Kickin' Back In KL

What an interesting (and long) day it's been today. I arrived this morning in Kuala Lumpur at 610am after very little sleep, extremely tired and to be honest, pretty reluctant to do anything. In fact, I was seriously tempted to check in to the transit hotel and spend the 8 or so hours I had in transit there instead. I think I would've quite enjoyed it - until I got the bill! Anyway, as I got off the plane I decided that, as nothing would be open in the city for a while (I knew the hop-on, hop-off bus I was intending to take didn't even start til 830am), I would have a coffee at Starbucks and just sort myself out for a bit. I was glad I did. Feeling much more refreshed after a coffee, I then made my way through the terminal (this year they are working on the train so you had to get a bus), through immigration and onto the KLIA Ekspres train. From there it was a 28 minute journey to KL Sentral. Surprisingly, there was free wifi on the train, so I did a bit of browsing to try and figure out where to get the tour bus from. That was when I happened to discover that upon my return to KL, I will be leaving from a different airport. This started to put paid to my plans to pick up a couple of Barbie Christmas presents for my neices on the way home. Hm. Will have to rethink that one. Anyway after a bit of wandering around the station I finally found the bus stop for the tour bus, and managed to be on it by around 845, which I thought was pretty good. The tour wasn't so cheap, it was 38ringgits, but hey, I had nothing to do - and trying to negotiate the randomness that is the KL public transport system would have resulted, no doubt, in tears - so I was happy enough to go with it. Especially when we pulled into the national museum and had to wait 10 minutes so the other bus could be 30 minutes behind us - and I discovered free wifi on the tour bus! It was fast wifi, too, and enabled me to keep posting Facebook updates throughout the day! Photos, too! I had thought just to stay on the bus until Petronas Towers, but Independence Square (Dataran Merdeka) looked really interesting, so that was my first "hop off". Just near there also is St Marys "Cathedral" which is the oldest church in KL - and just near that was a strange old man waving his dingaling around... hm. I didn't stay there too long! Hopped back on the next bus, which was at least 30 minutes wait - worked out pretty quickly that with the limited time I have it's not possible to hop off at every stop, given that the next bus is 30 minutes away - and given that the bloke reckons a full loop takes 3 hours. I didn't believe that until we hit terrible traffic in Chinatown - in fact the traffic, and the roads, in KL is just ridiculous. The roads remind me a lot of Singapore (the main ones in the more commercial area) as they are quite big and wide - but there's an awful lot of people on them, and their driving skill is not really all that - I doubt they'd get a license anywhere else but perhaps the Middle East, or Italy...! Then in the more dirty, squalid parts of town, the roads are exceptionally narrow - quite difficult in spots for our tour bus to negotiate - and that's more likely where you'll see the shanty towns I spotted (particularly round the back of China town). The Indian district was quite interesting also, very colorful - but I was in heaven when we arrived at Petronas - literally. Because although you couldn't go up to the sky deck (it's closed on a Monday - and they only give out a limited number of tickets each day anyway) - I discovered the most wonderful thing - Suria KLCC mall. Oh my goodness, I was in heaven - all the big names were there, Bally, Armani, Ralph Lauren - plus a few old favourites - Zara, Top Shop and Gap - and that's when I worked out the rest of my Christmas shopping. I'll need to buy a new bag though, and I'll also need to double check AirAsia's luggage policy - but I think I can do it. So I spent quite a time there doing "research" before making my way back to the tour bus. By this stage it was getting late and I was getting anxious to get back to the airport, especially as the traffic was picking up and our pace, most definitely wasn't. Fortunately all was good, I got back in time and had no hassles getting to the airport. Next stop Saigon...

Maverick begins!

