Author: Glendon

Retired Australian Lawyer having worked representing the innocent and the not so innocent in Australia and some of the remote parts of the world and having travelled widely through Europe, Western Russia, Canada, USA, New Zealand, Thailand Malaysia Solomon Islands northern China, Hong Kong and the UAE So now that I have the time I am writing about my travels present and past. Hope you enjoy exploring off the beaten track.

The Retirees return to Europe – Brengz Austria

Bregenz

Goodbye Vienna. Our preplanning worked well and we might have caught the train on time if Kerry had not left her handbag in the train station waiting room. Literally she was stepping into the train when she realised it was not there. She ran back to the waiting room, but we knew we had missed our train. However, unlike aeroplanes we could catch the next one with our luggage and the EUrail pass gave us that flexibility. We had chosen first class seats because this is a 7 hour journey with no stops. There is a dining car, and we could order from the menu and get in seat service. The train reached speeds of 221kph and taking photos was often difficult, but we managed to capture some of the pleasant Austrian countryside and Austrian Alps. The following photos trace our journey from outside Vienna to Bregenz and you may notice the progression from plain to Alps in the west.

Photos

We arrived in Bregenz late afternoon and caught a cab to our accommodation which was outside of Bregenz and in a suburb/village called “Hard”. Very suburban and quiet but with not a lot of action either. It is a studio in a large house probably purpose built and clumsy in the way of east European architecture but suited our needs perfectly. The lines 15 and 17 bus to Bregenz Bahnhof (the main rail head) was under 5 minutes’ walk away and the buses ran every half hour – very convenient.

We walked up to the nearest supermarket “Billa” – about 20minutes away and bought some articles and two salads for dinner. After 7 hours on our bums the walk was needed. Bedtime was strange as sunset was about 8.30pm in the evening and this continued to disrupt our planning right up to the evening at the theatre when we arrived for a 7.00pm start only to find it was 9.00pm start as the theatre was open air. We knew it was open air and wondered how it was going to function in the bright afternoon light. Now we know – they wait till the sun goes down.

Bregenz is on the banks of Lake Constance Europe’s 2nd biggest Lake and the lake is the border for Austria Germany and Switzerland. The Austrian and Swiss Alps run up to the lake so Bregenz has Pfander mountain at its back. For our first visit to the city/old city we started with the board walk along the lake to the boat terminals and then walked to the cable car to ride to the top of Pfander.

My first photo is Kerry on the boardwalk and then the ultramodern dinner boat called “Koningin” docked at the boardwalk. Then follows photos of the cable car ride up to Pfander, a view of Lindau Island Pfander, and rest area where there is a mini zoo of mountain animals. I have included a panorama showing the lake spreading away to the unknown. Views of the surrounding Alps and the facilities and animals of the zoo follow. The return journey gives a clear indication of the height of Pfander and how quickly it rises behind Bregenz. Watch out two of the jousting mountain goats have escaped from this gallery to the next gallery.

After returning to the town level, we walked along one of the streets bounding the old town so there was a mixture of old and new. Amongst the houses we encountered a parked car with a car cover over it clearly been there for years: so long in fact the town has declared it street art and posted a sign about the “artist”. It is all in German with no English note but our enquires lead us to understand that some local “artist” bought himself a new Porsche and was disappointed with it, so he put the cover over it and walked away. This was in 1947. His studio is beside it and an eclectic bunch of stuff sits in the yard of the studio.

Several of the old town buildings are decorated with art works some portraying the first use of the building. In the main square stands the local parish church constructed with the eastern Christian church “onion” dome. Bregenz Summer Festival is on, so the streets are decorated with flags declaring that to be the case. In the case of these photos, they were taken when we had coffee at a restaurant above the square in one of the modern buildings which looks abhorrent and out of place. Like the monument to Indian Snake Charmers – the knotted rope statuary. No photo of the abhorrent building.

My library of photos has been overtaken by some sparring mountain goats left out of the previous photo gallery. don’t pay too much attention and they will be fine. The next photo is a historic house then the “porsche under cover”.

We had some reason to visit the Apothoke (Chemist). We found the Apothoke shop just off the main square. The interior was a museum perhaps of a 19th century shop.

We are here for our wedding anniversary. Kerry promised herself to return and see a show at the Bregenz Theatre in the Lake after we had stumbled across it in 2015. In 2015 the Opera was “Turandot” and the stage was the Great Wall of China and the Terracotta Army. This year it was Puccini’s opera “Madame Butterfly”. The stage is a deceptively simple white background with hidden stairs doorways and a hole for an enormous flagpole. Under the stage (rows F, G & H) banners advertising the show and pictures of the previous stages hence the photo of the stage which we saw being constructed. This magnificent stage is built at the western end of the lakeside walkway with Bregenz Bahnhof (train station) behind it. There is no orchestra pit but rather the orchestra plays on a sound stage inside the auditorium behind the patrons seating. This outdoor seating is erected leaving space between seating and stage for boats containing parts of the stage scenery to sail past during the performance.

One of the entertaining things to do in Bregenz is to travel on the lake and visit different countries or so you might think. Well, there are no tours as such, but you can sail aimlessly around for 1 or 2 hours (we did the 2 hour trip) looking at the different countries. The following photos give you 2 hours of excitement.

After the excitement of the boat trip, we decided to follow the self-guided tour provided by the Tourist Information Centre. Now the first stop was a shop selling various forms of alcohol. See the first photo below. Here I was persuaded to sample a Swedish single malt whisky (or do you spell it the Irish way “Whiskey”) and purchase 500ml of the brew – many of my friends will be clamouring for this. The next few photos depict some of the older buildings in the narrow streets of the old town. But number 5 is the front door of a residence which is little more than 1 metre wide at its entry – Bregenz’s smallest residence. Next is the adjoining building which appears to have been a type of craftsman’s lodge judging by the figurines displayed on the exterior. By the time we had climbed to the oldest part of the town we came across what might have been a moat around a fortified residence which proved to be a former monastery. The parish church although not connected was on the outside of the former moat but separated from surrounding land by its own moat. Inside was a clean and fresh-looking church and of course it had a confessional (you know whom I am referring to VC). After leaving the church we found a set of stairs which now allows movement between church and monastery which has been separated from the residences constructed where once monks would have toiled. The old castle gate remains with it an open portcullis and the track down to the town. In the town we found this strange feature on one block of residences – it looks like someone was buried but manage to stick their arm out of the coffin.

