We put our bikes on the Cockle Train.

Hello...........!!!

This sign frequented the Great Ocean Road.

I joined the bollards on the foreshore in Geelong.

EASTER GREETINGS

Happy Easter to you!
We are looking forward to spending Easter with Cee and Terry.
This will probably be my last blog for a while as I fly out from Adelaide on Monday night. At this stage I fly into Brisbane arriving at 11.30pm (any volunteers to pick me up). Just joking ........... Aaron is going to do that for me.
At this stage he will be taking me to Hervey Bay on Tuesday. Rachel will be there for Easter and staying on and now that Josh is in Gladstone I would like to get there to see him.
I will also be going to Toowoomba towards the end of my stay.
I fly back to Adelaide on 22 April where Keith will be waiting with open arms!!
I will only have my mobile phone number as our home phone has been disconnected.
Looking forward to seeing as many people as possible.

Greetings from Victor Harbour

What a lovely couple of days we have had here. The weather has been beautiful and we have been riding our bikes around.
This morning we caught an old train called the Cockle Train to Port Elliott and we were able to put our bikes on it so we rode back from there about 7 kilometres. Big effort I thought especially as we had to ride to catch the train and back again. The train trip was about 10 minutes!
We were lucky enough to see seals frolicking in the water there.
I have discovered that the Libraries in SA offer free wireless internet so am here to put some photos on. The bonus is that it is right next door to the caravan park where we are staying.

Some Family News

Josh has moved to a new job in Gladstone and starts tomorrow.
Rachel and Travis have been married two years today.
Russell and Sharyn are the very proud grandparents of Brayden Frederick born to Brad and Amanda yesterday.

Robe isn't famous for Robes

And I am pretty sure that you wouldn't get a robe in Robe. There is not a lot there except boutiques and coffe shops, certainly a nice little spot but it has been raining so a bit dreary today.
We have been to Mt Gambier and can't say it is a very impressive place although they do boast having the Blue Lake. We stayed in the best caracan park so far. It was right in town so very convenient, cheap and very clean.
Keith is currently looking for a ncie spot in the National Park where we can stop for the night!!
We still plan on being in Adelaide on Thursday. Am looking forward to being with Cee and Terry.

The lovely Torquay, Vic

Doing what I do best.....buying food

The train passed by this close in Penguin but the view on the other side was spectacular!

Just had to show you the Tassie Devil. Nasty little critters.

Until we saw this.....

And now for some photos............

Still in Tassie.......we didn't know penguins came this big........

Warrnambool

We left Torquay on Monday and stayed two nights in the national park at Cape Otway on the Great Ocean Road. It was a pretty good spot, right on the beach, although we couldn't actually see the beach from where we were camped. What we did see was lots of koalas in the trees and also an echnida just wandering around.
The Great Ocean Road drive certainly has spectacular scenery and of course we stopped at the 12 Apostles. We are now in Warrnambool at the end of the Great Ocean Road, staying in a caravan park (yes, a nice long shower tonight!).
We are slowly getting to Adelaide.
I am hoping to get to McDonalds tomorrow to upload some photos.

Torquay, Vic

Well it is not quite Torquay, Qld but we just had to stay here. It is a nice spot with a surf beach. There is a lot of activity on the water, swimmers, surfers, wind surfers, stand up paddle surfers and I am sure the water is freezing but they all have wet suits on.
We are staying in the biggest caravan park we have ever been in............we actually got lost trying to find our site! It is full of unoccupied permanent old caravans and annexes which I am sure would be full at certain times of the year.
It is a bit cooler today and I guess we can only expect that it will get colder from now on......at least it is not raining.

Caravan Parks Versus Free Parks

During the whole time we were in Tassie I think we stayed in about 4 caravan parks! Now some of that time was when Debby and Gerry were there and they happily.. (that is right isn't it Gerry)... let us avail ourselves of their power, washing machine, heater, toilet and sometimes even a shower!!
We have to stay occasionally as we need to charge everything up and do our washing.
While I was not comfortable with staying in free parks in the beginning I am coming to realise that you can get much better sites than staying in caravan parks which are usually miles from anything.
We have stayed in some magic free parks, virtually right on the beach, right in towns and like I said this morning right at the Port of Melbourne. The toilet issue is still a problem for me but we manage to get around that as we do have ours if I need it. Some public toilets leave a lot to be desired.
We are in a caravan park at the moment surrounded by caravans, strangely enough, miles from nowhere but we have clean clothes and power!!
Many people we have spoken to who have been on the roads for years never pay to stay anywhere.

Farewell Tasmania

After having four weeks in the beautiful state of Tasmania we bade a fond farewell. It really is a place everyone should visit.
We couldn't believe the number of Queenslanders we met and saw along the way. I think half of Queensland is holidaying there.................and no, Brian, I didn't see anyone I knew although did meet a couple from Hervey Bay.
We have made it to Geelong after spending the night in Melbourne in a car park at the Port of Melbourne, not far from where the boat comes in. Yes in the car park!!
We had it on good authority that you could do that and we have been learning all the lurks and perks of grey nomadding along the way!!
It was a great place to stay, right on the water. We rode our bikes along the bike track this morning and I managed to stay on!! It was more like a race track for all the riders in training!
On the way here we stopped in at yet another museum...........The Pt Cook RAAF Museum....you would also appreciate that Brian............it was an excellent display and Keith particularly appreciated it.
We are now heading along the Great Ocean Road after a night or two here.

