Our Jucy home

Hi there one and all - it's been a while since we've been able to update you with our adventures.

We enjoyed our 2 weeks in Tasmania and returned the car with no bumps or scratches - despite what the hire car place tried to tell Jon.  Anyway, we didn't pay any excesses.
Our last few days with the car saw us drive from the west coast to Hobart, camping 2 nights on the way.  We saw more waterfalls, Australia's oldest bridge at Richmond built in 1825

and MONA, the Museum of Old and New Art.  Nothing was written to explain any of the exhibits, but each person was loaned an i-pod which gave instructions and information as you walked around.  Very weird, but all in the name of art.  Some of it was quite interesting, other bits were just weird but we guess that's just modern art.
Our last day in Hobart was spent at the outdoor Salamanca Market and in the Botanical Gardens.

 Luckily the backpackers allowed us to check out and leave our gear in reception so we could walk around unencumbered.  Our flight to Melbourne wasn't until 10pm (it was the cheap flight!).
Having arrived in Melbourne at 11.15pm we then had to find our way by tram and foot to the hostel in St Kilda. It was above an Irish pub!  It could have been even noisier but luckily we were on the 2nd floor, had earplugs and were very tired!
On 13th March (Sunday) we walked around St Kilda in very hot weather.  The highlight of the day was the rollercoaster ride at Luna Park - an old style wooden boneshaker!  As the heavens opened we hotfooted it back to the hostel for a subsidised evening meal.

Monday 14th saw us collect our Jucy campervan which we had hired for 30 days.  It's not the biggest van in the world, but at least we could unpack our rucksacks and not have to pitch the very small tent each night.

 We set off from Melbourne via Geelong toward the Great Ocean Road.  During our lunch stop at Torquay we got chatting to an English couple from Stevenage who were very intrigued by the van - its fridge, stove, DVD player, fan etc.  That night we found a free campsite - yay!
The next 2 days were spent travelling the Great Ocean Road and stopping frequently to view the amazing coastline.

 We bumped into a guy we'd camped next to at Port Arthur on Tasmania a couple of weeks before - small world!  We stopped at a place called Kennett River where we were assured we'd see koalas in the wild.  Not really believing we would, we stopped anyway.  And there they were - we saw at least 6 and they were even moving!

We'd hoped to head to Adelaide via The Grampians, but found they were shut because of the flooding in Victoria in January - must leave that for next time!  We hit Adelaide at the weekend which wouldn't have been a problem except it was a big motor racing weekend - the Clipsal 500. It seems everyone comes from all over Australia, New Zealand and everywhere else.  We were lucky to get a campsite that night!

After a day in Adelaide we pointed our Jucy van northwards towards the Outback - and into torrential rain!  The windscreen wipers didn't work too well so it was an interesting journey from Adelaide via Port Augusta to Woomera where finally the sun had come out.

G'day Cobbers!

Well, we made it safely across the Ditch and onwards to Hobart.
Not quite as warm as NZ or indeed the rest of Australia but rather reminiscent of an English summer - temperatures and unpredictability. We had a relaxing day in Hobart wandering around and taking in all the sights.

On Monday 28 February we picked up a hire car and, loaded to the gunnels, set off for 10 days around Tassie.

We stopped at various scenic spots heading south east (Tessellated pavement and various blowholes, sea arches etc)

 

and finally arrived at Port Arthur scene of a penal colony for transported convicts who had reoffended.

We spent 6 hours wandering around and learning all about it - who said this was just a holiday?!  It was pretty cold and wet that day - a real change for us.

Anyway, from Port Arthur we headed up the east coast and camped for 2 nights in Bicheno.  We seemed to then follow the good weather around.  One day we went to Freycinet National Park and did a fairly short walk to Wineglass Bay,

and also went to see the Fairy Penguins one evening.  Unfortunately these little critters are currently in the moult so aren't out at sea and coming back in at night.  Consequently we only saw a dozen or so of them rather than a hundred or so that would be around in November/December.
From here we headed west and stayed a night in Launceston before continuing west to Cradle Mountain.

We were really lucky with the weather here - we arrived in glorious sunshine and did a short walk that afternoon.  The next day we did another short walk in equally fantastic weather.  The only problem was that at 800m elevation, it got freezing - literally - at night!  Jon's sleeping bag is not great so he wasn't a happy camper!
From Cradle Mountain we headed out to the west coast and have been at Strahan for 2 nights.  We've had temperatures of 22-23 degrees which has made a very pleasant change!  When we arrived last night (6 March) we noticed a sign giving a free night's camping in exchange for clearing gum tree bark from the site.  We volunteered and spent a couple of hours this morning doing just that and now have a free night camping and also free internet access now!

Anyway, tomorrow (8th) we're heading back east and have to give the car back on 10th.  We have 2 nights in Hobart before flying to Melbourne on 12th then picking up our campervan on 14th.

We've just checked the Christchurch backpackers where we were staying.  Sadly it's closed due to earthquake damage but everyone there was safe.

Carol's still having problems with her trapped femoral nerve which means Jon is so far having to do all the driving.  She's hoping it will resolve itself very soon as she's getting a bit fed up with it now.