Day 336 - Thursday 30 November - 4 states in 1 month

Day 336
Thursday 30 November

Murray Bridge – Moana

It is hard to know what the exact time is at the moment, our phones have clicked to SA time but our watches are still working on Vic time until we get internet and I can sync them. It was because of this that Paul was up at 8am, when it was only 730am. It was actually a relief to get out of bed. We spent a very sticky night in the van with the air con coming on and off throughout the night when we got too cold and then too hot. A damn mozzie was also darting about, stealing our blood and squealing in our ears, so it is safe to safe it wasn’t the best night’s sleep.
We set about dressing, having breakfast and then readying the van. With all cords removed, we moved the van to a spot where we could load the car on the trailer and then we returned to the A1 at 830am, SA time.
We followed the highway, before taking the Mt Barker exit  and entering the Adelaide Hills which meant the GPS was taking us via the scenic route and ensuring we used all the twisty, turny, up and down, rubbish country roads. We wound our way through the little settlements, popping out at Meadows and heading in the direction of Kangarilla. I was now starting to see familiar landmarks and it wasn’t long before we saw signs indicating the top end of the McLaren Vale wine region.
We drove along the Main Street that splits the patchwork of vineyards and soon entered the townsite. Once we popped out the other side, we had a view of the sea and Moana Beach was only 8km away.
We checked in to the tourist park at 10am and then found our way to site 39, noticing the park was quite empty. We took our time sorting ourselves and the van out. I was hanging for a shower, but it was closed for the following hour, so I busied myself cleaning the van and putting the laundry through.
There was internet  available and I jumped straight on, though I could see it was going to frustrate me no end, as it was slow and wouldn’t upload things. Thank gawd I won’t have to do this much longer. These first world problems are doing my head in.
I was so glad when the showers became free and I could wash off all the filth and sweat from the past few hot and sticky days and it was soooo good.
We returned to  have lunch and then figured it was time for a walk, so we made for the beach about 100m away and then walked along the top path. The beach here is designated as a 4wd access and there were plenty out carving up the sand.
The waters were flat and calm and the heat haze provided the illusion of endless water with the horizon difficult to discern. It looked so inviting and so many were out enjoying as we wandered by.
We walked until we were ready to turn a  round  and then made our way back to the van.
We didn’t stay long, just enough time to have a cooling drink and then  were in the car and making our way to the shop. We didn’t really need much, but figured we should know where it is and figured it would provide respite from the heat and possibly better free wifi, I was wrong on that front though.
We grabbed what we needed and then drove up the road, before heading back to the coast at Noarlunga and back down the coast to the tourist park. Once in, we cranked the air Con and took it easy. Paul read, I became infuriated by the crappy internet and watched another Offspring episode. I did get my watch to sync and swap to SA time, a small win.
Paul rang Marcello to see how he was getting on back in Perth and to wish him well on his return to the UK tomorrow. We then wandered over to collect our washing that had dried quickly in today’s heat.
I set about organising dinner and defrosting our freezer once more a job that seems to be endless. The weather made a quick change with the skies turning very grey and then the wind picked up, sending us  scurrying outside to save the awning from any damage. The beach sand was being whipped up and it was like we had been transported to the Sahara. I clung to the awning like a swinging ape, trying desperately to keep myself anchored to  the ground. Paul undid ropes as speedily as he could and then the door caught the wind and slammed closed, normally not an issue, but today it locked us out!
We finished what we were doing and packed away our furniture before turning to the issue of the locked van. Hmmm. Things weren’t looking great, but then Paul noticed the bedroom window that I had left on breather.
Like an episode of Macgyver, he reached into his pocket to produce his plastic comb. It slid effortlessly between the gap and he was able to use it to press each of the four handles up to release the window. Next  was the roller blind. With a bit of jigging about, he was able to move it and creat a gap for his hand, release the catches and low and behold, we had an open window.
It  was my turn next, being hoisted through the open window like a cheerleader, rolling across the bed and opening the van door from the inside, crisis averted, phew!
Paul finished putting things away outside, while I finished cooking dinner, we then sat down to eat our meal, watching the rain begin to tumble down. It  was still quite warm, despite the rain, so we put on our coats, grabbed the brolly  and made our way along the beach front. The water was not as calm, but was far from menacing. We stopped at a covered picnic table to take it all in and so Paul could ring Jaden. During the time we were there we watched idiot drivers going full pelt down the wet road and heading into a large puddle, parting the water like Noah or some biblical character. If we had been standing near them, we would have drowned.
The rain eased right off and we continued our walk through the neighbourhood, past the shops we visited earlier, a school and then back to the beach to return home. A good long walk, perfect to finish the day before heading to bed to read.

I realised the month of November has been our busiest travel wise. We started the month in NSW, spent some time in Victoria, before scooting across to Tasmania. We then returned to Victoria and now we have finished the month in SA. Four states in the one month, it is quite surreal. Now for the last month of travel.

Day 335 - Wednesday 29 November - Hello South Australia

Day 335
Wednesday 29 November
Began the novel “Music and Freedom” by Zoe Morrison

Ararat – Stawell – Horsham – Lochiel – Nhill – Bordertown (South Australia) – Keith – Coonalpyn – Murray Bridge

7am Paul had me up and out of bed and while I might have been moving, I was by no means awake and with it, in fact I began questioning if I was indeed awake or just in some extreme dream. As it turned out it I was actually up.
I Me mechanically dressed, fed  myself breakfast and made the bed all by 730am. Paul then drove the van to the loos and a short time later we joined the highway again, heading for South Australia. We had 2 places picked out; one being 350km away and just over the border and the other 500km. I figured by the early start, Paul was aiming for the latter.
The path we followed was well known to us, having travelled it back in March. Many landmarks and small towns stood out as reminders to that time 8 months ago. We passed familiar wineries we had dropped into, drove through Stawell, passed the giant koala at Dadswell, all before making it to Horsham an hour later.
From Horsham we followed the A8, the roadside boards telling us we were heading to Adelaide. Much of the initial journey passed through farmers paddocks of golden wheat ready for harvest. Against a grey blue sky the wheat did take on a shimmering quality that was quite mesmerising.
We passed by the Dimboola, Rainbow and Jeparit signs, all places we had checked before. We then  made our way towards Nhill, driving past the pink lake of Lochiel. It seemed a fair bit pinker than when we stopped to check it out months ago.
The temperature outside was slowly creeping up, another reason Paul wanted to be on the road early. We were expecting a 36 degree day and it was 32 by 930am. We stopped just short of Nhill to fix the bike up. A strap had broken and it was on a lean.
After making everything right, we continued through Nhill, where we had stopped for lunch previously. Once out the other side, the sign said 80km to Bordertown and we suddenly thought, food checkpoint. Hmm. We would need to stop and eat our seeded fruit and vegetables.
As we drove along I fed us cherry tomatoes, slices of red capsicum, cucumber and as we crossed the border at 1030am, we finished our bananas off as well.
We stopped at the quarantine bin to remove all the rubbish collect a bus load of flies receive a sauna flow of heat, do a quick vehicle check and then move on. The GPS had now changed our  time zone, giving us an extra ½ hour, SA time now 10am, 2 ½ behind Perth.
We passed through Bordertown a short time later, confused that we hadn’t been through a quarantine checkpoint, guess we ate all the vege for no reason and the bin stop was it. I suppose they think most people will do the right thing. I also assume, like all other Government departments, cut backs mean checks only happen randomly.
1045am and we reached Keith. This was the initial destination for the day, but being so early, we wouldn’t be  hanging around. Instead, we fuelled up the van, took advantage of the loos, did a vehicle check and cleaned windows before rejoining the A8, Dukes Highway, 150km short of our other chosen stop, Murray Bridge.
At 1140am, the Coonalpyn silo art sign caught my eye and I had Paul pulling over 500m further on, so that I could get out and take a few photos of the massive canvas showcasing children of the district. We were then back in the car and continuing on, only 80km to go.
Once we reached Tailem Bend, we knew we weren’t far away and sure enough, just before 1pm we were back at the Murray Bridge Showgrounds, a place we have stayed at twice during this trip. Thankfully there was a place for us to park with power and water and once the car was off, Paul reversed into the spot and we set about sorting ourselves and the van for the night, that included cranking the air Con, as it was now 39 outside and the clouds were rolling in to make it sultry
We took ourselves into town to replace the vegetables we scoffed before the border. The shops were wonderfully chilled and I could have spent the next 6 hours just hanging around, walking aimlessly and using the free internet. In  the end we grabbed what we needed and came home,
I put together a quick lunch, then Paul collapsed on the bed while I watched an episode of Offspring, before I joined him on the bed where the air Con felt far more effective.
After lounging around for an hour, we drove back in to town for a walk along the Main Street where the jacaranda trees were in full bloom, throwing the colour purple all over the sidewalk. We also walked down by the Murray River where a cooler breeze was wafting across the water. Fat drops of rain were taking shots at us as we meandered along side of the murky water. All around us thick, dark grey clouds blocked the sun, thunder was rumbling and more rain threatened. When the sun did managed to punctuate through, it melted us down into sweaty puddles.
We returned to the van for 530pm, Paul wandered across the road to check out the Norton’ for sale and see if the old boy would budge on the prices of 8 months ago, meanwhile, I stayed cool in the van watching some more Offspring and preparing dinner.
Paul returned at 630pm, chatting to Jaden about  his win at the Wanneroo Show and securing a rental. I cooked dinner and helped prepare the salad, before sitting down to eat. Knowing I hadn’t done a lot of walking, we set out for an evening stroll. The basketball stadium was a hive of activity, so we stopped in there first to check out some of the action before continuing our lap of the oval.
Much of the space was taken up by Carnies, with the circus in town. We completed two laps, spying the lions in a very long lorry. I felt sorry for them, but didn’t wish to be lion lunch, so they would have to stay where they were.
The sun was well and truly on its way out, the dark clouds becoming awash with vivid yellow, orange, pink and purple. It was a stunning show of colour and while it was still quite warm, it was a lovely evening to be out.
After two laps of the oval, we returned to the basketball stadium. The games were complete, so we didn’t hang around as it was sweltering inside the tin gym. Back at the van, we turned on the air con and settled in for the evening.