And so on and so Forth....

That is where we are at the moment........Forth. Never heard if it? Well neither had we and nor have we heard of half the places we have been to. There is really nothing here but it is a big vegetable growing area.
It is only about 10 kilometres from Devonport so staying here in another free park tonight so it is not too far to go in the morning.
I will post the last couple of photos from Tasmania next time I get to a McDonalds which will hopefully be tomorrow night.
We are going to Geelong after we get off the boat and staying two nights.

Two nights to go

Only two nights left in Tasmania and what a lovely four weeks we have had. We are back near the beach at Penguin and it is quite hot. Keith has been swimming.
We go to Devonport tomorrow to catch the boat on Thursday.

There has been a fall............

but we are okay. Well it was me actually!! We were staying about 3 kilometres outside Burnie and we decided to go into the RSL for a roast tea. We rode our bikes in and all around ended up at the "musty" old RSL and found they didn't serve meals on Sunday nights. Can you believe it!! Burnie is quite a big industrial centre and there were about 6 people in the RSL. It was suggested we go to the Beach Hotel which wasn't much better but at least they served meals. We were told we may see penguins at around 7.30pm but it is starting to get dark by that time so we didn't wait long before we headed home.
I am not sure what happened but down I went but we were only going slowly thankfully! Before Keith had time to help me, a man in a red BMW stopped as he had seen me fall and came back to help!! Keith had to get the bike off me before I could get up and then of course with laughing/crying I couldn't do that by myself.
No real injuries, just a little sore and sorry for myself.
Never a Dull Moment.

And just one of the beautiful scenery here. It is the oldest bridge in Australia still being used in Richmond.

This is the cottage Debby and the others had in Evandale. We loved being there.

I didn't mean to publish this but it is the free park in Evandale we parked in. Free parks.........always popular!

It was a sad day when Debby, Gerry, Anne and John left us behind

We were staying in a free park in Latrobe behind the IGA so right in town. This is the view from our window!!

Like a kid in a candy shop.....Anvers Chocolate House

Photos

I am back in McDonalds. There are only about 4 McDonalds in Tasmania I think so I was surprised to find one in this town of Ulverstone. I couldn't resist the opportunity to post somemore photos.
We are heading off to Penguin............famous for penguins, apparently. I didn't see any platypus so maybe I will see a penguin.

Eight Weeks Down!!!

It is hard to believe we have been away 8 weeks. We are in Latrobe, a little place near Devonport (there are many little places in Tasmania)!! It is supposed to be home of the platypus so I am hoping to see one.
We have been picking wild blackberries and today I stewed some up and had them for tea with cream. Yum!
Yesterday we experienced for the first time the friendlinessof the grey nomads that we have heard so much about. We were actually invited to join a group for happy hour!!
We leave on the ferry next Thursday and are heading towards Adelaide.
Never a dull moment.

A sad day........

Today was a very sad day when we had to say goodbye to Debby and Gerry and Anne and John. They have been here for 12 days and travelled over 2,000klms. We have had a lot of fun travelling with them so I have been left feeling very flat today. Tomorrow will be better I am sure. We were generally able to stay fairly close to where they were staying.
We have now circumnavigated Tasmania but still have a week to fill in which I am sure we will be able to do. It is a lovely place although starting to get a bit cold.
Hope you liked the photos..........will have some more later.

And we walked up Cradle Mountain

How would you like to play footy on this field in Queenstown.......it is like gravel!

The view from Debby's and Gerry's unit at Boat Harbour Beach.

The happy shoppers in Stanley

This is Stanley with "The Nut" in the background.....we walked up

If Carly and Stephen are reading this........yes that man in the photo with your mother is your father!! Here we are walking the track at Cataract Gorge, Launceston

The big question................did Debby and I drink the beer??

Greetings from Hobart

Wow, what a trip to Hobart. We left Strahan and it took about 4 hours to do 200klms. It is very mountainous country and not good roads for the poor old bus...................great rides for motorbikes I am told!! The bus is going well but it was hard going. We were sick of it so we stopped in Hamilton, which is about an hour before Hobart, the night and Deb and Gerry came on to Hobart.
There are about as many motorbikes as motorhomes on the roads...............hundreds. Did I tell you there is a motorhome rally on here in a couple of weeks and they are expecting about 1000 motorhomes. Most of them are here already I think and that doesn't acvcount for the caravans. I can see Keith making a trip down here on his bike in the not too distant future................maybe after he earns some money to get back here.
It really is a lovely place and we have loved everywhere.
Deb and Gerry, Anne and John have gone to Port Arthur today but we had already been there so Keith went for a sail on a replica tall ship and I went shopping...............so we both had a good time. We are staying at the Hobart Showgrounds. It is a long weekend here for Labour Day.
Keep posted for some photos!!

Strahan

We have made our way to Strahan and went on a lovely boat cruise up the Gordon River. We are heading to Hobart tomorrow so am hoping to get to McDonalds to put some photos on. It is great having the company of the others. The roads are very windy and it takes a lot longer to get anywhere...........I am a bit over them!!

We did it again

We went to Stanley today and of course thought of Rachel and Travis and what a lovely spot it is. It is almost surrounded by water and it's other feature is a mountain right in town nicknamed "The Nut" and we climbed it.............very steep it was although not very high. Once again a great achievement!!
We also drove on to Smithton to have a look around but nothing impressed us there.
Tomorrow we are heading to Strahan.
It will probably be Hobart before I put photos on.