Malaysia and Vietnam Adventure - aka MAVerick - begins! (like what I did there?) Sunday 5 December 2010 Finally! The big day is here, I'm at the airport and the big adventure is about to begin... but of course, not without a few Kylie-flapping moments! Obviously, having visited some 52 countries in my time, I guess I would be what most would call a "seasoned traveller". Unfortunately, I am also what most would call an "incredible flapper" as well! This sort of 'flapping' behaviour used to drive my travel companion, Agnieszka, completely nuts. How it goes is this: firstly, there is the saga of packing. For most, this is not such a big deal - but for me, this is one of the biggest problems for me in travelling. Why? Because I can never, no matter how much I try to prepare in advance, figure out exactly what I should take. Toiletries, tech, books - that's all fine - but clothes? Oy ve, therein lies the problem. Firstly we go through the dilemma of exactly how much is too much, and how much too little? Then we go through the drama of what will be the "going out outfit", before capping it all off with the "what shoes will we bring and what colour" saga. And that's the tricky one - because the shade the majority of outfits are affects which shoes we pack - brown doesn't go with black you know - and that then becomes the entire crux of the matter - determining whether to have a black or brown hue to the wardrobe. You see, the majority of my functional travel outfits have a brown hue, but my waterproof jacket is black, and as it usually doubles as the "going out jacket", this then causes all sorts of problems. As a result, packing can take me several hours (especially as I tend to multitask the preparation of the tech at the same time - you know, convert all movies to .m4v so I can upload to my iPad and iPhone) - and today was no exception. In fact, today was especially extra-faffy, as in the middle of it all I dropped everything to go have lunch with Mel and her kids at Chermside (oh and do a little Christmas shopping as well!) Eventually I decided on a mostly brown hue with the occasional black thrown in ($3 black flip flops to accommodate), and by about 5.30pm I had finally zipped the bag up (impressive, considering I started packing at 9.30 this morning!). Having wangled a lift to the airport courtesy of Mel, I then set down to wait - but the tech still needed some work, and then I realized I needed to print out some stuff, and recharge some batteries, and clean the house - and all of a sudden Mel was ringing the doorbell, it was time to go - and the real flapping began! Did I have my passport? Have I got the visa approval letter? Hang on, where's my travel money? House keys? Is the door locked and all the windows shut (I'm actually still convinced, even now, sitting at the airport, that the backdoor is wide open!). When I eventually got down to the car I didn't even have my shoes on! So Mel thought it most amusing mid journey to the airport that I suddenly start frantically searching my bag for things I think I've forgotten! Fortunately I don't think I've forgotten anything... Then we had the dilemma of checking in. As Mel was pulling in the drive I was trying to check in online and not having any luck due to the fact I couldn't find the booking number. And when I arrived at the airport I wasn't even sure I had a valid ticket anyway - and couldn't check as check in didn't open for another 50 minutes! Fortunately all was well, I checked in successfully - and even had time to go to the internet desk to print off the pre arrival form for Vietnam visa on arrival (which I had forgotten to print off in advance). So now I'm sitting relatively calmly in the departure lounge awaiting boarding. Let the adventure begin! Monday 6 December 2010 So the flight was relatively uneventful - but not as comfortable as I am used to. I think once you've travelled Singapore Airlines for any reason, you really have been spoiled. Malaysian Airlines are ok, but they must be the only airline left on the planet (I guess outside of Garuda Indonesia, who were always rubbish, and whom I don't even know if they are still operational) who do not have personal TVs in economy for 8hr flights. Hm. I would love to say I slept the whole way, but after an incident whereupon I lost my pillow (thinking the person behind me had taken it) only to discover upon arrival that sometime during the night they relocated and in fact the pillow was still the, tucked far behind my seat, I really did not sleep all that well. So here I am in KL now with pretty much a whole day ahead of me before my last leg to Ho Chi Minh tonight. What to do? First things first, coffee at Starbucks to plan the day. I'm thinking at least I'll need to go to Petronas Towers today, or do a "hop on hop off" bus tour - but it's 630am and nothing much open yet (other than SB) so my guess is I'll hang here a little longer and make my way into town. Will let you know what happens! Update to the above - I am now on the hop-on hop-off tour - complete with it's own, free bus wifi - we could benefit from this in Brisbane, seriously! The bus is having to wait a few minutes so I'm quickly hopping on and off the wifi too! Gotta love Asia eh?

South Pacific

We left Brisbane on Monday evening and immediately set sail for New Caledonia. The weather started to improve, and life on the ship quickly settled into a routine - breakfast, lazing by the pool or attending some activities (belly dancing and line dancing were the ones I participated the most in), followed by lunch in the bistro, more lazing by the pool and maybe a spot of gym in the afternoon, or a massage at the Lotus spa, before dinner in the Burgundy / Bordeaux, a show, and then checking out Dakota, the resident band, in the Terrace lounge just before bed. One of the evenings was the cocktail evening, where we got to dress up in our finery. We took a formal family portrait that evening, and later Beck and I enjoyed the New Year's Eve party in September on the lido deck - it was such fun! Ah the life of the cruise...

We had 2 really pleasant days at sea and then on Thursday morning we awoke to the most gorgeous view - we were tucked away (well, as much as one can be on a huge cruise ship), surrounded by islands in Emerald Bay. Shortly after breakfast the tenders set sail, ferrying us to the shore, for a day on the beach at Poum. The locals came down to greet us, with their crafts and wares, (and hair braiding), and we enjoyed the day swimming, snorkelling (the reef was really beautiful), and exploring the immediate area. Beck and Cell got their hair braided!

Whilst the weather was a little overcast, it was still quite warm and we had a magnificent day. That evening, Mel, Kev and I (boy did I feel the gooseberry, as Anne would say!) enjoyed a wonderful meal in the steakhouse - the steak just literally melted in your mouth, and the desert, well, was to die for!

The next morning we awoke to the noise of the ship being moored in port at Noumea. Again a wonderful day was had by all. We disembarked as early as we could and made our way to the Petit Train, where we had a fabulous tour of the city. It was a beautifully warm day and we all thoroughly enjoyed our ride around the town - including the descending clutch start the "train" had to make at the top of the hill! How quirky!

After our ride we walked back into the city, where the locals were celebrating a national holiday, to commemorate Noumea being recognised as French. We explored the local markets and then the others headed back to the ship whilst I wandered about the town for a bit. I headed up to the cathedral which has magnificent views of the harbour. Beck and Dem came back out a little later and we did a spot of shopping.

On Saturday we had our last day in New Caledonia - this time at the Isle of Pines. I have to say this was probably the most special of our locations - and we nearly didn't get to go there! The reason was that in order to go ashore, we had to be ferried across on the tenders - but there was a big swell in the ocean and it wasn't safe for the tenders to pull up alongside the ship. Eventually, about mid morning, the captain was able to let some boats take passengers ashore, so we made it over around lunchtime. When we arrived there, the locals were out in full swing, with dancing, traditional singing, craft markets and so on. Beck and I bought some lovely floral dresses for the themed 'island' night planned later in the evening. We enjoyed swimming in the clear waters and playing in the sand, before making our way back to the ship. On the way back, Miss B entertained everyone with her rendition of Barney's "I love you, you love me, we're a happy family!" - everyone was laughing and smiling and appreciating the innocence of it all. It was just beautiful.

