Entry written by Ms Lydia age 27 and 2 months: We are cuddled up together in the tent but before you think to close your eyes, know this: It's pouring outside.....and the tent is leaking. In 3 places actually and to keep dry we have to lie very close to each other.
To business! We have started up the East Coast of Tassie and we're staying in a small town called Swansea (how original). I'm sure it's very pretty around here but we can see nothing on account of all the mist which is washed away by the torrential rain for about 16hrs of the day.
We'd grand ambitions of going for a walk to Wine Glass Bay today (for it is rated in the top 10 most beautiful beaches in the world) however when we arrived at the national park we were advised that there would be no view on account of afore mentioned mist. This story does have a happy ending however as Duncan kindly drove me to "Kate's Berry Farm" and we had a Devonshire tea for lunch.
But now let me take you back to a time when the land was a bit drier..... On the 30th of Jan Duncan woke with vigor, jumped out of his sleeping bag made a coffee and with a strange mischief in his eye declared that we were going hiking. "Oh goodie" I thought recalling 2 days previous when a simple walk ended up being a scurry up an escarpment. However this was a rather more subdued amble past babbling brooks and waterfalls, stopping so that Duncan could take photos (to come). After 2 hours we decided to turn back as the weather had started turning bleak but luckily for us it didn't rain much that day.
We arrived in Hobart later that day and I had decided that we'd had enough of putting up and pulling down the tent for at least 1 night. So after a bit of mucking round and circumnavigating the central business district we found what we thought to be a fairly reasonable backpackers. Only problem was that there was no off-street-parking so we were paranoid all night that somthing would happen our trusty steed. The next day we moved to a delux campsite out of town.
Whilst we were in the vacinity we thought it might be nice to do something a little adventurous and so we booked a kayaking/hiking/mountain biking day. We were met by "Sarah" at 0830hrs and taken to her boat where we were introduced to Dean and Danielle (fellow adventurers) and then shown to our tandem kayaks. Now, Duncan and I have done a fair amount of kayaking but never have we been in the same vessel. So for the first half hour I was doing my thing and going my direction and he was doing his thing and going the opposite way to me. After a bit of shouting and water throwing we got our act together and enjoyed a rather relaxing paddle around the Hobart Docks. It was such a lovely day as we paddled past a regatta and all the expensive houses on the shoreline. In the distance we could see our next adventure - Mt Wellington.....
Barnie, our very unassuming but increadibly knowledgable (and fit) guide led us up Mt Wellington which stands about 1200m. Having a degree in Environmental Science meant that he could teach us about all the bush - tucker along the way. We nibbled on apple berries and pepperberry leaves along the way. Duncan, once again, proved that his knee wasn't going to keep him from any obstacle, and slogged it up the steep, narrow and uneven track to the summit. If he hadn't stopped to catch his breath at the end he would have even outperformed me. And what goes up......
Mountainbiking down a great big hill does not fill me with joy. Especially not when your guide gives you a grilling about the very dangerous corners and past injuries his team have sustained (and signing a waiver makes me a bit nervous too). And yet I found myself rolling down the hill in Duncan's wake shaking as I saw him "hopping" his bike down and long and twisty-turny road. I was slightly comforted that he was wearing a helmet for a change. Our speed limit was 50kph on the bitumen (Duncan saw this more of a challenge than a limit I think) whilst I stuck to the back of the pack. Then we got to the off-roading stuff, the stuff he's really good at! And that was the last I saw of Duncan until the bottom and then all I saw of him was a huge silly grin. We meandered our way back into Hobart, through all of the rich suburb and back to the docks where we said goodbye to our fellow adventurers and made our way back to the campsite for a spa (told you it was delux) and glass of wine.
Which brings us to Swansea. Tomorrow off to Launceston to stay under a roof again (I have had it with the wet tent) and then back to the mainland.
