Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Tasmanian times Pt. I

Montezuma
After my relatively short stay in Melbourne I hopped over the pond to Tasmania. My first week in Tassie was a frosty one, especially when one is as prepared for the cold as I was, with my one pair of pants and light sweater. Who knew you would need warm clothes in Australia??
I was forced to break down and buy a good, warm rain jacket. My initial plan to rent a car with a friend fell through, so I decided to take a 5 day tour around the island. I did manage to find two people to drive around the Huon Valley with in a rented car a couple of days before my tour, which was quite fun.
Fresh water and fresh air.... The best!

Days on the tour were filled with driving, hiking, hiking and driving. Our first stop was Russell Falls where I was able to fill up my water bottle with some of the freshest water on the planet, (it was so delicious!) then we went to Lake St. Clair where it was actually snowing! I was not too pleased with the cold white stuff that was pervading my Australian experience... Hadn't I left Canada to avoid all that?! Luckily it melted right away. After lunch at Lake St. Clair we went to hike up Donaghy's Hill, which provides a beautiful 360ยบ view of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Do you remember that bottle of super fresh water? Well up on Donaghy's Hill it was accompanied by the freshest air on the planet! Perched up on the peak, we were the first civilization that air had seen since leaving South America and travelling across the ocean. How cool is that?
Soaring through the sky at Henty Dunes


On the next day we hiked up Montezuma (which is a myrtle rainforest) to see Tasmania's highest waterfall, viewed either up close or while standing in the middle of a two person suspension bridge. After lunch in the fishing village of Strahan we made our way to the Henty Dunes to frolick amongst the thirty metre high sand dunes. Sand everywhere! Good times were had by all and it reminded me of a family trip to the dunes in Arizona when I was a kid...
Our Jump! tour group...Jumping!

1 comment:

Judy Schafers said...

Thanks for the update, Jilene. Your photos are so amazing!!