Tasmania

Leaving the Port in Melbourne.

Ship Stern

Hobart and bay from Mt Wellington

Cradle Mountian




Hobart and Bay

I suggested to Sara that we should make a trip to Tasmania at some point while here in Australia. She quickly suggested that I go while im here in Melbourne since it so close (what a wife!!!). So friday night I drive my car onto this massive ferry the would deliver me to Tasmania at 6 am saturday morning. I was off the boat by 6:30 and drove the 3 hours to Hobart, the largest city in Tassie. Its nice setting with Mt. Wellington overlooking the city and the bay it sits on. I then headed down the coast to Port Arthur a convict colony in the mid 1800's. A beautiful place, to bad it was used for criminals. I quickly checked some books and realized I was close to Ship Sterns a famous surf break. I knew there were no waves but it was a beautiful hike in. its was now getting dark so I jumped in the car and drove for hours intill tired and slept in the back of my car. I woke and drive the rest of the way to Cradle Mountain. I hiked the summit, enjoyed all the lakes and great views. While waiting for the park buss a German and Swiss couple had just finished several days of hiking and needed a ride. So, we traveled the 1.5 hours together to Queenstown. We had a great evening over some beers and they offered up a bed in their room at the local Hotel, which was nice compared to the back of the Jackaroo. We parted ways in the morning and I headed to the north coast to see the sights and catch the ferry back to Melbourne on Monday night at 6 pm. the last shot is sunrise as we came into port in Melbourne.

The Great Ocean Road

The Great Ocean Road is a beautiful road build right after WWI to give the veterans work. Its about 300km long or 180 miles. It took 15 years to build. The area is known for its beauty and danger. Its foggy much of the year and is thought to have nearly 1200 ships that have sunk off the coast of this short section. Most occured when the area was being explored but it wasone of the most dangerous areas on earth for ships. The first shot is of Bells beach a famous surf break, me with the 12 apostles, my kiteboarding friends from Canada, Sara and Christian, and some other shots of the drive. along with a friendly reminder of where to drive.

The Grampions

The Grampions is a national park about 4 hours north west of Melbourne. Its beautiful spot with grand vistas, waterfalls, and lots of wild life. I headed up there for a weekend with Cindy and Patrick my roomates in Brisbane. They came down for a long weekend.

I will let the pictures do the talking for me. It was a long day and by the end I was the only one awake at 2 AM when we finally got back to Melbourne.

Camping at Noosa Head

We got a late start saturday, Cindy, Patrick and I. Cindy and Patrick are friends from Portland that I am living with until Sara and the girls come over. We did stop in Noosa to check out the scene and get some rental boards for Cindy and Patrick. Once we arrived at the campground, I was quick to get my gear out and get on the water before it got dark. It was a fun session but a bit wierd, I was the only one in the water and all the fishermen were giving me the stink eye. Cindy and Patick were busy setting up their tent and getting dinner started while I enjoyed the warm water and the setting sun.

We did have some visitors the next morning to look over us while we ate breakfast and packed up our stuff. the surf was a bit junky so we went into town to find some better waves.

We ended up finding some great waves out on Noosa Head that were protected from the wind. It was a great surf in the sun, my first since landing on Oz so I was ready to go for another session after a walk though the nature park that is Noosa Head.

All in all it was a fun weekend. good to get out and see some of the country, do a bit of camping, surfing, kiteboarding and hiking all in a short weekend.