We had not been impressed with the boat tour so the following day we tried direct travel to selected places; Lindau Isel (Lindau Island) and Fredrickschafen in the Bavarian-Swabian part of Germany. By ferry Bregenz to Lindau Isel takes 1 hour and 2 hours to Friedrichshafen and we were to find out only 20 minutes by train to Lindau. We purchased a return journey on the ferry to Lindau and on the trip, we spotted a modern Zepplin (Dirigible balloon). Arriving at Lindau Is. visitors are greeted by a resting lion and lighthouse from the early days of trading between villages. A tower which formed part of the defences of the harbour also remains. The foreshore is hotels and restaurants, and everyone had the same idea as us to visit the island. The pictured building is the Rathaus or Local Government Hall. The other photos are general street scenes. This is an island, and it is connected by a causeway to the mainland. Near that causeway bridge we found the remnants of a church predating the 11th century. The Peterskirche is the oldest sacred building in the city of Lindau. The essentially Romanesque church goes back to the 11th century and is of supraregional importance due to late Gothic wall paintings often attributed to Hans Holbein the Elder. It stands on the western outskirts of the old town and has housed a war memorial in the form of a WW1 German soldier since the 1920s.

We enjoyed the trip but really the ferry was a pain, so we decided to experiment with the train and found it to be superior and without so many tourists

We then circled back to the harbour but our next ferry was some time off arriving. We decided to try catching the train home. Not only was it cheaper but less than half the travel time.

I think I need to say something about our accommodation in Bregenz. Whilst not in the city centre and not near shops it was well serviced with buses and very quiet. I have inserted some photos of the exterior and the interior for your interest.

Our trip to Friedrichschafen in Germany was a gamble in that we knew nothing about it, other than it was a Bavarian town on Lake Constance.

After docking we walked around checking the place out when we came upon the Graf Zepplin Museum. The Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen is there because Friedrichshafen is the birthplace of the Zeppelin airship. The museum houses the world’s largest aviation collection concerning dirigible airships and chronicles the history of the Zeppelin airships. In addition, it is the only museum in Germany that combines technology and art. The museum has been in its current location at the Hafenbahnhof (harbour railway station) since it was reopened in 1996.

The centerpiece of the zeppelin displays is a full-scale, partial model of the airship LZ 129 Hindenburg. The exhibition also includes an original engine nacelle of the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin airship. A great number of airship models, not only from Germany, are also on display in the technology department. There is a full-scale recreated Cabin Lounge of Zeppelin Hindenburg, the centrepiece of the Zeppelin airship and a partial replica of the LZ 129 Hindenburg, which was reproduced true to the original and authentically furnished. It is 33 m in length, large enough to convey an idea of the enormous dimensions of the original airship. The Hindenburg was 245 m long and had a maximum diameter of 41.2 m. It was propelled by four Daimler Benz diesel engines with a capacity of 772.3 kW (1050 hp) each, and reached a maximum speed of about 130 km/h.

After the impressive overview of the partial model from the outside, the folded-down retractable aluminium stepladder invites visitors to go on board. It leads into the lower deck, the B-deck, which has a bar, a smokers’ lounge, and toilets. The passenger cabins are arranged on two decks, stacked one on top of the other. In the cabins, visitors can experience the special inside ambience of a 1930s airship and get to know the technical aspects of this aircraft. The beds inside the cabins are made of aluminium. Every cabin has a wall-hung wash basin (with running hot and cold water from a tap), a curtained wardrobe niche, a folding table, a stool, and a ladder for climbing into the upper bunk. The cabins also have electrical lighting and are ventilated and heated.

The Hindenburg travelled 18 times to North and South America. On 6 May 1937, while landing in Lakehurst, New Jersey, the airship burst into flames just before touch-down and crashed killing numerous passengers and crew. Some of that wreckage was also on display.

My photos start with the view across the bay when alighting from the train. We walked around the bay for some distance before we encountered the waterfront. The only evidence of a commercial past is the derrick amongst the cafe umbellas. Then we encountered the Zepplin Museum.

Truly worth while visiting this museum. I had no idea of the extent of Zepplin history or that Friedrichschafen is home to the Zepplin factory today and is one of the largest employers in the town.

There was not much else different about the town. The waterfront was all cafes and very busy. Of course this was a little bit different.

We returned home to our apartment in Hard without any plans for tomorrow.

We had been informed that there were supposed to be 2 restaurants nearby and that we could gain access to a beach nearby. So, our plan for the next day was to find the beach and restaurants. We set off to find the beach and restaurants. Opposite our apartment is bush land and in that green space several trails and a football field. We tried following one of the trails ending up following a bitumen road with no sign of any beach however we did pass a restaurant which was not yet opened for the day. It had a colourful old buggy full of flowers in front which gave it some charm. During this walk we noticed that every household had wood stockpiles standing in their yards and on some occasions the stockpile formed the “fence” between neighbours – a sure sign that the winters are cold.

Our purpose in coming to Bregenz was to witness an opera perform on the Lake stage and Saturday evening was the date. We had difficulty finding the opening time and were impatient and anxious to get there. So, on the basis that the show would commence at 7.00pm we caught the bus into the city and walked to the theatre. Too early! We had arrived about 5.30pm and we learned the show started after sunset at 9.00pm, so we found seats and settled down at the Sunset Bar (a Rotunda on the end of a short pier in the lake) with a drink to wait for the show to commence at 9.00pm – yes I certainly got that wrong. We had a big lunch at that restaurant we found so we weren’t hungry, but it was going to be a long wait and as the wind picked up a cool evening. We even went and sat in our seats to wait for the show but that did not last long through boredom. Finally, about 8.30pm there was some movement to get the show on the road with the arrival of passengers from the cruise boats. We had purchased a souvenir blanket to keep out the cold wind that was rising and lined up to take our seats. There must have been over 1,000 people who finally took their seats and the show started at 9.00pm.

A very moving performance across a very functional stage portraying the arrival of the American ship with Pinkerton on board and the arrival of Butterfly and her entourage and assistant Coco, the British official Wilkinson and the other players. There were vessels arriving and passing through the channel between the stage and the audience and the opera although not familiar to me was very moving. Two hours passed quickly. Unfortunately, no photos. Home by 11.15pm and up by 5.00am to catch the train to Luzern.

To be continued.

The Retirees return to Europe – Vienna

Vienna

Our plan to travel to Vienna via Amsterdam went well and truly awry. Our flight out of Heathrow was late to leave which meant we missed our connection in Amsterdam (not by much I might say as we had to run from terminal B to terminal D to get our connector). A simple phone call by the ground staff for our filght to the gate of our connecting flight stating we were on our way was all it would have taken to avoid the pain that followed. Having missed our connection, the gate captain offered us two alternate connections to Vienna – a direct connection leaving at 8.00pm or a connection via Munich boarding now and leaving in 10 mins and arriving Vienna at 3.00pm – it was now 10.00am in Amsterdam. We chose to go via Munich, boarded the flight and waited and waited (there was no departure slot available for our aircraft) and waited for over an hour.

We arrived in terminal 1 Munich with about an hour before our connecting flight was due to depart, but we could not find the KLM desk to obtain a boarding pass. A staff member on an information desk directed us downstairs to the KLM desk. We hurried downstairs only to be redirected back to where we started where a friendly Air France girl checked our ticket and was unable to identify the airline code as to which airline was our carrier and she assured us that KLM did not fly out of Munich, so she sent us downstairs to another agent who directed us across the tarmac to terminal 2. By this time, we had 15mins to reach our flight.

