10 Things You Can Do When There Is No TV In Your Hotel Room - December 8th

1) Petrol Hunting:
Cradle Mountains is a crazy place. It is the number one tourist attraction in Tasmania, with at least 10 different resort style accommodations in the area (including Cradle Mountain Lodge, where we stayed, which has almost 100 cabins). But it is truly in the middle of nowhere. There is no general store, no restaurant apart from the ones in the resorts, no petrol statioin, and much to Eric's horror, no bottle shop! Our fuel ran dangerously low before we arrived and what a shock to realise there was only ONE port-a-petrol-station thing at the Cradle Mountain Airport (yeah there IS an airport) and that only ONE petrol station has run out of petrol (what are the chances really). We had two choices: Moina, which is 19km away (but not sure if there IS a petrol station there), or Tullah, which is 34km away (but not sure if we would even make it to the town). We decided to go to Moina to try our luck and god was on our side because there was petrol there, and there is also a really nice tea room with cheap hearty meals and a very cute shop attendant.

2) Beer hunting:
With the slightest hope that there might be a bottle shop hiding somewhere in one of the resorts, we drove out hunting for some alcohol, we went into at least 5 different hotels/motels/camping ground and did actually find a bottle shop in the 'Cosy Cabins' and guess what, they only sell it to their own guests - that's just not fair!!!!

3) Go for a walk in the rain:
When we arrived it was not the perfect weather for bush walking: 7 degrees and raining. But every minute counts when you are at the Cradle Mountains so we did a 1 hour circuit walk just behind the lodge, the King Billy walk. It was actually really pleasant, and I cant get tired of saying how nice the tracks were made in Tasmania. We also saw some wallabies which made the walk even better.

4) Get a massage:
I booked a feet therapy for both Jeicy and I at the Waldheim Alpine Spa, for it is the cheapest on the menu and I had little confidence in spa that is at middle of nowhere. I hate to admit but I am such a snobbish know-it-all: it was the best massage I have ever had. The therapists did a wonderful job even it is only a foot massage (Sculp massage when you are getting your feet soaked, feet exfoliation and massage, feet 'mask' and shoulder and neck massage when waiting for the mask to take effect, which was when I felt asleep). After the massage I was taken to 'the sanctuary', which has an outdoor spa pool that is right above a deep valley. Inside there are two spongy kind of lounges when you can chill out at, from which you can look out from the floor to ceiling glass window and take in the beautiful scenery while feeling great about yourself.

5) Ring the ones you love:
We havent had mobile phone reception for 5 whole days and it was good to see a pay phone. I gave Shang a guick ring and she was actually getting worried (which doesnt help that I kept telling her what happened in the movie 'Wolf Creek' before our trip) so that was good we got in touch before she decided to ring the police.

6) Play with your fire place:
Well there is no television but there is a log burner! Eric was having heaps of fun with it. Apart from burning wood, he also tried half wet wood, wet wood, newspaper, paper, and glossy magazine cover (which turns the flame green).

7) Have a BBQ in your room:
We felt a bit ripped-off when we went to check out the dinner menu from the Highland restaurant. 3 course dinner costs 65 dollars and 2 course costs 58 dollar (as if with 7 dollar difference anyone is going to go for 2 courses) and you cant say 'I am just going to have a steak'. I dont have a problem with the price, apparently they have got really good food but I hate the fact that I dont have a choice and have to have at least an entree or a dessert. And lets face it, we are not rich people, we simply couldnt afford to spend $520 just to have dinners! Ideas come up when people are desperate and we decided that we should cook our own dinner on the log burner (it is very hot, not a good place if you just want to warm up your bums). We had some tin foil and olive oil so we went back to 'Cosy Cabins' (the only resort which has a general store) and bought onions, beef patties and frozen toast (it is shocking how you cant even get fresh bread there) for FOURTEEN BUCKS and oh boy you should have seen how Jeicy was cooking up a storm on the log burner! And the sandwiches were YUMMY! We later decided to cancel the dinner for the second night as well and settled for 'Imperial Beef Noodle Soup' (it is the king of instand noodles) and fried eggs (again from the log burner). We must have been the stingiest (but most creative) guests who's ever stayed at Cradle Mountain Lodge.

8) Make friends with the wild life:
I am pretty sure it was the smell of the BBQ we were having - we had 3 wallabies, one possum, and one very smart crow visiting our cabin, and they just wouldnt leave us alone. While we were 'cooking' (I still cant believe what we did), we had to have the doors opened as we didnt want to set off the smoke alarm. This crow would try everything to sneak in it was pretty amazing. Yuting ended up having to stand guard in front of the door just to make sure our little friend wouldnt have a successful attempt. The wallabies were at the front door, they didnt make that much noise, but whenever we opened the door, they would be there! They were also seriously cute with puppy eyes that says 'I am sure you kind girls wouldnt mind giving me some of your yummy food?' Oh man closing the doors on these fellas was the hardest thing I had to do in Tassie (not to mention that I had wallaby vindaloo at Strahan and felt really guilty seeing them).


