Well, we finally left Tasmania for Ayre’s Rock and Alice Springs. I’m currently sitting in the Alice Springs airport, which has FREE INTERNET! This is such a rarity in Australia. I haven’t been able to update because I have had no internet access at the last couple of places we have stayed, especially so at Tynwald, an historic house from the 1830s (more on this later). This is my best chance…

On our second-to-last day in Launceston, we went to Cradle Mountain. This is one of the main attractions of Tasmania, so Dad and I were very excited. Tasmania is actually quite mountainous, so we drove on some very winding roads to get there, but as Alaskans this did not feel so unusual to us.

It was late in the afternoon by the time we got out to the desired trail, so we had to pick one of the shorter hikes up a lesser mountain that had a good view of the main Cradle Mountain. The view from the top was spectacular, but I was not prepared for the cold wind that would be there.

The mountain is actually quite large.

Dad is master of the Tasmanian landscape.

The next day we just hung out at the Country Club, and played a little bit of golf and tennis. It was my first experience on a carpet tennis court, which I was not too fond of. Sadly, I never got an opportunity to go to the casino… but there are some in Melbourne, so I have a chance yet. (wow, that was a very snobby paragraph.)

The next morning we departed for St. Helens, a seaside town in East Tasmania. There were lots of beaches along the way, as well as a national park. It’s a little unfortunate that we only spent our last two days in Tasmania near the beach, because Dad loves to body surf and investigate all of the unusual sea creatures in the rocks.

Me at a rocky beach.

Dad in the same area.

At the bay in St. Helens, I had dad take my picture on a wave barrier (really bad idea). It looked quite dry, how was I supposed to know there was a giant wave coming? I got very, very wet and almost fell into the bay. Some random guys in the nearby parking lot gave Dad and me beers for the effort.

After a night in St. Helens, we went down past Hobart to New Norfolk, where we spent a night in a spooky historic residence called Tynwald, which I was not very fond of. It was very nice, but… I prefer modern amenities, not historic ones. Internet is truly important to me.

Tynwald did have its pluses, though. There was a very sweet (but a little naughty) black-and-white cat there, who loved getting pets and sneaking outside. We also ate at the restaurant which was tasty and expensive. The owner lent us a “torch” (flashlight) to go platypus watching in a swampy area. We didn’t manage to find one, however, because we were a little too noisy and platypuses (platypi?) are very skittish.

So yeah, those were our final days in Tasmania. Goodbye Tasmania... hello Ayres Rock!

Until Next Time,
River