That evening was Island night, so Beck and I dressed up in our new dresses. There was an ice carving demonstration on the lido deck, and a party - we had Lachie up there with us, dancing to "YMCA" and "Nutbush" - it was such fun!

Alas, we were leaving New Caledonia, and had only 2 more days at sea. Included in that was another cocktail evening, where we dressed up again in our formal gear, and a country n western evening. Such fun! Lachlan, Mel and I got into the line dancing!

Mel and I also started to take advantage of the spa treatments available - and we booked in to a session of Ionithermie, which was brilliant. Even Kev had a session! Fabulous for treating cellulite.

But all too soon the holiday was over, and we were back in Newcastle. We'd had such a brilliant time, I really do hope that we can do it again soon. But for now, Phase 2 of the Moore family adventure was just beginning...

Sailing On The Ocean, The Tide Rolls High!

So when I left off, we had boarded the Pacific Sun and set off on our high seas adventure! It was terribly exciting, watching the tug boats push us off, the kids getting terribly excited (Bethany though decided it was an appropriate time to try and hide on the deck)

- finally we were off on our adventure! But then the first little hiccup struck, something that really shouldn't have affected me, having grown up on boats - but did. You see, when sailing on the ocean, the tide rolls high...

And roll it did! Coming out of Newcastle harbour! The waves started to get quite large, and although it wasn't really rough, by any standards - it was enough to have myself and my sister Mel feeling somewhat seedy - and just before dinner!

The family had adjourned to the Burgundy dining room for dinner that night. On board the Pacific Sun there are 2 dining rooms - Burgundy and Bordeaux - they both serve the same food but the Bordeaux is just that little more (allegedly) up market - so you usually have to make a reservation. We couldn't get one, so the Burgundy it was - which was fine - but when the ship is a-rocking and a-rolling, and you start to feel a bit off - well, that's not when you want to be ordering a 3 course meal! I think I managed the chicken soup and that was pretty much it... Fortunately, my sister Beck is a walking chemist, and she had come prepared with a whole swag of Stemotil, which Mel and I eagerly wolfed down - and instantly felt a whole lot better.

That evening was our first at exploring all the ship had to offer. I decided to go check out some of the night time activities - as advertised in the Pacific Daily, the newsletter that they give you each night advertising the next days' activities. Firstly we headed off to the Atlantis lounge to see the show - it was Ugly Dave Grey - and whilst it was ok, it wasn't really that funny. After that, according to the Daily, there was a "singles mingles" event in the Oz Bar, so off I went. Unfortunately, I suspect I was probably the only single on the cruise - cos no one else turned up! So I set off to explore the ship anyway... There is just sooo much on board - there's a gym, the 'oasis' (childfree, with sauna and spa), a beauty salon (for hair and so on), the Lotus Day spa (lots of massages and treatments), the Oz bar, the Terrace lounge, the Atlantis lounge (with 2 shows nightly), smuggler's bar, the casino, two pools, the buffet... lots of stuff! Plus a library that by night becomes an amazing steakhouse, and the speakeasy bar - with a bench designed like a piano (leading actually to the piano). So much to do....

The next morning, after enduring a sleepless night of Mum and Dad snoring (I was in a cabin with both them and Lach), I got up early (I couldn't sleep anymore anyway with all the snorts and whinnies from M and D). I'd decided that I wanted to go to the gym. Unfortunately when I got there (at 6.30am) it was totally busy - all the equipment was in use - so I decided to go looking for the so-called running track. As I was looking, suddenly the gym guy Tim (from Sweden) comes out, and asks if anyone is there for boot camp. I thought, why not - so I joined in. It was really good actually, but very hard work - you try running around the deck of a rolling ship raising a car tire up and down above your head! However what I hadn't realised, was that the boot camp was a charge activity - which cost me $10. Worth it, though.

That day was a day at sea, but unfortunately the weather was unpleasant - so whilst there was technically a lot on, according to the daily, I quickly realised that there wasn't a lot on simultaneously - so if you weren't interested in belly dancing at 11, then you didn't have anything else to do at 11. Fortunately Beck and I were, so we checked it out. And prior to that, Mum and I checked out the church service (which was somewhat brief - 2 hymns, a prayer and a poem - but still it was something). Other activities that I participated in was line-dancing, which surprisingly I really enjoyed - plus it is really quite tricky to do when the ship is rocking up and down! Gives a whole new meaning to the word 'grapevine'...

The next day, Monday, we were in port - in Brisbane. When we originally booked the trip, the boat was going to Brisbane, but not taking on passengers there. However they eventually opened up bookings to Brisbane so we did get some 300 new passengers on board. Mel had been feeling unwell though, and I had been feeling cold (with the rain) so when we arrived in Brisbane, we disembarked and spent the morning at Toombul - Mel at the doctor, and I in the flat getting a jumper. We made it back for lunch and spent the afternoon playing scrabble and other board games.

We also had the opportunity that afternoon to catch up with Grandma and the Heads. They came down to say hi so we had coffee at the wharf - which was really nice. Plus then they got to wave us off, as we finally set off for the high seas....