9) Enjoy yourself in the spa:
The boys didnt have massage but we had our own spa in the cabin and it was pretty good. Plenty of hot water and the bathroom window looks out to the mountains as well.

10) Have a good time with your friends:
It seemed pretty obvious but how I love travelling with Eric and Jeicy and they are the best travel buddies with their easy-going nature and how they dont take themselves too seriously. I guess I have to finish this post with a real cliche: Cradle Mountain Lodge: 400 dollars per night, Petrol at Moina: 147c per litre, making your own sizzlers in your hotel room with your dear friends: PRICELESS!!!!

Gordon River - December 7th

It was the first time during our road trip that we had to make sure we got up at a certain time - we were doing the Gordon River Cruise. Lady Jane Franklin II leaves at 8.30 and waits for no man, so I guess it was fortunate that we went to bed at nine the night before. We boarded the ship and went up to the 'Captain's Premier Upper Deck', which was worth every single cent of the extra 70 dollars we had to pay.

There was a big debate between the Cheapsake Ashley and Princess Ashley on the Cruise option back in October 2005. Cheapsake Ashley thought a cruise is just a cruise and there is no difference between where you sit, and although the Upper Deck comes with lunch and beverage, they could be just things like crappy sandwiches and stuff. Princess Ashley thought she deserves the best and it would be cool to have good leather recliner chairs for the whole 5 and half hours, and there would no screaming kids running around and then threw up due to any form sea sickness. At the end the princess won - the bottom line is that I would pay anything to avoid having kids screaming and throwing up next to me (and this came from first hand experience in the Whitsundays), even if that means extra 70 dollars.

As soon as we were shown to our seats (with our own floor to ceiling glass windows that auto-washes themselves every hour - amazing), there was tea and coffee and biscuits offered. I am sorry but this means a lot to me. I dont think I am a pig but good food truly makes my travel experience that much better. Lady Jane Franklin II now slowly left Strahan and our first stop was Hell's Gate, the narrow opening of Macquarie Harbour, which claimed many ships in the past. It was also named by the early convicts who had to cope with the tough condition on Sarah Island.

I didnt find Hell's Gate particularly special, probably because I only stayed on the open deck for 5 seconds, but it was too cold and I just wanted to quickly come back into the cabin and ate biscuits. Eric also started his first beer (included in the package). The captain did a big U turn and we were on our way to the 'real' Gordon River.

By the time we finished our fruit plates we were next to a few very interesting looking salmon farms, they were like huge baskets in the ocean and there were fisherman feeding the salmons and trouts. I now have realised that the fresh Tasmanian Salmon that cost me $39 per kg in Sydney grew up on pellets!!! What a rip-off!!!!

They started serving cheese platter as the captain explained to us why the water appeared to look dark brown. Tanin, which can also be found in red wine, was released into the water because of the particular type of weeds that grows in the Gordon River area. We could also see traces of foams and bubbles on the surface of the ocean where Lady Jane Franklin have sailed by as tanin is also a natural detergent. We got to taste the water on the boat from a big jar - and it taste just like water!!!

The ship now smoothly went into the narrow river path and it was amazing. All the trees, different types of pines and rainforest kind of plants, lived together. I am ashamed to admit, apart from the trees, I couldnt remember much cos I dozed off in my leather recliner... I guess it was good timing that the ship soon moored to the Heritage Landing so I could stretch my legs and have a walk in the rainforest, before I slept through the rest of the cruise.

We went into the rainforest and did an one hour walk. I really didnt expect to see the ferns and things like that in the West Coast, provided the climate is pretty cold and all that. Apparently the Tasmania Wilderness (Part of the World Heritage Area) has one of the very few cold weather rainforests in the world. We also walk past a tiger snake sun-bathing on a tree branch (which I found out after the trip, is pretty much the most deadly snake in Australia - so I dont know why I was so excited when I saw it - I should have been running for my life).

As if on cue, lunch was ready the minute we got back onto the ship. It was fantasic, all-you-can-eat buffet with unlimited smoked salmon and exotic dish like wallaby vindaloo. I love the wallabies and enjoyed all the patting I did in the Tasmanian Devil Park but to be fair, they were yummy!!! They taste like beef but more tender and juicy (probably from all those jumping around's) and I felt quite guilty as I helped myself to the second serve.

The last stop of the cruise was Sarah Island, which is, in a way, a mini-Port Arthur, but only rougher. The convicts build ships and in fact Sarah Island was once the biggest shipyard in Australia, producing almost 100 ships, including one that was stolen by a few very smart convicts, who salied the ship to Chile and lived there as free men for quite a few years before they were reported and sent back to Hobart - I must say, that was pretty impressive. Even if I had the ability to steal a ship that big, I wouldnt know how to sail it to South America would I? Sarah Island was a sad place to me, and it doesnt give you that sense of tranquility Port Arthur provides, I think perhaps because of the bullet winds and the un-forgiving weather. Those convicts roughed it there, they really did.