Terminal 2 was just as difficult to navigate until we found a volunteer visitor assistant who immediately could tell us our airline was Austrian Air not KLM and to go to the Lufthansa desk. The Lufthansa assistant was superb but had to advise us we had missed our connecting flight and the next was at 8.00pm arriving in Vienna at 9.30pm. She also tracked our luggage noting on her screen the change of flight and identifying an error in the recording for both suitcases – (only the first mistake). All of this bad news seemed wonderful to us as we were exhausted, hungry and stressed with all of the f**k ups. Assured of our flight arrangements and our luggage we sought a cafe for a strong drink and something to eat.

Our first choice for our repast was not so good – an incident was in progress and the cafe was cordoned off with heavily armed Police deterring customers from entering. Our second choice was more successful, and we were able to relax. We had four and a half hours to wait for our flight, so we slowly made our way through security again and into the bowels of terminal 2 where we sat suspended until 8.00pm.

Finally, our flight gate opened, and we were seated in the last two seats in the plane so it was a bit of a struggle to get off the plane and then we had a struggle to find the luggage collection belt only to find our luggage had not made the flight. So, we spent the next half hour completing a lost luggage claim form with the depressing feeling that we would not see the suitcases again. Tired and distressed we simply grabbed the 1st cab handed him our hotel address and bundled into the taxi with only the clothes we stood up in. Sometime after 10.00pm we arrived at Westbahn Hotel as pictured below, uncertain of what awaited us.

The next day we awoke to grey skies and intermittent rain. The room was not air-conditioned, and we had spent most of the night sweating on the bed waiting for morning trying not to think about the fact that our last meal was some hours ago in Munich. Our plans were in disarray, so we decided to make up for it with a hotel breakfast then brief the reception staff about our lost luggage and our anticipated delivery of our luggage. We had an enjoyable breakfast and found the staff on reception sympathetic. They provided us with a city map and pointed out a few of the sights.

We had selected this hotel for its proximity to the rail station. Although very close to a major rail station terminus at West Bahnhof we were not at Bahnof Meidling which we learned is where we had to be to travel to Bregenz in a few days’ time. Had we stuffed up again?

We walked across to West Bahnhof station and found a mini shopping centre and underground station as well as an above ground rail station. Alongside the rail station with an entrance from the station was Vienna’s IKEA store. Located in a most unusual high rise building it appeared part of it was missing with the upper levels left hanging in the air.

Photos of the Hotel, rail station and IKEA are below. One of the pictures shows a church through the window of the station and one of the pictures shows the church which we found whilst hunting for the IBIS Hotel and the door is the ornate carved door of a cafe/bar near the IBIS.

Photos

Our plan for our time in Vienna involved getting a feel for the layout of the city using the Hop on Hop Off Bus pick the things we wanted to see and return later but the hotel seemed to be some distance from the first stop for the Bus. The hotel receptionist assured us the hotel was centrally located so we walked over to the nearby main shopping Street Mariahilfastrasse after breakfast, and nothing was open – we were to find that the Viennese have some very different habits. The Strasse was very long and no where near to stop 1 of the Hop On Hop Off bus route – the nearest stop turned out to be outside the nearby IBIS Hotel. Using google maps we set off in search of stop #5 on the blue line at the IBIS Hotel.

Well, the IBIS Hotel decided to play hide and seek with us – every time we thought we were getting closer it moved further away. Of course, we were going the wrong way but once we corrected our path we found ourselves in front of the Ibis Hotel only a stone’s throw from our hotel. S**t! We could not take a trick.

Our luck improved once we found the hotel and boarded the bus.

Below are photos of the Viennese trams which crisscross the city and have done so from the beginning of mechanisation as borne out by the derelict horse drawn tram shed still standing in Vienna. At stop #5 Ibis Hotel we got a different angle on the IKEA building, a view down Mariahilfastrasse before the Viennesse arise for the day and we passed this elaborate carved door frame to a restaurant near the Ibis. The Blue line stop 6 is the Schloss Schonenburg to which we would return, and this line generally took us on a cultural tour of Vienna and through districts of Council flats which remain popular till today. The flats are identifiable by the notice on the building that they were built by the Council and the year of building. Fifty percent of housing in Vienna is council owned and rented. These apartment buildings stand out from the modern constructs of glass and metal. See if you can pick out the French Embassy amongst these pictures. One of the features of Vienna is its sausage stands – the Viennese refer to them as “the wurst sausage stands” and don’t understand our mirth about that description. Here is a picture of one near the State Opera featuring a green rabbit. The Viennese treat these similar to a pub where they meet fellow citizens after a show and have a sausage and glass of bubbles or a beer – where we might have a “lamb sandwich and a schooner”. Finally, a statue in honour of Emperor Franz Joseph I think outside the Art museum “Albertina” – the Hapsburgs’ have left their mark everywhere.

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We stayed on the bus until we had completed the blue line and then we joined the red line filling in the blanks around our knowledge of the city. The following photos show where we had lunch at the Palms Restaurant in the former Orangerie of a grand house, some of the grand designs repeated throughout Vienna, the State Opera, the Rathaus (City Hall) and Hotel Stephanie Vienna’s oldest hotel.

Kerry was sick of the bus by the end of the red line – some parts of the red line were long and boring with little of interest to us. Once back at stop 1 we took the Blue Line Bus to stop 3 and walked home along Mariahilfastrasse which is the retail mall of Vienna connecting through to the Schoenberg Schloss (PALACE) – so a bloody long road. We had to replace our missing clothes and here was a street full of shops – so shopping we did go. The loss of the luggage and having to deal with the airline and the insurer greatly diminished our enjoyment of the holiday. Some more photos of the architecture of Vienna.

The second day started with breakfast at the hotel followed by some deep dives into particular parts of Viennese life. Our hotel had the luxury of 3 floors and an elevator – it nearly fitted slim Kerry and sleek Glendon who had to breath in. Mariahilfastrasse was asleep when we ventured out, but it meant we were not dodging bikes scooters and the occasional car and motor scooter in the crowds of people shopping up and down the Strasse – it comes to life around 10.00am. The following pictures demonstrate this. Note the “Viennieserrie” and the Cannabis shop (Mr Nice Guy”).

Notice that the photos below include a tower with plants growing up the side – this is the aquarium. During the Nazi occupation of Vienna, the Nazi’s built 6 gun in-placement towers containing anti-aircraft guns and search lights to combat the Allies bombing of Vienna. The towers are so structurally strong that the Viennese have found it commercially unviable to demolish these towers although we only saw one that had been partially demolished and two others – this tower converted to the aquarium and another which we viewed from the top of the aquarium. We were able to get a good oversight of Vienna atop of the aquarium. Many buildings were destroyed and faithfully restored but the gun tower to an aquarium was remarkable.