Day 334 - Tuesday 28 November - Last Day in Victoria

Day 334
Tuesday 28 November – Mlestone day – 11 months on the road.
Finished my novel “Turtles All the Way Down” by John Green. I really enjoyed this young adult novel with its interesting take on mental health, friendship, relationship dynamics, loss and love.

Ararat

820am! My watch informed me I was being super lazy this morning. Actually I couldn’t believe I actually slept that long. I probably would have continued sleeping had Paul not got out to go to the loo. He found me reading when he returned, but urged me to get up and enjoy the gorgeous day that had dawned. He wanted to play golf and be back before it was too hot to be enjoyable.
I did get up, have breakfast, take the long walk to the loo and then was ready to head to Aradale Golf Club.
We mad it for 10am and not another soul was around. Paul paid the $10 green fees, put the bag and buggy together and we wandered to the 1st hole. The course itself was a little rough, though the greens were indeed green and well manicured and for a little country course that is saying something.
Paul’s golf was a little hit n miss and while he could have played 18, he figured he would only become more frustrated, so we stopped at 9. The temp by now was beginning to creep up as it was, so to start out would have only lead to more sweaty puddles.
We stopped in town for some more food bits and then walked the main road to the fishing, camping all round kind of jumbled store, for some trout bait. With the necessary bits to catch dinner, we returned home ready for lunch.
When Paul was done, he loaded the car and drove round to the wall. I opted to stay behind for a while, enjoy the peace and the warm and read my book, while taking in the view of the lake. While there, I had a dragonfly try to land on my nose and eventually settle on my iPad. He had me amused for quite awhile, dancing around to the music I had playing and attempting to navigate through my apps.
I stayed put for 45min, before packing my things in a bag and walking around to meet Paul. He was yet to catch a fish, but had seen plenty jumping, which was both encouraging and frustrating.
I took the car back to the van for drink supplies before returning to sit in the semi shade and read. I was melting outside and my iPad didn’t like it, shutting down because it was too hot.
I took the opportunity to take photos of the vibrant blue dragonflies that were buzzing around and landing on the stalks of long weeds.
Paul eventually called time on his fishing. He’d had a few bites, but was not able to entice any fish to shore. We packed everything in the car and returned to the van where we proceeded to pack up the car. Paul went for a shower, while I continued to read outside. He returned shortly after, but far from refreshed. The showers only have one tap and because of the heat of the day, the water came out steaming. He then went in to town for beers before making his way back and loading the car ready for our departure in the morning.
We sat in the van, where we were out  of the sun, but cooking. I was so sweaty. We eventually decided to go for a walk just to get out of our sweat box. It was decidedly cooler outside and we enjoyed our amble to the lake wall and back. The sun was beginning to set, giving everything a golden glow. It was very pretty.
Once back at the van we put dinner together and ate. I then went for a wander over the bridge, to take some photos, as the sun disappeared over the distant hills. We then walked to the toilet block and back, before peeling back all the bedding, cranking the pedestal fan and hoping we would be able to sleep.

Day 333 - Monday 27 November - Last stop in Victoria

Day 333
Monday 27 November – Boomer 82 – Japan 58

Frankston – Sorrento – Queenscliff – Inverleigh – Rokewood – Skipton – Beaufort - Ararat

Big move today. This will be one of the longer treks we have had in awhile. I was surprised I was awake at 645am and relatively with it. We jumped out of bed at 715am and began the routine that is moving day. We were pretty efficient and by 815am, we were driving away from Frankston and heading to Sorrento at the tip of the Mornington Peninsula.
We had toyed with the idea of driving the route through the inner Melbourne suburbs, as we had done in the little car when heading for the airport last week, but in the end Paul felt more comfortable taking our big vehicle taking on the ferry and through Geelong.
The drive from Frankston to Sorrento took 50min, passing familiar landmarks on the Mornington Peninsula. We arrived at the Searoad Ferry at 915am, paid the $149 ferry fee and then sat on the dock waiting for the ferry to return. We took the opportunity to read our books for 30min.
Once the ferry arrived, we were loaded on and then I made a mad dash for inside where I knew there would be free wifi. I was straight into loading the last 10 day’s blog posts, not bothering with maps for now, seeing the iPad is not as efficient. I also got to loading Paul’s brewery reviews, as I am somewhat behind on those also. I was ¾ of the way through loading the photos for them, when we docked at Queenscliff and were ordered back to our vehicle. Nooo, I didn’t get to finish. Who knows when I’ll have internet again.
Once off the ferry, we made our way through the small Queenscliff settlement, following the GPS instructions towards Geelong. We still had 2 ½ hours of driving ahead of us. We skirted around the outer areas of Geelong, spotting the lighting towers of Skilled Stadium, before turning onto the B140 heading towards Hamilton.
Mum rang just before midday to catch up on where we were at and pass on news from home. As the conversation finished, we passed through the small town of Innverleigh. This must have been quite a stop in colonial times, with beautiful, old, brown stone buildings lining the main road.
The sky had remained grey, overcast and threatening for most of ur journey, but it wasn’t until we passed through Rokewood, with an hour left of our journey, that it began to spit. For much of the journey the greeny-yellow of the emerging wheat fields was highlighted due to the greyness of the sky surrounding it. We passed plenty of sheep farms, some ready to defleece the flock and send the cold and shivering animals into their paddocks to face the whiles of the weather.
At 1250pm, we stopped in Skipton to put fuel in the van and use the loo, we were then ready to finish the last 70km stretch along some pretty ordinary country thoroughfares. I had forgotten how bad the Victorian roads were once you get away from the city highways.
40km short of Ararat, we drove through the town of Beaufort. It looked like quite an interesting spot, with a largish centre. By 145pm, after seeing the cloud begin to separate as we rounded past a large range of land, we had finally reached our resting spot, Green Hill Lake. Thankfully, we were able to pull up in our well known spot and begin the parade of moving things from the car, after Paul managed to detangle the tyres from the tie downs.
I got in to making up lunch, before we both ate and thought about what next. Town it was. We drove to the Woollies to pick up a few bits, walked the Main Street, checking in the jewellers to see if Tracey was in, no and then heading back to the car.
We spied Robbo in the Kings car dealership, so we stopped to say hi and organise a catch up after  work. It was great to see him again and he let us know he had gone to the trouble of mowing the patch we were camped on.
We returned to the van, where the sun was shining, making the lake sparkle. I rang the Moana caravan park to book us in for later in the week and then took advantage of the lovely weather, sitting outside reading. It was lovely to just go ahh. We did go for a walk, talking to some fishermen about the chances of catching trout, but became concerned we might miss Robbo and Tracey, so we returned to the van.
630pm came by quick and I started dinner, we ate as soon as the steaks were cooked and were in the middle of washing up, when Robbo and Tracey popped by. We sat outside talking about our trip and their holiday to Vietnam. It was so wonderful to get the opportunity to see each other again.
Unfortunately, they had a big day planned for tomorrow, Cat Stephens in Melbourne, so they said their goodbyes at 830pm and we waved them off.
We were still wide awake, it didn’t help that it was still light, so we took off for a walk to the lake wall, finishing the lap we started earlier. It was a lovely night, starry and cool. Once we were back however, we were ready for bedtime.

