Jeans & Genes

If Tasmania is a small island, then Bruny Island off the South East of Tasmania, is tiny. This means a very concentrated gene pool and allows the rare white (albino) wallaby to breed in increasing numbers. It also means a limited human gene pool.......... perhaps this is where Tasmanian’s got such a reputation for marrying their sisters and having ‘two heads’. We certainly met such a family at one of the free camping spots. They were abusive and threatening (and rather ugly looking). Being ‘out in the bush’, we decided it was best to pack up and leave the next morning to remove ourselves from any potential situation. We checked into the only caravan park on the island and found the people to be a more ‘gentle’ type, and rather friendly.
Although we are now experiencing warm (even hot) weather, Bruny was windy and cool. A walk up to Australia’s second oldest lighthouse was nearly impossible. It was a fight against the raging wind up to the top of the cape, but once there we

Lighthouse and view, Bruny Island

were greeted with panoramic views of the island. Out to sea, the wind lashed her fury, creating waves big enough to surf. But the wind made the walk back easier- I was almost flying down the steep path, the wind trying her best to pick me up and carry me away.

View across to the mainland (Tasmania)

Bruny is steeped in history, having had Cook, Bligh and Flinders amongst others navigate her shores and stop for supplies. Even before the white man, aborigines thrived, with the most famous of all- Truganini, calling Bruny home (she was the last Tasmanian aboriginal). By the late 1800’s four whaling stations graced her shores and we set off to explore the crumbling relics of this murderous past.
The walk to the point was easy enough, so we decided to continue to the top of Flute Cape. We knew it would be uphill, but were certainly not prepared for the 275m incline over a couple of km’s!

Flute Cape, Bruny Island

It was like walking up the top section of Awaba Street, only on uneven, sometimes muddy ground and never ending! Once at the top, we could see forever, the curve of the earth a distant horizon. We certainly slept well that night........
We moved camp again to a site on the neck joining the north and south of the island (a family friendly free campsite). With a beach on one side and a channel on the other, Dave threw in the line a few times, but still no fish have been caught. One day we will have fresh fish for dinner....... A penguin rookery was

See the pengiun! (Top right of pic)

only 3kms away, so we walked along the beach at dusk to catch a glimpse of these birds coming in from the ocean. Ahead we saw what I thought was a big patch of kelp that had been washed ashore, but as a flipper was raised as it to wave at us,


Seal waving to us, Bruny Island

we knew it was a seal. We hoped that he was not injured,

Seal up close, Bruny Island

as he did not look all that healthy, his movements slow and arthritic like. It turns out, he is known to the Rangers and is a very old seal, not able to move too far and often likes to sunbake on the warm road- they are hoping he doesn’t end up as road kill!
The Fairy Penguins did not disappoint. As the adults come home from a day fishing at sea, the chicks hungry from a day sleeping in the rookery, squeal in delight and seem to kiss and cuddle. They are the cutest little birds to watch, especially as they waddle up the sand. As we walked back home along the road, we encountered many more penguins displaying affection and watching us go by.
We awoke to a cornflower sky, and our departure from Bruny. It had turned out to be a magical place and I will never forgot my seal wave and baby penguins, fluffed up from the cold night air. We are settled in Hobart, or rather I am settled in Hobart. Dave has flown back to the mainland to see the


Dave at the Australian Open

Australian Open with Zelks and Vic. He is gone for 2 full days, allowing me to shop, explore and potter around home. I even managed to secure tickets to see Ross Noble (comedian) at the Royal Theatre for Sunday night. I am enjoying my time alone, but have Mum and 5 baby ducklings camped with me!

Ducks at my campsite, Hobart

Each morning, anticipating a free feed the ducklings fire up their little legs, as I open the door and squawk at my feet. I do not feed them, but this does not seem to deter them from wanting to stay at my camp site.

North, South, East & West

We have now been to the end of the earth... well the most southern tip of Australia that is. It is now a quest of mine to visit each compass point, having already done the most easterly (Cape Byron).

End of the road, can't drive any further south in Australia!

But back to Tasmania for now. We are currently ‘free camping’ (yeah the solar works), near Recherche Bay. Our campsite is called Gilhams Beach, but I prefer to call it the Enchanted Forest. We have had perfect weather- bright sunny days and not too hot. Each morning as I awake, I am greeted by the twittering birds, and a view of bright green ferns. From the ferns protrude lichen covered trees that gently sway in the morning breeze. The ground underfoot is soft, covered by both grass and sphagnum moss. I expect to hear a fairy in this enchanted garden..... is that one? No, it is just Dave relieving his bladder, looking more and more like Grizzly Adams each day.