I forgot about the convicts as soon as we got back onto Lady Jane Franklin II. Yes you have guessed why - there was more food! Obviously we all needed a bit of dessert after the history lessons. High quality chocolate mouse and mango cheese cakes were served and that really completed the wonderfual experience we had on the Gordon River Cruise and honestly, it was not just the food that made it so wonderful.

On our way back to our apartment we found this place (Corner of Harvey St and Jones St) where they sell live crayfish from home and it is much cheaper than getting them from the local seafood shop ($40 per kg) so we bought two pretty big ones for dinner. It tasted so much better freshly cooked straight from the water (they cook it for you at the spot). We have finally realised all our dreams for Tassie...

I suppose it is now time to give out the AAR stars. I think Wheelhouse Apartments is pretty amazing with the breathe taking views and innovative designs. But then, to be fair, I think it is a tad hopeless that all the water from the whole hot water cylinder was not enough to fill up the spa and Yuting had to lie flat in the 30cm high water like a dead salmon also as a result Eric had to wait for another 3 hours before he can have a hot shower. Breakfast was provided but there was no egg or salt or pepper. I dont want to sound like a diva but it cost $410 per night and I do expect more than toast and jam...

Hence I am giving it 3 stars for Uniqueness, staff friendliness and the uber-cool design of the house which let us take in what Strahan is all about, 24-7, and from every angle. I couldnt believe how fast time has flied and we were heading towards our last destination of the trip the next day... /_\

500 Kilometers on the Apple Isle - An Asian Female Driver's journey, December 6th

Is it just me? Whenever I have to drive for more than 100km in one go during a road trip my mood goes through a few different stages.

Stage One: Isnt-this-great-that-I-get-to-drive-this-huge-car (Port Arthur to Hobart, 113km). The car we hired from Hertz is a nice silver-ish green Avalon ($71 per day), and it is quite different driving it comparing to driving Yuting's Corolla, Sharky. It is much bigger and more powerful and makes you feel like a better driver than you really are. We stopped at a petrol station for their $7 per dozen oysters that comes with bread and butter. Mimi's Tearoom is a weird place because no one can seem to remember where it is. The first time I heard about it is when my friend Cecilia told us that we had to make sure we had its oysters but she couldnt really remember where it is. She said it is on the way to Port Arthur and it is also a petrol station and it is really cheap. And then Yuting's friend Clarence met us at a party a few months later, and told us 'there is this petrol station that sells oysters and you must go', and he couldnt really tell us what the town is called, or between which two towns either.

When we drove past the huge $7 per dozen sign we knew this must be it and everyone was happy with the big oysters, even that was right after breakfast. And as I am typing now, only after two weeks, I have no recollection where Mimi's Tearoom is, I studied the map for about 10 minutes and still I couldnt pinpoint it - maybe this was all just a dream?

Stage Two: Who-says-girls-shouldnt-drive-I-am-not-a-princess (Hobart to New Norfolk, 53km). I quite enjoyed the feeling that I am doing my share of driving for the trip and no one has complained about being car sick yet. We got stuck in the traffic a little bit when going out of Hobart, which was weird cos I really didnt expect traffic jam anywhere in Tasmania, not to mention that it was lunchtime on a Tuesday.

Stage Three: Why-hasnt-anyone-offer-to-take-over-the-driving-yet (New Norfolk to Bronte Park, 105km). The novelty of driving a big car and being a feminist was wearing off, and the scenery was getting a bit boring. There were lots of trees. It also started raining as I tackled the steep slopes and sharp turns. We had a stop at Bronte Park to get some quick food and realised that the climate had totally changed. It must have been only 10 degrees or so and we were all wearing shorts and t-shirts (it was very warm in Port Arthur). At Bronte Park Eric took over the driving so I could have some food, until he got frustrated with this car in front of us. The bloody Echo must had been going like 30km per hour and because we were in the mountains you dont come across an over-taking opportunity easily and I got back in front of the steering wheel.

Stage Four: Now-I-am-really-pissed-off-why-is-Yuting-still-sleeping (Surprise Valley to Derwent Bridge, 26km). Why? Why? Why??????

Stage Five: Inner-peace (Derwent Bridge to Queenstown, 108km). It was dead silent in the car as everyone else have fell asleep, the same CD was doing its 3rd round ('Simply the Best Love Songs', which does strange things to you after listening to it for more than two hours - you started singing along Tommy Page's 'You are my everything'), I suddenly felt like I was the only one in the whole universe and also felt this sense of huge personal space although I was in a car with my friends surrounding me. It was a good moment, I was singing along and fantasising about what I should put in my travel blog. The scenery started to change too, instead of trees after trees there were lots of lakes, red boulders, rocky mountains and beautiful wild flowers. After a few really sharp turns suddenly we were at the top of a hill looking down a township and I realised that we have arrived Queenstown.

