Flood alerts

No platypus at Bombala - we went for a walk along the riverside and looked very carefully.

The last evening we were there it started to rain and it rained all night, I should have been quicker and taken a photo of Michael off to the showers wearing his hat and driazabone coat with just a towel underneath (around his waist) and thongs (flip flops), it was a good look but not one he wants to adopt.
As it was so overcast and wet we changed our plans and decided against the coast and went directly north, up the Monaro Hwy to Cooma.
We had memories of Cooma being a quite pleasant little town but the feeling now is one of grey misery! We went to the 'super IGA' supermarket and for the first time ever I saw half empty shelves. The deli section was only about one third stocked! Don't know the reason.
We drove to the other end of town to the Aldi supermarket and this was a well stocked great supermarket, we bought a 3.4kg tub of Greek Kalamata olives (they're not as good as ours but the tub will give us a good container so we can take 3.4kg of our  olives away with us).
Then we went up to the caravan park (the only one in town). The office area was new and nice and tidy but not the rest of the park. It screamed that this is the only caravan park in town, they don't have to try anymore so they don't!
Anyway we checked in for just one night and then listening to the radio a couple of hours later we heard a "Flood evacuation alert for the town of Cooma".
We double checked and realised that we were quite safe as we are in the high part of town, up the hill, and the river is obviously in the low area of town.
The weather forecast was that almost all of NSW would receive its annual rainfall over a 3 day period.....
but at the moment it wasn't raining.
The weather (and caravan park) were quite miserable but we settled in for the night.
Next morning, although there wasn't any storm or rain overnight, we were up early for us at 7.30 and on the road by 8.30. We figured we'd make a break and head directly north again to Canberra, getting through 'downtown' Cooma.
The Monaro Hwy was relatively quiet and the weather quite pleasant for a morning drive.

Although those clouds were around.

We weren't going directly to Canberra, we were heading to Queanbeyan. The reason for that was that we wanted to get some work done on the van, and had been recommended the Fiat agent in Queanbeyan.
We also wanted to get rid of those Federal tyres and get back to Continentals.
We were unable to get an appointment at the Fiat place for about 10 days, so we abandoned that idea, but did get an excellent price on Continental tyres, AND a good price on new front shock absorbers, all that crashing about on Federals hadn't been kind to the vehicle (or us!) We  booked in for Friday to get all that done.
So we had a couple of days to wander around Queanbeyan.
At least there are 2 caravan parks in this town - we checked them both out, but didn't really have a choice as one didn't have any sites available.
The one with sites was the 'Riverside Caravan Park', it's right on the edge of the river, and guess what?.....
That rain is still around and there's now a flood alert in Queanbeyan!!
Reason prevailed - it's not actually raining at the moment and we can see the water level, it's a good 3 or 4 metres below the level of the top of the bank.

 The receptionist explained that as long as we could still the weir we were safe, once we couldn't see the weir anymore we'd  be on evacuation alert. The worst that would mean would be that we'd have to unplug, start the engine and drive off.
We certainly hope that Queanbeyan has an RV Friendly status, because we're supporting it well enough, with the tyres and shockies, caravan park and we also bought a new HD 12 volt tv for the van! Typical of us, we have a new HD tv and we go and buy 3 DVDs that are old 1920s, silent, black and white movies!

Then the rain started late in the afternoon and didn't stop all night (in fact it's still raining!!)
We could still hear the weir so weren't worried.
 The next morning the top of the weir was still visible - just.

