Glenelg

Presently staying in sunny Glenelg, quite the tourist hub. Found a very nice apartment on Colley Terrace which is just opposite the beach. Didn't realise when we made the booking that the World Beach Volleyball Tour was being held practically on our doorstep. Quite a huge event with lots of tall, athletic types from all over getting around. Eljay scored a lanyard and other merchandise from the sponsor, Swatch, when we walked by yesterday. He must've flirted with the nice lady handing out the merchandise as none of us grown ups were offered anything! CF & PTA spent a while arguing over who was going to keep the lanyard, looks like CF won that round.

Norm's Coolie Wonder Dogs

A trip to the Barossa Valley is not complete until you've visited Norm's Coolie dog show near Tanunda.  Norm is still going strong with his not so funny sense of humour, giving all the kids in the audience a hard time.  First part of the show was rounding up some sheep, the dogs were a little disorganised and it took quite some time and countless attempts for the dogs to get the sheep corraled.  Eljay spent most of the show playing on the hay bales in the shed behind the paddock where the show is held.

Norm also got the dogs to sit in a circle and bought the sheep in, then he got all the dogs to lie down togther in row.  The show is set in a lovely rural setting and the property is dotted with old yellow utes and trucks that double as dog kennels, very Aussie.  At the end of the show Norm got all the dogs to jump in the back of a yellow ute so the visitors could pat them, Eljay got up close but some of the dogs were pretty jumpy and snarling at the strangers.

Pear Ridge Restaurant, Margate, Tasmania

Such a promising restaurant, just south of Hobart: "Pear Ridge is the beginning of your discovery of what we're all about. It's really terrific ingredients, many grown in our own garden, which our customers can see in progress. Serving local produce in a way that entices you to explore different tastes each time you visit."
MB was delighted to discover this place, which sounds just like Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's River Cottage, and dropped in for lunch on their Huon Valley day trip. Soup du jour was cream of spinach and after enjoying some delightful fresh spinach in the campervan MB was keen to sample some more. MDR ordered lamb cutlets which he pronounced very good. The soup unfortunately was a disaster, it tasted like water thickened with flour, unseasoned with no stock nor herbs, just some unidentifiable green flecks in the "paste" which is all one could describe it as.
MDR had also attempted to order a pear juice but this was another menu item not available.
Not to be completely deterred MB decided to try the French Pudding for dessert as it contained seasonal pears and cherries (pear trees laden with fruit in the garden were in plain view). Unfortunately this dessert wasn't available and the chef recommended the hot raspberry waffle. MB thought this was a safe bet as fresh raspberries are still available. The dish that came out did not resemble a waffle at all. Instead we were served a large ramekin of stodgy bread and butter putting with a half dozen raspberries on top. If one wanted to eat a large stodgy pudding this would have been fine, pity their menu descriptions are completely misleading.
The service was super slow and only a handful of diners were in attendance. After lunch MB & MDR strolled through the garden and were amazed to see ripe apples & quinces falling off trees and rotting on the ground. Masses of large pears were there for the picking and there was also an impressive stand of ruby red rhubarb plus a large stand of fennel - none of these were even on the menu. The garden, whilst large and well laid out, looked very sad and neglected.
One wonders if this place has recently changed hands, the present management do not seem to take any pride nor interest in the concept that they are advertising.

Wineglass Bay, Freycinet Peninsula, East Coast Tasmania

Some pics from the Wineglass Bay hike, one has to walk uphill for nearly an hour to get a glimpse of this spectacular bay.  Then it's another very steep hike downhill to visit the actual beach, not for the fainthearted that's for sure.  MDR was very patient with MB on the return hike back uphill, MB was only allowed to have 20 "pitstops"...

Dove Lake, Cradle Mountain

Two of the lovely vistas captured whilst MDR & MB did the 6klm Dove Lake circuit at Cradle Mountain.

Street Rods invade Tasmania

Street Rod convention in Tasmania over Easter with over 400 participants.  Spotted these beauties at the Anvers Chocolate factory just outside of Latrobe in Northern Tasmania.

Cradle Mountain

Cradle Mountain is everything the promotional literature says, absolutely stunning.  MDR & MB did the 6klm Dove Lake circuit and both agree it's the most beautiful walk they have ever done.  Good weather, slightly overcast, around 12c.  Took loads of photos but no USB port on this PC (at van park in Swansea), one of the rare occasions MB has been able to get internet access.  Found an online access centre yesterday in Zeehan but the lady running the place couldn't stop chatting, MB must've been the only customer that day.