Recherche Bay

This area was once alive and plans were afoot to build schools, houses and shops. Back then in the late 1800’s whaling was thriving, and when that ran out there was always coal and of course the timber. Alas, as each year the ocean was turned to a sea of red, the whales were soon to be no longer. These days Recherche Bay has a handful of houses and occupants, nearby Cockle Creek a population of 3

Cockle Creek, Population 3!

I guess that is what makes this World Heritage listed area so wild and alluring, riddled with natural beauty and remnants from a bustling past.

Recherche Bay

Our first day, we walked just over an hour to Fishers Point around the rocky coastline, past ancient aboriginal midden and whalers grave sites. The remnants of the old pilot’s house (which was also a pub at one stage) and scattered whale bones

Fishers Point, sheep carasses and crab pots....

from a bygone era made the scene quite eerie. Someone obviously wanting to make this ghostly vision even more so, had deposited an old cray pot with a sheep carcass atop,
next to a tall pile of rocks, with twigs jutting out at all angles. It was a scene from a pirate movie, made all the more real when a baby brown snake came into viewsunning itself almost guarding Fishers Point.,
After a day toying with ghosts from the past, it was time for a hearty meal. You may remember an old one legged bushie made me a camp oven from a LPG bottle, back in Queensland? Well we have now christened her, having bought a ‘campie’ to go inside. After a couple of hours our roast beef and vegetables, were ready. While we sipped a glass of red and enjoyed our roast, the camp oven embers kept us warm and toasty.
Our discovery of this area not yet complete, we packed supplies for the big one- a walk to the most southern point, having reached the ‘end of the road’ by car. Setting off we were greeted by a rocky path, made so from a glacial past. Just as our feet became sore from the uneven ground, open heath land lay ahead.

Wildflowers on our walk to the bottom of Australia

A boardwalk made it easy going through the thick wildflowers out in bloom and with the sky a bright blue above, we could see La Perouse mountain and her permanent patch of snow. The open heath gave way to a rainforest, with a fresh water stream to refill our drinking bottles. A couple of hours later, up and over a small rise, there she was- the bottom of Australia.

The bottom of Australia!

Parts of the coastline looked like a moonscape- a reminder of how cold winds and rain can ravage this remote wilderness. There was now nothing between us and Antarctica. Traversing the ‘moonscape’ we descended some steps to the beach. It is a long walk to this spot, but not a hard one. This is handy given the keen surfers who carry their boards all that way, in order to be able to claim to have surfed the southern most beach of Australia.
After a long day of navigating this land (and some weary legs), it was round two of using our campie. With the leftover roast beef and some fresh vegetables we made a casserole. Just what the doctor ordered as the sun set and the cold night air crept into our campsite.
After 4 nights here, we will again impose on our Tasmanian hosts- Kel and Dean for a ‘real’ shower and some washing before we set off on our next wilderness adventure.

Live and learn

Did I say Tasmania was cold? Boy it is hot, we got our warm weather, and sunburn. With a big hole in the ozone over Tasmania, you certainly burn easy. The weather has settled again, but it is nice to be warming up!
With the warmer weather, I decided it was a good time to ‘de-fuzz’ and get a wax job. A search on Yellow Pages, showed a listing for ‘Huon Beauty’. I rang the number and an older sounding gentleman answered. I thought this rather odd for a beauty salon and so enquired if I had phoned Huon Beauty. Indeed I had. I then proceeded to ask if I could make a booking for the next day, for a bikini wax. After some throat clearing, he informed me it was a men’s hairdressing salon. I wanted the ground to swallow me up...... I was rather embarrassed! But no, I couldn’t get off the phone that easy. He proceeded to tell me how he had bought the business a year ago, which used to be a beauty salon, and not changed the name. Oh well I am sure I will have many more of ‘those’ experiences along the way!
I recovered from my ‘ordeal’, and the four of us got ready for our ‘tramp’ to Lake Esperance high up on Mt Hartz. The walk started off easy enough on a level boardwalk. It was cool, but this seemed to match the ambiance of the alpine landscape. As we climbed the vegetation became denser,


View from Mt Hartz, across to Bruny Island

then thinned back to expose an amazing view of Bruny Island and mountain ranges to the north, south and west. It was stunning. And serene. An hour later we reached our destination. As we sat at the lakes edge and ate our picnic sandwiches, we soaked up her beauty.

Lake Esperance, atop Mt Hartz

The weather began to close in, and as we made our way back, we braved both strong winds and rain. However, our spirits were high, and we joked and giggled the wetter and colder we became. It was still a great spot to be!