The water level was around 4.2m and there were television, radio and local newspaper photographers moving around the place. Another rain front was forecast with the water rising to around 5m by 5.00pm, then maybe 6m by 9.00pm. The big flood in December 2010 had a water level of 8.0m. The water was all over the caravan park and across the road then.
Now I had not followed my own adage - the sun was not shining and I had done some washing, it was in the dryer when the standby alert came on the radio. As soon as it stopped we'd be off.
The council had opened up the showgrounds for caravans and campers to relocate to, with power and water too. (Another showgrounds!!?)
11.00 we were off to the showgrounds. The first spot we stopped soon became boggy, and with 4WDs and caravans driving past all the time it was getting worse. I knew that neither of us would sleep well if we stayed where we were so I had a scout around - there was a large, bitumen car park area, with a power box, so I grabbed the coffee cups and walked over there while Michael started up and followed in the van.

It  was a good move!! The wheels were spinning as he pulled away.
We, of course, started a trend and soon the area around us was full.

The van is full of damp clothes hanging everywhere - but we have power so the heater is on and they're almost dry now.

Hmmm, WA  looks good - sunshine and 30 degrees!


Throughout the day the caravans arrived, the alert was still 'standby', but there were road closures around the place. The rain lasted all day, with the forecast for it to continue until maybe Tuesday and the worst of the weather to hit on Saturday. We will decide where we go from here once we've got the tyres and shockies. Maybe another night here, maybe into Canberra - watch this space!

 

Bye Bye Victoria, Hello New South Wales

The showgrounds at Sale were a lot better than Hobart showgrounds, the amenities were clean and plentiful, the weather wasn't too great though, and the grass was getting quite soft by the next morning. We had a quick stop in Sale for a last minute look around before heading out along Princes Highway to Bairnsdale.
We decided against taking a scenic route through farm country as the weather was quite wet and misty. First port of call in Bairnsdale was the Family History Group and the ladies there were gems, extremely helpful and after a short while we had nearly all of them scouring their books, papers and computer records for anything to help us. We came away with a few pages of relevant stuff.
Then we went into Bairnsdale for some lunch, a good pie and great coffee at Jarrods Cafe, before checking into the caravan park.
Bairnsdale is a very nice town, preferable, we think, to Sale, maybe that's because the town was walking distance from the caravan park in Bairnsdale, and there was a Chinese and an Indian restaurant very close by.
The caravan park is between the river and the highway but not too noisy with traffic noise.
The next day the sun was shining and we enjoyed a stroll into town, checked out the amazing St Mary's church and its' murals,

 before lunch - another great pie at Jarrods and then onto the Historical Society museum.
 A very sweet, well displayed museum with very helpful staff.
They even came up with some old photos in our ancestry search.
The next day was really sunny and so I decided to adapt the saying 'make hay whilst the sun shines,' to
do some washing whilst the sun shines'!! then I had a walk into town, ending up finding an op shop so came home with 2 more books.
It was really hot and almost midday when I got back so I tested the park's swimming pool - cold but beautiful!! After lunch we just sat in the shade and read.
 That night we are sure that we saw fruit bats flying overhead.

Next day it was time to move on, but first we drove out to the cemetery for some photos of headstones - those ancestors again.
We drove east again, stopping in Lakes Entrance for lunch. The views entering Lakes Entrance are stunning and the town is very pretty. The peak season is very definitely over here - it's really quiet.
We had lunch at a cafe,  it was quite ordinary really, miss those pies already!
 When we first drove into Victoria we remarked on the cypress pine carvings at Dartmoor - there have been several other towns around with these pine carvings and there are some on the foreshore at Lakes Entrance:-

Then it was time to continue East to Orbost. We were in Orbost about 8 years ago and liked the town then, it's still a nice little town. We checked into the caravan park and set up in the shade, after a couple of hours relaxing we decided to have 2 nights in the park.

The next day we walked into town early and had a bit of retail therapy before returning to the park and sitting in the shade - moving around as the sun moved!

A motorhome pulled in alongside and the couple from Canberra joined us chasing the shade, this led into Happy Hour and then it was time to head in for dinner, at least by then it had cooled down somewhat - temp inside the van had been around 30 degrees so must have been around 35 outside. We went to sleep with the air conditioner on it was still very warm.
We had another 5am rude awakening but this time we were safe and sound, we awoke to the sound of a helicopter landing on the playing fields, the other side of the fence to us. Apparently it was a medical emergency, but all we know is that it was really, really loud and there were bright lights - UFO theory anyone?