Day 332 - Sunday 26 November - Last of the Victorian Breweries

Day 332
Sunday 26 November –

 Frankston – Braeside – Carrum Downs

The rain made its self known throughout the night giving everything a good soaking. It brought with the clouds and socked in feeling. I was happy to stay put for as long as I could manage and read. I eventually dragged myself from the sheets at 9am and got stuck into breakfast.
After we finished all our bits, we jumped in the car and drove to Frankston to pick up a few things from Coles. The centre was quite busy and also quite wet, but we eventually managed to find an undercover park and grab what we needed before heading home.
We hung out in the van for a while, keeping ourselves entertained with our books before we got stuck into lunch and thinking about our afternoon brewery exploits. We tidied ourselves up, grabbed what we needed and then made our way to Boatrocker Brewery in Braeside.
The drive took us about 20min and into yet another industrial area. Thankfully it wasn’t overly busy and we were able to monopolise the bar staff to collect information about the place and for Paul to try the beers they had.
Once Paul was all done, we made our way to Carrum Downs and the Dainton Family Brewery. After finding somewhere to park, Paul rang Ballsy to find out Up how he faired at the Wanneroo Show with his ciders. He didn’t pick up any awards, but let us know Jaden did alright.
We then made our way into the brewery, which was quite busy compared to Boatrocker. We were welcomed by Harley who was only too happy to run Paul through the story of the brewery and then began the tasting of what would eventually be 20 beers.
In between tasting and reviewing, we were shown through the brewery and then we sat outside with three young ones who  were happy to hear about our story and talk all things beer and basketball. It turned into a longer than expected afternoon, but a great one to finish off our Melbourne extravaganza.
We made the short  trip home, glad the blue sky had returned. Once in, I got started on dinner, while Paul loaded our things in the car and then loaded the car on the trailer. We ate dinner and then I insisted on an evening walk, as our opportunity for exercise had been somewhat limited today.
It was a slow amble around the streets, but enjoyable none the less and by the time we were home, I was feeling a little better about the lazy day.
Paul settled in for bed, but I was still wide awake, so I watched an episode of Offspring and wrote up the blog for the day. I did eventually make it to bed, reading for a while before thinking I should also get some sleep knowing we had a big day ahead with our move to Ararat. Can’t believe we are really making the trek home.

Day 331 - Saturday 25 November - Last visit to Melbourne

Day 331
Saturday 25 November –

 Frankston – Footscray - Collingwood

It rained for a bit during the night and then a dancing magpie thought it would be a good idea to try chortling through our air vent and waking us. We did however stay in bed until 8am, happy to be lazy.
Paul went for a shower and I organised breakfast, before we sat down to eat and then I went for a shower. Once I was all organised, we were in  the car and making our way to Moorabbin train station, 35km away. We were familiar with this one, as it was the one we used while staying in Dandenong.
We found a place to park within the limited park and ride bays and then walked to the platform. We had 10 mins to wait, so we walked up and down the platform until it arrived and we jumped on ready for the 30min train ride.
The crowd increased along with the noise the closer we got to Melbourne. It was quite clear, by the number of young twenty somethings, that they were all off to a festival  of some description. When we arrived at Flinders, thousands of them swarmed the platform and we had trouble making our way to the platform we required to take us to the Seddon station in Footscray.
We had another short wait for the train and then jumped on for the 10min journey. We were entertained by 2 teen girls behind us trying to work out how many trains they take a year for school. I was highly amused by there problem solving and thinking skills and their severe lack of maths understanding, they  were going around in circles, putting all sorts of calculations into the calculator of their phone. In the end Paul turned around to tell them they were doing his head in and to explain the answer. It was just so amusing yet so sad that they couldn’t do basic maths calculations. It was like a comedy skit from Fast Forward.
We left them to ponder the answer they were given and made our way through the streets of Footscray, following google maps to Hop Nation Brewery. Once we were sorted, we did a walk around the docks that were full of sea containers.
We checked out the graffiti walls, some of it quite artistic, others a waste of paint. We walked along the river path where we could see the city buildings standing tall beyond the dock lands precinct. Then retraced our steps, returning to the brewery.
We met Aled, who welcomed us and talked us through the brewery while Paul drank the beers on offer. I wandered around the tasting room and up to the mezzanine area to get a birds eye view of the brewery floor.
We stayed chatting for over an hour, as the beers continued, I even found a couple of beers that I was happy to drink. In the end we left with a pie and a sausage roll and began the trek back through the suburbs to the train station.
Once back at Flinders, we swapped to the Collingwood line and caught the train out to the Stomping Ground stop. Unfortunately, I thought I knew where we were going, but soon realised it was wrong and had to consult google to set us straight. We finally made it to the Dr Morse Bar and the Co-conspirators Beer can launch of their Pale Ale “The Bookie”.
Paul was given a free can when he walked in the door and sat to drink it. We ventured out the back where  more of the party was happening. We found Dion, who we had met at Kaiju and the Jackie, who I had been messaging, stopped to chat. We had an enjoyable time just hanging out. Unfortunately for Paul, they didn’t have the rest of their range to try, but they gave us both a tshirt, so you can’t be too picky.
We left the event at 430, catching the train straight back to Flinders and then on to Moorrabin. I used the time to work on the blog while pUl dozed. Not long after, I heard the station name, woke Paul and we made our way from the train.
We couldn’t get into the car until we had visited the Grape & Grain bottle-o to browse the extensive range and pick up some other beers. We then made our way to Frankston. The view around us was quite spectacular with heavy rain falling to the right, lightning directly in front and a rainbow to our left. The day was very muggy and the skies had become heavy with storm clouds, obviously some area were receiving a drenching.
We stopped in Frankston, which was extremely crowded. As it turned out, the Christmas light festivities and concert were happening and it was just a bit manic. We were very lucky to jag a parking spot and then made our way down the Main Street, stopping at Grill’d for a burger.
We ate in the noisey restaurant, glad for food, but just  as happy to be heading home when we were all done.
We got in at 7pm, noticing that the downpour had gone through the campground and everything was soaking. We unloaded our things into the van and the proceeded to collapse. Paul went to bed to read, while I added another review to the website before finishing the blog for the day.

Day 330 - Friday 24 November - Wandering around Frankston

Day 330
Friday 24 November – Started the novel “Turtles All The Way Down” by John Green. I am looking forward to getting stuck into this novel, as I have enjoyed other offerings by this author.
 Frankston – Dandenong

We were awake at 7 and happy to stay put. It was quite overcast outside, which didn’t induce any getting out feelings. Paul did however get up and have a shower at 730am, before walking to the garage to collect our little car.
I got out while he was gone and began the usual morning stuff, before we both sat down to breakfast. I continued going through the photos, a slow process now that I have to do so on the iPad. At Paul’s insistence I went for a shower and once I was done, we took a  drive to Frankston central, where we parked by the water and did a walk along the beach boardwalk. Unfortunately, it didn’t last for long and we were soon walking along the streets between the houses.
As we made our way back, we found a walking track that followed a small rivulet with many houses backed onto them. We did a good sticky beak of the homes, most with their own riverside decking, small boats and fishing areas. It was quite a nice spot, but I didn’t like the lack of privacy.
Once back at the car, we walked into the centre of town, checked out losing lotto ticket, damn, have to go back to work! And then proceeded into the shopping centre to pick up some more food bits.
With the  shopping done, we returned to the car and then drove back to our van.
We hung around lazily for an hour, Paul read while I was straight on the iPad doing my usual bits. Still no internet connection which is preventing me from loading anything on line and driving me crazy.
We decided to have lunch early so that we could then head out for the afternoon. I watched part of the next episode of Offspring as I ate and then at 1210pm, we were ready to drive to Dandenong in search of the Kaiju Brewery. As it turns out it was walking distance from the caravan park we stayed in back in March. If only  wear known.
We met Callum who took us through the brewery and explained the ins and outs of their production. As it turns out we also met the brewer, Grum, for Exit Brewing who we tried Saturday a week ago, as well as Dion, the brewer from Co-conspirators, where we are heading tomorrow.
Paul was able to sample a small range of the beers, but they didn’t have a lot on hand unfortunately.
From here, we drove towards the coastal suburb of Seaford. We located the brewery, Mr Banks and then drove down to the beach. We parked at the Woollies and the made for the water.
I was off with the shoes and paddling along the edge, as we walked up to the Seaford Pier for a look around. It was a sultry afternoon and being close to  the water was the only place to get a little relief.
We returned to the car and then to the brewery, for its opening at 3pm. There brewer Chris was busy packing the fridge and serving beers to the regulars as they slowly emerged from their work spaces in search of beer. Paul asked questions, wrote down responses and then tried the beers. We had a guppy come in, who’s first words we “I know you. I follow you  onFacebook. You’re famous!” That made Paul laugh and we sat chatting to Neil for a bit.
By 430, I was starving, so we made our way home, so that I could cook dinner and we could eat. That made my belly feel much better. Paul got on with his reviews after dinner and I surfed around on my phone. When he was all done, I insisted on going for a walk.
We made our way out into the suburbs of Frankston. The end we walked seemed a little more upmarket than those we had to pass on the way to the train. Paul took the time to ring Jayden and Ballsy, making sure they both had their beer entries in for the Wanneroo Show this weekend.
After the walk, it was back to the van.
I loaded one of the Tassie reviews after hot spotting my phone, but I shouldn’t have, as it chewed up my data, guess I will be paying the surcharges for going over this month, the first time on this trip. I then sat writing my blog, finishing the photos and watching the rest of the Offspring episode I started at lunch. It wasn’t long after and we were heading to bed to read and then lights out.