'Big Tree'- a walk we took after climbing Mt Hartz

Dave and I are soon to leave our generous hosts, so next was a day trip to visit the hardware, Repco and odd bods shop topped off with lunch at the Beachside Hotel, Kingston (huge plate of yum food!). For the past 4 months we have had ‘battery trouble’ in the camper. The battery only lasting 2 days, even though we have a solar panel on the roof. After months of investigating and tinkering Dave has solved and fixed the problem! YEAH!!! The solar works! Well done Dave. We can now free camp for long periods (mmmm .... am I pleased this is fixed, hee hee). There is now really nothing left for us to buy or fix for the camper. I’m not sure what Dave will do with all his spare time now.
Although it seems Dave has turned to working the land and has hacked a path to the river, and mended a fence- we had several sheep from next door help themselves to Kel & Dean’s paddock. No problem really, however we don’t want them to get to the roses. In full bloom, over 300 rose plants adorn the circular driveway and various beds of the garden. Such a pretty sight, and sweet smelling perfume.

Tex, Kel & Dean's dog

So it is with sweet memories and a sweet smell we leave ‘our home’ to venture further south.

Happy New Year

One word for Tasmania- cold. Actually two words- cold and pretty. I can’t remember any other New Years Eve afternoon, in Australia, where we have gone ‘up the mountain’ to see snow. The snow on Mt Hartz had actually melted by the time we arrived, but never fear,

Lookout on the way up Mt Hartz

it was to snow again..... and again. We took a bushwalk to see the waterfall, very pretty- just a pity we weren’t wearing more clothes. We should have been here last week- apparently that is when Tasmania had its ‘week of summer’.
The cold didn’t stop us from attending the ‘Hawaiian night’

Hawaiian night, NYE at the Kermandie Pub

at the local Kermandie Pub to celebrate the final day of 2008....... although we did have ‘thermals’ on under our Hawaiian shirts. A few dances with the locals and it was back to Kel & Dean’s to countdown the new year. Sparklers lit, Kel, Dean, Kel’s parents Sue & Geoff and Dave and I, cheered in 2009 watching the Sydney fireworks on tele.
Next morn we awoke to 2009 and rain. However, we have learnt that you ignore the rain. It will pour for 10 minutes, then become bright and sunny.... then rain again...... then sun...... you get the picture.
Tasmania is filled with natural beauty and nearby Kel & Dean’s is some of the most picturesque. Dave and I ventured down to Hastings Cave’s. It is 9 degrees inside the cave all year round, so we we rugged up... but it was warmer inside the cave than out.

Photos from inside Hastings Caves

The caves are the most spectacular we have seen (having done Jenolan, Wombeyan, Wellington, Capricorn and certainly worth the visit.)
Port Huon, where ‘Kel & Dean’ live is approx 50 minutes south of Hobart. They live on 9 acres, so of course have some chooks amongst other animals nearby. Venturing for a walk down to the river with Dave, I had visions of showing him the local platypus. Instead, we were greeted by the overly friendly local goats. ‘Them goats’ have a funny look in their eyes, and I admit I was a tad scared of them. I kept calling for Dave to save me, as the goats ran over for a pat. Dave laughed, but later managed to have his own animal encounter- checking the hen house for eggs, he collected one egg and one bumble bee- firmly trapped in his hair (see he really should cut it........)
However, the best feature of this area is ‘Dean’s Campie’. What Dean can’t cook in a camp oven isn’t worth eating. Nothing beats a dinner of camp oven pork,

Roast pork in the campie

vegies and best ever crackling. Tonight we are having a BBQ, but Dean is whipping us up a Sheila’s Pudding in the campie for dessert (an apricot and peach sponge pudding). A light dinner really, after all we have all been to Salamanca Markets, Taste of Tasmania (huge food & wine festival) and the Cascade Brewery today

Cascade Brewery

(we sampled every beer). What better souvenir of Tasmania than Huon Pine, so today at the markets I bought myself a little cat made from Huon Pine.... well I can’t have a real one.
We plan to venture back to Mt Hartz and take a walk around the lake, and a few more must do’s before we leave the Huon area and enjoy the rest of Tasmania (we hear it is to warm up some more too!)

So this is Christmas.....

December 25 arrived, and with a big chimney and fireplace, Santa would have no trouble delivering my presents. I raced out to our tree and there I found a new dress and thongs for Dave (finally he has matching ones).
After a long sleep in we departed for Christmas lunch with

Christmas Day- Jonnie

our ol’ friend Jonnie Weaver, Matt, Matt’s brother and Matt the author of two books. Champagne was served with a selection of seafood. We then moved to the dining room for a traditional roast - rather exceptional. I had been a tad worried by the endless smoke emitting from the kitchen. The Aussie culture was blended in nicely at the end, as we feasted on Pavlova for our pud. I say feasted- you should have seen the size of Matt’s piece (see the photo......)