The next morning we left Orbost and went down to Marlo at the mouth of the Snowy River - we went to look at the old paddle steamer, the Curlip, but were amazed that it's next excursion is March 9th!
 As I said "peak season is over".

We followed the coast for a little, around to Cape Conrad and then returned to the Princes Highway on to Cann River (the cheapest fuel prices around - same price as metropolitan Melbourne) and up the Monaro Highway into New South Wales High Country and on to Bombala - Platypus Country.
Before going into the town of Bombala we went out to the Platypus Reserve, and sure enough, just like 8 years ago - in the middle of the day we saw platypus. Feeling rather smug we drove on into town and booked in at one of the cheapest (but nicest) caravan parks around. We squeezed the van into a site next to the river (so we can sit out and watch for platypus - we may see them!)

There was a bit of fiddling around because the squeeze was to get under the tree branches - we managed it but had to be extremely careful with the tv aerial. Anyway had  just set up when the couple from last night pulled in - next to us again!
The weather is ideal platypus watching weather, overcast and an attempt at rain so we put the awning out to sit under and are studying the river!! No photos yet!!
We are going to dawdle around the area going down to the  coast at Eden and then back up to Cooma and the mountains before going into Canberra in about 2 weeks time.

Hello again Victoria

For our last 2 days in Tassie we decided to stay at the caravan park in Latrobe. Deloraine was an option but they only have a Woolworth supermarket not an IGA and the showers in Latrobe are bigger.
We even got our old site back, at the end of the fence, in the shade under 2 huge trees. It was really peaceful - until 5.25am.....
      Behind the caravan park there is a 'workers compound'. (A hostel for about 40 farm workers, working on veg farms  out at Forth. The ground is leased from the caravan park and they use the amenities in the caravan park as well as driving through the park to come in and out). They start work at 6 am every morning and so around 5.00 it starts to get a little noisy, not usually a problem, but this was a rude awakening - one of them cut across the grass, drove over our awning's guy rope, pulling the awning down on one side - the whole van shook!!
 We were up and outside in seconds but the car drove off!
Two other cars stayed around but the drivers didn't speak English, we tried to at least get some sort of acknowledgement from them but after 20 minutes we let them go to work and we went back to bed.
We had their number plates and knew where they lived. The awning shock absorbers had done their job and taken up the force so luckily the awning itself and the van body were undamaged.

Later in the morning we changed sites and the following morning when they left for work they were all rather subdued. (no one had come to see us though, despite there being a 'manager/interpreter' on site. the caravan park manager explained that the workers were newly arrived from Korea, only arriving on Sunday, and hadn't been "trained" yet. When we stayed previously the crew had been there for a few months and were used to everything!?).
 So we spent some of our last day in Tasmania at the police station making out a report. The officer promised to pay a visit to the camp to check drivers' and vehicle licences, particularly as the vehicles stay the same even if the workers change and they are all licensed in Queensland.

Anyway we left Latrobe and drove the few kms up to Devonport. We parked up on the foreshore and had morning tea then drove back into town for a wander and some final Tasmanian shopping.
Then we drove across the river to East Devonport,

 parked up overlooking the ocean and wiled away the hours before driving down to the terminal and boarding the Spirit of Tasmania and our journey back to Australia.
We had a cabin again and had really calm crossing, arriving safe and sound in Melbourne at 6.30am Friday morning. There was no quarantine, no long queues we just drove away, very simple.
We found a spot to park up and have breakfast before heading against the peak hour traffic flow down through Dandenong and towards "The Prom", Wilson's Promontory and Gippsland.