Easter Friday MDR & MB plan to visit Freycinet National Park on the east coast home of the iconic Wineglass Bay. 

Night of the Hungry Possums

Stayed a night at Lake St Clair National Park en route to Strahan and the west coast. This is an alpine area which MB thought would be cooler as the word "alpine" suggests. Well it couldn't have gone below 20c overnight and there were bushfires in the region so lots of smoke and ash. Lake St Clair is at the southern end of the Overland Track which starts at Cradle Mountain.

The camping area was very busy with all sorts, trekkers from overseas and grey nomads etc. The camaraderie is wonderful, met lots of other travellers, many of whom had driven down from Devonport (from SA, Vic Qld etc). Some folks from Adelaide were bemoaning the lack of mainland newspapers and were appalled at the quality of food shops, apparently at a store somewhere on the west coast one could find 15 types of gravy mix, but no legs of lamb. MDR has now dubbed the west coast "Gravyland". Our Maui campervan was a hit with our neighbours who all came inside to check it out. One of our neighbours had a custom made camper trailer which looked very space age.

MDR & MB did get a chance to do a 90 min walk around part of the lake, up to a platypus hide, however water level was very low so didn't see any platypi, did spot a black faced possum however.

It was a hot night there so dinner was al fresco on the campervan outdoor table, MDR cooked up our King Island porterhouse while MB did some garlic mash, salad and beans. While eating their dinner a black possum started sneaking up towards MB, luckily MDR spotted it and tried to chase it away, the possum though wasn't shy so MDR had to tap it on the nose with a rock to move it on. These possums are really fat, quite tame and obviously very well fed by the tourists. One of these little buggers jumped on our neighbours' dinner table while they were eating and tipped it over, then started eating all the food that had fallen.
Next morning MDR & MB set off for Strahan and the Gordon River.

Zeehan

Tuesday 18 March: Today was a wilderness Cruise up the Gordon River and over to Sarah Island in Macqaurie Harbour.  Sarah Is. was a brutal prison between 1822 and 1833 and couldn't be anymore isolated either. Strahan was packed with tourists so spent the night in Zeehan.  Zeehan is an old mining town, very reminiscent of Charters Towers and was once the 3rd largest town in Tasmania.  The Gaiety Theathre was the largest in Tasmania at one time.   Found an interesting shop selling antiques and crocoite, a mineral that is only found near Zeehan and is very sought after by collectors all over the world.

Next stop is Dove Lake & Cradle Mountain

Seals near Tasman Island

Australian Southern Fur seals on the coast near Port Authur.  Amazingly rugged coastline.

Stewarts Bay, Eaglehawk Neck

MDR & MB roughing it in the bush near Port Arthur.

Wet n Wild at Port Arthur

Sunday 16 March 08: First night in the "wild" for MDR & MB at Stewarts Bay turned out to be a very comfortable and serene night.  The van has backup power so one can run the fridge and limited lighting.  There is also hot water (gas heated) so one is not really missing any of the home comforts.  The early morning by the water was absolutely gorgeous.
Sunday morning saw MDR & MB kitted up for on a 3 hour tour of the coastline around Port Arthur, including Tasman Island.  This is amazingly rugged coastline with towering cliffs and lots of swell breaking on the rocks.  Saw loads of lazy seals, some dolphins and lots of birds, including 3 species of albatross (if the guide hadn't told us this we would never have known). Great tour in a smallish Rib type boat, luckily it was a warm day, so not too cold, however there was a cold southerly blowing and all passengers are offered a spray jacket, which is really a tent as it goes down to your feet, but it protects you from the wind and spray which is a Godsend.  The tour starts at Stewarts Bay (Port Arthur) then travels along the coastline to Pirates Bay, where the tour bus meets you and transfers passengers back to Port Arthur (about 20 klm).
As the tour finished at around 2pm the pair were famished and decided to try Lemo's Seafood Restaurant near Port Arthur.  A big barn of a place with not a lot of seafood but some pretty good standard fare, MB opted for chicken & vegetable soup which was actually very good.  MDR had stirfried beef and blackbean which looked excellent, very generous servings too.
Hit the road after lunch and made a snap decision to spend a night at Richmond.  It has a small but nice van park with very clean facilities and very cheap laundrette as well.  The park is walking distance to town too which is nice.  On the way back to Richmond stopped at Dunalley to buy some fresh fish at their wharf.  Picked up some nice fresh flathead which MDR decided he was going to cook by dredging in some flour and pan frying.
Just before Richmond is the small town of Sorrell which has a magnificent "pick you own" fruit orchard, stopped in there to get some stone fruit and berries.  Alas all of the stonefruit was finished but plenty of strawberries on offer and also sweetcorn.  MB & MDR had a great time pigging out on strawberries, eating at least half a dozen to each one picked to buy....
After checking in and plugging in at the Richmond van park the pair realised they'd forgotten to pick up some flour.  MB tried the van park shop but no luck.  MDR tried the neighbours, the only ones at home sort of laughed and said why ever would they have flour!  Not to worry it was a good opportunity for a walk so the pair strolled into the big smoke of Richmond to pick some up.  Luckily one shop was open, everything else closed very early.
Had a great dinner of super fresh flathead, hand picked sweetcorn, mash & peas with sweet, tender, juicy strawberries and cream for dessert - just heavenly.