Stage Six: Are-we-there-yet-my-legs-are-hurting (Queenstown to Strahan, 40km). I am still not quite sure why my legs got so sore from driving, it is hardly considered working out and my only possible explanation was that my legs are too short and it is not coping well with constantly having to try to reach the paddles - does that make sense? We were still on really winding-y roads and I couldnt wait to get to Strahan, a small seaside town who became famous after the controversial Gordon River Blockade.

Strahan seemed like a well-earned prize after my pushing-my-personal-limit kind of day. Lonely Planet claimed that it has become over-commercialised. The thing is that after driving in middle-of-no-where's for a whole day I really appreciate anything commercial. It was good to see shops and great to see people having coffee in open-air cafe's. It was also good to check into Wheelhouse Apartments, a very special two storey building that was built to the shape of the wheelhouse of a ship, which stands on a clifftop overlooking the Macquarie Harbour.

I didnt do any more driving for the rest of the trip...

Port Arthur - December 5th

I didnt expect to fall in love with Port Arthur, but I did.

I was never a history kind of person. Basically, I think history doesnt 'add any value'. See my theory is that if people dont learn from the history, really what is the difference between history and fiction? And really, according to what I was forced to study back in highschools, people rarely learn from what the history has taught us - so seriously, what's the point? This is purely my personal point of view and obviously I am a person who is very into value-adding (ha!).

On top of the fact that I am not into history, before I went to Tasmania the only other thing Port Arthur meant to me was the early convicts. That's another thing - I have always thought prisoners are in prisons for a reason and it is not something I like to focus on a lot. The only time I think about it is when I think about how much tax I pay every year, not to mention that I work like a dog and am considered cheap labour anyway. And then one day when I read the paper it said that the government was building swimming pools for some of the prisons. And as a matter of fact, prisoners in the Roturua jail in NZ actually get to play video games like PS2. Well they do have to queue up and wait for their turn, but heck even Yuting never had anything like that until Shang kindly bought him an Xbox as our wedding gift (and Yuting is truly the dog of the dogs and the cheapest of cheap slaves).

You can tell me that I had been brainwashed but after spending a day at Port Arthur I have changed my mind. To me Port Arthur is about a model that was created with good intention, although flawed in many places, to helped the early convicts to a better life. The location was a natural prison, being on the top of the Tasman Penisula with the only passway to the outside world a strip less than 100m wide which is called Eaglehawk neck. The prisoners were taught trades, worked in woodchopping, leather making, shipyards, etc, and went to Sunday services. Of course not everyone ended up an angel but what can you expect really, we are only HUMANS.

Part of the buildings have been re-built and the rests were also looked after really well in a way that it is not that difficult to stand in the ruins and imagine what Port Arthur was like back in the 1830s. And it was not just about the prisoners, the commandant had his family and his army with him. There were people working in the church, and some of the soilders had wives and children. And they put in all the effort to have a life as normal as possible. They brought the English trees and flowers and they had parties, and kids went to school. It is a really beautiful place and for some reason it actually makes you feel peaceful and calm.

We walked around the historic site for the whole day and visited almost every single building and it is very different to what we experienced the night before during the Ghost Tour. Things didnt feel as eerie and I had a lot of respect for the people who re-built Port Arthur and restored the furniture and artifacts, which really gives you the picture of life at that time. When you buy your ticket you will also get a randomly selected playing card that actually represents a real convict and after going into the information centre you follow the particular convict's life. This is actually really cool and for some reason I feel very warm to 'my convict' and just couldnt wait to find out what happened to him at the end quickly, like how I always want to read the last page of the book first (very bad habit I know - hey I am result oriented!). Turned out the 'my convict' was actually a 16 year old boy and he was sent to Pt.Puer Boys' Prison on another island and tried to escape... Yuting's convict was obviously a bit of a suck-up as he got promoted to an 'overseer' who was like the supervisors. (See the similarities here? The convicts have cells and we have cubicles. When he sucks up he gets promoted and one day might even get freedom... this is too depressing) You could also try putting on the leg irons. Handcuffs were not in fashion in Port Arthur as the convicts had to use their hands to do lots of work - maybe I should stop complaing about being a cheap slave after all...

We had dinner at the restaurant of Fox and Hound. Dont think I have mentioned that the motel has a mock-tudor theme and the restaurant is accordingly decorated, which is quite nice. The food was not that spectacular but there WAS lots of food. I actually really like the Fox and Hound Inn. This is not a place I would pick for a romantic weekend get-away but it is perfect for when it is really cold and you want to be with your friends and be all un-pretentious. You want to wear an old jumper and pajama pants and play board games (which was what we did for the whole night) and drink hot tea and make that 'Ahhhhhh.....' sigh after each sip.

As a result I am giving it 3.5 stars for the value for money, unique-ness, and staff friendliness. Well guess where the half star came from? The best thing about Fox and Hound? It has a drive-through bottle shop!!! I am really giving this half star for Eric...