Photos

Working our way along Mariahilfastrasse we came across this church which strangely has a statue of the composer Josef Haydn in front of it. Although a contemporary of Mozart and Beethoven and working with them in Vienna I could find no connection to this church. However, we encountered various persons living on the street whom we helped and a student from Kosovo who we helped get a meal that day and was it coincidence that Haydn had also known hunger whilst growing up.

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There are a number of alleys and laneways off Mariahilfastrasse and these photos take you through this particular lane.

One of our hopes was to visit the Strudel Cooking demonstration at Schloss Schonenburg. It is not a well known event and after some enquiry we caught the Hop on Hop off Bus to stop 6 where we were swept up by the tourists visiting the palace but we made for the bakery. For not a lot of Euros we joined about 20 other people consuming a large piece of strudel and hot chocolate whilst an apprentice baker showed us the traditional method of making strudel which I recorded so that I can make my own strudel not for this blog but here are the pictures of show and the palace gardens.

After the strudel show (where we ate a huge piece of strudel with a mug of hot chocolate) we returned to the Hop on Hop off Bus for a boat trip on the Danube or the Donau as the Viennese call it. This was part of the package for a 3 day pass on the Bus. We started at Red Line stop #3 beside the Belvedere Palace. The photos below show the monument to the Russian soldiers lost in some battle over Vienna after WW2 just outside Belvedere. We travelled to stop 8 on the Red Line on the other side of the city from the Palace (did I mention Kerry was sick of the bus). After obtaining the tickets and whilst waiting for the boat I noticed the building across the canal had this distinctive wall art of two men making a hole in the building. The walls around this part of the canal have been given over to graffiti artists and they have made a right mess of it in my view. The cruise starts in the canal and joins the river where the river flooding is controlled by a lock. Not much of a boat trip for 2 hours but another part of the history of Vienna. Nothing much to report on the cruise until we were outside Vienna when suddenly all these huts started appearing on the bank of the canal. I suspect they are weekenders for fishermen. No mention of them in the misguided commentary but they ranged from the derelict to complete.

At last, we reached the Danube and the lock came into view. Unusually the front gate of the lock did not open but rather sunk like a garage door in reverse. The water height difference is quite significant, and they still generate hydroelectric power from the river. As usual there is someone lurking waiting for a bigger vessel to come along and open the lock gates for them. Note the water mark – our boat was raised 5 – 6 metres to pass through the lock.

Just as we approached the end of the journey a Buddhist monument to Peace could be seen on the banks of the river. It seemed quite out of place in the style of its architecture but most appropriate given Europe’s history. Also out of place but for different reason one of the early river cranes used for loading and unloading on the vessels on the Danube has been preserved.We were dropped off at red line stop 10 to endure the bus ride back to the city centre.

Photos

Back at stop 1 we decided to move onto stop 3 Blue Line and walk back to the hotel. We were getting our steps in each day.

The next day, we decided to test the underground and took a ride on line 6 to the main rail station at Meidling and identified where we were to go to catch our train to Luzern. Having successfully done that, we took the underground line 3 back to the city for the guided tour included in our Hop on Hop off bus ticket. The tour was to start at stop 1 red line but upon arriving there was no guide and the guide at that stop told us to look for a blonde woman holding a flag on the other side of the road. At first, I thought the guide had started the tour without us but a tiny little plastic Austrian flag caught my eye and we flushed the guide from her cover. Very quickly we were joined by another half dozen people also hunting for the guide for the tour.

On the way to red line stop 1, I had decided to photograph a statue of Archduchess Maria Therese and her advisors and followers – said to weigh 40 tonnes. We passed the Sacher Hotel which claims it invented the Sacher Torte a claim disputed by an opponent. The dispute was decided in Court in favour of Sacher but not to be out done the opponent claimed it had the traditional recipe. These photos follow.

The tour was for 1 hour and my photos from the tour appear below. The first few photos are of a monument depicting the disarray of the aristocrats following the collapse of the Hapsburg Empire, the subjugation of the working class and the upright slab in the monument with writing on it represent s the constitution of Austria to end the rule of the aristocracy and the end of the disarray.

The Albertina is shown with its remodelling architect’s trademark metal wing over the front veranda. Below the veranda stand horse drawn taxi’s, which take their passengers to the Hoffburg palace which currently is housing the President and some of the offices of the government. Behind the Albertina is the national library with it statue of Joseph II, through another passage and another courtyard opens before us – you see the horse drawn cabs again with th Roman ruins found during renovations in the foreground then we burst out of the palace to another commercial shopping mall (and there is the competitor to Hotel Sacher behind the red umbrella) ending in the square of St Stephens Church. This is the principal church of Austria having been founded in the 12th century. Contrast this against the modern commercial building reflecting the church back to it.

Photos

The tour ended here and we had to find our way back to stop 1 on the blue line. One thing I learnt was the Viennese love their sausage stands and so I had to taste why. The following photos will give you the sense of what I am enjoying. As we made our way back, we explored the Roman foundations uncovered in recent renovations, enjoyed a coffee in a traditional Viennese coffee house and passed the stairs to Albertina once more. On our way back to the hotel, Kerry noticed the pedestrian signs displaying images of two pedestrians – turns out that many of the crossing have been changed to rainbow crossings recognising LGBTIQ people.

Our visit to Vienna has almost finished except for an unusual encounter over dinner. We had chosen where we wished to eat that evening – a pub two streets down from our hotel. As I was entering the pub I opened the door and stepped back to allow a woman exiting the pub to do so. She in turn said something to me more than likely in German and I responded with “Excuse me” which brought a retort in English “They are full up – no tables” Without thinking I replied “there is another restaurant one street away ” and she asked if she might join us. We agreed and that is how we met Kristine from Bavaria. Well this was one of our more enjoyable dinner whilst learning that Kristina was a widow and travelling with a group but she was seeking a break by dining alone . We cahtted about family and travel whilst enjoying dinner When we left the restaurant Kristine stated that her group was going east and we were going west tomorrow so like ships in the night we passed each on our way.

We had not heard anything regading our luggage so we purchased a suitcase cosmetics medications and clothes to continue the journey. After briefing the Reception staff not to accept our luggage should it be delivered to the hotel, we left for the train station Bahnhof Meidling.

The Retirees return to Europe – the Journey Begins

London

Wednesday Kerry and I started our first trip back to Europe since our anniversary trip to Rome and Lake Gondolfo in 2018. Covid intervened and we put our return trip on hold until now. For various reasons, some the restraints of anti-Covid policies and some personal, we determined to travel to Vienna then east to Bregenz for our 34th anniversary, then moving on to Switzerland, France and finishing in the UK.