We drove into Prom Country, open roads, rolling hills, grand vistas and dairy cows - lovely!
We zigzagged through to the hamlet of Athlone. Michael's father's family has connections with the town of Athlone in Ireland and also he had heard about the old Gippsland railway - the Strezlecki line that ran through there and wanted to see if the station or any tracks remained.

 No one in Athlone knew anything about the railway so we continued on our way.

We went on to Poowong and the little camp area beside the Bass River - the Bass Valley campground. Very peaceful and very popular, by nightfall there were 3 caravans, 1 4WD, 2 small tents, 1 large tent (a family of 5), 1 campervan and 1 motorhome(us).
The next morning the caravans took off early and we went to chat to the young couple in the WA registered campervan. Turns out that they bought it in Sydney, they are from USA and are touring around Oz for a year - way to go!

Then we drove on through quiet roads, over one lane bridges down to the coastal town of Port Albert.
A good decision, it's a lovely little place, one of Victoria's oldest seaports, being established in 1841.
 The 24hr RV stop is on bitumen, at the harbour, next to the boat ramp.

                               It was windy but pleasant, so we strolled around the harbour.

 For dinner we had Fish and Chips at what is supposed to be one of Victoria's best Fish and Chip shops - very nice it was too.

The next morning we enjoyed a late start as the East Gippsland maritime museum didn't open until 10.30.
We had a cup of coffee whilst watching the boats at the boat ramp - not nearly as much fun as most boat ramps - all of them were very smooth, think they've done it lots of times before.

The museum was small and quite interesting. We were particularly interested in the story of one of the offshore islands, Clonmel, as this is the name of the town in Ireland that Michael's mother's family come from. Anyway the island was named after a paddle steamer called the Clonmel, which sank in the area on only her second trip, and the survivors camped on the island whilst some of the crew walked for help, which took them weeks.

Then we were back on the side roads, through farm country, winding our way down to the coastal hamlet of Seaspray, at the western end of the Ninety Mile Beach. The roads were so quiet, we only met one other vehicle. Seaspray is a really quiet place, I think the caravan park has more cabins than the town has houses - it must be jumping during school holidays. We stopped for a sandwich at the town's park and then drove along the narrow stretch of land between Lake Reeve and the Tasman Sea. The vegetation along the roadside was too high for us to enjoy any views - pity.
There were camp areas all along the road but we continued on to the end and the campground at Paradise Beach. There were a lot of people there but we found a reasonably flat, large area and settled in.

We went for a walk along the beach - there were lots of shells and puffer fish but the sand was just lovely - a great beach.
The weather was rather humid and there was a lot of mist on the horizon, giving the view a rather greyish hue.

In the afternoon we had a visit from a local man who volunteers to hand out visitor information, he drove up and gave us a bag full of local leaflets, a pen and a local newspaper - we didn't get any of that in Tassie!!

Then a young couple in a rental campervan pulled in next to us - bad move.....the van sank in the sand up to it's axle!! Once Michael had stopped laughing he went to help.
 They were a French couple who had to get one of the many 4WDs around to pull them out. We suggested they stay on harder ground behind us, but I think they were embarassed and they drove off.  (Actually, thinking about it, as they were French could they have been embarassed??!!)

Anyway we got chatting to some of the other people who came over to help. Matteus is German but living in Melbourne at the moment and is touring around for a few days, in a rental motorhome, with his mum and dad, Jutta and Gustav, who are over for a holiday. We had  Happy Hour with them - actually a Happy 4 Hour as it was almost 9.00pm when we went into our vans.

The next morning we were away early, for us, around 9.30am travelling up to the large commercial town of Sale. On the way we stopped to look at the old Swing Bridge.

 The bridge was built 1880 -1883 and is the oldest surviving, intact, Swing Bridge in Australia. It is still opened, swung manually every Saturday and Sunday at 3.00 and 4.00pm.

Then it was into Sale itself, some stocking up on groceries - after going to IGA we discovered the Aldi in town!! Then it was out to the Showgrounds to check in for the night.