The Storm Before The Calm

So firstly I have to apologise for not really keeping up to date with my blogging. To be honest, I've been quite busy with mundane things - and that's not of any interest to anyone, now is it? But finally I have some things which are blogworthy... I had an extremely whirlwind week leading up to our impending first family holiday ever. Everyone else was getting quite excited, but I wasn't able to join in with their sentiments, because of the huge list of things I needed to achieve before the trip could actually take place. For me, this week truly was like the storm before the calm. Firstly I had to organise my packing - no small task as, those who know me well, would know that this is the one thing I detest the most about going on holiday - because I agonise over every single item I pack, and then start to fret over how much stuff I have. What made this all the worse was the fact that not only did I have to pack for 2 different seasons (the hopefully warm, sunny and bright weather of the cruise, and the unfortunately cold, damp and depressing weather of Melbourne afterwards), but that I also had to have it all packed a week before the actual trip. This was because of a couple of reasons, but primarily because I really needed to avoid checking my luggage in on my flight at all costs - I was flying with dodgy Jetstar after all, and timing was essentially down to the wire, with my arriving on the morning of the cruise. So Mum and Dad "offered" to cart my luggage with them as they were driving down to Newcastle - alas leaving several days beforehand... But beggars can't be choosers, so I sorted it out. Painfully. And that was the Sunday. Then I had to endure the week from hell at school - marking, marking, and yes, more marking - but this is a huge problem because firstly, I detest marking, and secondly, I'm really slow at it - because I want to be totally sure that I get it right for the sake of the kids. So that was a nightmare - because I couldn't do everything else I had to do until I did this. Then I had to do my verification submissions (aka moderation hell for teachers), SAIs (aka administrative b.s. which doesn't actually mean anything but causes a major headache for Heads of Department for no real reason at this point), and I also had a staff end of term thank you dinner as well - busy, busy, busy! Oh and a concert to organise and a visit to the opera with some students. Throw into all of this the wonderful visit of my dearest friend Heather from the UK and you will see Kylie was a very busy girl. It all however came to a head on the Wednesday evening when I was up until 3am trying to burn DVDs for the verification submission due, at the really stupid hour of 9am on Thursday morning (like, the thing isn't even due at the Board until the second day back after the holidays!) - suffice to say I was very tired and stressed the next day. Fortunately that was when I got to catch up with Heather, in Coolum - such a lovely time we had! It was all worth it... Then finally, Saturday came, and everything went surprisingly smoothly (well, except for the short delay as the cab I had booked came a bit late!). Actually it all was a bit of a miracle - 12 people needed to travel separately to Newcastle and arrive at the Port by 1.30pm for boarding on the Pacific Sun - so many things could've gone wrong. Mum and Dad drove down (3 days in advance) - the car nearly wasn't ready 2 days prior and needed a bit of work (and a new battery upon arrival!). Beck and her family were driving down on the Friday, towing a caravan - their luck with cars is dodgy at best, but fortunately all went smoothly. Mel and her family were flying down the night before - with the aforementioned trouble-ridden Jetstar - whilst they had some delay (inevitable with Jetstar!), they made it (albeit it later than expected) - although they had bigger problems the next day with the traffic around the port and with trying to return their hire car in time - but it all worked out. And then there was me, flying down at the crack of dawn o'clock on Saturday morning - last to leave, but still had some timing issues as had to get picked up by Mum and Dad sometime and somewhere in Newcastle - and yet all of these things came off and we arrived literally within a few minutes of each other at the Port. Finally our boarding time came and we were off! After months of planning, the holiday of a lifetime is finally here! Stay tuned for updates of our adventures...

Long Way Round

So, Friday morning. My last full day in Tasmania (my flight leaves early Saturday morning). What to do?

Really, all I had left was to head back to Launceston. But there were a couple of options as to how I might achieve this. The first was, to hoof it up the Lake highway and try to get to Cradle Mountain so I might have a chance of seeing it in brighter weather. But the weather didn't look all that bright at the moment - and how annoying would it be to go all that way and then still miss out?

Option 2 was to do Option 1, but instead of heading for Cradle, to go see some of the things I had missed around that way i.e. the caves at Mole Creek. But that was a bit off the beaten track, and would require a bit of driving - and the day was starting to get away from me.

Try Option 3. Option 3 was to head south, almost for Hobart, but stop off at Mount Field National Park (which was included in my National Parks pass) and do the short circuits out to Lady Barron Falls, Russell Falls, and the Tall Trees walk. From there either take the Lake Highway back up to Launceston, and see the lovely view of the Great Lakes, or take the A5 through Poatina and up to Lonnie that way. It would be a bit of a Long Way Round, but could be quite nice.

And that's exactly what I did. I drove for a few hours in the direction opposite to that which I needed to go, in order to see the exceptionally tall trees (and trust me, they were magnificent) in Mount Field National park, and the lovely waterfalls - Russell and Lady Baron. And then I endeavoured to head back via the Lake Highway, but unfortunately large chunks of that road is unsealed, gravel road - quite steep in places, and quite rough, according to the locals. With the recent rain, and ice, I thought that probably wasn't the smartest option. Not to mention the fact that the hire company null and void your insurance if you go off road on gravel and then damage the undercarriage of the car. Not a good idea.

So I headed back via the A5, which to be honest, was some of the most dull scenery I'd encountered in Tasmania. A little disappointing. But I guess, after having seen so much beauty on this trip, that was ok.

Got back to Lonnie in time to wash the car at a local BP (the first proper car wash I'd encountered for quite some time), pick up something for tea (not Chicken stirfry pasta again!), head to the Arthouse Backpackers and sort myself out. A quite pleasant evening.

