Greetings from Down Under Australia 3/22/06

                  Greetings from Down Under
                                                            Australia  2006

Greetings Everyone,
It really was a long flight, made a bit easier after upgrading to business class. We felt we got such a deal on the coach fare, that a few bucks more would be well worth it. United had just upgraded it's business class to an almost fully reclining seat so after a few drinks..............sleep wasn't much a a problem. Rosemary Howes, you would have hated the flight inasmuch as we took off on Thursday the 16th, missed the 17th(St Patrick's Day) crossing the international date line and arrived Sydney on Saturday the 18th. A short layover in Sydney at it was back on the plane for Melbourne (Melbun) where we joined most of the commonwealth from around the world celebrating the Commonwealth Games.

The City was all decked out hosting the games which consisted of the summer Olympics with only the commonwealth nations being invited......Australia, NZ, So. Africa, India, Canada, England.........didn't the U.S. once belong?.......................but we were not invited. 24 Hour coverage on the TV to include cricket, and lawn bowling.........about as thrilling as Olympic Curling. We were two nites in Melbourne getting quite good at riding the train system as well as the tram system. One of the oldest systems in the world and covers virtually the entire city. We stayed a bit out of town and thank god I didn't have a car then what with all of the tram tracks......me sitting on the wrong side of the car......and driving on the wrong side of the street had all the makings of a disaster....................my days of easy driving are about to end as we do return to Melbourne, pick up a car and head for the Great Ocean Road.......then on to Kangaroo Island then up to Adelaide.........but I'm getting ahead of myself. Had some great fun downtown with all the other tourists......all you had to do was to pull out a map and a host of volunteers for the games would descend on you to see if you needed help..............and usually we did.
It was nice tho, since almost everyone was from out of town and need help navigating the city. Had a great stay,with some fine meals.
Monday, the 20th we caught an early "Virgin Blue" flight to Tasmania, I have to say that Richard Branson really does know how to operate an airline...........he handles most of the in country flights in Australia......now New Zealand and he is beginning to operate through out the So Pacific as far north as Samoa. We arrived in Tasmania (its that big chunk of land to the south of Melbourne) a brief one hour flight. Off the plane to our rental car......

Here I go...............................We had rented a phone in Melbourne for the trip but it turned out to be about as clear as talking thru tin cans over a string................we plan on turning the phone back in, in a day or so. We did manage one phone call and got a room for the night. Into the town of Lauceston in the middle and to the north of the Island. Our B&B was a well kept secret as we couldn't understand directions to the place........lousy phone....and couldn't get thru the accent. After driving in circles for awhile we realized the B&B was in a pedestrian maul and couldn't be reached by car..........................finally arrived to a lovely place.........if you are here long enough one begins to use "lovely" more and more.......................Got our bearings and headed out of town for a walk up
Cataract Gorge for a "spot" of lunch and then returned to the car for a drive up the Tamar Valley to the northern most tip called Beauty Point and a short visit to the "Sea Horse Museum and Research Facility" Tasmania is a bit short on cultural spots but do their best when it comes to nature and the wilder things in life.

The Tamar Valley is quite a wine region but I'm still a bit hesitant to drink and drive with the level at .05 and
the jail time even harsher. Got back into Launceston and stumbled upon a Mexican Restaurant that wasn't half bad...............always enjoy trying the local cuisine.
We had hoped to spend another nite there but there was no room at the Inn.......so we headed out early the next morning for St Helens on the East Coast of Tasmania.......................about a two hour drive for those who know where they are going and are comfortable racing about on the left side of the road. Reached the coast with nothing special in mind as to where to stay or what to see. Even tho, Tasmania is touted as a natural habitat for species unknown anywhere else in the world, our only experience has been observing the "dead ones" that didn't make it across the road the nite before. Unlike the 'possums of New Zealand, the Tasmanian 'road kills" are a bit larger in scale.................the wambats........the wallabys........ and even the Tasmania Devils will all  play hell with the front end of your car should you encounter them at night..................it is still my hope to see live ones of the above species, that aren't caged or have tire marks across their bodies......Jeff and Jill have promised me live animals once we reach Kangaroo Island.

We made our way down the east coast to a lovely (there's that word again) town of Bicheno about 125 miles to the north of Hobart. Found a great B&B "the Old Tram Road Bed and Breakfast" ........decided to spend a couple of nites there and take some day trips out from the town. Great National Park system that we found out on the coast then back to the nature park to witness the 4pm feeding of the Tasmania Devils..............nasty little guys who really like there "meat"...............................my first live animal viewing!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Did see Australia's three varieties of snakes..................since there are only 3, and all are venemous............I guess it best to avoid snakes in general.
Today, we took a leisurely drive, down the coast to Hobart. The weather was dry but a bit overcast. Our hosts from Bicheno had made reservations for us in Hobart, and a good thing as the town is fairly well booked. Tomorrow, I take a break from the driving ritual as we have booked a coach tour out to the Port Arthur Penal colony.........weather is scheduled to head into the 80's (mid 20's centigrade to us locals).........so we should have just a "lovely" day of touring about.
Sunday we fly back to Melbourne to begin our drive up the Great Ocean Road on our way to Kangaroo Island then eventually on to Adelaide.........that's all for now..........................Matthew, don't kill Mom's plants and pick-up Trinity"s shit..................love to all...................your mate, Gary