Check out the size of Matt's pavlova, Christmas Day

We then retired to the lounge room and enjoyed drinks, friendly banter and laughs........ All too soon it seemed, we departed for our next appointment- Christmas night drinks with 3 of my cousins, partners and friends. Having had no plans for Christmas day, we were rather pleased with how it turned out, we enjoyed ourselves immensely- a big thank you to all involved!
Then it was off to Tassie.
Leaving Melbourne, bound for Tasmania

The port was literally a 5 minute drive and we were soon aboard the Spirit of Tasmania bound for the Apple Isle - on a day sail no less - even caught the ferry going the other way

Passing the Spirit of Tasmania, Bass Strait

With a 9 hour sail ahead of us, we made use of the free cinema to watch some locally produced docos. We have all heard the stereotypes of Tasmania- they have two heads- marry their sisters- and generally a bit slow. The 3 documentaries we watched did nothing to ease these stereotypes. Dave and I were in fits of laughter, only it wasn’t a comedy...... the first featured local artists- who make Nimbinites look completely sane. Need I mention the purple skivvy, brown jumper wearing banjo player, Frosty the rapper, who is tone deaf, or the ‘Art Film’ where a dementia suffering mother asked her daughter ‘you still a licker (lesbian)?’ I guess ‘she was still a licker’ as she then tried to slip the tongue into her Aunty. Mmm tasteful viewing........... The theme of this film was death, divorce and how new comers aren’t really welcome. Again.............. mmmmmmmmmm............ welcome to Tasmania!!
We spent our first night in Devonport. Really just a place to lay our weary heads, but Tasmania produced her typical weather for us- cold, wet and windy. As I type the camper is ‘swaying in the breeze’, the 75km per hour breeze that is...... But we can’t complain we are now staying at Ross- a picturesque Georgian village with much convict history still standing. We have set up camp on the bank of the Macquarie River, just near the famous convict built Ross Bridge.

The famous Ross Bridge, Ross

A short stroll away is Lovers Lane, complete with a Love Seat, where you can sit and gaze at the flowing river and intricate carvings of the bridge..... or are you supposed to gaze at your loved one?.....
Lovers Seat, Ross


Ross Bridge at night

We plan to enjoy a coffee in the Heritage Listed sandstone bakery in the morning, before setting of for Port Huon, where our friends Kel and Dean reside.

Coloured Houses

Shepparton- home of ‘mooo-ving art’ and our friends Terri, Richard and 5 year old Jay. I originally met Terri about 15 years ago working at The Mosman Daily. She was the Editor, me the up and coming Advertising Exec. Being on opposite sides (advertising and editorial are traditional newspaper enemies) we never really formed a relationship. However, at various functions over the years, and a mutual friend being her sister- Nat, those ‘ice’ barriers have broken down. Terri and her husband Richard are both very interesting and indeed hospitable people (not like Editors at all............ hee hee, just had to get one dig in).
So, we found ourselves enjoying good food, wine and laughs until the wee hours. Mind you- this was all well deserved. Having arrived at the ‘White House’

Terri, Richard and Jay's home, Shepparton

(as their new home is known)- I was soon roped into the ‘bring a friend night’ at Boot Camp. I was keen (Dave not so), but it would be my first Boot Camp session since June this year- was I still fit??
The session was rejuvenating and a little different to the City style I am used too. We used the moving art cows as props

Mooving art, Shepparton

and then swam in a heated pool- mmm perhaps more civilised than the ocean at Balmoral.
After 2 nights, and enlightenments from Jay (Santa can hear you when you speak, so only say good things), it was time to move to ‘our apartment’ in Melbourne. We love this apartment (thanks Jo & Jamie) , well who wouldn’t, the bedroom alone is twice the size of our entire camper, and comes complete with a dreamy king size bed. I almost need to call for a taxi each morn to see if Dave is awake on his side of the bed.
After putting up the Christmas decorations (our little Xmas tree, and a few cards we have collected along the way), we set off for the local Farmers Markets. With a complete kitchen at our disposal, the cooking possibilities are endless, we were ready to stock the fridge! Alas, we are used to real Farmers Markets, located on a farm, with prices reflective of the 1930’s warm greetings received. We were now in Middle Park, where the focus is on ‘organic dahhh-ling’ the more expensive the more ‘genuine’. However, we did buy some yoghurt and an Apple & Rhubarb Crumble, before setting off for IGA.
St Kilda Markets and Acland Street better deserved our attention, and we managed to spend a penny or two on a few little items to put under our tree for each other. I am eagerly awaiting Santa to arrive down the real chimney here!
A visit to Melbourne is not complete without catching up with my relos. Our first port of call, was the ‘Purple House’. The ‘Purple House’ is multi toned shades of purple, and the new purchase of Cousin Natalie, Iain and 10 month old Oliver.