 

Heatwave Hobart

Friday 14 March 2008: Forty degrees celsius in Hobart! Relief though when a cool change came in at around 7pm. MDR & MB did a tour of a shipyard in the morning and saw a massive car/truck/passenger ferry destined for Japan in the shed, just 4 weeks from delivery to the client. The northerly winds blowing through the shipyard were enough to blow your helmet off. MDR then had another visit with some other maritime types so MB opted to hang out in the city, did some window shopping then retired to the air-conditioned comfort of the Hobart Library.  It was a lovely evening so the pair did a promenade through Salamanca Place and ended up the Annapurna for an excellent curry dinner.  Returned to the van park to find both our neighbours' tents had collapsed in the gusty hot winds, poor buggers.   A clone of our campervan parked next door so we compared notes, turns out they were just about to return home so they gave us a bag of supplies that they hadn't used, very nice folks.  MDR worked out how to get the hot water working in the van last night, what a marvel of convenience!

Coffee Please

The trainee nomads landed in Hobart yesterday afternoon, just in time to pick up the campervan from Maui.  The van turned out to be an old clunker with a manual transmission, not at all what was reserved and paid for.  MB even asked the chap at the Hobart Maui office if it was an auto, he said it was then scurried away as it was closing time for their office.  Anyway MDR got on the blower to Maui and after a some discussions Maui are swapping the van today.

Stayed our first night at the Treasure Island Van Park in Berriedale (north Hobart).  This park is relatively close to the city, adjacent to the Derwent river and we have a perch overlooking the river which is very nice.  The park is also conveniently located next door to a sewerage treatment plant.  Just on the other side of the STP is Moorilla Estate winery.  Cadbury chocolate factory is nearby too, gotta go and do the tour there.

MDR is off inspecting shipyards today so MB is getting some shopping therapy in the city.  First priority though was a coffee as she forgot to buy some when the team went shopping last night, found a great deli in the mall and had a fantastic Goroka coffee latte. 

Weather is a balmy 20 something, with a nice cool breeze, perfect. Forecast for tomorrow is 30 something.

Dis is da rulz OK?

Got all warm and fuzzy when I read Da Rulz at a nearby laundrette in Stratford. All I wanted to do was wash one blanket, which I stuffed into a $3 washer. I haven't been hunted down yet.

BBQ Report

MDR's trusty BBQ gave up the ghost last week after at least four years and countless BBQ's. Saturday was spent checking out the BBQ shops and studying the merits of the various BBQs on offer.

After some spirited discussions between MB & MDR a Weber gas BBQ with lid was decided on. MDR picked one up on the way home from work tonight, assembled it in a few minutes, then read the assembly instructions....

MB had some nice pork loin chops ready, they are now cooking very rapidly and making the writer very hungry.

Yoghurt Experiment

Whilst in the UK MB sampled the most delightful goat's milk yoghurt and was inspired by Elizabeth David (from her book, "Is there a Nutmeg in the House?") to try making this herself, especially as there doesn't appear to be anywhere in NQ that makes or sells this gorgeous product. All she needed was a thermometer and a wide mouth vacuum flask, the latter of which she had, so after purchasing a $13.00 thermometer at Robins Kitchen and a litre of fresh goat's milk she was all set.

MB boiled the milk down to three quarters it's original volume to create a creamier yoghurt, then let it cool to the requisite temperature and mixed in a tablespoon of biodynamic Mungalli Creek plain yoghurt as a starter. Then it was into the vacuum flask to sit for 4 hours.