The next morning it was up bright and early to return the car and head off to the airport (the car rental bloke dropped me off there) for my flight back to the Bris. A quite successful trip, if I do say so myself!

An Evening At Lake St Clair

When I left off I was staying in the most expensive (yet most rip off) of bunkhouses in Lake St Clair. I had decided I really didn't want stirfry chicken pasta again for tea and thought I would go to the restaurant at the main hotel for dinner - but when I turned up, it was all closed. I don't know how the patrons at the hotel got on!

I hopped in the car and headed back into Derwent Bridge looking for a restaurant, or a shop, or something which might enable me to buy some different food - but alas, there literally wasn't anything there! Even the pub which had the cheaper accommodation (which I probably should have gone for in the first place) didn't have anything of a food nature open at that time (and to be honest, didn't look like it was open at all - there weren't any cars there or anything) - so I headed back to the campground and set out to cook up my meal in the bunkhouse kitchen. It was a cold evening but at least the kitchen had a woodfire store in the middle, which was quite warming.

As I began to prepare my meal there was a knock at the window, and looking up in surprise, I saw the reception chick there. She wanted to know if I could open the kitchen for a couple with a child who were staying in a campervan but who wanted access to the kitchen. Their key (for the showers) did not have a kitchen key on it. I agreed, and suggested wedging the door slightly ajar with a wooden door wedge I found there.

I then headed off to the shower, hoping that by delaying my chicken stir fry pasta it might hopefully taste better. Alas, once I got to the shower (having paid my exorbitant room fee) I discovered that it, too, was a paid shower - and this time it required $1 coins, not 20c pieces. And hardly stayed on for very long (nor was it terribly warm). Halfway through my shower the amenties block lights turned off - so I was in the dark, standing there with lukewarm water running down my body - and not a chance of running to the door to turn the lights back on. I finished off my shower in the dark.

After this, I headed up to the kitchen to prepare my meal. The other family were in there preparing theirs (using up all the clean pots and pans too). I tried to potter about making my meal with the implements I could find - but these people were not used to shared kitchen etiquette, and had filled the kitchen sink to the brim with burning hot water - and started to use it for their washing up - but as there was only 1 basin I couldn't even clean some of the pans to then use them. Eventually they realised my dilemma and agreed I could use their washing up water.

Actually it turned out to be a very pleasant evening, as we both sat down to our various meals and had a really lovely chat. They were a lovely couple, having quit their jobs in Perth and sold their house, they were travelling around Australia en route to their new life in Noosa. They had many amazing stories about places they'd seen and I really enjoyed talking with them. Their young daughter, Chelsea, was a bit of a character too and it was nice to enjoy the family atmosphere after almost 2 weeks on my own.

All too soon though it was time for bed, so I bid them farewell with the hopes that we might see each other in the morning at breakfast. This did actually happen, but as they needed to get on the road, and I needed to get cracking, it wasn't really a long time that we spent together the next morning. But I had really enjoyed their company.

Wonder how it has all panned out for them, their new life in Noosa?

What A Difference A Day Makes!

I know that I have written a post with this title before, but literally, there was no other appropriate title compared to the fiasco of yesterday. I was feeling so very depressed yesterday, with my 'luck of the Irish' - to be honest, my Irish luck has been giving me quite cause for grief and whilst I have been enjoying my journey, I can't honestly say that I have loved every minute. I realised today that I have never actually travelled for so long on my own - surprising, I know, bearing in mind all the trips I have done - but the majority of them have been with others, it was really only a handful on my own, and certainly never longer than 6-7 days. Now don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed travelling on my own - but when you are doing a 13 day driving holiday by yourself, where you must make all the decisions with regards to what to do, where to go, how to get there - and then do all the driving, navigating, photographing and 'enjoying' yourself - well that is a pretty tall order! Couple that with the fact that for the majority of the time I have been out of phone / internet range, and in hostels by myself (with the exception of Launceston and Hobart I have had the entire dorm to myself and there has been very few other people in the hostels with me), it has been quite lonely at times. But I think I have done quite well.

Anyway, back to the difference a day makes. On Wednesday I was really feeling very low. Having had a terrible night's sleep at Cradle Mountain (remember the killer possum?), and then with the weather being so poor when driving to Strahan, so that I missed all the beauty that the Murchison Highway has to offer, the final straw literally was the non-event of the Gordon River cruise. I would have to say that Wednesday was, without doubt, the worst day of my trip.

So it was wonderful to see, when I woke up on Thursday morning, that the sun was shining, there was no dreaded mist or fog, and the weather was actually pleasantly warm. And, for the first time, seeing as I have literally done all the things I desperately wanted to do on this trip (well, those I could do out of the things that were actually running or able to happen regardless of inclement weather), I had the opportunity of just driving and seeing where I ended up at the end of the day. No time pressures today. No need to beat the sunset. Or so I thought...

I set off after meandering about Strahan for a bit, enjoying the quaint, fisherman atmosphere of this lovely little village. After this I leisurely made my way towards Queenstown via the lovely Lyell Highway - sun shining, birds singing - and spectacular views! I even found time, which I hadn't really until now, to stop off for a quick cuppa in Queenstown. Like, actually get out of the car and have a cuppa without the worry of 'quick, got to get driving again'...!

The girl in the hostel in Hobart had said that Queenstown was really a waste of time, but I didn't find that at all. In fact, I would have to say that I thought the buildings were just as quaint as Richmond - ok, they didn't have that lovely sandstone or Georgian look, but there was a real heritage feel to this little town, and I enjoyed wandering about there very much. But all to soon it was time to hop back in the car and press on towards the goal...

