At Port Arthur penal colony I managed to get Rachael locked up for a while so I could enjoy some peace and quiet.

Rachael at Salamanca Market. She was waiting for a chance to get to the fugde stall which, having free samples, was not surprisingly very popular

Not a pretty picture but I like it. We drove through Queenstown on the way to Hobart from Devenport, it's been strip mined sothat the whole place looks reminiscent of the Moon.

Just to prove that it snows even in Australia. This is a picture from around Cradle Mountain. Amazingly 41% of Tasmania is taken up by National Parks.

The Nut, that path zigzaging up the side is wehre we went, and then right around the top.

Tassie

Well we're in Tasmania at the moment and I'm quite glad that we had the chance to come. We stayed in Devonport when we arrived in what looked like a former lunatic asylum from the outside. And when we went to check in it seemed like out suspicions were confirmed! There were the strangest group of people who actually lived there all year round, including quite a few men with mullets and some women who wandered around mumbling. Suffice to say we won't be staying there again. We then travelled to Hobart through the mountains where we got to go out in the snow! Tasmania is a lot like England - green fields and cold weather.
Hobart is quite a nice place but it can't decide whether it wants to be a capital city or a small country town and we've seen a few inbreds wandering around. We're been to the outdoor markets this morning, which are the largest in Australia so that was fun, but I'm looking forward to getting back to civilisation on the mainland.

Its also suprising how quickly the Aussies forget about major sporting events - I don't think the cricket's been mentioned for days (including by Sadler!) and most of them wouldn't even watch the final day of the test!!

Van Diemens Land

After hanging around in Melbourne by the docks for several hours trying to avoid paying for a parking ticket we eventually queued up at 6pm to board the Spirit of Tasmania, 2 hours later after having our boot checked for illegl goods we drove into the ship along with two hundred other cars. As sad as it may seem I was actually quite exited about driving into the ferry, must be somthing to do with that shelterd life I lived in Wales.
The ferry set off exactly on time at 9pm arriving at Devenport 10 hours later at 7am. Being cheapo travellers we'd only booked a couple of seats so I ended up sleeping on the floor in between seats, I actually had a dream about not being able to walk properly and awoke to find it was because I'd been sleeping with my legs crossed and they'd lost all feeling.
We took a trip out to Stanley today to climb 'The Nut' which is kind of like Tasmania's version of Ayers Rock. In the half an hour it took to climb to the top and walk its perimeter the weather went from brisk but sunny to gale force winds and snow. We both came down with earache soaked to the skin wondering why on earth we bothered. After some lunch and a pot of tea it all seemed like a bit of fun.... to me anyway!

It's been a while.....

Well, it's been a while since we've updated on here so I'll quickly fill you all in on what we've been upto.

We went to the Sydney Opera House and watched Hansel and Gretal on our last night in Sydney which was certainly interesting. While it wasn't the greatest performance ever we still both enjoyed it. After that we've doubled back on ourselves and travelled back North to spend a couple of nights in Newcastle. Just like it's namesake back in the U.K. it rained constantly while we were there so we ended up spending most of our time indoors watching the Aussie Rules and the Rugby.
After that we travelled out to the Blue Mountains where we spent several days walking around the mountains and valleys. It was lovely place to relax ands all the mountains did indeed have a blue haze over them caused by the eucalyptus trees.
After that we travelled to Australia Capital Territory where we spent a few days staying with Rachael's Aunty Leslie on the outskirts of Canberra. It is a city unlike any other in Australia and you can tell it was planned and then built, one of only four cities in the world that were. We went to the old and new Parliament House, the National Gallery, the Australia Museum, the Botanical Gardens........ and many other places. In fact we spent most of our time in and out of various museums and galleries. It all also rained pretty much the whole time we were in Canberra as well, in fact it got so cold and gloomy for a while I thought I was back in Bolton!
We left Canberra on Monday and travelled down to Bairnsdale where we spent a night and went round to visit my Gran who I haven't seen in over ten years. It was great to see her again.

That was last night and we left early this morning to travel upto Melbourne which is where we are now. We're booked on a ferry at 9pm tonight to take us over to Tasmania where we arrive at 7am the following morning.

Once we've got a bit more time I'll try and write something more meaningful than a list of places where we've been.

As regards the cricket.... well, I never like that game anyway!

Bridal Veil Falls in the Blue Mountains

Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains.

On our way to the Sydney Opera House o watch Hansel and Gretel.

Sydney - nice city but wouldn't want to live there!

This seems to be an agreed opinion about Sydney. The opera house and harbour bridge are stunning. We did the Bridge climb on Tuesday which took 3 hours - 160 metres above sea level at the top of the arch where you could see the Great Dividing Range on one side and the Pacific ocean on the other. We're also off to the Opera on Friday night, to watch Hansel and Gretel (a story I know and which will be sung in English!)

King's Cross, where we're staying, is a fairly infamous place in Sydney, described by the guidebooks as the place where backpackers and protitutes meet and live in harmony! It's quite a lively place with most establishments open 24 hours a day.

For a complete change of scenery, we're off to the Blue Mountains next, up in the Great Dividing Range, for a few days of relaxation and, knowing Sadler, a few long climbs in some steep hills!

This is what I could see after going to the Lord Nelson pub and trying all six of their home brewed beers. Isn't the world pretty through beer goggles!?

The jewel in Sydney's crown - Porkys. We haven't ventured in yet but there is still time!

Me preaching 'the word' to the masses in a Bush Chapel.

For those of you who don't know, that building behind Rachael's head is the 'Sydney Opera House' (now the most photographed landmark in the world having just recently taken over from the Taj Mahal) and behind that is the 'Sydney Harbour Bridge', of which there is small copy of in Newcastle called the 'Tyne Bridge'.