Tasmania!

Tasmania! We arrived in Hobart. What a beautiful city! We rented a campervan. After seeing everyone drive them around in New Zealand, we decided to give it a try. It would also make staying with our friend Dean (aka Sniffy) much simpler. We went to Salamanca Square (above) and found a delicious cafe that also allows you to do laundry (fantastic!) The buildings are sandstone from the 1800's...

We also ventured over to the pier...ton's of fresh seafood. Too bad we weren't hungry.

Later that afternoon we found a park to nap in (campervan saves the day!) When we woke up we had a "showdown" with the Range Rover parked next to us who thought he was Crocodile Dundee. Whatever...Tasmanian Devil trumps Kangaroo anyday.....

That night we did the "Posh Hash" with our friend Dean Giblin who has been living in Portland. Night out on the town!

The hashers...all dressed up. They even served champagne and a cheese plate...wow.

The next morning we ventured back to Salamanca for their Saturday market. Tons of good food and things to buy...plus entertainment.

We drove from there to Port Arthur...on the way stopping at some incredible bays. Tasmania is breathtaking....

Did the tour at Port Arthur...the prison where all the convicts stayed in the 1800's. This is the old church. The property is full of old ruins to explore.

The Giblins place on the beach..they call it "the shack"... but wow, what a view! We had a freshly caught fish dinner and a big bonfire. Climbed up onto the shack roof and saw the southern cross. Don't think we've ever seen the stars so bright. Their friend Dave took us out on "safari" searching for Wallaby and other nocturnal creatures. We told him how we were cursed in that we never saw any of the wildlife in NZ. He was determined! In the first few miles we only saw a cat and a bunny. I've never seen anyone so perplexed. To be fair, we did eventually see a few possum (MUCH cuter than possum in the US!) and I saw a Wallaby (which apparently didn't count since no one else saw it). Oh, and we saw tons of roadkill...

Next morning we headed for Wineglass Bay. We hiked in to the beach. This is the view from the lookout. Incredible scenery along the way.

Finally got up and close with the Wallaby. He was cruising for snacks on the beach.

View of the beach...now we just had to hike back over the mountain. Back to the "campground" to spend the night. The campervan has had it's "moment's"...but I think we'll go back to the motel/hostel. Lack of bathroom and shower make life interesting. We discovered that ours also doesn't have interior lights that work...thank goodness for our headlamps. They also drive "like a truck" and when you turn corners all the knives, pots, plates etc have a tendency to go flying. Hmmm.