Day 329 - Thursday 23 November - trekking in Melbourne

Day 329
Thursday 23 November – Finished the novel “Uncommon Type” by Tom Hanks. This collection of short stories was ok, but nothing to rave about. I wasn’t in an hurry to finish this book, other than to get it over with and get on with the next novel.

 Frankston – Melbourne

Paul was awake early knowing he had to get the car next door for its service. I stayed in bed while he drove it there and walked back. They weren’t there yet, so went for a shower and then walked back again to leave the keys. I figured I should get out on his third return.
We had breakfast, I showered and then we were ready to make our way into Melbourne. This required a 30min walk to the nearest train station first. Unfortunately the station was part of the regional train line and there wasn’t one due until just after 10am. We had a 35min wait.
In the meantime I had Melbourne United membership personnel ring me about the game we attended and wanting to sign us up to more regular attendance. I had a laugh and thankfully they also thought it was amusing that I am a staunch Wildcats member, particularly  after the beating the cats gave them on Sunday. Hehe. I did however manage to get them to send a rally towel, so it was all good for me.
We caught the train one stop to Frankston, disembarked from the regional train and the waited 10min to board the next train to Flinders Station. 1025am and we were finally heading to our destination. It wasn’t a quick journey though, not arriving until 1130am. Paul spent most of the time reading his book and taking calls from his boss about his position for next year and a colleague, while I fluctuated between phone surfing and watching the suburbs pass by, as well as enjoying the impromptu entertainment one guest supplied, singing tv theme songs and adverts. I told Paul I had learnt what you should do on trains and promised a selection of Christmas carols for our journey home, but he told me if I did he would sit in another carriage. Hmm,.
Once in the city, I took out the tourist book, following the map to check out a number of alleyways showcasing street art. We checked out Hosier Lane first, where we had to jostle the Asian tourists on a walking tour. We continued on to AC/DC Lane, where a small shrine at the entrance was set up for Malcolm Young. The walls however,  were covered with all things ACDC.
This lane lead to Duckboard Place and more graffiti art to take in and enjoy. Some of it is quite impressive and demonstrates great artistic skill.
We continued up Exhibition Street, ducking into Strachan lane, not on the map, but the art was jus as beautiful. From there, it was into Little Bourke Street and the top end of Chinatown. I had two other destinations; Payne’s Place and Croft Alley and when done, we returned to a yum cha restaurant for lunch. It wasn’t really what we were after, but it still hit the spot and we were ready to continue on at 1pm.
We walked through the centre of Melbourne to Whitehart Lane where we stopped for a drink at the funky Whitehart Bar, an establishment made out of shipping containers. We found a place to sit back and enjoy our drinks as the storm clouds began to brew above us and the blue sky was turned grey.
After taking refuge from the crowds, we made our way back on the street where I could take in the festive decorations of the city. We stopped briefly to look at new phones and then continued to follow Elizabeth Street all the way to Flinders Station where we could catch a train to Collingwood.
When we disembarked, big, fat raindrops were beginning to fall, leaving splat marks on the ground, thankfully there weren’t enough to make us wet.
We walked about 400m to Stomping Ground Beerhall and made ourselves at home. Paul talked to the bar staff, before Justin, one of the owners came to have a chat and proceed to give Paul free beer. I ran around taking photos as well as playing with the fun beer coaster masks, that had us both laughing.
In the end, Paul came away with a couple of bottles for the trip home and a tshirt, so he was happy. Conscious of the time however, we left at 230pm so that we could be on the 238pm train back to Flinders and then on the Frankston train for 255pm. Once on that one, we settled in for the hour ride back.
I again phone surfed and Paul read. We watched the threatening rain clouds and saw suburbs that had received a drenching. The train became noisy, as the school kids jumped aboard and were chattering away to their mates.
We made it back to Frankston for 4pm and were on the train to Leawarra at 410pm, finally making the 30min walk home. We were hoping to get back to the service station before it shut, but we missed it by 15min, seeing our little car all locked away inside the garage.
We returned to the van at 5pm, disappointed that the Internet was still out of action. I unpacked everything and the sat down to watch the next episode of Offspring, while Paul began his write up. I phoned home, catching Dad for a short conversation.
I started on dinner, while doing some internet shopping, along with organising our next lot of brewery visits. Gee I make a good PA. I also chatted with work colleagues about next year’s class arrangements. But who wants to think about that!
I got on to writing the blog and taking it easy while Paul continued to read. Mum rang for a brief catch up chat and then it was about that time to head to bed.

Day 328 - Wednesday 22 November - Around Frankston

Day 328
Wednesday 22 November

 Frankston

I was awake at 730am, needing the loo, so crawled out, but soon returned to bed to continue to read. We stayed there until 830am and  got out to have breakfast. I was pleased to see the scales tell me I lost some of the Tassie weight.
We cleaned ourselves and the van up and then loaded the golf clubs into the car, going in search of a public course. We did eventually find Centenary Park Golf Club and we were able to walk straight out on to the first hole.
After having some info about School relayed to Paul, he was happy to take out his frustration on the little white ball. While wandering around the course in the glorious, warm sunshine, Paul spoke to Jeremy about life in Perth.
We continued to walk the holes, Paul’s shirt showing just how warm it really was. We were glad to finish up and take cover from the sun, returning home to the van. I made lunch, while Paul put through a load of washing. We ate and the. Hung out the load, knowing it would t be long before it would be dry.
I returned to begin watching the latest Offspring series and Paul read, both of us enjoying the cool of the air con on yet another warm Melbourne day. Once the first episode was done, we figured we should get out for a bit, so we drove down to Mornington.
We parked at the  shopping centre, did a quick shop and then proceeded to wander up and down the main strip which was littered with little pop up stores. The town centre had quite a funky feel to it, with interesting shops and architecture.
We completed a lap of the block, before returning to the car and driving on to Mornington Peninsula Brewery, a favourite stop from the first time around. The place was quite busy, but we were able to get a spot to settle in to. There were a few new beers on tap, so Paul was happy to sit back and run through them, especially as he was getting them heavily discounted.
We hung around until 430pm and then I took the keys and drove us back home. I started on dinner while Paul collected the washing and then went missing. I had to phone him to make sure he was alright. He returned to say that he had been accosted by a resident and was glad I had rescued him
With the call.
We ate, and then Paul chatted to Grace from school, catching up with the goings on there. We then donned the bathers for a calming swim, well it was when the kids disappeared. Once back at the van, Paul chatted with Gwen from work, while I sorted out what we would do in Melbourne tomorrow before writing up the blog.