Hobart to Port Arthur - December 4th

It was only a short drive from Hobart to Port Arthur so we decided to take our time and stayed in the posh hotel until the last minute. Henry Jones definitely gets my AAR stars on staff friendliness (The concierge 'transported' our 4 huge lugguages in ONE GO to our two rooms with nothing but a BIG SMILE, and that is more than 70kg of lugguages I am talking about), privacy, unique-ness and the arty-farty (and I mean this in a good way) element that makes the hotel so special. Unfortunately it is quite pricey ($295 per night for a double bedroom without breakfast therefore can only be visited on very special occassions) so I am sorry to inform Henry Jones Arts Hotel that they get 4 stars from me - still that's pretty good work you have to admit!

Next stop was to visit the Tasmanian Devil Park in Taranna. The park is actually also a rescue centre for local injured animals or baby orphans whose moms became roadkills. The staffs nurse and look after the animals until they are ready to go back to the bushes again. For some animals, such as this handsome eagle with only one wing, would get to live and be looked after in the park for the rest of its life. This is really sweet, and kind of justifies the 20 dollar admission fee.

The devils couldnt be any cuter - they are like the combination of little bears and puppies and their pink ears shine under the sun. They run around making scary noises and fight over their food - I wish I could give them a pat, but cant touch the devils as apparently they can be really aggressive.

However, if you really feel like patting someone - the kangaroos and wallabies have lots of love to give, especially during feeding time. And this is interesting, they actually prefer us feeding them rather than eating from the ground because 1) they dont have to bend their neck as low 2) they can eat more in every mouthful 3) they like us! This one wallaby even held Yuting's hand and wouldnt let go! We also saw quite a few mothers with their joeys (which I have never seen before either).

We arrived Port Arthur and had an early dinner after checking into the Fox and Hounds Inn. The activity of the night was to go on the famous Port Arthur Ghost Tour. Port Arthur, with its convict history, has been the location where numerous unusal sightings and 'ghostly experience' were reported, and the Parsonage (where the pastors stayed), is the one of the most huanted houses in Australia. Our guide Laura was a great story teller, and to my surprise she appeared to be very logical. She explained that there were two major theories of the reasons behind most of the sightings: the first one was that while the people have passed away their memories stayed (The Ring, say no more), and the second theory was that the sightings were mirror images of what happened (e.g. imagine seeing your childhood on a video tape). As a result sometimes people see faces on a piece of wall, or men and women in 1800s outfits in the reflection on a window.

I feel particular uneasy with the second theory. Trust me, if you are short sighted and not wearing your glasses and trying to look around in the dark (which is what I do if I need a toilet break during the night - I cant see anything so I cant find my glasses, and because I cant find my glasses I cant see anything), everything looks like a face on something. Be it the shadow of the trees on your ceiling, or the way your clothes pile up on the floor, seriously everything looks like SOMETHING.

Well let's not get distracted - so we followed Laura and went to the Church, then the Parsonage, then the Medical Officer's House, where they had a few disection rooms in the basement. This was not a 'ghostly experience' but I really felt quite uncomfortable in the room. It was the thought of knowing that people got cut up in the very same space I was standing at. You know there was going to be blood, the smell of corpses, eye balls out of their sockets (should I stop here?). And if I want to make it even worse - who knows if those people were really dead when they were cut open?!

The Ghost Tour ended at the Seperation Prison, which is also called the 'Silent Prison' as the convicts were denied any communication with any other people. They were not allowed to speak, they each had their own cell, and they had seperate 'booths' for Sunday services to avoid any sort of contact between prisoners, not to mention that each also had to wear a white bag on his (there were only male prisoners in Port Arthur) head, so the convicts couldnt even make eye contact with each other. Even just the thought and the imagination on how quiet this prison must have been, sent shivers up my spine.

We went back to Fox and Hound Inn just before mid-night, and celebrated our survival with instant noodles directly from Chinatown. I wouldnt describe the Ghost Tour as scary but it definitely makes you feel kind of creepy and want to be with people. Jeicy made a really good comment 'You really appreciate how small the motel room is after a ghost tour'. It made sense as we had a pretty small unit in the Fox and Hound Inn (but what could you expect - $190 per night with two seperate bedrooms - only if the light in the toilet actually works) and everything was kind of squeashy but it was actually really nice and I felt like I was a little girl again staying at Grandma's for the weekend...

King Kong Sneak Preview in Huonville - December 3rd

Highlight of the day was definitely visiting the Apple heads Model Village (in Glen Huon) – in pouring rain. Owners Frank and Betty, who were originally from Canada, have built two model villages in their backyard. One village was imaginary and the other is made up of famous buildings from all over the world (including a pretty cool Cascade Brewery building).

