Feb 2007

Back to Melbourne!

A 'brief' stop in Sorrento

Fort Nepean

Lorne YHA!

The lorrikeets at Lorne YHA

Koala!!!!!

The 12 Apostles

The view from Loch Ard Gorge

The sunset whilst waiting for the fairy penguins!!

We waved goodbye to beautiful Tasmania and returned to Melbourne for a quick one night rest before the next leg of our trip. This time we were heading to Adelaide along the Great Ocean Road. Rather than heading West straight away we ventured South East onto the Mornington Peninsula. We stopped at a nice little town called Sorrento where we camped for the night (free!). The following morning after Nic managed to burn our breakfast (eggs and beans) we headed to Fort Nepean National Park, right on the edge of the peninsula. The beaches along the tip of the peninsula are extremely dangerous but very pretty. We explored the various gun emplacements and underground tunnels used to defend Melbourne and the harbour over the decades - eeire but very interesting!

We then caught the ferry West to Queenscliff and joined the Great Ocean Road. We made it to Lorne where we stayed at David's first ever YHA - though Nic thinks he was spoilt slightly what with the lorrikeets sitting on the balcony! The following day, we hit the road again and headed to Port Campbell. On the way we spotted koalas high up in the trees having a snooze and scratch! We also looked in on the 12 Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge, both were very impressive, very beautiful and very busy! In the evening we headed along the road a little further to London Bridge, another rock formation, in the hope of spotting some of the fairy penguins that lived here. We watched the sun set and waited for two hours as the temperature dropped. Were we successful we hear you ask? Well Nic spotted one making his way into the sea and David spotted one pottering around on the beach about an hour later. Let's be fair it could've been the same one......

The Mount Wellington view looking over Hobart

The most relaxing hostel ever! Where we recuperated.

After the Overland Track, Hobart was the perfect place to lay our hats for our last few days in Tasmania. Our sore joints and crusty feet (wet and dry so many times) were rested here in our brilliant hostel. We strolled down to the harbour and made sure the beer in the south was as good in the north - there is quite a rivalry here! A variety of fresh fish was in order here with a nice bottle of chilled white vino! We visited the peak of Mt Wellington that towers over the city with fantastic views. A fantastic, chilled out, beautiful place.

Port Arthur Hospital

The second prison

Port Arthur

Port Arthur Church...spooky.....

Before heading over to Tasmania we knew Port Arthur was a definate place to visit. Convicts, haunted houses and dangerous tales of inmates! We hired a car for the day and set of early doors from Hobart, along the beautiful coastline of southern Tasmania. Crossing Eagle Neck, the only little strip of land now connecting us to the mainland - we were now in prime convict territory! We purhased our tickets which included an introductory guide, boat trip and ghost tour for when the sun set and the full moon rose above the dilapitadated church...

The site was really beautiful in a wierd way. You really felt like this place had a lot of dark secrets especially when walking around the main prison and govenors residence. The second prison - the revoluntionary site where solitary confinement was realised had an even spookier atmosphere. After locking overselves in one of the cells and turning the lights off, we really got a feel of what it was like - it would drive you insane, which is why the asylum was located right next door...

After a 20 minute boat ride to take us out and around the port we headed further our and admired the other natural coastal features.

We arrived back around 9pm, dark, cold and ready to feel the presence...the tour took us around the disection and post-mortem table located under the hospital (remember only by candle-light!) and into a few houses that have had several sightings of a wondering little girl! We ended the evening back at the second prison to experience the true silence of this place but with a cold chill blowing through - crreeeepy!

We left the site with mixed feelings - had we taken anything out with us that we didn't go in with!!!??! We manged to dodge a few kangaroos (just) on the way back to our hostel and looked forward to our first double bed in a shared dorm!

The Gorge at Launceston

THE OVERLAND TRACK

Waterfall Valley Hut, where we spent our first night

Walking amongst the Wallabies

One of the many gorgeous view - if we only we could've seen them!

Our only picture of clear sky!

Nic when she found out it had snowed through the night..

