Tassie is pretty. Not as cold as expected (at least, not so far), very green and unspoilt and friendly.
The trip over on the ferry was easy enough – relatively calm and the cabins are comfortable (if a little cramped). Much better than a crummy plane seat tho’.
Today, after arriving in Devonport at the crack of dawn, we spent ten hours touring through the countryside and down the east coast of the island to Hobart. Today was our only free time really on this trip so we made the most of it. We travelled through some very lovely countryside, had a great fish and chip lunch in St Helens, and laughed our head off at Tasmania’s hilarious place names (e.g. Black Charlie’s Opening, Wooly Butt, and Break-Me-Neck Hill).
The coast is picturesque with the most intense sapphire blue water. There are beautiful old buildings in most of the towns, sheep everywhere and the Freixenet National Park is just stunning. Tasmania seems to have more roadkill per kilometre than anywhere else on Earth – there were dozens of dead native animals on the road.
At the moment I’m too buggered to write much more, but I’ve put a few pictures onto Flickr, of course. Just wanted to say we’re here and so far we’re loving it.
Tomorrow the conference starts first thing in the morning, and continues to Saturday. These things are always a lot of work which leaves limited time to post or even think about anything else, but I’ll try to find the opportunity from time to time.
