It rained most of the way down to Port Huon and got colder and colder, I think the overnight temp was about 5 degrees. We are very disappointed at our choice in area to stay and really wonder why we did chose here. It is nice but a bit far from anything, really it is somewhere we would go for a day trip, not spend 7 nights here. Anyway we are here. We have a 2 bedroom cottage which is quite small, not sure how Chris is going to manage in the bathroom as I can only just turn around in there. However it is fairly new and in good condition and the heater is doing a good job.
Sunday 17th March we went on a river cruise (Port Huon River), lovely to sit back and see the sights and listen to the commentary rather than more driving. Afterwards we went into Huonville and did some shopping to stack up on supplies for a few days.
We're not that happy with our accomodation, the "cottage" is a bit smaller than we are used to, and we are on the main highway....not very good investigation on our part and a pity we booked for 7 nights. Anyway we are making the best of it and only 3 nights to go until we leave on Saturday for Strahan.
Monday the weather had cleared a bit, still cold but not too wet. We drove down to Cockle Creek - the furtherest point you can go in Australia....next stop Antartica! Very windy down there and also very remote and I would imagine some strange and isolated people live there. Certainly mainly little shacks with one or two reasonably looking houses. The little sandy beaches were lovely and I would think that in summer they would be really nice. We did a few scenic stops and walks, and in all had a good day.
Tuesday we drove up to Kingston Beach, not far out of Hobart and played 18 holes of golf. A really nice course, with great beach views. Some of the fairways were a bit chopped up from the rain but overall it was good. The day was lovely, about 23 degrees and very little wind. I played well for the first 9, but then fell apart, Chris was consistent across front and back - guess consistent means good and bad shots.
Last night Heather and Robbie rang and we are going to try and catch up with them on Friday, maybe for golf if the weather holds, but otherwise for lunch.
Today we had a very late start and ended up driving up into the Hartz Mountain Range, did a few walks and went to Lake Osmond, just a truly beautiful spot at the sight of a very old glacier, that eventually melted into a lake. Quite spectacular. We drove up to look at the Tahune Airwalk thinking that it probably wasn't worth the $25 each to walk out on, but now know that it is so we are going back tomorrow. We didn't have enough time to do it today as I had a chiro appointment at 5pm back at Huonville.
We had afternoon tea at the walk lodge then drove back to Huonville for my chiropractic appointment. Jason is an interesting guy, he and his wife are both chiros and he is now in his final year of medicine at the Uni of Tas and starts his internship next year. He was very nice and friendly and I think he has helped my back quite a bit. I feel like I am doing a tour of the chiro's of Tasmania.
Thursday 21th March
We had a really terrific time at the Tahune Airwalk. We drove up there in drizzle and light fog that got heavier and heavier the higher up we went. When we pulled into the car park we put on our wet weather gear and prepared outselves for a very wet walk.
After paying our money and going out into the mist we were surprised that the rain had cleared and we could see the mist just rolling by and eventually it also cleared into a lovely fine "few hours". Ended up that we were sweltering in our raingear and had to take it off plus take off our jumpers etc, what a change in temperature.
The area is advertised as "Walk among the giats of the forest" and that is very true, these are the tallest flowering plants int he world. The airwalk is above the forestr canopy and gives a great view of the trees and of the view of the Huon and Picton Rivers.
We did the Huon pine walk along the river bank, the Swinging bridges, which were a lot of fun - well for me anyway - and the Huon track to the ruins of the house occupied by a police constable. Quite a spectacular day, and towards the end we watched the mist roll back in and gradually put our jumpers back on.
We'll be heading up to Strahan after this and I will be very closely examining our accomodation before deciding where to stay. After that it will be Penguin/Ulverstone and then on the ship to go back to Victoria.