Saturday 24 February: the end

An early start to pack and check out. Storing our bags we walk to the Royal Botanical Gardens. It is hot and humid and we start to sweat early on! Impressive trees with massive gnarled trunks, palm trees, bamboos and exotic plants. Views back to the opera house and the harbour bridge. Then a coffee before exploring the Museum of Contempory Art which was surprisingly enjoyable. A final beer (Fat Yak) on the rooftop terrace of the Glenmore Hotel before taxis to the airport. This really has been the trip of the lifetime with such a variety of activities and scenery and the very special bonus of spending quality time with our lovely Ellie. 

Friday 23 February

Up very early for some reason, before 7, and we have a swim in the rooftop pool, which we have to ourselves. Sunny today. Another massive cruise ship is moored up obscuring the view of the opera house! Swift hotel breakfast then to Cabrito for flat white, excellent. A tour of the early 20th C Westfield area, now a smart shopping area, and then we catch the ferry to Watson's Bay. We sit on the right side to get the best views of the opera house. We walk through old colonial style buildings to reach Camp Beach, and have a dip.....very hot now. At 1 pm we have our table booked at Doyle's Fish Restaurant, right on the harbour front with distant views of the skyscrapers of Sydney and the bridge. We share some Bass Starit scallops, then I have some delicious large barbecued prawns, better then lobster. They have been spatchcocked and griddled ( tip for you to try Ellie.....the spatchcoked way of cooking them I mean). C has barramundi fish and chips. Some unoaked Hunter Valley Chardonnay to wash it all down. Great recommendation Ellie!

As a result of our fabulous lunch we doze on the beach nearby, and mean to keep an eye out for our approaching ferry. However we both nod off and  have to make an undignified last minute scramble to get on board. Once back at base we walk across the Harbour views with spectacular views of the city and the Parramatta a long way below. Then to the opera bar where we feel conspicuously ancient , and ( in my case) very untrendily dressed. Huge bats , the size of crows, like the flying foxes in Adelaide, fly over form the botanical gardens spookily towards the half moon above the harbour bridge. Wood fired pizza for supper.

Thursday 22 February: SYDNEY

After breakfast in our hotel we catch a bus to Bondi Beach. It is overcast but humid but this has not stopped the swarm of cool locals prancing around in their wetsuits or board shorts on the esplanade. The surf is impressive and popular and there is even an outdoor gym area. The backdrop is a mix of Exmouth and Torquay but the swathe of fine golden sand is certainly beautiful so close to the big city. We have a delicious flat white in Porchers (as recommended by Ellie) before a tab around the surf shops. We stop at Icebergs Swimming Pool and do a few lengths, exhausted by the 50 metre length and having to contend with the incoming waves as they spray into the pool. Very exhilarating. We then follow the well trodden coastal path to Coogee Beach where we have some lunch: barramundi and poached trout salad at the Pavilions. Then time for a bit of sunbathing, the first time we have stopped to relax for some time! Simon braves the waves which are enormous and terrifying just before the lifeguards close the beach for being too dangerous. Bus back to the Rocks and our walk around Circular Quay to the Opera House. I am overcome with emotion when we are seated at our perfect table for two by the window for our pre opera dinner. Fabulous views of Harbour Bridge and the passing ferries. The performance of Carmen surpasses all expectations: exhilarating, sexy, colourful and brashly exotic in an Australian sort of way. The singing is sublime and I am emotional once more. A truly memorable experience. It is Chinese New Year and Circular Quay is adorned with enormous colourful statues representing the figures of the lunar year. There are still crowds of people and the atmosphere is buzzing as we make our way back to the hotel in the dark.

Wednesday 21 February

We're up and packed and away from Lake St Clair (via Ezy-Dump) in good time, and take the highway through the interminable eucalyptus wilderness of this west coast. We pass through a few deserted towns and eventually find a fuel station. I'm determined to arrive back at the Maui drop off with the tank as empty as possible, so only put in 15$ worth of fuel. This strategy does succeed but means driving with the fuel warning light on for the last few miles and wondering if we would have to push the van for the last run into the airport. 

Quite suddenly the scenery changes to open pasture and it's noticeabley arid and flatter. Vineyards soon appear. We stop at Coals Bay vineyard for lunch, and the waitress remembers us from last week, even that we sat at the same table and at the same chairs. Final glass of Tasmanian white wine and then we coast into the Maui depot, practically out of fuel and simply hand in the keys and dash to the airport. The anxiousness of the fuel situation  is now matched by the anxiousness of checking in and whether we are over the limit with the amount of wine we are trying to take home. We just make it. We soon say tearful farewells to Ellie who is flying to Melbourne and board our plane to Sydney. We fly over Maria Island and the East coast of the island and also see the Freycinet peninsula. Good view of Sydney as we fly in and then we make our way to our hotel in the Rocks district, the "old" part of Sydney. We wander round the harbour, get a bit lost and end up at a Pizza restaurant near the hotel for a late supper.