 Have heard good reports about these showgrounds, and so far they bear no resemblance at all to Hobart (the toilets have just been cleaned!)

Tomorrow it's on to Bairnsdale and more fun, playing 'hunt the ancestor' again.

Launceston revisted - motorhome rally

So we arrived back in Launceston, at the Inveresk precinct, which is home to some University of Tasmania schools as well as museums and sporting arenas. We pulled in just after 1.00pm and already there were over 150 vans there. We got to our site with Werner and Mary pulling in next to us.
Our sites are on the edge of the paved tramway and walkway which leads into the city.
 We're on grass and behind us is the N. Esk river.

                    Tram going past our vans, Michael and Mary outside Werner and Mary's van.

More vans arrived through the afternoon; 4.00pm was Happy Hour and the gates were closed for the day.
The first Happy Hour gathered everyone in the one area, but unfortunately the acoustics were really bad and the entertainment was Country  and Western.
 (Why do amateur singers always have to sing so loudly, actually why do they have to sing at all?)

The rally calendar was not a full one, there was lots of time to explore the city or wander around and meet motorhomers. The Inveresk precinct is just a 15 minute walk from the centre of Launceston and a tram runs right through the precinct. On weekdays there's a free "Tiger Bus" running from the precinct into and around the city. All this for just $33 for the entire rally! (Apparently there was a little hiccup with the accounts and a higher fee should have been charged, but they reckon that they'll still be able to donate over $3,000 to Cancer Research!!! The secret being that the Tasmanian state government is giving an amount for every Mainlander coming to the rally and spending so many nights in ''commercial accommodation"!)
At close of the next day there were a total of 254 vans at the rally.

We really like Launceston, and on our first full day at the rally, as we weren't involved in the Disc Bowls competitions, we headed off on the Tiger Bus into the city. We walked around a bit and had some retail therapy including Nuts and Bolts. Nuts and Bolts is an amazing shop and we were able to buy some real brass screws - something that has disappeared from ordinary hardware shops, and the service was really good.
Michael opted for the bus option to get back but I wandered along the streets, enjoying the old buildings.

                     The "Cook with Gas" slogan is actually brick fretwork (is that the right term?).


On the Friday night we were persuaded to try the food at the local Bowls Club, which was just across the oval, a 2 minute walk. They served dinner between 5 and 7 so -
6.00pm we ambled over.
6.25pm we had just signed in!
Q. Why does it take more than 15 seconds to write your name, home address, tick a box if you live more than 5 kms from the club, and sign your name?
A. I don't know. (but some people in front of us really struggled with it - maybe it was the tick box that confused them? Not sure of where they live? I took 10seconds!!)
Anyway after queuing to sign in, we queued for a table.
6.45pm we had a table - but still had to queue for food.
6.50pm we gave up and went back to the van.
7.05pm I served dinner - (instant curry and naan bread - really yummy)

(Werner and Mary persisted and they ended up being served just before 8.00pm!!!!!!!!)

The same weekend that we were in Launceston, the city was celebrating 'Festivale' a Food and Wine Festival at City Park, which was just across the river to Inveresk. Friday night was Festivale opening night and even inside our van we were treated to the Daryl Braithwaite concert.

The next day there was very little on the rally calendar during the day so it was museum time.
Firstly we checked out the inaugural 'Harvest' which is a new food market in the city. There were some great stalls and they nearly all sold out well before their closing time. We were too late to try any rabbit or Buffalo Fetta Cheese but we did get a kilo of really beautiful strawberries for $8.00
Oh and saw these BIG chefs - (is that opposed to little chefs - UK joke!)

