Hello Tasmania

Tasmanian Sunset and Moonrise

After a week of rain and dodging flooded roads, we drove into Melbourne on a Friday afternoon.

Artistic Sound Walls
A long the way south, we visited three astronomy sites...The compact array radio telescopes,

Siding Springs Observatory,

Scientists reserve the telescope years in advance at $28,000 a night for basic setup.  Too bad if it's raining!

and the Dish.

We also spent a night in the Warumbungi National Park

and in Glenrowan where the notorious thief Ned Kelly lived and was captured.

Ned's Body Armor Made from a Plow

Replica of Kelly Homstead

We had been in touch with some other cruisers from Tahina Expedition who were also doing some land traveling and met up with them at the campground in Melbourne.  Since our friends had already been in the city for a couple of days, we had different agendas for Saturday.  Russ and I spent nearly the entire day keeping out of the downpour at the Melbourne Museum which was very enjoyable.  

Love the "Flat White" Coffee

Aborigini Artwork

Beautiful Mineral Collection

Recreation of fossilized dinosaur bird

Early Sunday morning, March 4,  We wove our way through the predawn, wet and shiny streets of Melbourne towards the harbor, and boarded the ferry for Tasmania.

The weather was thankfully benign or so it seemed on a large ship.  I am sure the 2-3 meter seas would have looked quite different from Worrall Wind.

Friends from Tahina, Frank and Karen, sailed across with us.  We enjoyed a day of reading, conversing, and playing Fiji Rummy.  The day trip does not provide a supper menu and Tasmania quarantine prohibits bringing in fresh fruits and vegetables, so we found ourselves in Devonport late on a Sunday evening with few provisions, stores closed, and restaurants closing.  Fortunately we found an open Noodle Box, and were the last customers served.

Karen and Frank

On Monday morning, Karen and Frank headed southeast, and we did a short trip south to do some exploring in the small town of Sheffield and environs. Sheffield is known for its murals.  We loved this little town.

Walk to Alum Rock

Sacred Grounds of Aborigini

We also took an enjoyable walk to view Alum Rocks.

On Tuesday, after spending the morning at an Aborigini Cultural Center in Devonport,

Aborigini's in Tasmania suffered brutally into extinction by European Settlers.

we headed northwest to the "Nut", a large rock on the end of a peninsula where the quaint little town of Stanley is nestled.

On our way we took a fern walk and looked unsuccessfully in the river for duck billed platypus.  We did see some beautiful reflections in the water and enjoyed other people's art.

Nature's Water Colors

Yesterday, when we arrived, the sea was flat and there was only a slight breeze.  We took advantage of the nearly windless day on the headlands observing the calm sea.

By evening the clouds were building, the wind was beginning to blow, and we were treated to a magnificent sunset and a howling wind night.

Now we know why Stanley was built in the lee of the Nut or it would have been blown away.  We will be exploring Stanley and climbing the Nut as soon as I have posted this blog.

All is well with the 2 Travel R's on Awaltzing Matilda.

Matilda Finds a Dance Partner

Pick me!  Pick me!  I want to dance!

The 2 Travel/Sail R's returned from our one week shakedown road trip north and spent the night on Worrall Wind while we did laundry, changed oil, patched some leaks on van window stripping, dropped of stuff we decided we wouldn't need, and picked up stuff we thought we might.

A Dozen Highlights of this past week's road trip since our last blog were:

1. Our visit with friend Ken on Trim in Bundaberg, 
2. Mon Repos Turtle Reserve, 
3. Just opened R.J. Williams Learning Center in Eidsvold, 
4. Most horrific thunder and lightening storm we've ever been in, 
5. Out racing a storm cell that looked like it could turn into a tornado, 
6. Bunyas National Park
7. Awaltzing with the wallabies
8. Awalking in the rainforest,
9. Adodging killer pine cones
10. Making new friends in Kilcoy
11. Delighting in the Birds
12. Seeing our first wild Koala

Mon Repos Turtle Reserve was only a couple of kilometers from our campground outside of Bundaberg.  We plan to come back early in the season in November to see possibly three different types of turtles (green, loggerhead, and flatbacks lay their eggs.)  Out of the 7 species of turtles that have evolved out of the last 100 million years, 6 of those species can be found in Australia, Queensland.


A new learning center dedicated to an Aussie Outdoorsman and lover of nature and indigenous culture has recently opened in Eidsvold.  When fully functional it will be a wonderful asset not only to Eidsvold, but to Australia.

R. J. Williams

We spent one night in Eidsvold and according to the locals, experienced one of the worst thunder and lightening storms in their collective memories.  You know when the lightening and crack of thunder are simultaneous, that it's waaaaay toooo close!  For over and hour, we huddled in a bar-b-que picnic shelter as the lightning flashed and cracked all around us.  The water cascaded from the sky as a waterfall.  Within minutes, the gully behind our van was a river.

The following day, started off nice enough, but late in the afternoon while we were in the flatlands, a storm cell started bearing down on us.  Black tentacles were touching down to the ground and the wind was whipping up.  It looked like it could become a tornado.  Russ stepped on the gas and we fortunately got out of the way and changed direction to miss it.

Go Russ!  Go!

We decided to get out of the flat lands and head for the hills.  We got to the Bunyas National Park about dusk.  It rained all night and when we awoke the following morning, we had two dozen wallabies in the meadow with us.  What a treat!

We waited for the mist to lift, left the wide open meadow, and entered the Bunyas Pine Rain Forest.

There were posted signs to be cautious of the Bunyas Pine cones that are the size of bowling balls and weigh in at 20 lbs, much bigger and heavier than coconuts.  They fall from the trees in the fall.....yep this is fall in Australia.

We could hear them thumping and crashing occasionally as we walked quickly without lingering under the huge Bunyas trees that stick up far above the canopy of the rain forest.

Our walk was stunningly beautiful.  The rain drops twinkled on the ferns and the forest smelled fresh and earthy.

After our 4 kilometer walkabout in the forest, we ate lunch and headed back to Brisbane via a stop over in Kilcoy.  Friends Carol and Jim Barry of Colfax referred us to some of their good friends in Kilcoy who gave us an open invitation to stop by.  We did and enjoyed a lovely evening and morning with them at their home in the Queensland country side.

We were treated to a wonderful breakfast bird show and a glimpse of our first Koala in the wild.

We are just about ready to leave on the next step of our adventure.  More rain is due here in Queensland, so we are heading south where the weather looks a little drier.  We have reservations in a week from now on the ferry from Melbourne to Tasmania where we will spend the month of March.