Tuesday 20 February: STRAHAN to LAKE ST. CLAIR

An early start and on the road by 8.15. The Lyall Highway takes us through the mountains on hairpin bends through scenic passes and the unappealing mining town of Queenstown. We stop at Nelson Falls and have a let breakfast in the van before walking through ancient rainforest to impressive waterfalls, 20 minutes return. Then onwards towards the southern end of the Cradle Mountain / Lake St Clair National Park where we check in before boarding the 12.30 ferry to the top of Lake St Clair. A picturesque 30 minute trip in glorious sunshine and I am looking forward to a sunny walk back. We walk then last leg of the Overland Track beside the lake which seemed like a good idea at the time but infact is a 5 and a half hour slog through deep dark rainforest with barely a glimpse of the lake, or the sun! As Simon said, the novelty ran out out after half an hour, although we were certainly alone and in the wilderness. My legs are very tired by the end but a welcome viewing of an Echidna ( a type of porcupine ) and a beer raises spirits. Ellie cooks Ardene's Prawn Linguine pasta dish, delicious! What a lovely way to spend our last night together. 

Monday 19 February

Very chilly when the alarm goes off at 7. Another double duvet night. Pademelon very close to the van. We leave at about 8 and there are views of Cradle Mountain partially obscured by a few clouds. Otherwise it's gin clear but cold. The Murchason highway takes us through vast eucalyptus wilderness.  We stop for coffee at Roseberrry, a pioneering frontier type of town, based around mineral extraction. We've heard  about Tasmanian curried scallop pie and there's a sign saying that they are are available at the unprepossessine cafe we stop at. So we order one to share with our suspicionsly large mugs of milky coffee. Our frank assessment is that curried scallop pies are absolutely disgusting! Roseberrry gets an average of 3 metres of rain a year. Today must be a rare sunny one.

Then onwards to Strahan. Right on the West Coast. We have tickets for the 3:30 cruise around the Macquarie Harbour. Strahan is reminiscent of West Coast Canada, a small fishing harbour on the edge of nowhere. The next landfall, 8000 miles away is Argentina. We cruise up to the Gordon River and see Huon pines , some of which are 3,400 years old. They were used in the boat building industry and hewn by convicts. There are also Leatherwoods with their white flowers that bees feed on to produce the characteristic honey from the west coast. Then on to Hells's Gate,  the mouth of this natural harbour.. Waves out at sea here routinely top 5 metres. The brown waters of the Gordon River force their way out through this narrow channel. 

Back at Strahan after 7 and we go to a harbour restaurant for grilled Calimari and catch of the day , Pink Ling ( which is actually white). Great stars and a thin crescent moon on our walk back to our campsite, Ellie and I see a possum close up whilst looking for the elusive platypus that allegedly frequents the nearby stream.

Sunday 18 February: Cradle Mountain circuit

A somewhat disturbed night due to the loudness of the rain reverberating onto the van outside and the sound of snoring reverberating within. By the morning the day seems a little brighter although too much cloud cover to allow views of the summit of Cradle Mountain. We initially retrace our steps of yesterday but in the opposite direction, passing a number of heavily laden hikers starting the Overland Track up to Crater Lake and then to Marion's Lookout which is clear with good views of Dove Lake and the base of Cradle Mountain beyond. Up into the mist for while,mat least we are not tempted to attempt the summit today. The path continues through the button grass on raised boardwalks which makes for easy passage. We the leave the Overland Track trail to curl around the horseshoe below the face of Cradle Mountain and eat our picnic in the shelter of a climbers hut. The path is quite steep in places and involves holding onto chains which challenges my mountaineering capability somewhat. The weather is much drier than yesterday and the clouds occasionally clear from the side summit of Cradle Mountain, Weindorfers Tower with its impressive cliffs, however sadly the iconic view of Tasmania will have to remain an image from the guidebooks only. The path meanders through scrubland and rainforest and eventually joins the Lake Dove circuit path together with crowds of Asian tourists. Shuttle bus back to the Vistors Centre for a coffee before hot showers and a well overdue laundry session back at base. It does feel warmer than when we arrived although certainly cool. Off to the west coast tomorrow which we hope may be a little warmer. 

Saturday 17 February

The night is about 40 degrees colder than it was in the outback of the Flinders Ranges! We use the spare duvet to keep warm. It rains 7 out of 10 days here, and is cloudy 8 out of 10 days....and today it's raining and cloudy! Pademelons come very close to our van .We walk to the Cradle Mountain visitor centre and buy a map and get the shuttle bus into the park to Dove Lake, and then walk along board walks above the button grass, see Lake Lila, Wombat Pool and Crater Lake. The route goes through deciduous beech, grass trees and various pines: pencil pine, King Billy and celery top pine, some of which can live for 2000 years. Black currawangs with their yellow rimmed eyes squawk in the trees.

We eat our sandwich at the walker registration point at the start of the Overland Trek, and get the shuttle bus back to dry off with the heater on in the van!

We then walk down to the Waldheim Alpine spa, and see an echidna close up by the side of the road. They are like porcupines. The spa is heavenly, we have a sauna, steam room, jacuzzi and icy plunge pool to ourselves. The jacuzzi is outside, with the rain forest and the torrential rain as a backdrop. We even have a bottle of fizzy wine! Then we go to the restaurant with its roaring log (the size of tree trunks) fire. Ellie has wallaby steak, Clare has Tasmanian quail and I have salmon.  It's still pouring down when we finish so they very kindly give us a lift back to our soggy camp site.