Oliver in his new house

They are mid renovations and as we arrived Iain was attempting to tame the garden (did he mention he has a new lawn mower....

'Iain now owns a lawnmower'

and Nat was attempting to assemble an Ikea Kitchen. Hopefully she does a better job than Iain, who put the back of a cupboard on back to front.... (too busy dreaming of his new lawn mower). I was impressed with Nat’s organisation (she produced beer and champagne for us), but we made our escape, before we were kitted out with tools and Ikea instructions.
Only 3 sleeps until Santa, I hope you have all being good boys and girls, and enjoy the Chrissy break!

Contentment

As the ocean tumbled beside us a wave of contentment washed over me. We were back to ‘our life’ in South Durras, were the friendliest kangaroos in Australia shared our campsite. The weather however, was not the friendliest and we endured gale force winds. Dave seemed concerned that our camper would blow over, and at one stage I was concerned too, as our camper shook from side to side. The wind storm brought down tree limbs and the power. The ‘no power’ extended down to Batemans Bay. No power also meant no water in the caravan park, where we were staying. I guess we were the lucky ones- we are pretty self contained and used the power from our battery. As I turned on our hot water, I looked at the guests in cabins with nothing.


Pebbly Beach



Kangaroos galore at South Durras

After bushwalking Pebbly Beach, a childhood haunt of Dave’s, we headed towards Braidwood. The town of Braidwood is heritage listed but is in need of repair. We arrived on a Sunday, however many shops were closed, others running on empty. So after a pie in the bakery we headed for our nation’s capitol.
Have any of you been along the King’s Highway in the past couple of years? If so, you will know I am not lying when I say that I spotted a monkey, bear, crocodile and panda along the roadside on the way into Queanbeyan. During the Melbourne Comedy Festival in March of this year, we caught a show by Tom Gleeson- he too had seen these animals, and shared his story. But to save you confusion- the ‘animals’ were stuffed toys, roped and nailed to various trees. I understand Tom has also started this fad in Melbourne.
But back to our nation’s capitol- I think we really give Canberra a hard time for no good reason. There is really much to see and do, and it is pretty easy to navigate your way around. Our stay here also coincided with our 8 year anniversary. Eight years- WOW. I pondered why the last 8 years have been so easy with Dave and decided it is because I amuse him. He is able to laugh at my idiosyncrasies and love me for them, while others may find them annoying. So with that in mind, I declared that I shall extend the contract, we are in it for the long haul.
On our journey around Australia, we are visiting many friends and relatives. So it was only fitting that we visit the War Memorial to see what we could find of my paternal Grandfather and Dave’s Great Uncle (?). My Grandfather

My Grandfathers name on the wall of rememberance, Australian War Memorial

died as a prisoner of war in Borneo. We easily found his name on the remembrance wall, but a search in the archives was restricted (we can apply to get access to the file). However, there was much information about Dave’s relative to be found and we learnt many details about the man and how he died (we also discovered he was a ranga). As a kid the War Memorial was somewhat exciting, with guns, planes and real life diorama’s. As an adult, it is a more sombre affair, showcasing how pointless war is. War will never stop, we will never learn.
It was our anniversary- a time for joy, so we left the War Memorial and chose to see the Degas exhibition at the National Gallery. Degas is one of France’s most renowned painters (he also was a sculptor and photographer). He delighted in painting scenes from the ballet, to horseracing and women in various stages of chores. My favourite was a ballet class scene. I pointed this out to Dave, but if he was to buy it for me, we would have no money to continue travelling.......... for the next 100 years. Oh well, I bought a postcard of the painting instead.
We are currently free camping, beside the Murray River near Howlong. Not quite sure whether we are in NSW or Victoria. I don’t mind- I am just glad we have left the locust plague behind. Driving here was like a scene from a horror movie-

Locusts in the sky....... end up in the radiator

the road covered in the dead bodies and the air thick with locusts. As they hit our windscreen, it sounded like we were driving through a storm. After a while it rather amused me, and I braced for the next onslaught. Over the crest of a hill and there they were, ready to do battle, lined up 50 deep. Of course we always won, although the windscreen ended up looking like a bad Pro Hart.