Day 327 - Tuesday 21 November - Moving on to Frankston

Day 327
Tuesday 21 November

 Dalyston - Frankston

I must have been tired, sleeping in until 8am. Paul was already awake and reading, but once I stirred he was happy to get the day underway. I got out, standing on the scales to confirm the extra mass I had accumulated. We have some work to do during the next 4 weeks.
I made the bed, than sat down to breakfast. Paul began organising the van for departure and after I had done what I needed to do, we were ready to hit the road, saying goodbye to Dalyston and beginning the drive through Kilcunda, where Bass Strait was as flat as the proverbial pancake.
We followed the M420 that skirted around Western Port bay. The waters here were just as calm, appearing like a watercolour painting of streaky blue hues. We then turned on to to C781 which took us into the top end of the Mornington Peninsula and just after 10am we pulled up at the Big 4 in Frankston South.
We left the van parked by the side of the road, as we checked in at reception. Thankfully we were able to get straight in even though when I booked in last week, they told me not to arrive before 12. We pulled into by 107 and got busy making ourselves at home for the next hour.
At 11, we went  for a wander around the park checking out the facilities and dropping into the office to let them know the net was down. Grr. We then returned to the car and went in search of the nearest train station so we had some idea of the distance we would need to walk. We got sent the long way, but eventually located it, then drove back the 2.8km to the park.It should be an easy enough trek.
Our next mission was booking the car in for a service, thankfully there was a service centre next door and they could fit us in on Thursday, so we will leave it with them and hike into Melbourne for the day.
With that booked in, we then drove in to Frankston in search of a tyre dealer. We found Bob Jane where we organised for 4 new tyres to be fitted. We left the car with them and wandered through the large shopping arcade. We picked up a few different bits, some needed and some just an impulse buy.Paul got himself a $10 speed haircut, both of us amazed at how quickly one could use the clippers for an all over cut.  I enjoyed the chance to just wander past the retail outlets before we completed a lap of the street, returning to pick up the car and make our way home.
We were both starving by the time we got in, so I was straight into making our lunch, that we hoed into. I then spent the next 2 hours watching the final episodes of PLL. I was so glad to finally see the end and put the series to bed.
Just before 4pm, we piled back into the car and drove to the waterfront in Frankston. We found parking at a jetty and then began walking the beach path. It was about 32 and there were plenty of people taking advantage of the weather and the calm waters of Port Phillip Bay. We walked all the way to the main beach, somewhere we visited when here last time.
Off the main Beach  was a large jetty crawling with teens. Boys were showing off, jumping and bombing into the water below, while the girls made sure they were seen in their skimpy bikinis, or in some cases, Lacey underwear. It was all a bit revealing really.
We walked up into the main shopping area, stopping in at a pub for a quick and quenching drink. It was obvious we had walked into the locals haunt, with an old boy happy to stop for a chat. We left shortly after, making it back to the car.
We did a short drive down the coast, then returned to the park. I checked the status of net coverage, still a no go, bugger. I then set about making dinner, a light one to encourage some weight loss. I did some brewery hunting, before Paul suggested we go for a swim in the pool, the perfect idea.
There were a few people enjoying the water and we soon joined them. The water was solar heated, so it was quite warm and I had no trouble getting straight in. We bobbed about for a while and then got out, happy for the refreshing cool down, but ready to get back and take it easy for the evening.
I finished the day’s blog, while Paul read, we then retreated to bed at 9pm to read under the cool of the air con to continue to read before turning out the lights.

Day 326 - Monday 20 November - Back to the big rock

Day 326
Monday 20 November

Hobart – Melbourne – Dalyston

OMG. An early flight seemed ideal when it was booked, but when the 5am alarm sounded, I wasn’t so sure. I haven’t been up that early for a long time. I was just glad we were smart enough to have everything ready and all I had to do was roll out of bed, shower, dress, pack toiletries and head out of the door.
We managed to be on the road  by 540am and it was actually quite beautiful outside at this time. The sun was just starting to rise beyond the horizon and everything was cast in a warm glow. If it was any other day I would have been keen to take some photos, but we had more pressing details to attend to, namely filling the hire car with fuel and then heading to the airport.
We parked and took in our one bag for stowing, printed a bag tag and boarding passes, then proceeded to the check in counter where we were asked if we wanted the emergency row, sure why not.
With new boarding passes and our bag sent down  the belt, we found a small café for a ham and cheese croissant and hot choc. We took time to enjoy our breakfast, before returning to the car and driving back to East Coast car rentals where we paced around the car park as more patrons arrived in anticipation of dropping their cars off at the 7am opening time.
Once our car and a number of others were given the inspection once  over, we were bundled into a mini van and returned to the airport. We made our way through the security checkpoint and as we were moving through the terminal we heard our flight being called, so proceeded straight to the gate joining the line. A short time later, we walked across the tarmac, up the stairs and into the emergency seats of row 26.
We buckled ourselves in, waited for the plane to fill and the it was up n away just after 8am. Paul too, advantage of the time, writing up his brewery reviews. Meanwhile, I used the time for some shut eye, unfortunately it wasn’t a long enough flight to gain the hours I missed this morning.
910am we touched down at Tullamarine and taxied to our gate, the same one we had boarded through a week ago.
We made our way through the crowds finding the baggage claim. Thankfully our bag was there waiting for us. We then made our way outside the terminal and onto the parking bus shuttle. We had to visit the other terminals and then all of the parking shelters before finally reaching C.
We located our ca, filled it with our bags, set the GPS and joined the traffic of the freeway, welcome to the crawl. I think it was fortunate that we were avoiding toll roads, as we seemed to be diverted around the worst of it.
We drove over the West Gate Bridge, the made our way through the south bank, Toorak areas before eventually finding the M1 once again and continuing the journey further south east. After clearing the city, the drive was relatively painless and we were able to cruise along at a good speed making it back to the van in Dalyston for 1230pm. It’ s funny that we spent more time in the car driving a shorter distance than our flying time from Hobart. When Bass strait came into view, we marvelled at the fact we were standing on the other side of the Large mass of water only a few hours before.
We moved the van back into our usual position, Paul got busy filling the water tanks, while I unloaded the car and began unpacking some of the things. I made up a shopping list and then we drove into Wonthaggi to do a big shop, the biggest we have done while on the road, but not surprising seeing we managed to clear everything before going to Hobart.
Once we returned, Paul got busy turning the car back into a mobile garage while I put the shopping away and then made lunch. After eating, I took the time to go through my clothing, packing the unneeded winter woollies and some other items in my case for storage and then rearranging my cupboards.
Paul continued marching through the 6 reviews he had to write up, while I settled  in under the quilt
(The air con was on and I was cold) watching another couple of PLL episodes, finishing disc 3 and loading the final one of the series.
By the time Paul had finished and my tv watching was done, it was after 5pm and we needed to get out for a walk. It was still warm and bright outside so we took advantage of the conditions and made the trek to the bridge crossing the Powlett River. We watched for fish around the pylons and then made our way back.
I took some time doing some net stuff, only to have a message come through saying that I had gone from 66% to 85% used data due to my hotspot tethering to the iPad, leaving me with less than 1gb to use over the next 10days, bugger. I switched to writing up the blog and filling out Paul’s brewery log instead.
We prepared and cooked dinner, happy to be in charge of our own meals, not only for the wallet, but also for the waist line that has expanded somewhat and needs to come back into check. We ate, cleaned up and continued reading and typing. Paul phoned home, chatting to Jaden and Ballsy about life back in Perth.
At 9pm, we finally decided it was time to head to bed. I spent time reading the Tom Hanks short stories, which I haven’t looked at for a week and then we turned out the lights.

Day 325 - Sunday 19 November - Last day in Hobart

Day 325
Sunday 19 November – Melbourne 59 – Wildcats 91

Hobart – Glenorchy – New Norfolk

Neither of us slept particularly well last night and it was hard facing the morning and starting the day. We got up at 8am, had a shower and cleaned up while watching morning tv. We were out the door at 9am in search of breakfast.As we were meeting the others at Elwick Bay in Glenorchy, we decided the Banjo Bakery would be the best option, so we stopped in there for a breakfast pie and then continued down to the park along the edge of the Derwent River.
After parking, we walked out on the jetty and checked out the water before sitting on a park bench in the sun, watching a circus wannabe performer with a hula hoop and some juggling clubs. The others arrived at 10am and we proceeded to walk along the waterfront and the brightly painted footbridges. Happy to be out and enjoying the glorious weather.
We didn’t complete the full length of the GASP (Glenorchy Art Space Park), happy to wander over a couple of the bridges and then make our way back to the cars, so that we could head 5 min down the road to MONA, the Museum of Old and New Art.
The place was quite busy and we found it difficult to find parking. Once we were in, we made our way into the grounds. It was a sprawling estate with many different elements, one of them being music. We surfaced from the car park  entering the grounds from behind the stage where a band was pumping out tunes at deafening decibels.
We waited for the others to join us and then went upstairs to the cellar door so Paul could try the Moo Brew beers and Damon could do a wine tasting. We left the others to go and explore the museum side of the establishment, while we went down stairs to the wine bar for one last beer sample.
Once Paul was all done, we returned to the car and made the trek to Two Metre Tall Brewery. This was just outside of New Norfolk where we were on Tuesday. We turned off the highway and into the dirt track of the farm house and then parked outside the tin shed.
There were a few others in for a tasting, with a few interested in his story and thoughts. Paul tasted the range that were quite interesting and unique apparently and when done he bought a beer to drink as we looked through the brew shed as he chatted with other patrons.
We were all done by 145pm and happy to return to the apartment. This time I drove the Hyundai Accent, so that I could say that I had driven in Tasmania. I did a quick pit stop In Glenorchy for lunch and then it was through the centre of Hobart, which was a nightmare with traffic diversions due to roadworks. Eventually we made it home for 230pm. Once in the apartment, we dumped our things, got comfy on the couch and ate our subway sandwich.
 At 3pm, we settled in for the basketball. We were looking forward to their match, expecting a good, tight tussle between the Cats and Melbourne. We expected Casey Prather would be out to prove himself against his old teammates and he didn’t disappoint, however the same can’t be said for his team mates. While Melbourne finished the 1st quarter 5points on top, they didn’t come out to play for the rest of the game and the Wildcats went on a clinical ball game display, beautiful for Cats supporters and diabolical for United Fans.
We had huge grins on our face when the others joined us for our final night in Tassie. The sport theme continued with us switching on the Perth Glory v Melb Victory. While Paul and Damon prepared for the match Katie, Chell and I went on a burger run, bringing back dinner for the boys.
We ate and watched the soccer. Little happened in the first half and unfortunately for Perth, they went missing in the second going down 3 – 0.
With the end of the soccer, goodbyes and farewells were due, as we were all catching flights back home in the morning. We wished each other safe travels and then began the clean up of the apartment, so we wouldn’t need to do anything in the morning. Our bags were full to bursting, when we were all done and we were knackered and happy to finally crawl into the massive bed for the last time.