So, 3rd August we left Brisbane flying QANTAS to Perth then to London Heathrow – what a shitty flight – 5 hours to Perth – a couple of hours there then, 18 hours to London. EIGHTEEN hours is far too long in an economy seat. We overnighted at the Holiday Inn Express Heathrow as we planned to fly to Vienna the following day. We can recommend this hotel for an overnight stay and onward journey. We tried to achieve too much in London after such a long flight and had to take a rain check on dinner with my niece Louise. However, we were chuffed about how well our arrangements were going, how manageable the crowds were, how trouble free everything had been but all that was about to change.

Photos of terminal 4 from our hotel room shows how close we are to the airport and from inside the hotel gives you an idea of the size of it.

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Interior of the hotel and the view of Terminal 4

Whilst in London we travelled into London central and bought Kerry a new pair of runners at John Lewis Dept store and then caught the underground to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. There was a long walk from the station to the park which had been created for the 2012 Olympic Games. We had not been to these areas of London and we were quite impressed with the park.

My photos of the big slide, West Ham United FC home stadium, the Olympic Games Swimming stadium the river where river events were held during the London Olympics, the park walk to the slide tower and random pictures from the tower are below. No we did not slide down (you have to pre-book) and besides it frightened the living day lights out of me just to walk down the400 odd stairs on the outside of the tower.

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After walking down the tower the impact of the flight hit us and we dragged ourselves back to the hotel as we had to catch our plane to Vienna early next morning.

The Retirees in Tasmania – Back in Hobart

We had an uneventful trip back to Hobart where we spent quality time doing family things. Our time was just about up but one more trip was possible and we chose to grab a boat cruise from Adventure Bay #Adventure Bay on Bruny Is#Bruny Is to the Friars a rocky outcrop off Bruny Is, southern point Tasman Head. Advertised as a 3 hour wilderness cruise tickled our curiosity.

It started with a bus ride down to Kettering to board the car Ferry to cross to Roberts Point on Bruny Is then travel down Bruny Island Main Road to Bruny Island Honey – the sweetess spot on the island. I was taken with the display of bees entering the hive and Kerry was taken by the honey.

The crossing, the Sweet Spot, the bees, the buses, and other things

After being sweetened we travelled to the Neck (the isthmus joining north and south) where we visited Truganini Lookout #Truganini a timber stepped boardwalk which gives 360 degree views. Looks like hard work and it is.

Truganini Lookout

After recovering we rejoined the bus and ended up at Adventure Bay where we suited up for the ride.

The boat, and the passengers

Wisely Kerry chose to sit at the transom of the boat. Despite the wind being strong the boat was often “flying” over the water. We went from the relative calm of Adventure Bay into the open Great Southern Ocean. We passed Penguin Island and sailed along the coast to Haulage Bay. Rugged and inhospitalable comes to mind.

Rugged and inhospitable

We were taking it easy travelling south so that we could take in the landscape and go pretty close to the rocky outcrops. We came across what looked like and underwater gas coming to the surface. As we drew closer we could see it was a blow hole spouting as the waves rushed in and out.

Bubbling below the surface then spouting skyward

We moved onto Boreel Head, Bridge Rock and our southern most point the Friars where we encountered Fur Seals – lots of them.

Seals, seals and more seals – oh there are some NZ fur seals there to

Thos two pinnacles in the distance are the Friars and once around those it was full throttle return trip – 4x250hp outboards jumped into action. No more skirting the coastline but skipping across the ocean like a stone. Smashing into the ocean some of the adventurous were now quite squimish and it was only the sighting of a gliding albatross that slowed us down – the skipper wanted to take a good look at him. As we rounded Fluted Cape there were many sighs of relief as we sailed more sedately into Adventure Bay and home port. To gain these fabulous photos for you I stood with the Skipper all the way around but I could not get any clear photos on the return due to sea spray washing the boat. So I was tired (from holding on for grim death) and welcomed the relative peace of sitting on the bus all the way to Hobart.

The Retirees in Tasmania – Go West Young Man

Having been to the coast we decided on our last day to go west into the hills behind St Helens and see what we could see.

Yesterday we had seen a sign to Priory Ridge Wines and decided that looked a good place to go. So after a hill climb we came upon the winery and cellar door.

Located in the small settlement of Priory, and just 3kms from the town of St Helens Priory Ridge winery is a family owned boutique winery. We found our way to another shack this time representing the cellar door. The door was open but no one in sight. We looked here there and everywhere not a soul could be found. Puzzled we were about to get back in the car when Julie Llewellyn came across from the vines pushing a wheel barrow full of cuttings. She was surprised to see us just as we were to encounter her. We shared a laugh and Julie then wiped her brow washed her hands and welcomed us to Priory Ridge Wines Estate #Priory Ridge Wines Estate.

Julie explained that she and her husband David had developed the vineyard on 20 hectares with ideal north facing slopes to maximise sunlight. The soil is Devonian granite rich in mineral content, transferring a unique “terroir” to the wine. Formally known as Tarpot Farm, the property has been in the ownership of Julie’s family (Reid/Clifford) for over 120 years. Julie’s Great Grandparents settled at Priory in 1889 after migrating from England in 1880.

Before its conversion to grapes the property was mainly used to graze sheep as an adjunct to a much larger property, grazing sheep, cattle and some cropping. Priory Ridge has the George River as its Northern boundary and the vineyard draws its water from a small dam on the property.

The shed was full of electic bits and pieces as well as wines. Kerry found some labelled plastic glasses which she purchased for our picnic set and a memory of our visit. I am pretty sure we also purchased a bottle or two.

Arriving at the cellar door, searching for anyone, Julie arrives in the nick of time, and OMG what’s all this stuff.

We spent some time at the winery but hunger finally tore us away. So we returned to St Helens for lunch and decided to visit the sandhills behind Steiglitz/Akoroa. We were winding down to return to Hobart tomorrow so we were not looking for too much activity but come on the fact that the word includes “hills” should have told us what to expect. So we drove up to the starting point for the walk through the sandhills. Beautiful views and a convincing argument that all we needed to do was look grab some photos and go home and put our feet up.

Sandhills to the right of me and sandhills to the left of me

That evening we packed and prepared to return to Hobart and our family. Our excursion to Tassie was coming to an end. A few days with the family and back to Brisbane and reality.

The Retirees in Tasmania – St Helens and the Bay of Fires

After our long day yesterday we got an early night keen to explore the Bay of Fires #Bay of Fires. The Bay of Fires is located on the northeastern coast of Tasmania. It includes a gorgeous coastline that stretches over 50 kilometres from Binalong Bay #Binalong Bay in the south to Eddystone Point #Eddystone Point in the north. The northern section of the bay is part of Mount William National Park # Mount William National Park; the southern end is a conservation area. The conservation area is divided into three sections, with Ansons Bay #Ansons Bay dividing the southern and northern ends. This popular conservation reserve is actually a string of breathtakingly beautiful beaches, interspersed by lagoons and rocky bluffs. Famous for the orange lichen-covered granite boulders, combined with the powder-white sand and turquoise waters, we wanted to see for ourselves and St Helens being the gateway to the Bay of Fires and Binalong Bay made an ideal starting point.