The views climbing the mountain out of Queenstown were easily some of the best I have seen on this whole trip - and that's saying something. Whether or not it was the fact that the sun was shining, I don't know - but the views were literally spectacular, and this continued for the whole of the journey towards Lake St Clair.

I decided, with the disappointment of yesterday in being unable to cruise the Gordon river, that I would most definitely today make sure that I would go to the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park. At one of the national parks I've visited I picked up a little book called "60 Great Short Walks" and I was really pleased to see that there was one in there that would take me exactly where I wanted to go. In fact I was really pleased to see that there were several walks that I would be able to do today along the Lyell Highway.

So off I set, aiming hopefully to hit Lake St Clair by evening at the very least - or if things went really well, to be back in Lonnie with a whole day up my sleeve. I kept stopping off to take photos, the view was just so magnificent along the Lyell Highway. My first major walk (all of 20 minutes, granted!) was to Nelson Falls, along the Lyell Highway.

The first thing that strikes you about this walk is, having entered the 'Franklin - Gordon Wild Rivers National Park', which of course requires that you have a park permit (either for yourself if you are carless, or for your vehicle), is that despite the signs telling you the cost, there simply wasn't anywhere to actually buy a pass. At all. Hm. So I did the next best thing, not wanting to be caught by the rangers - I displayed all my previous Park passes on the dashboard with a note saying that if the ranger would provide me with a location where I could buy the pass, I would. Doubt it would stand up in court, but hey, what else could I do?

This was a pretty little walk, but unfortunately it was spoiled by one small, yet significant thing. Why is it that people, when experiencing the wonders of nature, feel the need to add their own little aroma to the proceedings by... smoking! If you were to pop off, well, that's one thing - but spoiling the atmosphere for all those who unfortunately happen to be walking behind you by puffing on that vile little cancer stick, well. Its a travesty. It spoiled the whole experience.

After Nelson Falls, I hopped back in the car and stumbled across walk number 2 - Donaghey's Hill. Apparently this one was to be a 40 minute walk. I achieved it in significantly less time. Another pretty little walk, this one afforded quite spectacular views of the Franklin river valley. Very impressive.

Back to the car, and a little further on I came across the "Franklin River Nature Trail" walk. Now this one was one I definitely wanted to do. And again, I was pleased I did. It was so very beautiful - yet terribly cold and damp - not that it was raining, but the air was very cold and wet. In looking around you, all you could see (other than trees) was like a green carpet. The moss was everywhere! But again, it was very beautiful.

I would have to say I think I enjoyed this walk most of all. All too soon though, it was over and I was back in the car. Stopped off at a few lookouts (again, such spectacular scenery!) and by about 2.30 I had made it to Lake St Clair.

What a lovely day's drive I had had! With such beautiful weather, it certainly made a huge difference to my spirits! Until, of course, I went in search of accommodation...

I couldn't, for the life of me, find the piece of paper with the contact details of backpackers in Derwent Bridge / Lake St Clair - but I thought I remembered reading that the caravan park at Lake St Clair had some sort of backpacker accommodation, so I went in and asked.

The woman there was as dull as a wet week, and as thick as a pile of bricks. And yet she still managed to take me for a ride. I guess it really proves the point that to be prepared is to be armed.

When I approached about backpacker accommodation, she hummed, harred, and said she didn't think she had anything. Really? Everywhere else I've been has been vacant - including Cradle Mountain!

The reason she thought she had nothing was that the manager was on holiday, the cleaners hadn't been in for 2 weeks, and she didn't think any dorm room was made up - but if I liked, I could stay in the double room for a reduced price. And as I wasn't sure of anywhere else in the vicinity, and as I really wanted to do some of the Lake St Clair walks before it got dark - including watching sunset over the lake - I took it. And was promptly ripped off.

Because the room in question was little more than a bed in a box. For $40. My most expensive room of the trip. She didn't even have proper sheets for me - she rustled up "free of charge" (it would want to be, love!) a single doonah - but even with the poxy little heater in the room running all night, I was still cold. But no matter - it was a roof over my head.

I took the deal, dumped the sheets in the room and high tailed it to the Lake to do some walks. They were really pretty too - especially as there were parts of the track that hadn't seen any sunlight for days obviously and they were still covered with frost. The birds were singing too, and it was all very beautiful.

But again, time was running away if I wanted to see the sunset. I had asked the ranger at the visitor centre where would be the best place to view the sunset - and he had recommended the boat ramp. What he had forgotten to mention was that we're in the wrong position to really get a good sunset anyway.

No matter. It had been a lovely day - such a complete contrast from the day before! Thank goodness...!

Stranded In Strahan

Having spent a terrible night at the Discovery Parks, Cradle Mountain, when my alarm finally went off this morning I really was not prepared to face the day. When I saw the weather, I was less inclined. It was pinging it down with rain.

I got up though, had my breakfast and made my way back to the visitor centre. The mist though was very heavy and it was still raining a bit. After talking to the woman there I decided that it really wasn’t worth it to pay another $16.50 to go down to Dove Lake, spend 2 hours walking in the rain, and then have to hoof it over to Strahan, so I decided to just make my way west.

The weather was absolutely diabolical the whole way, and I really didn’t get to see anything at all. It was terrible. I was apparently driving on one of the most beautiful roads in Tasmania, and I couldn’t appreciate it because I could barely see a few feet in front of my face on account of the fog. Terrible.