Frank also built the ‘shoe-house’ from ‘The Lady who lived in a shoe’, which you can actually go into. But wait! There’s more! Not only you can go into the shoe house, but also you can go UPSTAIRS and peek out from the little window from the penthouse-of-a-shoe-house. I was a bit reluctant to squeeze in, with it raining and all that but as soon as I put my head into the shoe-house my inner-child was realeased. This Frank – really has a good attention to details. There is wallpaper inside, little plates hanging on the walls, mini flowerpots and dolls – it is every 5 year old girl’s dream!

There was also a back section where you follow a footpath, go over a small creek, to find the ‘Crooked man in his crooked house’ and various other cool creatures hiding in the bushes. I almost had a heart attack when I went into the crooked house – you see, I grew up in Taiwan, where there was no nursery rhymes stuff like ‘This little pig’ or ‘Hickery-Dickery-Dock’. And I definitely have never heard about the Crooked house (And I am still wondering if I even got that name right).

As a result, I didn’t expect to see ‘A Crooked Man’ (who actually looks like a rabbi – it’s probably his beard) when I put my head into the Crooked House. I have wax-figure-phobia if there is such a thing and Crooked Man really gave me a big fright – that was not pretty.

Frank and Betty have been doing this for 22 years and they did a wonderful job. I am really jealous of their grand children (imagine if you were a kid and when you went back to school after summer holidays your friends were bragging about going to the beach and stuff and you could tell them ‘I was opening Nana and Pop’s Shoe House’ – that would shut those kids up, it really would. Ha!). It was truly inspiring to see them loving what they do, and you could really feel the passion when you are walking in the village.

That’s another thing about Tasmania, a lot of the people we met there, really work to live, unlike us pathetic ones, who instead, live to work and whinge about it everyday (well, me anyway). Seeing Frank and Betty also made me wonder what Yuting and I would be like when we are in our 70s? Yuting is in IT and I am in Analytics. Good thing about it is that we can both easily find a job and all that. Bad thing is that we wouldn’t be able to survive if we had to use just our hands (imagine the horror when we received our FLAT furniture from IKEA). I am especially horrible – cant make ANYTHING with my hands. So, seriously, what are we gonna do when we retire?! Maybe I should consider taking up Mah Jong.

The rain got heavier when we left the model village, so instead of doing the Tahune Forest Airwalk we decided to go visit the Hastings Caves. I have always been fascinated by any limestone caves. Blackwater rafting in Waitomo was one of best travel experiences and I could never get sick of the world of the glow worms. The thing about these caves though, is that I can never remember what it looked like when I came out. Every single time I oohed and aahed in the caves, and when I came out I cant remember a thing. Guess that’s why I have to keep going back?

There is a very high-tech lighting system in the Hastings Cave which makes the formation look more crisp and 3D if you know what I mean. The guide, Dave, was very professional and he really brought a very different view, as in what people have done to make the caves more enjoyable (like the lighting system) and how sometimes, un-intentionally, people destroyed what would take thousands of years to achieve (like the concrete paving in the caves). This is new to me, as my past show cave experiences mostly had a big focus on the similarity between the formation and some famous people/animal. I cant say which one is better cos they are both good but Dave’s tour definitely opened my eyes.

After a long drive back to Hobart in the rain, we checked into the fancy Henry Jones Arts Hotel, which sits right in front of the wharf. I was really impressed by the super-chic bathtub. It is one of those bathtubs that looks like it is not going to be comfortable sitting in there but it actually is. We all decided to have a bath and freshen up before dinner hunting.

Eric was having a dilemma, being a bit of a casino snob, it is essential to visit THE casino, if there is one (especially after I told him that according to Lonely Planet, this is the first Casino in Australia). But he was also really hungry. And he didn’t want to us all to go to the casino and watch him gamble. But then there IS a restaurant at the casino. Decision! Decision!

Eric decided that we would all go to Fish Frenzy to have dinner first, and then we will go to the casino for a game or two. Fish Frenzy was great, although a family stole our table un-intentionally. Great value for money and because it was a pretty chilled night Jeicy and I also ordered the seafood chowder. Can I just say – best chowder I have had in a very long time. It was creamy, smooth, full of flavour, and big enough for a family of 4. If you want to visit only one restaurant in Hobart, Fish Frenzy is definitely the go.

However, the Wrest Point Casino turned out to be a bit of disappointment. Well I guess I shouldn’t be too harsh as it is sure an old casino also there is FREE parking. And what better excuse to go back to our lovely hotel and make the most out of it in a cold summer night…

Swansea to Hobart - December 2nd

Leaving Swansea and saying goodby to oh-so-cute Armani and Donnatella was a sad one. But we really had a good time. And Piermont Retreat get 4.5 out of 5 stars in Ashley's Accommodation Review (AAR). Accommodation itself is a big part of my holiday and I always try to find unique places to stay - it's like having a really cool mouse with glow in the dark scroll for your laptop, you know you can do without, but it really makes the experience much more memorable. Impersonal, Macca style motel/hotel chains kinds of turn me off and I am known to my circle of friends with my experience of quite often come across acommodation disasters, like, no room actually booked when we get there, wrong type of room, two single beds when I booked a honeymoon package, and I had always make sure I threw a legitimate tantrum on these occassions. However, I think it is only fair if I tell all my friends about a place if it is really 'nice, different, unusual' too so I have come up with my own star-give-away system.