We drove out to the Tourist Information Centre at Akaroa #Akaroa where we were looking at booking a boat trip (Eco Tour) which is not really part of Binalong Bay but it gave us a taste of what was to come. We drove south across Medeas Cove following Treloggens Track to St Hellens Point past this timber and tin shed which we later found out was the Tourist Info Centre where you booked the Eco Tour. Out here we are in Burns Bay but the orange lichen-covered rocks were there to see. There were a few houses enjoying the serenity.

View from the road, some of the little coves, Kerry trekking to the next cove.

Driving back to St Hellens we pulled over at the tin and timber shed. Hello heres the Tourist Info Centre. Great little centre – here we could book boat tours (weekends only at the present so missed out there) and get maps and buy trinkets from local businesses. There was a coffee bar – hot water and instant coffee, and a range of sugary snacks and chips. No sale this time. But the view from the shack was a great panorama of the typical coast we would find. Did I mention that you could book a boat tour?

The tin and timber shed and the view over the bay

We then proceeded north back the way we came to the track along Binalong Bay. And this is what we saw –

Rocky outcrops covered in lichen, a rock that looks like a seal a live oyster in a crevise a gull looking for the oyster and lots of blue and turquoise water.

These few photos don’t do it justice. It was difficult for an over weight 65+ old to scramble over the rocks and through the bush but we were rewarded with some great scenes. The road was suitable for a passenger car and it is probably good that 4 wheel drives aren’t permitted to drive where ever they can. there was a caravan park somewhere in all that (outside the conservation area) and it looked popular but pretty raw.

The Retirees in Tasmania – the Bay of Fires

After resting up getting up and packing up, we are on the move again driving over to St Helens #St Helens on the southern end of the Bay of Fires. We got a few hot tips on places to stop on the way over and one we found by ourselves.

What would a country trip be without a renowned chocolate shop on the way. Introducing the House of Anvers # House of anvers and Anvers Choclate Factory cafe and museum. Situated in the former Wyndarra Lodge #Wyndarra Lodge 9025 Bass Highway Latrobe, the House of Anvers is a factory a cafe a museum and a gift shop. Bass Highway is a pretty busy little road so keeping an eye out for signs and avoiding getting the bloke behind running up your bum made getting there a bit interesting. Wyndarra Lodge (now the House of Anvers) is a 1928 bungalow style building set in parkland right on the Bass Highway between Devonport & Latrobe. Acquired by Anvers in 2002 it was and is ideally suited to transfer the chocolate factory into and showcase the products and the stroy of chocolate. After making a dash across the oncoming traffic and arriving at the Lodge we were firstly taken with the large rose bushes dripping with flowers and the bungalow style how looking as though it was still in the 1920’s. First thing was a cup of hot Belgian chocolate in the lavious cafe then a visit to the mueum and a sticky beck at the chocolate makers but lastly a visit to the choclate shop. Not a place to visit on a keto diet.

Wyndarra Lodge, the cafe, red roses, the museum the choclate makers and the shop and some more roses

Now we could have remained longer but our travel schedule prohibited lingering stays at choclate shops. We moved on until we saw some cows beside the road and spotted the signs to Ashgrove Dairy #Ashgrove Dairy – not where you would buy a pint of milk. All of these cows are fake, the milking herd obviously is some where else probably not as flash as this. We decided we would have a cheese platter for lunch and this was just the place for it. We toured through the museum of milking past the pasturising into the gift shop – oops too far. lets go back to the selction of cheese and the tables of tourists chomping on cheese. I still drool when I see the rounds of parmesan and blue vein cheeses. Of course we had to pass through the gift shop and we gather a few more bits to satisfy that calcium craving.

Those cows, the tourist trap, another cow, more cows in the museum, oops there that chocloate shop again, our cheese platter the dining hall, and more cheeses.

Now its quite a long trip from Wynyard to St Helens and we needed petrol and we were approximately in the middle of Tasmania on a highway with no apart fueling stops. Oh what a minute there’s one. Of course there had to be a truck stop nearby and as we pull in around the back we see the truckers trucks in the back yard – a rough sort of lay over for 18 wheelers and above. The “diner” was a trucker’s dream – every style of deep fried something imaginable and fresh sandwiches too. There were washrooms but I guesses each driver would sleep in the back of the truck. After refueling (the car too) we wandered amongst the trucks toward a strange looking brick wall that seemed out of place – and there it was Tassie Truckies Memorial Wall #Tassie Truckies Memorial Wall. I had not seen this before and there was a small grave there as well which looked like a child of one of the truckers – the grave was not inscribed so we will never know.

The Tassie Truckers Memorial and what appeared to be some niches for ashes.

We moved onto to St Helens which was a winding trip through the hills before dropping down to the coast. And there I must leave it. We found our apartment and washed off the dirt of the road and settled in for the night. The resort was beside a marsh and the noise of the marsh sang us to sleep. The day had been long but a few Anvers losengers helped us to relax. tomorrow its the Bay of Fires.

The Retirees in Tasmania – Wynyard Day 2

The sun is up around 5.00am even with daylight saving so no time for slacking off or sleeping in. Breakfast is a simple toast and cup of coffee so that we can get on the road. Today we are going east to Burnie # Burnie (formerly known as Emu Valley # Emu Valley ).

Leaving Wynyard we encounter Cam River Reserve #Cam River Reserve. Its mid week and there is no one around so we drive to the top of the park area to see the waterfalls that make this a special place to visit. The track commences with a long stair case into the valley. After some trek down the stair case we come across the Cam River and the top falls (as opposed to the other falls below it). Perhaps not as spectacular as other falls we have visited but unique in that it looks like a curtain decorating the rock wall over which it flows and pleasantly refreshing – although not hot it has been humid in Tassie and the spray from the waterfall hangs in the air dampening your face as you approach.

Cam River Waterfall at the top of the falls

The path follows the river as it flows through a rather narrow valley filled with lush undergrowth and very tall gum trees. As the path takes us lower into the valley we get a better view of the falls appearing as a curtain of water tambling over the sheer rock face. I tried to improve our picture taking vantage by walking out on a ledge and obtained two for one.

The main falls and the lower fals with the main falls in the background

We went back to the track and soon found ourselves amongst the tall trees we had seen as we entered the Reserve. It is down here where the river slows and spreads out that the swimming hole appears and the usual recreation facilities like the loo can be found. It was far too cold for swimming so we returned to the car heading to the Emu Valley Rhododendron Garden #Emu Valley Rhododendron Garden. This means walking up the hill to the car and getting an overal view of the valley.

Just around the corner is the swimming hole and the view of where we have come from

You may recall that Burnie was originally named by the settlers as Emu Valley. Althought the township has changed its name Emu Valley still appears on the maps of north west Tasmania.