After a scrummy snack - tasty beef sausage in a slice of bread with rhubarb relish for Michael and me, baked potato with assorted dressings for Werner and Mary - we all crossed the road to the Automobile Museum. Included in our rally showbag there was a discount coupon for the museum entry and this saved us $3 each.
The museum is only a small one, basically just 2 rooms but it is really, really good. We would venture that it's actually better than the National Motor museum in Birdwood, South Australia.
And we're not just saying that because they have some of our favourite cars -

                                      A 2CV

                                   An ALVIS

                    A Fiat Topolino
                                          


There's also the only remaining Day Leeds in the world.

There are so many interesting exhibits.

Every couple of months they change the 'featured' exhibition, at the moment its Alfa Romeo and they have this rare vehicle. The very first Alfa ever made and the factory would love to have it but it's owner has declined and it's in Launceston Tasmania not Italy.

                                  

Then, exhausted it was time for a relaxing read of the paper before joining our neighbours, Werner and Mary and Neil and Dot from Queensland, for happy hour. We were surprised when someone appeared with medals for Werner and Mary - they were 2nd in their Disc Bowls competition. They were just as surprised, they didn't realise there was anything other than winning!!
The next day we walked across the carpark to the Esk Sunday Markets. Not a vast area but some good fresh vegies and the usual stalls of second hand junk and loads of books (this time we didn't buy even one!)
After morning tea we walked on down to the Tram Museum. They also had a special deal for us rally attendees, a discount entry price $6 and unlimited rides on the tram everyday of the rally.

We enjoyed a couple of rides on the tram and then had a look around the museum. Only small but interesting none the less. Launceston only had 29 trams operating and they have tracked down the history of them all. Some were used as farm sheds or holiday homes and in some of those holiday homes the trams were 'enveloped' by the house as it grew.

Happy hour with the neighbours quickly passed and before we knew it, it was 7.50 before we adjourned for dinner. Thank goodness for pasta and pesto stir through sauces.
The next day, Monday, Werner and Mary left to head to Devonport and sail back to Melbourne for a business conference and then back to WA to await the arrival of their first grandchild.

We went to the QVMAG (Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery). Another small museum and another interesting one, but we did wonder why the Alfa Romeo wasn't on display across the road in the Automobile museum. They had a special exhibition on Childrens Books Illustrations. It was everything MONA wasn't, MONA being full of excitement and crowds. The government museum had a curator and committees and guidelines, ergo dull and empty.

We treated ourselves at a little European delicatessen buying some lovely ham, some French King Brie and some of that Buffalo Fetta we missed out on at Harvest. Michael also bought some German non-alcoholic beer! We didn't join the throng at Happy Hour but spent the time down at our van playing our own Spicks and Specks - Name that Song. Trying to distinguish what song the guy was murdering!
(The non alcoholic beer is actually very, very sweet with a strong molasses taste).
Once the pre- raffle entertainment had finished we wandered up to join everyone and enjoyed the atmosphere as the 1st and 2nd raffle prizes went to non- Tasmanians.
The farewell BBQ was basic but adequate and we topped it off with the last of those strawberries.

The rally site had to be cleared by 11.00am and it was well on its way to that as we pulled out the next morning around 9.00am.
We went back to our mates at Nuts and Bolts to get a nut that had fallen out of our awning strut ages ago. All those caravan repair places we'd tried without success - Nuts and Bolts took less than 2 minutes to find one for us - we got 2 as they only wanted $2.00 each.

Then we drove up to the last tourist thing to do in Launceston,  (it was too far to walk and isn't on a bus route) - The Chair Lift over the First Basin at Cataract Gorge.

It's a really long ride, the chairlift spans 457 metres from station to station and the central span of 308 metres is the greatest single span of any chairlift in the world.

At the top station were a couple of little wallabies and a family of peacocks that were so slow getting out of the way we almost kicked them as the chair arrived.
We had a walk around the cliff gardens at the top, seeing more peacocks - with chicks of varying ages.

 Then we got the chairlift back and this time we travelled a little higher off the ground as a coach load of tourists had arrived and every chair was taken - we were the only chair heading back so our cable was lighter!!