Day 324 - Saturday 18 November - Hanging in Hobart

Day 324
Saturday 18 November

Hobart

Weekend is here! I was awake at 730am and up making a cuppa for us both. I returned to bed with the iPad in an attempt to get through the photos but was left frustrated once again. Just after 8 Paul was up having a shower and putting the washing through. I followed, tidied up and then went to reception to sort out a net code again. It didn’t happen, the net was down grr.
After breaky, I tried to find other ways to work with my photos but I had to concede that the next 4 weeks will be limited, which is causing me great anxiety just thinking about it. I am going to need a holiday on return to go through all I take from now on.
We watched morning tv, as we waited for the others to wander down to our apartment. They arrived at 930 and we made our way down to Salamanca, where we started at the top of the street and made our way among the throng of tourists browsing the various market stalls. There was so much life and such an eclectic array of people sharing the space.
It was a bit of a fight moving along the the closed off road. We stopped in at a few of the stalls, admiring the wares. We picked up a couple of things, but mostly just enjoyed being out among it on such a beautiful day. The boys ended up stopping for a refreshment, I watched the street performers before joining them for a water.
When we were all hydrated, we continued our walking tour, taking in the views around Constitution Dock. There were a number of sculptures to take a look at, along with the boats and old buildings. We returned to a Chinese restaurant for dim sum lunch, but it was a little pricey, so we located another on Elizabeth Street and made our way up to it. The place wasn’t busy thankfully. We set about ordering all the dim sum they had on their limited menu unsure of what we were in for, but the food was great.
When we were all done, we left the others so we could get out to a few breweries. We walked back to the apartment, dropped off our things and then we took the car from the garage and made our way to Margate where we found Devils Brewery. The cellar door is part of a train carriage, with a number of other tourist shops taking up the other carriages.
We sat in the carriage chatting to the brewer as Paul tried the beers. Once he was ran through the list, we did a wander of the other carriages and then retuned to the car, making the trek up Mount Wellington, about a 30min twisty drive, dodging the annoying tourists out in force.
We found a space in the crowded car park, then did a wander around the summit. It was quite cool up the top, with a stiff breeze swirling about. We wandered long the path to various lookouts, admiring the ranges beyond and the views over Hobart and the waters surrounding it. We were fortunate to have such a clear, fine day that allowed us to see so far.
Once we completed our lap, we were back in the car, making our way down the hill once again and into Hobart. We stopped for fuel and then followed google to the brew pub, T Bone Brewery, where Paul gave his spiel, collected some information and then tried the beers. I took the required photos and waited for him to finish up.
We walked about 300m down the road, finding Shambles Brewery. We were greeted warmly, before checking out the brewery area and chatting with a venue manager. Once back at the the bar, Paul continued to chat, then sat down to a couple of paddles.
With his third brewery out of the way, we made our way back to the car and then the apartment where we spent an hour just chilling watching TV.
We rang the others, sorting our evening and then walked up to them. Shortly after, we wandered through the Hobart streets back to Constitution Dock and the located Hobart Brewing co in one of the larger sheds. The place was quite busy with parties happening and plenty of attendees in high spirits.
We ordered drinks, found a place to sit and let Paul do his thing. He managed to catch one of the  directors, so was set for quite sometime chatting and trying different beers. In the meantime, we were entertained by his slightly intoxicated wife and her troublesome children.
By 815pm, we were getting peckish, so Damon called and booked Greek Restaurant. The three of them made tracks to the nearby taxi rank, while I let Paul know what was going on and when he was all done, we also found a taxi to take us to Elizabeth Street. It was only a couple of kms and we were soon in the restaurant with the others.
We let Damon order a selection of entrée dishes and we ordered our own mains. The shared entrée was delicious, with dips, grilled cheese and octopus. Paul and I then shared a salad and a moussaka. Everything was delicious and was topped off by fabulous and friendly staff.
Needing a walk, we left the restaurant and began the 2km walk back home. Unfortunately, Paul found a hole in the pathing and twisting his ankle quite badly. From there it was a slow and painful wake home for him and I was glad when we finally got in and he could put his foot up and go to bed.

Day 323 - Friday 17 November - Convict Trail to Port Arthur

Day 323
Friday 17 November  - Bullets 85 – Wildcats 90

Hobart – Port Arthur

I was awake early knowing we needed to be up and organised, problem was it was too early, so I returned to bed and thankfully sleep for another couple of hours. 8am and Paul was up organising a cuppa, breakfast and a shower. I followed, then went down stairs to get a new internet code.
I ate breakfast while loading things online. In between, I organised what I needed for the day and at 9am we were ready to make our way to the Tessellated Pavement, where we would meet the others.
The drive was about an hour, taking us through the town of Sorrel and past some beautiful countryside.unfortunately some of it was difficult to see, as a fine fog was holding tight to the higher ground, it did however make the busy and trees quite glittery. Just after 10am, we parked in the carpark and 2min later, the others arrived.
We followed the path down towards the water and the interesting flat stone structure. We were able to walk along the rocks and take in the misty view across the water. Despite the weather being a bit drizzly, the seas were quite calm.
We made the most of our time and then returned to the carpark and continued our drive on to Port Arthur. We passed a few other spots of interest that we would return to later. At 11, we found a space to park in the crowded car park and joined the line at the ticket office.
After paying our $39 entrance, we made our way into the large gardens and orientated ourselves, opting to check out the penitentiary building first up. We made our way through the outer shell, shaking our heads at the size of the cells. It certainly would have been a miserable existence.
We walked up the hill to check out the hospital ruins before returning to the jetty, so that we could board the 1220pm boat for a short tour around the islands that housed the boys and also the graveyard. The view out through the heads and the harbour was quite impressive.
Once back on land, we made our way in search of food. I was in charge of reading the map, not always a smart move, but we eventually found the small prison building that was housing the café. We ordered food and sat in the courtyard enjoying the sun. We ate our meals and the made plans to split up with the boys tacking onto a walking tour, while Katie and I made out way to the old church. We passed some interesting wooden cottages along the way with pretty gardens and interesting stories. We continued to follow the path towards the church, taking in the beauty of the structure, now just a limestone brick shell.
We completed a lap around the outside and then entered inside the four walls, imagining how different it would have been with its roof and stained glass windows. It would have been a magnificent structure and a focal point for the colony.
We continued our wander through the gardens and back to Damon. I joined Paul and Chell for a quick look through the Commandants residence. The beautiful home, which became a hotel sometime after the colony was disbanded and before Port Arthur was opened as a National Trust tourist destination.
As you can imagine, the home was well appointed with wonderful views over the bay and the old town. Certainly was how the other half live. We completed our look through the rooms of the old home. This was the most crowded spot we had checked out and I was happy to be heading on.
We returned to Damon and Katie and back to the car, heading to the Lavender farm where we thought there was a distillery, but the boys were sadly disappointed to find it wasn’t so. Instead, we drove on to check out some natural wonders of the coast, the Tasman Arch, Devils Kitchen and Blowhole.
The first two features were wow spots, with all of us reaching the fence line and stretching over to look down into the water. The rock structures were very impressive and it was quite a substantial drop to the rocky ground below. Unfortunately the weather had an impact on our views, with a serious sea fog passing through. Coming in by a rickety wooden boat 200 odd years ago would have been a precarious proposition.
The blowhole wasn’t as spectacular, as the tide was low and the sea were calm, but we could imagine it would be impressive in the right conditions.
Our final stop was a statue to acknowledge the dog line used to deter convicts from making a run for freedom. The dog that had been immortalised certainly appeared menacing and you would have to be very desperate and they were.
We made our hour journey home with the sun beaming, warming the car up substantially. It was again a pretty drive with us making it back to the apartment for 5pm. We left the car in the undercover parking, dropped our things off and grabbed what we needed, before walking up to hang out with the others.
Damon and Katie left for the shop, leaving me with Paul and Chell. I went through the blog and photos for the day while the rugby played in the background. When they returned, we made the decision to head to Hotel Soho for dinner and so we could watch the Wildcats take on the Bullets. Our meals were delicious and huge, but it didn’t stop us ordering dessert.
The later the night got, the harder we found it to keep our eyes open. I was glad when the game ended in regulation, not only for the cats win, but mainly because it meant we could head home. After dropping the others at their apartment, we made our way to ours. I collapsed on the bed, but spent sometime getting frustrated trying to go through my photos on the iPad. I think it will be a long 4 weeks. In the end I turned it off before I threw it across the room and turned out the lights.