David enjoying the Australian summer

At the foot of Mount Ossa - this was the closest we'd get to Tasmania's highest peak :-(

Trying to get our socks dry...

The wombat!

Echo Point Hut where we spent our last night on the Overland Track

The excellent toilet facilities!

The view from Echo Point

So we were ready! After a quick flight from Melbourne to Launceston, Tasmania we spent a few days enjoying the sunshine and sights including Cataract Gorge and the docks. We made final prepearations for the days ahead of us and got in some decent sleep! The Overland Track is approx. 50 miles and we'd put aside 6 days for it in the hope that we'd get to do the many side tracks available. These would include Cradle Mountain and Mount Ossa - the latter being Tasmania's highest peak.

We were up at 5.30am and after struggling to get ourselves awake we were soon beginning our 3 hour bus trip to the beginning of the walk. We watched from our comfy coach seats as the early morning sunshine vanished and the grey clouds and rain set in. We were not off to a good start!

We stepped off the bus, registered at the National Park office and set off. The fog was low, the rain was persistent and the beautiful views we'd expected were nowhere to be seen! Bugger! On our first day we'd planned to walk up Cradle Mountain, however when we arrived at the path junction we could barely see more than 100 metres ahead!! Heads down and feet wet we trudged on through Alpine forests and exposed ridges to Waterfall Valley, where we'd spend our first night. The hut we stayed in was old, slept 8 and had no heating. It was good to get the packs off and have a hot drink.

It was a cold night even with thermals and extra layers. We woke up to the same weather - the ranger popped in to let us now that a snow storm was on it's way late afternoon and we should get moving as soon as. So off we set, in the rain through moorland, open heathland, patches of apline woodland and our first encounter of rainforests on the walk. Our feet still wet but faces still smiling. The second hut was much bigger, had some heating and was full of soaked walkers. The second days walk had been hard. We did 15 miles and it was a relief to get inside the semi-warm hut.

After a restless night due to the chronic snorer in our dorm we awoke to the sight of snow. The snow storm had arrived as promised and was to stay with us for most of the day. We wrapped up and walked on. Todays side trip had meant to be Mount Ossa but due to the fact it was covered in snow and we couldn't see the summit we decided to give it a miss! The snow and wind was quite harsh but when the wind relented we had the most fantastic views of snow covered alpine ground - it looked like Christmas!

We were the first to arrive at the next hut and after getting the fire going we tried to dry out some of our gear. Our feet were sodden and Nic discovered she'd even had a hitch-hiker in the form of a leech. There was a lot of blood for such a small thing and Nic was a complete wimp!!!

The following day was probably our best, weather wise as the rain stopped for a bit and we even had sunshine for all of 30 minutes! We even managed to do a side trip to D'Alton and Fergusson Falls, beautiful waterfalls! We climbed our last major hill of the walk through various eucalyptus trees - Nic celebrating by falling flat on her face! Once again, we were first to arrive at the hut and David soon got the fire going and the hut cosy.

Our second to last day and still no blisters - though knees and ankles were beginning to get sore! It was a hard 9 miles! We walked through heavy woodland, over wet slippery roots and rocks, through deep mud and even needed to fight our way through the 5ft ferns! Nic's knees packed up which made the last two hours of the walk drag out to three. It was a difficult day! Howver, Echo Point Hut - our accommodation for the night was lovely (apart from the reported black rats). The tiny hut slept 8, had a coal burning stove and was set on picturesque bank overlooking it's own beach and Lake St. Clair (Australia's deepest lake). It was a beautiful setting for our last night.

At last! We were on our last day and the promise of a burger, pint and dry feet at last was enough to get us moving. The terrain was as hard as the previous day and it rained continually. The views of the Lake were limited due to the thick 5ft ferns and huge King Billy Pine trees and it seemed to take forever before we found a bridge linking us civilisation in the form of the Lake St Clair Visitor Centre.

We'd made it! After a total of nearly 30 hours of walking, our great walk was complete. We de-registered ourselves then made a beeline for the fire where David ordered his pint and Nic got a proper caffiene fix.