When the "brewing" time was up MB was anticipating a tangy, creamy yoghurt but was terribly disappointed to find the yoghurt completely failed, it didn't take at all. Looks like it's back to the drawing board, might be an idea to try making it with cow's milk instead....

By the way the Mungalli Creek yoghurts are sensational. All of their products are made with biodynamic milk and their flavour and texture is far superior to any other yoghurts available. Best of all Mungalli Creek is in NQ so us Northerners enjoy very fresh product.

The Humble Crepe

Last week at the Wynnum Coles' supermarket MB spotted a box of frozen crepes made by Creative Gourmet. For years MB has been harping on about not being able to buy ready made crepes, this is a product that freezes so well.

Cooking crepes isn't so difficult but being able to buy a box of them, providing they are made with eggs and milk, would be incredibly convenient. Cooking crepes in the kitchen when it's 34C is no fun whatsoever.

MB isn't endorsing these crepes just yet but is very gratified to see somebody has finally taken the initiative to put them on the market. She firstly needs to ensure she can buy them in Cairns.

Zen Fungi

MDR & MB did a daytrip to Montville on the Sunshine Coast today to visit the Spiritwinds gang in their new digs located in a delightful bush acreage on the outskirts of Montville. Tony & Deb cooked up a storm for lunch with fresh Mooloolaba prawns and oysters for starters then barramundi for main, all topped off with some fruit mince tarts and liqueur chocolates bought from Aldi by MDR & MB, who also contributed a very nice organic baguette from the Northey St Markets in Brisbane which they visited prior to heading up to Montville. Mustn't forget the very nice stout too that Tony brewed up, went very nicely with the lunch.

The Spiritwinds gang are sharing their block with lots of wildlife, such as yellow faced whip snakes which like mating in the pool, blue tongue lizards, funnelweb spiders and a large goanna which enjoys eating all the scraps. Tony is also contending with a bat which keeps flying into the house to deposit little parcels of excrement everywhere, he is still working on a method to catch the little critter.

Tony has discovered in his meanderings around the estate, a Boletellus Obscurayadayada, which apparently has not been sighted in the Montville area previously. He has succesfully replanted the rhubarb coloured mushroom into a Bonsai pot. Unfortunately it's not known whether this fungi is edible, and no takers to date have been willing to test the toxicity or otherwise of this interesting mushroom.

The main street of Montville was jam packed with tourists and MDR & MB did a bit of a promenade to grab a Sunday paper. The street is lined with lots of shops selling souvenirs, trinkets and geegaws. One shop, called "Shabby Chic" had a refreshingly honest sign "Fine Purveyors of Shabby Chic Clutter". Clutter of course being an amazingly accurate description...

Afterwards the duo returned to Brisbane in very good time, 75 mins, and dropped into the Yeronga quarters of VT & Hana to take their favourite pooch, Oounoi, out for a walk through the local sportsgrounds to the Brisbane river and back.

The weather has been glorious, mid to high twenties with a lovely cool southerly breeze and relatively low humidity. Going back to hot and humid Cairns tomorrow is not a happy prospect.

Birthday Capers

For MDR's birthday on Friday night, VT & Hana offered to take MDR & MB to their favourite Indian Restaurant, India Kitchen in Westend. Hana was on call and sure enough just as the team left home for the restaurant Hana's mobile trilled and unfortunately she had to be dropped off at the PA Hospital for a medical emergency.

The India Kitchen is a gem of a restaurant with quick service and very reasonably priced and great curries, the breads were divine too. It's a very unpretentious place with two fabulous Indian ladies running the show. After the trio stuffed themselves with curry it was off to a little ice creamery around the corner, where MB sampled some unique Turkish Delight gelati which really did taste just like it's namesake. VT then took the team to his favourite coffee shop and Westend institution, Three Monkeys, for a late night caffeine shot.

After their bacchanalian revels the trio staggered back to the car and headed home. Fortuitously Hana called just before they got the Yeronga so they were able to pick her up en route.

Saturday night MDR & MB were able to return the favour and take both Hana & VT to MDR's favourite Thai joint in wacky Wynnum with the catchy name of "Thai Cuisine" (or "Thai Quisine" according to the menus). This is another cheap and cheerful spot with great Thai food. The dreadful exterior of this place has to be seen to be believed and MB hopes to get a pic in daylight before returning to Cairns.