Today we head for Lake St Clair which, apparently, is the deepest lake in Australia and lies at the southern end of Cradle Mountain. We’ve already been warned that stretches of the road between Strahan and Lake St Clair would be very narrow, curvy and rather challenging. No kidding - the street just beyond Queenstown is something to behold! Bare rockface rises on our left, sheer cliffs drops off on our right as Ian navigates the most hair-raising hairpin bends on which all one can do is hope to God that there is no traffic heading towards us. Again I take my hat off to my man’s driving expertise and admire his nerves of steel. Although I am captivated by the extraordinary landscape (orange mountains completely denuded of any life by Queenstown's long history of mining) I manage to chew my knuckles raw.
No hiking, no internet, no phone reception, no TV – what to do?? We decide to do something we haven’t done in 30 years - we play Scrabble. It only takes one game for me to remember why we haven’t played this game in such a long time. Ian absolutely slaughters me and wins the game (dare I confess?) by some 100 points. Oh, the shame of it all! Thank God we aren’t that isolated in all the places in which we overnight. I’d be forced to do him a dreadful injury before crawling into a hole, never to reappear again.
The following day I am really quite keen to get back to civilization and am very happy to head towards Hobart. When I first laid eyes on Tasmania’s capital city about a year ago I immediately fell in love with it. Charmed by its fishing town appeal, its historic buildings and its tourist hustle and bustle I am rearing to go. Ian’s body still isn’t cooperating, however, and although we manage to take a walk along the waterfront, we don’t get very far until it becomes obvious that Ian needs to be horizontal a.s.a.p. Oh well, tomorrow is another day!
When tomorrow turns into today we head back into Hobart. We’re booked on a 3 hour cruise to a place called Peppermint Bay. It’s a glorious day, sunny and hot – 27 degrees – a temperature that, according to one of our guides, is unheard of in Hobart at this time of year. The cruise is fabulous – comfortable, interesting, educational and topped off with a marvelous luncheon experience as we arrive at Peppermint Bay. We thoroughly enjoy the day and cannot recommend this cruise highly enough.
The following day is Saturday. Salamanca Markets, here we come!! Today, in stark contrast to yesterday, it’s a rather nippy 16 degrees. We enjoy it all the same. We join the throng and do our bit for the Tasmanian economy. As Ian’s body still isn’t particularly cooperative we decide to take a city tour on a hop-on, hop-off bus, which gives a great overview of this rather lovely city but as far as I am concerned we’ve barely scratched the surface of getting to know Tasmania’s capital. I am sad to leave this place without adequate time to explore its multitudes of treasures and delights. Ian, however, no doubt due to his misbehaving body, is more than ready to head for home, so off we go…..
The following day is Saturday. Salamanca Markets, here we come!! Today, in stark contrast to yesterday, it’s a rather nippy 16 degrees. We enjoy it all the same. We join the throng and do our bit for the Tasmanian economy. As Ian’s body still isn’t particularly cooperative we decide to take a city tour on a hop-on, hop-off bus, which gives a great overview of this rather lovely city but as far as I am concerned we’ve barely scratched the surface of getting to know Tasmania’s capital. I am sad to leave this place without adequate time to explore its multitudes of treasures and delights. Ian, however, no doubt due to his misbehaving body, is more than ready to head for home, so off we go…..
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