Then we hit the Bass Highway, uncharacteristically, not using side roads. Up to Latrobe's lovely caravan park. Two days rest before we head up to Devonport for Thursday night and .........
the Spirit of Tasmania ferry back to Australia!!

Serendipity

Serendipity : "gift of finding valuable things in unexpected places by sheer luck"

While in Hobart we got a phone call from our friend Ralph back in WA. Chatting to him Michael remembered the story of the 'madcat scientist' who lived in Bothwell; he built the first radiotelescope, set up a sensing array in a Bothwell paddock and also built an electric car. He, like a lot of very clever people, didn't get on with 'the establishment'  preferring to do his own thing.
Following the phone call we checked him out on the internet and found the "Grote Reber Museum" was just outside Hobart, at the Mt Pleasant Observatory in Cambridge.

So the next morning we arrived there!

We hadn't been able to get hold of anyone to book or arrange a visit so were pleasantly surprised to find the gates open and a car in the car park.
The equally surprised University of Tasmania fella who was there was very kind and enthusiastically opened up the museum for us. He ran a DVD on the man himself for us and even opened up the glass doors of the room housing 'Pixie' - the electric car, so that I wouldn't get glare in my photos.

We had a great time there and to think if we hadn't returned to MONA, if Ralph hadn't phoned when he did, we wouldn't have gone back to Hobart or would have driven straight past.

Cambridge is in the middle of a wine growing area and the drive from there up to Richmond was a very pleasant one. We then drove over the bridge in Richmond, (oldest in Aus).
Then we followed the route we'd taken before, up towards Perth and Launceston, but this time we stopped at Kempton for the night. Kempton is an old coaching town but now only has a Post Office (and gift shop) and in a back street, in his garden shed an old man operates "Kempton Old Books".

                                                this is the main street on Saturday morning.

We carried on north, stopping in Campbell Town at a really good book shop - $53 later we left!

We drove up to Longford for the night. We'd stayed here in early January and I was right about peak season - the prices have dropped.
The Sunday morning we were off to "Tasmania's biggest car show".
We arrived at 9.30 (it had an advertised start time of 9.00) and couldn't see a sign for visitors parking or any organisers. We pulled into a nice car park, found a good spot and walked on down to the displayed cars.

As we approached it resembled a swapmeet carpark more than a show display. We were right, there was no suggestion of parking models or marques together, and I think we saw about 5 or 6 'old' vehicles. In one line there was a 1937 Chevy truck, a 1950s Morris Traveller, a lot of 1970s Holdens and nearby a Hyndai Elantra!! All up a shamozzle!!

 We sent a quick text to Werner and Mary suggesting that they give the show a miss, and we left. By a twist of fate they read the text AFTER they'd entered the show.
(When we got back to our van we found that we'd been locked in, there was a chain across the gateway we'd entered, we were in the vineyard workers car park area. We had to drive along and exit the main vineyard entrance, much to the surprise of the marshall on the gate. They had by now put out the signs indicating the parking area across the road - it was only 9.50am).
Then we drove along the now familiar road to Deloraine, had lunch and then out to Mole Creek and 4kms beyond - the Mole Creek Caravan Park.
Mole Creek is so called  because it flows part of the way underground.

We had just settled in when Mary and Werner pulled up alongside. It started to rain and continued through the night but next morning it was clear and dry, and the 4 of us settled down to a couple of days doing nothing.

The Mole Creek caravan park itself is on the banks of the Sassafras Creek. This creek's water level rises and falls due to the fluctuating temperatures in the caves upstream, changing pressure and affecting the creek. It's really noticeable, we thought maybe the hydro released water but the locals assured us that it's all because of the caves.

Werner was the most energetic and his efforts were rewarded with 2 beautiful trout. He then gave them to us for our dinner! What a lovely surprise and a lovely dinner too!!

Mary wanted one last look at Mt Roland in Sheffield so they took off back there for a day - they'd come back and drive into Launceston with us.