The FIVE stars represent: Value for Money (At the end of the day, I AM an Asian), Unique-ness, Friendly Staff(s), Privacy (best when no one can see us from the main road and no one can hear us), and the extra special bit that gives the place its own personality.

Piermont Retreat got the stars for value ($265 per night that sleeps for four with super ocean view from every single room), unique-ness (I have never ever stayed in a sand stone cottage, there is even special-made 'hole' in the wall for them to put the toaster), privacy (every cottage is quite a bit of distance within each other and Piermont Retreat is 3km away from the town centre). The good service we got from the hosts and staffs deserves a special mention here, Glen offered to let us use their industrial dryer just before we left as none of us supposely highly educated young professionals could work out how to use the dryer provided in the cottage. Think about how lucky we felt, and imagine our shock when Glen personally delivered our clothes back to us, all folded nicely!

Armani and Donnatella made up the other half a star. Honestly if Juan (the owner) let us bring them back to Sydney I would no doubt give the place full 5 stars (Or 6, now I think about it)!!!!

We drove past Richmond on the way to Hobart. Richmond is a nice little town, which reminds me of my favourite town Berry in NSW. It was also the start of the only glorious 3 days in Tassie where we had mobile reception. A quick check on Shang and she told us about the good news that after a special mention on the Sydney Morning Herald she's made quite a few sales and also got quite a few phone calls. (If you are a stranger reading this blog and you live somewhere in Australia and love a good party dress where no other girl would wear the same thing with you, Yuting's sister Shang makes really cool, feminine but comfortable evening and bridesmaid dresses, check out her website on www.halcyoncollections.com) Everything's good - we were ready to see what Hobart had to offer.

I guess Hobart was a little bit similar to Auckland, a nice sweet wharf, nice parks, and nice pubs. The smell of civilisation was really making an effect on Jeicy and she mentioned that she REALLY REALLY wanted to go watch Harry Potter (it had only came out the day before). So we basically spent $189 per person flying over to Tasmainia, to go watch Harry Potter - super.

I am a huge Harry Potter fan myself, but the whole movie experience was a real eye-opener. My conclusion: Teenage Hobart girls are SCARY. They were screaming 'Harry! Oh Harry!' throughout the whole 3 hours as if Daniel Clifftop or whats-his-name was in the cinema himself. I was also starving.

It was 9.30pm, and we were at 'Balls and Chains Grill', the place that makes Hobart's best steak, and we had to wait for half an hour for a table. It turned out to be worth all the waiting as the steak was super. We all finished ours apart from Eric, who was really struggling with his 500g Rump-steak towards the end. We finished dinner just before 12 and for the first time in a really long time, I felt like I had a (night) life. We normally go to bed way before 11 in Sydney but this is mid-night Friday in Hobart and we were up and shining, we were laughing, we were having good food with good friends and we were enjoying life.

Freycinet and the Gourmet Trail - December 1st

I was woken up by Yuting’s excited screaming ‘Wake up! Puppies! I brought the puppies!’ I quickly ran out and found Yuting with mud all over him and two very excited black lab puppies jumping around him. Armani and Donnatella, the two 7 months old labs, who belong to the owner of Piermont Retreat, are the resident entertainers. The second they saw me they started jumping all over me leaving mud and sand on my only-one-day-new PA pants. And then our friend Eric came out from the cottage and sat down on the stairs and Donnatella started eating his hair. I miss Pascal!

It started pouring as we were eating our breakfast – not good. But you cant go to Tassie without seeing Wineglass Bay, so we ventured out anyway. It was a pleasant drive to Coles Bay and the staff in the information centre were friendly and helpful. We were suggested the short walk to Great Oyster Bay behind the information centre as a warm-up walk, where we were the only visitors and had the beach to ourselves.

We then drove further into the national park and made our way up to the Wineglass Bay Lookout. I have also realised that you have to register at a Walker Register Booth if you intent to do some bush walking in Tassie, which is great. I was thinking about how Yuting and I did part of the Great North Walk in Sydney a few years back and got terribly lost as the bush fire had burned down all the track markers. We went round and round in the bush and was thrilled when we saw this other group of bush walkers. I was a bit shocked to find that they were no-less-thrilled than us and to my surprise they were lost too!

With a bit of teamwork and lots of sliding down big boulders we did get out of the bush just after it got dark. I was really not happy and decided to write the Ku-ring-gai Nat Park an email just to complain and realised that the Great North Walk was closed due to the bush fire at the time. I mean, did they really think every single person was going to check the internet first before they decided to go for a wondering around the national park? I then rang the park to suggest them putting up a few signs at the entrances to the tracks so people don’t end up getting lost like us (not to mention we only had a pack of jelly babies with us – imagine if we had to spend the night in the bushes) and the guy over the phone was puzzled ‘signs?! There weren’t any?’