So as a result I didn’t really deviate much from the plan, only stopping off to have a little look at Mackintosh Dam, which really wasn’t anything. I then decided it was more important to get to Strahan, on the off chance that there might be an afternoon cruise running or something. So I was quite pleased when I arrived around 12noon.

But then I discovered that the cruises which go up the Gordon river and to Sarah Island leave each day at 8.30am and return at 2.45pm – and that’s basically it. So no chance of a cruise today, unless I wanted to spend an exorbitant amount of money on one to Bonnet island to see the penguins or something. I found out that there were only 2 companies offering cruises of the Gordon river, and one of those (World Heritage Cruises) was running its last one of the season today – and was currently out on the water – so that company was a write off. I went to the other one, Gordon River Cruises, where the woman there informed me that they were still running cruises, but unfortunately they had a computer chip malfunction and it was doubtful it would be fixed by tomorrow! Hm. Not the outcome I was looking for.

The seaplanes aren’t running. The helicopters aren’t running. There’s no chance of any cruise. What does one actually do then in Strahan?

Fortunately I discovered that the jetboat was running. It’s a bit of a tour, (if one can actually have a “tour” on a jetboat, amidst the spins and tail flare outs that jetboats are wont to do), up the King River. Ok, its not the Gordon, but its better than nothing – and it is my only option if I want to do anything in Strahan. So I booked it – but as it didn’t start til 3.00pm, I had to entertain myself until then (some 2 ½ hrs!). But no cafes or restaurants are open; and there’s precious little to do other than a bit of a walk about the town. So off I went, wandering about the town, and then I made my way out to the People’s Park, where there was a nice little walk out to Hogarth Falls. These falls were quite pretty.

By the time I got back into town some of the shops and cafes had started to open up, so I had a very yummy seafood chowder in a sourdough bread bowl for lunch, and then moseyed on back to the Gordon River cruise woman to see if there had been any further developments. There had – she informed me that they definitely were NOT running tomorrow. Crap. So I went and paid for the jetboat, and then made my way to the dock.

The jetboat “tour” actually was fantastic, I really enjoyed myself and got to see quite a lot, considering. The Macquarie harbour is, if I remember correctly, the largest in Australia and it is really very pretty. The King river is quite interesting if only for the fact that nothing lives in it – this is because of the railway which was built between Queenstown and Strahan, which goes alongside the banks of the river. Apparently copper seeps into the river somehow from this railway (which was used to transport a lot of the copper from the mines and so on) and as a result, nothing lives in the river. They’re trying to clean it up but it will take some time.

We went up as far as the Teepookana Bridge which is part of the old railway line between Strahan and Queenstown. En route we happened across the steam train travelling back to Strahan – it was an impressive sight. We came across Huon pines that were 800 years old, and saw some very beautiful scenery – but it was such a shame that, despite having seriously ‘rugged up’, it was still so very cold on the back of that jetboat!

When we got back I decided to thaw out by journeying over to Ocean Beach, a beautiful stretch of beach a few kilometres from Strahan. I could have stayed there for sunset but I decided to try my luck once more with the Gordon River cruise people. You never know, there might have been a change… but alas there wasn’t. So I went back to the World Heritage Cruise company to see if by some miracle they had decided to run one more day in light of the fact that no other cruise was running. Alas, no, there had been no change – but the woman there suggested that I go back to GRC and ask if they were taking their small boat, Sophia, out. She said it seats 12 and that they might be tempted to send it out if there were no other cruises operating.

So back I went. Literally the woman rolled her eyes when I walked through the door again. She was actually quite rude. Anyway, I asked about the Sophia, and then she informs me that it is running 2 cruises tomorrow, one at 8.30 but only to Hell’s Gates, and the other at 11.30 out to Sarah Island. So neither cruise is taking in the Gordon river, but no matter, I was interested. So I enquired about the price, and she was extremely vague. She said, at first, that it all depended on how many people were going – on the first they already had 7, and on the second they had 4. But she didn’t volunteer a price, and I had to keep digging. You could tell she was getting more fed up with me, but I didn’t care – if the price was reasonable I would do it. So she got her colleague involved in the discussion, who said that I would have to split the boat hire cost with the others on the cruise, and that it was about $550. Fine, $550 split between 5 of us would work out at slightly cheaper than the original cruise price. Let’s do it!

Unfortunately that wasn’t the case at all. No, it wasn’t a case of splitting the tour price between all the people on the trip – no, it was a case of splitting the tour price between all the ‘parties’ of the trip – so I would have to pay $275! How illogical is that? Wouldn’t you think you would just split it between all the people, rather than their group?

Suffice to say for $275 I was not going to get a cruise that only took in half of what I wanted anyway. So I left – but then I got a bit miffed. That woman knew how desperate I was to do a cruise, and never once suggested to me the option of the Sophia. Now I know I didn’t take it after all, but how dare she assume just because I’m on my own and I look a bit scruffy (I was in hiking kit after all) that she shouldn’t even give me the option? How rude!