The caravan park had been almost full at the weekend but by Wednesday it was very quiet. I wandered down to the creek and SPLASH! I'd surprised a platypus!!!
I got Michael (but not the camera!!) and the two of us were treated to a 5 minute display of platypus antics - ducking, diving and floating. Absolutely delightful! The experts tell you that the best time to see them is early am or late pm on cloudy days - this was midday in sunshine.
So now we can tick platypus off the list - wombats and possums to go.

Werner and Mary were back the next morning and together we drove into Deloraine for fresh stores and then into Launceston and the rally.
And that dear friends is another blog!

Graveyard to Gallery

We reluctantly left Beauty Point and travelled down the Tamar into Launceston.
We were ancestry hunting for a friend. I'm not sure how helpful we were because the house no longer exists and the grave was in a cemetery that was abandoned and flattened to make a school sports ground. At least that loose end can be tied off.
 The cemetery was one of the best we've been to and had an amazing cortege waiting chapel / entrance.

We pressed on south - returning to Hobart. It's strange to think that driving from one end of the island to the other is approximately the same distance that we travel from home to visit friends in Mandurah.
This time, not wishing to revisit the showgrounds we selected a caravan park in the same suburb as the Mona gallery and were pleasantly surprised to discover that it's right next to Mona, we can walk there!

The caravan park is right on the water's edge and has lots of birdlife, black swans and begging ducks and ducklings, that spot new arrivals or doors opening from across the park.

 It is also overrun with rabbits - kangaroos or wombats would have been preferable.

The weather down here is much cooler than the northeast, here it's misty, overcast and cool. We're glad we've got enough cupboard space to have a full selection of all seasons clothes at hand.
Next day it's much warmer - still overcast but a weak sun is shining and it's quite humid.

But it doesn't affect our plans because we're off to.....

                                                      MONA - Museum of Old and New Art.

So glad we came back for it. It's hard to sum up, one word just won't describe it.

There's such a diverse mix of exhibits. There are some beautiful ancient Greek and

                                                                   Egyptian exhibits.

There are great Aussie painters - Arthur Boyd, Sidney Nolan and

 Brett Whiteley.

There's also a Damien Hirst.

  

There are interesting, adventurous exhibits.

this is done with water - fascinating.

But it wouldn't be MONA without the dramatic and challenging! Some of which I can honestly describe as pretentious bollocks.

 (We did not feel the need to view the 'Cloaca Professional' display. which is, as its' name suggests displays the body's digestive system - from food to flush!!)

We're obviously not alone in that thought as some of the comments posted on the "O" pod guides matched ours exactly.

This is one of 10 carved tyres.

The current 'featured artist'  is Wim Delvoye, from Belgium.

Some of the exhibits are very good but there's a distinct over indulgence in his own self importance!!

It is I, putting in my two pennorth, the museum is stunning. The guy who built the place is Tassie's richest man and he has kept the evil government at bay building MONA without any committees, what he put in was what he wanted and owned. Locals, that is Tasmanians, get in for free and it's cheap for others. Typically in the brochure he says "If you are Tasmanian and identify your self as such {yes, yes second head etc} or under 18, you get in free". This tells us two things, one that he has a sense of humour and that PC government scum are not involved. It is the BEST museum in tas. and the building is breathtaking as well.This Wim bloke by the way says that his artworks are a challenge in that the money spent could have fed SO many poor Africans. Give the money to the poor sods you pretentious Wally.  As Western Australians we obviously have some sort of agenda but I feel that the whole bloody state is a sort of sheltered workshop. Tourism operators say that they are on the edge of going broke and that they need aid, {taxpayers dough} then greet the next customer/nuisance to a tale of high season being the reason for an increase in rates. Don't get me going on the State Government.

So that's enough culture for now - time to get back to the bush for a couple of days before the next bit of culture... a car show.