Anyway, so back to my point, I have only managed to visit Freycinet and Cradle Mountain/Lake St Clair National Park while in Tassie and I think they are the best national parks I have been to and definitely 10 times better than the ones around Sydney. The tracks were well made and maintained, the Walker registration is a good idea (I wonder if they are checked though) and the information on wild life and plants were great for nerds like me and Yuting.

The track to Wineglass Bay Lookout is categorised as ‘Moderate to Difficult’ and that really pumped me up, as this would be the opportunity for me to prove how fit I was after working out for THREE weeks before the trip. It didn’t end up being that difficult and it helped that it was drizzling so no-one suffered from over-heating.

I was really excited when I saw the bay – I have heard so many people talking about it and everything they said was true – it was stunning. It was kind of strange that all of us, trying to appreciate a beach that seemed so far away, but you feel grateful all the same as it is such a beautiful sight, the perfect arch, the white sand, the remoteness of it. It is time to leave and get some food.

We went to the ‘Freycinet Marine Farm’ expecting it to be some factory-like seafood shop with all sorts of seafood on display and was pleasantly surprised by how it really is just the backyard of someone’s house. An old dog was walking around enjoying the affection from kids and there were a couple of picnic tables where you could see people happily pigging out. We had a dozen of fresh oysters and a big bowl of freshly cooked mussels. I am not a huge fan of oysters so I cant comment on those here but the mussels were divine. They are much smaller than the mussels I normally see in seafood shops (I hope they are the Chihuahua type of mussels instead of baby ones) but they were so much yummier. Tasted great with a bit of balsamic vinegar too!

Before we headed back to Piermont Retreat we decided that a few oysters and baby mussels couldn’t be treated as proper afternoon tea so we dropped in Kate’s Berry Farm. Just like the Marine Farm, I expected Kate’s to be really commercial and touristy but it turned out to be a lovely, down-to-earth kind of place. Kate herself was behind the counter and the first thing she said was ‘We have been waiting for you’. She was amazing at whistling and it lifted out spirit too seeing her obviously loving what she does and is proud of what she has.

The food was definitely in line with all the rave reviews all over the brochures and information booklets. We had Devonshire tea (tea and scone with Kate’s berry jams) and the mixed berry waffles with berry ice cream. It was so nice that I was really tempted to lick the plate after we finished all the food, within, like, 10 minutes.

As a matter of fact, we are planning to go back to Swansea during Easter holidays next year, stay at Piermont Retreat, play with Armani and Donnatella, go walking in Freycinet, and go to Kate’s Berry Farm everyday!

Launceston to Swansea - November 30th

I guess technically I have never been to Launceston, although I did land in Lanceston airport. A friend who grew up in Tassie told me that Launceston is beyond boring (and he thought Hobart was pretty exciting - I mean, come on!) so when I was planning my trip I decided to go straight to Swansea for the day.

Originally I was hoping to at least drive through the town centre, just to see what Launceston was like only to realise that the airport is 27km south of the town and as a matter of fact, we were going further south so there you go - no Launceston for me.

We took highway one and turned west at Campbell Town. One of the things I really like about Tasmania is that they have really beautiful photos on road signs. It is normally a photo of a landmark or a 'famous' church, etc. This proves to be extremely misleading sometimes. Just after we got onto B34, we saw this road sign that says 'Lake Leake' with a stunning photo of this millon dollar lake view, pink sky with golden clouds as a backdrop.

I have always thought I am the ultimate suck-up for marketing ploy but I then realise that my husband Yuting was 10 times worse. He fell in love with Lake Leake the second he saw that photo and insisted we go check it out, ignoring my protest against the weird name (it sounds like lake 'leak' which is not a good sight if you think about it).

So we turned into the unseal road (feeling a bit nervous as the nice Hertz lady told us that there is a 2000 bucks excess fee if we smash the car on an unseal road) and drove for a few kilometers only to find a really quiet bush and a lake that is not really that exciting. I am sure if you do trout fishing or something like that Lake Leake could be the place to be but obviously we are tourists so I guess the lesson I learnt is that photos can be deceiving and dont trust any places with a weird name.

Swansea was just what I expected, peaceful, great ocean and clean. We stayed at Piermont Retreat, which according to Lonely Planet, is categorised as 'high-end'. We got one of those really cute sand stone cottages and it instantly gave me a home-away-from-home feel.

We got really excited just checking the cottage out, and then we decided to go into town and get some 'fresh local produce' so we can cook our own dinner in the lovely place. The local general store was quite nice, although the steak in the fridge looked a bit fishy. As the non-adventurous tourists we are, we decided to go for frozen Teriyaki chicken and pasta. I was sure I could be more game later on during the trip (which we actually did - it just kind of takes time to wind down and not care you know?).