So meanwhile, the sun has now set, and I have no real reason to be in Strahan any longer – but its too late to go anywhere else. I’ll have to try and sort out some accommodation…

Cradle Mountain and The Attack Of The Killer Possum

Trust me, this is a true story…

Today I spent a glorious day at Cradle Mountain doing lots of the walks. I had left Devonport very early so as to give myself the most amount of time at Cradle – for which I was very pleased. I got to the Visitor Information Centre about 1030 am and then after buying my National Parks pass ($16.50) I got the free shuttle bus to the Dove Lake Car Park. Unfortunately the weather was inclement, but that didn’t dampen my spirits – I had a great time, doing a range of the walks. I sort of started off doing the Dove Lake walk, but then saw the signs for Marions lookout and headed up that way. That took me past Lake Lila and Wombat pool where I met a couple walking in the opposite direction. By this point the weather was literally pinging it down, and you could barely see a few feet in front of your face, but it was just magical. They suggested a walk down to Crater Lake, which I did, and which I was pleased about. There was a cute little hut there and I sat down and had my muesli bars and coffee there looking out over the lake. At this point it had stopped raining so it was quite pretty. I then made my way down towards Crater Lake falls, which were also very pretty, and then around towards Walheim – where I encountered the same couple again. After this I made my way back to Dove lake, and literally just popped up over a slight incline and boom! You could actually see the mountain! How spectacular! Although I didn’t get to see it in full view like you do on the postcards (it was still quite misty) it was so beautiful. I then made my way back to Dove Lake and did a bit of the walk around there before getting the shuttle bus back to the Visitor Centre.

With reports that the weather might actually clear tomorrow, I had decided early on that I would spend the night at Cradle so as to have the option of further walks the next day. So I checked in to the cheapest (and so far most expensive accommodation of my trip) bed I could find – at the Discovery Parks caravan camping ground, where they also have bunkhouse beds for $32 per person per night.

Because when grocery shopping the other day I had forgotten to get (a) soy sauce or (b) noodles, I was faced with the prospect of yet another evening of chicken pesto pasta, instead of the stir fry I had hoped to prepare, having all the other ingredients. Now I don’t know about you, but after 7 or so consecutive days (pretty much) of this dish, I really needed a change. But with no means to purchase the missing ingredients – we are in the middle of a national park with no Woolies next door – I was facing down the barrel of pasta yet again.

But then I remembered that just up the road at the Waldheim Spa Resort they had a tavern serving evening meals. And a lovely, warm, fireplace – just the thing on a rainy night like tonight. And people… So let’s weigh up the options – chicken pesto pasta, cold room to eat in, rainy evening, and solitary confinement, or – a choice of menu, a lovely, warm, fireplace, maybe a tv, conversation going on all around you (maybe I could get in on a chat too?)… yep, it was a no-brainer – I went down to Waldheim.

And had a simply smashing meal – lovely lamb stew with sourdough bread – gorgeous fireplace – and I would’ve had the Christmas pudding with brandy custard but for the fact that it cost $9.00 and also there were people waiting for tables, it was so crowded, and I didn’t want to be hogging one any more than I really needed. So I hopped up with the idea of maybe ordering this dish and finish my coffee at one of the upturned kegs they had placed as like a bar table, when suddenly this couple came over, sat by the fire and then started chatting with me. We had a lovely chat, turns out I don’t remember what he does – but I remember his name was Giovanni – and I don’t remember her name, but I remember she teaches Art 2 days a week at a primary school and is a top equestrian trainer the rest of the time. But we talked about the walks they’d done today, ones he’s done in the past, bureaucracy and stuff within teaching, the weather… you name it, we chatted on it. I spent a few pleasant 30 minutes or so with them. Then their meals arrived so I said farewell, and seeing as it was still too crowded and there weren’t any more seats by the fire, I decided to head back to the bunkhouse. It was now 8pm after all and so with a spot of blogging, in no time it would be bed time.

When I got back to the bunkhouse I decided that, as I had missed out on the Christmas pudding, I would crack open some of the Ashgrove cheese I had bought the other day. Because the kitchen was a little cold, I thought I would bring it back to my room – there’s no one else there after all – and have it whilst typing up more blog entries. I have a pretty good heater in my room anyway so it would be all nice and snug by now.

As I left the kitchen, suddenly out the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of a huge, black blur running past – then felt a big bump on my leg, followed by clawing. What the?

It was the most gigantic possum (or maybe a quoll – I don’t really know) that I have ever seen. To be honest, I think it was too big to be a possum – if indeed it was a possum then he had obviously mutated into something enormous. He was quite heavy and quite strong too – I tried to flick him off my leg and he wouldn’t go – it took a very forceful kicking action to actually get him off – and immediately he pounced back. I was shrieking, flicking my leg and desperately trying to get the key in the door – but what to do once I got the door open? I didn’t want him coming in my room.

With one last superhuman effort, I flung my leg wildly out into space and he was launched a couple of feet away just as the key turned in the lock. Lickety split I was in that door and had it fully shut just as he fully sprung for me again – thud!

Can I just tell you, I was terribly shaken. Here is this giant possum thing scratching at my door for my Ashgrove cheese! I pulled back the curtain to have a better look at the window and he jumped over at me! Scary stuff – attack of the mutant possum!

So I turned off all the lights, lay low there in the dark, silent, watching, waiting, listening for him to leave. When I thought the coast was clear I tried the window again – with the light off – only to see him staring back in at me, perched on the handrail!

I can’t actually leave my room! If I need to go to the toilet, or do my teeth, I won’t be able to – he’s still out there, waiting – at one point he went further down the verandah, away from my room, and when I opened the door he literally flew back at me!

What to do? I’m prisoned in this dorm by a killer possum, desperately hunting a bit of cheese… I’ll have to wait it out to morning – but alas, I am starting to feel the after effects of that second cup of coffee…!