The garden is not far from the reserve aolong the valley giving it its name. The Emu Valley Rhododendron Garden was conceived by three men and their passion for the genus Rhododendron in 1981. In the begining the site was a scrub and blackberry infested hillside. Emu Valley Rhododendron Garden (EVRG) is a private garden, owned by it’s members, which has acquired significant international acclaim in recent years.

The garden is divided into various spaces identifying each part of the world in which rhododendrons grow in the wild, and each was named accordingly. Plants which originated anywhere from the icy Himalayas to tropical New Guinea and across the Pacific to the Americas adapted willingly to their new hillside home in Emu Valley. Subject to seasonal variations, the huge large-leafed rhododendrons flower during August and September. This is followed by the main flowering period which peaks in mid October and finishes in December. Vireya rhododendrons flower all year. Autumn colours shown by the deciduous companion plants are spectacular during April and May. The Garden covers 11 hectares with over 24,000 plants already planted, and plans for future development embracing many more.

We spent hours wandering through the various gardens – I don’t know whether we were amazed or just lost. Of course there are other plants – companion plants -throughout. The work to maintain this garden and keep it looking like a garden rather than bush must take an army of volunteers.

Some of the features of this magnificent garden.

The day turned warmer than anticipated so by the time we had trekked through the garden we needed to recuperate with an ice cream under a tree.

The next place to visit was Hellyers Rd Distillery. Now we had visited the Spirit Store on Bruny Island last time we were in Tassy and I had bought a bottle of the peat smoked Helleyers Rd whisky. Good for Xmas plum pudding and not much more I am afraid. So our visit to the distillery was with apprehension on my part.

Located at 153 Old Surrey Road on the quiet hilltop of Havenview in Burnie, the distillery sits on the original Hellyers Road that once crept through the Emu Valley. A breath-taking landscape on Tasmania’s northwest coast – a corner of the world more accustomed to building things, growing things and milking things the site had been a dairy farm.

Trying to find the cellar door was a little challenging with this impressive cellar door (see below) being hidden behind some very ordinary industrial sheds. The Building is on the summit and stretching away below are lush green fields leading to the timbered tree tops and ploughed fields on the surrounding hills. Inside the cellar door is a well presented cafe with views of the surrounding hills and a bottle shop presenting an array of local produce and the whisky. The visitor centre brochure advertised tours of the distillery and despite my opinion on the quality of the whisky we decided to join the next tour.

After a short wait a well dressed middle to late aged man walked up to us and introduced himself as the general manager of the distillery and announced that due to staff shortages he was taking the 2.00 o’clock tour – and that was just us. He asked if we ahd tasted the brand and I told him my opinion. He was not surprised and agreed they had not got that product right but promised a surprise when we got to the tasting room.

We went to the barrel room (not ordinarily on the tour) where they still held some of the first whisky they had distilled. He explained that the company that owned the distillery had orginally been a dairy company and they decided to diversify and that was the reason why they had a whisky cream product. At the tasting room he produced a barrel which was a blend of 10 of their oldest whiskeys making the finest of its kind (or so he said) and to taste it he was pretty spot on. We tasted a number of wishkies matured in various type of cask and a ten year old single malt and I was impressed by the single malt. So after the tour we visited the shop and purchased the bottle into which I poured the whisky from the old barrel. This is a numbered bottle and only 500ml but it was an experience bottling my own whisky and sealing the cork in the bottle with hot wax. I also bought a bottle of the ten years old for my drinking pleasure and a whisky cream for Kerry’s drinking pleasure. there not much of the whisky cream left I might say.

The cellar door, the barrel room, the distillery and the tasing room

We finally got to Burnie. Viewed from the hills behind it, it is very well established and quite large. We drove down to the town to find a very industrial town and port. It was late in the afternoon so we decided to go for a stroll along the foreshore and then onto the penguin rookery beside the University of Tasmania #University of Tasmania campus on the waterfront just on the edge of Burnie CBD. These are the typical little penguins that inhabit Port Phillip and they live almost in the town itself coming and going with the tides. We watched two of them hiding in their man made burrows for some time but it was too hot for much activity from the little guys even at 7.00pm so we found a pub along the foreshore for dinner. Not a meal to write home about but it did the trick and we felt our bed calling.

The foreshore with its metal octupuses, the little penguins in their man made shelters, and the view of Burnie and its harbour from the hills.

The Retirees in Tasmania – Wynyard

Its daylight saving in Tassie so when we arrived in Wynyard the Sun was still shining and the residents of Wynyard #wynyard were in the streets doing their shopping and what have you. Masks were the popular fashion accessory and remembering to put the damn thing on was still a chore. We found our accomodation. A bit tricky though. Its river front and yet just below the main street of the town. The motel extends to the carpark beside a wharf from which a municipal park follows the river as it curves back into the mountains. It was a pleasant surprise. Our accomdation was an old motel freshened up and given a modern appearance with the best view in town. From our room we could look over the river and with a craning of the neck see the mouth and river bar.

The motel area included two “shipping container houses” #shipping container house. I have included pictures below. I just loved the innovation but apart from being impressed I cannot tell you much more as they were locked up but clearly occupied.

the Waterfront Motel Wynyard #Waterfront Motel
the Inglis River and bar
the wharf
the Inglis River bank park
Shipping Container House #shipping container house

After registering and moving our gear into our room we decided on a walk down the main street – Goldie Street. Now we were staying at 1 Goldie Street. To get to that address coming from the east you have to crossover Goldie St and duck down onto the lower part of Goldie St disconnected from Goldie St the centre of town. So see what I mean about tricky.

We very quickly encountered the RSL (Returned Servicemans Club for Wynyard) #RSL Wynyard and its moving display of images made up of smaller images of servicemen and women.

We found the Woolies and bought something for our evening meal. Although the trip was not overly long in distance we had spent all the daylight hours travelling and needed some sleep so with the sun going down around 8.30pm we decided we would take our rest also.

Next morning – Up bright eyed and bushy tailed the next morning we planned our day. First we would go to Table Cape Lighthouse.

The magnificent plateau of Table Cape is by far Wynyard’s most remarkable natural wonder. Sitting at 180 metres high, ‘The Cape’ – as locals refer to it – dominates the Wynyard coastline and offers spectacular views of Tasmania’s coast and agricultural farmlands. As you drive to the top of the remains of a 12 million-year-old volcano you’ll reach a viewing platform where, on a clear day, you can see George Town’s Low Head and mountain ranges over 175 kilometres away. Take a short stroll along the cliff-top walking track to the Table Cape Lighthouse #Table Cape Lighthouse, the only operating lighthouse open (seasonally) for tours in mainland Tasmania.

Table Cape is also home to the Table Cape Tulip Farm where acres of patchwork fields explode with colour each spring. We must have missed this display by that much – there were no blooms to be seen.

