi supermarket so decided to call in for a look. It is definitely a no frills approach with no marketing display just open cartons stacked on shelves. It was still very tidy though and the prices were cheap for the basics. Most of the merchandise looks familiar in wrapping and colours but all are actually their own generic brands.

Forgot my camera today so pics are taken with the little camera I bought for Rosemary. It lives in her handbag.

LPG fuel is a lot cheaper over here averaging 50 cents/litre. Saw one outlet at 43.9.

It's off the the ferry tomorrow (sails at 7pm) so will noy be blogging for a day or so.

Carving/sculpture

We went for a 2km walk around the Seabreeze Gardens at Arthurs Seat.

This is one of about six sculptures based on aboriginal themes.

After yesterdays walk we have had a 'catch-up' day today. The walk was quite steep in parts and our calf muscles are feeling it today.

Mornington

Mornington is a bit like the Margaret River area - it has some excellent wines and a big selection of artists' galleries to peruse. We went to Hinchinbrook at Dromana and they make a great 2000 Shiraz. We bought a bottle and Rosemary said we'd open it for my birthday (in July).

Took a drive to the main lookout at Arthur's Seat. You may remember it has a chairlift that crashed some years ago. There was no sign of it working today so it may be moth-balled.

Today's weather was perfect - clear skies and a 25 degree day very reminiscent of Perth in Autumn.

Today's pics are sculpted from bush wood and stand about 2m tall.

Melbourne

We arrived in Melbourne today and are staying at Mornington for 5 days while we explore the Peninsular.

Todays pictures are taken on the West Gate Bridge.

We came in on the Western Freeway which runs for 100km as typical divided road. Makes it easy and they have designated midway stopping points where you can refuel yourself and the car and take a toilet break.

Rosemary drive through Melbourne with me as a navigator (in addition to the GPS).

The GPS did a good job and even when you miss a turn it quickly recalculates how to get back on track.

Have five days now to relax and sleep in if we want to.

In Victoria now.

Had a day off yesterday but made up for it today with a 460km day. Roads were very bumpy - seems Victoria spends more on roadside barriers than on the road surface itself.

Tomorrow we will move from Ararat to Melbourne and stay at Mornington. Will have 5 nights there so will do some sightseeing and photography. We found that access to the ferry from SE Melbourne was the only one that avoided the low bridge. Wanted to explore the Mornington Peninsular anyway.

No photo today.

We are in Murray Bridge overnight as we have simply driven straight through Adelaide and up the Princes Hway. There is double carriageway for about 90 km north of Adelaide and the Princes Hway to here is also double. This is a great stress-buster when you are a slower vehicle (we cruise at 90km/hr). We had a lay-day yesterday in Port Augusta and have a full week before we board the Spirit of Tasmania.

I found out on a caravan forum on the internet that the main access way to the Port includes a limited headroom (2.7m) underpass. We top out at about 3m so that access is no use to us. I emailed the shipping company and asked for all their available access instructions. It seems we have a clear run only from the SE. This suits us as we will go to Geelong and cross Pt Phillip Bay on the car ferry. Then we will take our time seeing the Mornington Peninsular and be ready to embark for a 7pm sailing next Sunday..

A touch of weather

We have been keeping pace with a band of thunderstorms over the last two days. Went through several severe but brief storms this afternoon. This poor quality shot taken through the car window shows what seemed to be a cross between a willy-willy and a mini tornado. It was between showers and was in sight for about 5 mins. It grew in height and as it did so it became longer and paler in colour. There were radio reports of a mini-tornado today as well.

Mode of transport

You see all sorts of vehicles on the Eyre Highway. There are no shortage of semis - most configured as Road Trains with an extra one or two trailers (total of 3). The road is wide, straight and sealed well enough to make passing a non-event. Because of our 5th wheel hitch we are virtually a semi trailer as well and there is no sway when the big trucks pass. This is very different to a conventional caravan which can be seriously buffeted and have induced sway.

There are of course lots of caravans on the road - not many 5th wheelers although the numbers are growing. Smaller trucks and private vehicles are also common. Less common are motorbikes and the occasional cyclist. One year we saw a walker pulling his own trolley and in 2006 we saw a chap with a camel drawn buggy.

The picture was actually taken yesterday and its occupants looked like they were enjoying their trip.

We are over-nighting in Ceduna and head for Port Augusta tomorrow. We have left the desert behind and are in agicultural and pastoral country much like the Great Southern of WA.

In SA now

Been a few days since posting. Stayed over for 3 nights in Esperance to catch up with Jon. I was also battling a cold so not up to traveling. Spent last night at Caiguna Roadhouse and tonight we are at Border Village. Because there is a police presence here we have mobile phone and internet access (at least I assume that is the reason.

The picture is of last night's sunset. Click pic for larger size.

The van is behaving well but we have had headwinds all the way and it is making a mess of our fuel consumption figures. We run on Autogas and the prices are at least 10% higher than on our 2007 trip. The most we have paid was $1.13 at Caiguna and the cheapest on Eyre Highway has been Eucla at $0.99.

Day One - 5th March

We got away about 8:15 am and arrived at our stopover at Ravensthorpe about 4 pm. After lots of planning we managed to leave behind all our frozen food and my toothbrush. The trip was smooth with one exception - I left my credit card behind at Lake Grace. Found their phone number but the signal in the park is too weak to ring - I can hear them but they apparently can't hear me.

No pictures yet but can I remind you that if you click on a photo you get the full-size view.

TV is working well - at least we get that signal!!

Wednesday 4 March

Tomorrow we leave on our travels, this time concentrating on Tasmania and South-East Australia. We are booked on the Spirit of Tasmania for Sunday 22nd. This gives us plenty of time to cross the Nullabor etc. Will be blogging several days per week or as often as there is news. We plan to be away for 6 months on this trip. Look forward to your company through the blog and email.