Day 322 - Thursday 16 November - Around a misty Hobart

Day 322
Thursday 16 November

Hobart

8am when we finally woke after our later than usual night. We watched crappy morning tv and enjoyed a cuppa before thinking about rolling out of bed just before 9am. I cleaned up, had a shower and then we sat down to breakfast.
I made myself comfy on the day bed by the window, where I could watch the fog blanket Mount Wellington and the rai come and go. I took the time to write out the blog for yesterday, revisiting the surprise we had managed to pull off. I was glad for the slow start and be able to take stock of the fact we were now in Tasmania.
Once we had heard from the others, we were a little clearer as to the direction of the day and could plans into action. Unfortunately Chell was unwell and was off to a doctor. We grabbed all we needed and made our way, in the light drizzle, to the others’ apartment.
After spending some time sitting on the porch chatting, we retreated inside where it was warm and dry. Chell arrived home shortly after opting to spend the day inside. With that, the four of us figured it was time to brave the weather and head out for a walk.
Katie lead the way, wanting to visit the University of Tasmania. Google maps set, we followed the blue line through the streets of a posher area. Every now and then we had to duck under the brolly for protection from heavier rain, but for the most part it was just a fine mist.
The walk to the uni was about 3km and once there we located the uni shop with some help. Katie did what she needed to do and then we made our way towards the water, so that we could take in the view. It was another one of those walks where we were transported back in time. All the buildings have such great character and invoke the question “what stories could they tell?”
We followed the waterside path until we eventually made it to Salamanca glad we would get a reprieve from the cool conditions and we could feed our growling bellies. I was surprised to see it was already 2pm.
We settled in to one of the pubs, ordering drinks and food and sitting in a booth surrounded by convict carved stone blocks. The meal came out promptly and was very filling and delicious. Once finished, Katie and I left the boys to check out some of the shops within Salamanca. We eventually made our way back to their apartment via the park, so we could check out the headstone wall.
We found the boys sitting on the verandah and Chell watching movies inside. I made myself comfy on the couch chatting to Chell and watching the movie and basically stayed there well into early evening.
A decision about dinner was made and Damon called in an order to the local Chinese before he and Paul went to collect it. Meanwhile, the rest of us watched the news to keep ourselves amused.
It didn’t take long for the boys to return and we soon began tucking in to the dishes. It was another great communal meal.
I set about doing the dishes when we were all done and then retired once again to the couch seeing the evening disappear. We played a few rounds of Uno before we made the decision to head back to our apartment.
It was cool and damp outside, but the rain had finished for the moment and we made it back to our toasty warm spot, ready to turn out the light.

Day 321 - 15 November - Pulling off a sneaky surprise

Day 321
Wednesday 15 November

Hobart – Glenorchy – New Norfolk – Hamilton - Bothwell – Kempton

We woke refreshed, after a relaxing nights sleep. We watched morning tv until 830 when we finally rolled out of bed, had a shower and breakfast and then decided to get out for a walk around battery park.
We had another beautiful day ahead of us with the sun out and a gorgeous blue sky. We followed the road and then the street signs directing us to our destination. As we walked along the streets in the battery park area, we were reminded of the streets of  Scotland, so many of the homes looked like the B n Bs we had stayed in. I feel like Hobart is more closely tied with the mother country than mainland oz, it certainly has kept its old world charm and feel.
We wandered aimlessly through the streets and park areas before finding Salamanca once again. Instead of walking the Salamanca eateries strip, we swapped to the other side of the strip to check out the water where a massive cruise liner was moored at one of the jetties.
We walked around Constitution Dock, past the replica of Mawson’s Antarctica Haven and up into the city centre. We did a quick pit stop at the tourist info centre and then through Franklin Square before making our way back to the apartment.
We read through the bits we had picked up and made a plan for how we would fill in the rest of the day before our big surprise visit and meet up with Paul’s cousin Marcello. We jumped into the car set the GPS for Glenorchy and made our way out of Hobart Central. Glenorchy is only a short drive and is really just one of the suburbs of outer Hobart.
We didn’t stop in Glenorchy, rather we used it as our first way stop to ensure we followed the Derwent River. Our first stop was the small town of New Norfolk, where we parked and wandered the main street before stopping at a bakery for lunch. Afterwards  we continued our wander, enjoying a small park before returning to the car and continuing our journey.
Paul spied a sign for historic salmon ponds, so we decided that we would check them out. It cost us $8each to enter and then we were free to wander the manicured gardens, check out the ponds and the small buildings housing hatcheries and a museum to trout fishing.
We marvelled at the size of the different varieties of trout swimming around, they were massive! They also had short finned eels. However, the albino rainbow trout were the easiest to see, being a creamy white colour with a bright red stripe running their length.
After checking out the ponds, we returned to the car and drove towards Hamilton. The route took us through the small farming town of Bushy Park, where the prime crop was hops. There were so many vines and wooden structures with wires to train the creeper.
We continued to drive through the Derwent Valley, catching glimpses of the river as we drove along. The rolling, green hills stretching out all around us mostly covered with the dotted figures of sheep. We eventually made it to a sleepy town called Hamilton where we stopped briefly to take a look at the old colonial stone buildings, the majority of them being holiday homes with vacancy signs in their window.
After we completed a walk of the Main Street it was on to Bothwell, home to Australia’s oldest golf course. We stopped at the local pub for a drink and immediately had the locals stop and give us a once over look. We had our drink, checked in with Katie in regards to the state of play and timing for our surprise and the did a walk of the main street. Bothwell is a lot like Maclean in NSW with a Scottish heritage and the street signs have a tartan pattern. We checked out the old buildings, churches, graveyard and the info centre before returning to the car and heading to our planned surprise destination, Kempton.
We arrived at 330pm and set up in the small pub where we could watch the road for the white Camry carrying our friends. We downed a drink while waiting, saw the car pass and then received the text to let us know that were in the Redland Distillery.
We drove down the main road, parked next to their car and then entered the cellar door. I had the video running for the surprise meeting, as Paul walked in and Chell turned around to see us. It couldn’t have worked any better, with Chell being completely blindsided by our appearance.
After all of the hugs, expletives and tears, Damon and Paul enjoyed a couple of tastings, while we caught up and then it was time to jump in the cars and return to Hobart.
The rain that had been predicted could be seen coming down thick and fast in the direction of Hobart and sure enough, it wasn’t long before we had to have the wipers going and we were joining the throng of commuters returning home.
We stopped in at our apartment to drop off the car and a few of our things, grabbed our rain coats and umbrella and walked up to Damon and Katie’s apartment. They were busy settling in, when we finally turned up on the doorstep.
We made our self at home, checking out the great 2 bedroom home and continuing to chat. With the rain holding off, we all walked into the city to find the Woollies and pick up things for dinner. Much of the city centre was shutting up, as it was already 6pm.
We returned to the Cityscape apartment, poured drinks, worked out how to get the oven to turn on and then I sat chatting Chell, as the boys sorted dinner. It was so great to finally have this day here.
When dinner was cooked, we sat around the dining table eating and then at 730pm, the tv was tuned to the Socceroos World Cup qualifying game against Honduras and we all settled into the couch to watch the fate of the team.
The Socceroos had plenty of the ball and chances in the  first half, but nothing went in. However, the second term proved to be their time to shine, slotting away 3 goals and securing their ticket to Russia for next year.
We took the end of the broadcast as our signal to make tracks back to our apartment, donning the coats, saying goodbye and then walking the streets. Thankfully the rain had stopped and we returned home warm and dry.
We made our way to the fourth floor, entered the room and shortly after we were falling in to bed at 11pm after a great day.