As for seasonal openings of the lighthouse, we encountered the seasonal maintenance team. Being a friendly Tasweigen he invited us to step inside the thresshold and view the interior. Staring up to the light in the top of the lighthouse you wonder about the effort of carrying the lamp oil to the top before electric power replaced the lantern and the tough life for the lighthouse keeper and the family beofre civilisation surrounded it – the solitude and the harshness of life is brought home by the grave of a child just by the gate into the lighthouse keep.

The Cape, the view from the Cape, the bush track to the Cape, and the infants grave

The drive to the lighthouse today is a pleasant cruise along bitumened road through fields which would normally be filled with tulips but even without the flowers this was extremely beautiful, traffic free and pastoral. Some of the vistas were remarkable.

Views from the drive through the coastal road from the Cape to the freeway near Boat Harbour and Boat Harbour Beach.

Our destination now was Stanley # Stanley and the “Nut” #the Nut.

We decided to leave the highway at Boat Harbour and go to Sisters Beach just to have a look. This stop had been pointed out to us as a “must see”. After leaving the freeway and following the winding track along the coast we came to Sisters Beach #sisters beach both a locality and small town located in the Waratah-Wynyard municipality. This road is the old horse trail known as the Postman’s Track that once formed the only connection between Emu Bay now Burnie and the Van Diemens Land outpost of Stanley. According to local publicity it has a beach of white sand, approximately three kilometres in length. However the prevalence of the giant banksia (the only place in Tasmania where they occur) has darkend the water flowing from the creek onto the beach. Not exactly white sand. The community is widely spread with a cafe/ shop on the approach to the beach.

Inky coloured water running onto Sisters Beach.

We stopped for a morning coffee and despite the store looking as though it was running out of supplies we found a fenced off garden off the cafe which had a pleaseant outlook and seemed to be awaiting the arrival of all the expected visitors like us except there was only us. Sad.

After contributing to the local economy, we made our way to Stanley and its famous “Nut”.

Stanley is located at the eastern end of a peninsula thrusting into Bass Strait and overlooking Sawyer bay to the east and Seven Mile beach to the west. The Nut is a name commonly given to a volcanic plug rising behind Stanley. It has an elevation of 143 metres (469 ft) above sea level. The Nut was first recorded as being observed by George Bass and Matthew Flinders when they circumnavigated Tasmania in the sloop Norfolk. It is made of fragments of basaltic volcanic rock from a volcano which was active approx 25-70 million years ago.

The origins of its name are speculated to be from the Tasmanian Aboriginal name, “munatrik” (moo-nut-re-ker), or because explosives were unable to dent it during the construction of a breakwater (a “hard nut to crack”). The areas around the Nut are culturally significant to the local Tarkine Aboriginal people because of stone formations, middens, quarries and artefact scattered near the area. Stanley itself is an unusual village/town in that there presently seems no reason for it being there.

A port opened in 1827 and the first school opened in 1841. There was a short-lived bay whaling station in operation on the fore-shore in the 1830s. Stanley officially became a town in 1842 and by 1843 more than 8,000 acres had been sold or leased to almost 70 people. The Post Office opened on 1 July 1845 and was known as Circular Head post office until 1882. In 1880 the first coach service between Stanley and Burnie was established. In 1936 a submarine telephone cable from Apollo Bay to Stanley provided the first telephone to Tasmania from the mainland. Today Stanley is a tourist destination and the main fishing port on the north-west coast of Tasmania. We made the journey up the Nut and observed the port. The trip up can be undertaken on foot (rather arduous) or by chairlift (our preference). The walk around the Nut was at times very windy and quite cool and at other times shaded and seculded. We encountered a friendly wallaby #wallaby or maybe it was a paddymelon #paddymelon along the way

We have finished our walk across and around the Nut and can understand it attraction. One of the things that people go to Stanley for is its crayfish. Its lunchtime and after our walk we have the appetite for crayfish. Below the Nut is Hursey’s Seafoods #Hursey’s Seafood. We ordered the Crayfish for Kerry and unfortunately there was little more than a mouthful of crayfish. So ended the day trip to Stanley and we returned home to dream of what tomorrow will bring.

The Retirees in Tasmania – roadtrip to Wynyard

Tassie is not a big place by Australian standards so the idea that we would drive from Ferntree in the South to Wynyard #wynyard in the north west on the northern coast of Tasmania was not adventurous by any means. There are various ways to go and our gps chose to travel through Richmond up the B31 north until we joined the Midland Highway around Oatland. After Campbelltown we veered toward Delorraine as we had spotted the Mole Creek Caves as a place to visit.

Leaving after breakfast we made good time to Longford a village a little west of Perth (Tasmania not WA). We found a shady tree in a spacious park to eat our pies purchased from the local Bakery. A neat and tidy town but we were on a mission to get to the caves.

#longfordtasmania

After our break we continued the journey to Delorraine and then onto Mole Creek and the Mole Creek Karst National Park where we hoped to visit Marakoopa and/or Kings Solomon’s Caves. We had rung in advance and knew we had to get to Marakoopa before 3.00pm otherwise we would have to go to King Solomon Mines Cave. We missed out on seeing Marakoopa by the smallest of margins but we were able to purchase our ticket for King Solomon Mines and secure our entry. It is a 15 minute drive between the two so we were getting a little anxious.

After a rather quick trip through the narrow roads of the park, Kerry dropped me off to run to the ticket office and make sure they did not leave without us. The Cave is at the end of a 200m walk and I am not a practised 200m runner so, I struck off into the bush and as I moved through on the path a feeling of deja vous came over me. An iron statue straight in front of me seemed so familiar but Kerry later assured me we have not been here before. I remain puzzled. However I made the distance and saved our spot. It turned out there was no one else booked to go on the tour so we got a very personal tour.

At the end of the path is a timber walkway leading into a reception area and the ticket office guarding the entry to the caves. Richard was waiting in the office for our arrival and once Kerry had caught up he gave us the safety drill and then opened the wire gate to the cave entrance. King Solomons Cave is a highly decorated limestone cave. This is a small and compact cave of lavish colours and a huge variety of formations with sparking calcite crystals decorating the chambers. Our guide has worked in the caves for 18 years and has a serious speleological bent as he does this for recreation also. He told us that the cave system is very close to the ground above it so much so that it was discovered by a farmer looking for his lost dog. The dog had fallen into the cave. It is only 500m long but very narrow in places and there are instances of tree roots making their way through the ceiling to the cave floor.

#kingsolomonsminestasmania
#kingsolomonsminestasmania

Just brilliant – the cave is splendid but I would not cope if the lights went out. The tour last 45 mins but I think we got an hour. So it is now 4.30pm and we have to find our accomodation. According to our map Wynyard is due north so when we exit we find our nearest road due north which takes us through the mountains for about an hour before we can see anything resembling Bass Strait.

#molescreektasmania
#bassstraittasmania