This week found us on the island of Tasmania, the south eastern island off of mainland Australia. The first order of business was to recall my Scottish lessons of driving on the left hand side of the road. This time there was no stick shift so it would have been a walk in the park. Well, I don’t know if it was just my KIA, or all Australian vehicles, but I immediately found out that the signal light lever and windshield wiper lever are on the opposite sides. As I pulled away from the curb the wipers were awkwardly squealing over the driest pane of glass in the southern hemisphere. This manoeuvre is rumoured to be known as a “Canadian Salute”. I’m glad I can contribute to the stereotype.
Regardless, we were off to Swansea, a small seaside town that had a lot of charm, beautiful beaches and was near Freycinet National Park which is home to Wineglass Bay, which DawnO was excited to hike.
Wineglass Bay was a scenic 4 hour trek that was definitely worth the steps.
We made our way back to Hobart to return our car, but not before I found an iced coffee truck to refuel my weary bones.
We spent a couple of days in the Tasmanian capital, Hobart, and both found we were reminded of Victoria, BC. It is a laidback, artsy city that had a really relaxing vibe to it. Our first night found us at a park where we enjoyed some live music and had our pick of over a dozen local food tents. We even ran into someone we met in Mexico during our day of the dead trip last October. What a small world.
We left Tassie on a jet plane bound for Sydney. Little did we know that it happened to be Australia Day. Imagine our surprise when I looked up “things to do tonight” and a national party was about to be unfolding 3 metro stops away from our hotel.
They were filming a national celebration at the Opera House going out live across the country with bands, aerial displays and fireworks. They even had choreographed water cannons going off in the bay. We were in the middle of it all watching on one of the several big screens they had showing the broadcast. It was quite a spectacle.
The next morning we decided to do a walking tour of the area which included walking across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. In the afternoon, we took a ferry to Manly Wharf which meant would pass by the Opera House and see it from a different angle.
Today was forecasted to be 39 degrees so we decided to head to Bondi beach to soak up the sun and jump in the South Pacific waters.
Tomorrow we head to Brisbane where we will get to reconnect with a friend who volunteered with us way back when we lived in Guyana!