Day 320 - Tuesday 14 November - ticking off the last of the states

Day 320
Tuesday 14 November

Melbourne – Hobart

We were both restless during the night. I felt like a kid before Christmas eager to go to bed knowing the sooner I slept the sooner the morning would arrive. It did arrive early with Paul misreading the time for 645am when it was only 545am. I rolled over and tried for some more shut eye.
As usual, Paul was up and out, once we received our wake up call. I laid about for a further 15min, getting out after Paul had showered and organised breakfast.
We both ate and then set about packing up all of our things, ensuring we had everything we brought in. Paul began taking bags to the car, while I finished getting ready and as planned we were ready to head at 730am.
The drive to the parking was quick and easy, we followed the instructions I’d been emailed and entered the secure facility. It was then time to find a Bay. I was surprised when we got one near by. From there it was onto a jam packed shuttle bus and being dropped off 10min after at T4, the Jetstar domestic terminal.
We were too early to do our bag drop, but we were able to print boarding cards, we then had to wait until 805am when we could send Paul’s bag into the hold. After completing that job, we made our way through the security screening, Paul getting the full search again and once he had repacked all of his pockets we wandered into the food hall and shopping space, taking a seat at a table and chilling out.
Paul read, while I used the free internet to load up his beer review. Time disappeared quite quickly and at 940am we received our gate call. We picked up all of our bags and made our way across the terminal to gate 49. We had a short wait here, as the plane coming from Hobart was delayed 15min. Despite this, we were ushered on as soon as the last passengers were off.
The seats I had booked in row 12 turned out to be a winner. One row behind the emergency seats and as there are only 2 in that row, it meant Paul, who was at the window,  had a complete bay  free to stretch out his legs, happy days
All of the passengers were seated quickly and the plane was locked and moving into a cue of 11 on the runway. We were initially scheduled to leave at 1005, this was pushed back to 1020, but we didn’t take off until 1045. Much of the delay was caused by swirling wind and only being able to use one runway because of it.
Once in the air, we sat back and watched the world slide away below us. Melbourne was covered in a dirty brown smog haze. I looked forward to the clear, fresh air that waited on the other side of the flight.
1115am and we had our first glimpses of Tasmania as we finished our journey over Bass Strait. In the distance we could see snow capped mountains and a river winding its way through the valleys. Shortly after the pilot was calling for the cabin crew to prepare the plane for landing. I continued to marvel at the lumpy, green landscape below, eager to get out and explore once again.
1130am I could feel the planes flaps begin to slow the metal tube and my ears began to tell me that we were making our decent. It looked like we were landing into a beautiful day. By 1145 the wheels touched down with a thud and the cabin shook and vibrated, making a racquet, but we were there.
After disembarking and walking across the tarmac we entered the terminal and then had to wait for our bag. It took a while, with staff swapping baggage Belt a few times.
I rang our hire car company to let them know we had arrived and we were told to wait outside for the free shuttle, it turned up about 5min later and we were ferried to the car yard. After signing our life away and checking the car over, we were on our way, following the GPS instructions to Mantra One Sandy Bay.
At 1pm, we checked in, found a space to park the car and made our way to room 402. We opened the door to a fabulous space with everything we could need; king size bed, bathroom, laundry, kitchen, dining and lounge with a day bed under the window, luxury. We even had a lovely welcome pack of champagne, chocolate and caramel popcorn.
We set about unpacking, but it wasn’t long before we were needing to head into town for lunch. Paul dropped his glasses in for repair and then we wandered through the Cat and Fiddle mall, finding a sushi shop for lunch. After eating, we continued to wander, finding a woollies to pick up breakfast foods.
We continued to walk the streets admiring the architecture and the number of odd looking people. Damon rang to organise our surprise rendezvous for tomorrow. We can’t wait to see Chell’s face. We then returned to collect Paul’s glasses, with me modelling all sorts of frames, as we waited. We then began our walk back to the hotel. It  was a hot one today at 31 and we were certainly feeling it.
We were glad to finally set foot back in the van and enjoy a rest. I took up a position on the day bed, enjoying the sun beaming in and the view. I worked on the photos and the blog as we sat back watching the tv.
At 5pm it was time to get back out for a walk and more of an exploration. We made our way through the streets in search of our friends holiday accommodation, so we had an idea of where we would be meeting them. Once it was located, we returned back towards the city centre and the. On to Salamanca.
Salamanca is close to the wharf area and is steeped in early convict history. We passed through a park first where headstones from the 1800s had been inlaid with a limestone wall. It was fascinating reading the stories and also quite sad.
The area of Salamanca is very vibrant and full of eateries and a mix of old and funky bars. We stopped at one spot when Paul spied a local beers on tap. We enjoyed a drink while sitting in the back Lawn Bar,
When done, we continued our walk around the old limestone buildings admiring the art installations that added a further dimension to the area. We eventually opted to stop in at The Whaler where Paul could try some more local brews and we could enjoy an easy burger dinner.it was a lovely way to spend our first night in the last state and capital to be visited during this trip.
We returned home just after 730pm collapsing on the couch in front of the TV, staying there until 10pm, when we finally decided it was time for bed.

Day 319 - 13 November - heading across town

Monday 13 November

Dalyston – Melbourne

We had another big day ahead of us today, heading back into Melbourne but this time by car. This meant Paul was awake early, but we managed to stretch out the lay in til 815am, it was then all stations go.
Breakfast done, van tidied, car packed and then the van moved and we were ready to make a move at 915am ready for the 2 hour 20 min and 164km journey to Tullamarine.. The initial part of the journey followed what we had driven on Saturday, but then it was onto the M1 with the GPS dictating our route to avoid the tolls.
I enjoyed the initial cruise time, doing some work on the iPad. We had the radio tuned to Smooth FM, a VERY easy listening station. While the tunes were inoffensive, they did almost send us to sleep. However, when the Christmas songs came on we were jolted awake, seriously? It isn’t even December 1st.
We moved off the M1 and entered Toorak, I was taking more notice of the drive, with Paul beginning to stress over directions and tram lines. The traffic had built up substantially and we needed to be on the ball and ready for our turns.
We made our way along the south bank of the Yarra as the MCG and the other sporting venues came into view before revealing the city skyline. I recognised some of the south bank architecture as we scooted among the glass and steel jungle.
We eventually returned to the M1, missing the tunnel and toll section and making our way over the tall and long West Gate Bridge. From this point, we had a further 35km until we would reach our airport hotel.
This last section was easy sailing and we arrived at Ciloms Airport hotel at 1135am, in desperate need to get out and stretch and use the loo. We weren’t sure if we would be able to book in, seeing check in was the usual 2pm, but after enquiringly with the front office staff, we were given keys to room 116 10 mins later, yay.
After living in the van for almost 11 months, this was a spot of luxury; queen bed,  a bath and a tv tuned into the local stations, heaven. We dumped our bags, unpacked and repackaged a few things and then relaxed. Paul enjoyed a shower while I checked for internet, a good strong signal, you beauty.
At 1215pm we left the hotel to head to Reservoir where Hawker Brewery is located. The route took us past an oval where footy players were jogging around. As it turned out it was The Essendon Bombers training and we would see more letter on the news.
At 1245 we arrived at the brewery, after passing through a very Italian looking area. The factory unit was quite nondescript, but this hid a huge operation. We met Maz, who started the brewery three years ago after leaving Lebanon. He was a no BS kind of bloke.
We were shown around the brewery, watching cans filling with beer and being boxed up,  climbing stairs to look into the inner workings of kettles and wandering among the gigantic tanks. We then returned to the boardroom to continue to chat and to sample a couple of beers. Even I indulged in a glass of 11% stout. With not much in the belly it left me a little fuzzy.
After finishing up, we wound our way through the streets before stopping at a shopping centre for a kebab and a few needed bits and then heading back to our room where we ate our lunch while channel surfing.
We spent the warm afternoon hanging in the room, keeping ourselves amused with Internet and TV. By 6, I was in need of a walk, so we took the opportunity to head in the direction of the long term airport parking, this would save an anxiety in the morning. It was only a 15 min journey by foot and once we were satisfied we knew where to head, we made our way back to the hotel.
As the walk had been shorter than anticipated, we continued following the path into the suburb and past the various homes, many looking like wreckers. We completed a square, walking by the Bombers training facility and then back to our room. We didn’t stay long, opting to head to the bistro for a meal.
Once we were fed, we returned to the room for the last evening. I got on the net catching up on posts and photos while Paul watched tv and rang Jaden. I enjoyed a wonderful shower and then it was back to sit on the bed, chill out with a hot chocolate before turning out the light.