Hello !I am again writing to you from Narrara Backpackers in Hobart after 4 nights camping. It's been a bit rainy today, but still still 20c. Last Thursday I went and bought even more gear, including a down jacket to prepare for lower temps in my upcoming travels (Queenstown, where I will be headed very soon, is already getting down to low single digits some nights. And I intend to be outside some of those nights) Friday was another lazy day. I sat and watched YouTube all day until my 3pm bus north. I arrived at Freycinet National Park just after sundown to find all the campsites booked. Luckily they'd got my email and I was one of those who booked!  The view from my site Saturday I woke up and found a few venomous Jack Jumper Ants on my tent. I can confirm they do enjoy jumping around. I set off for a 10km walk to Wineglass Bay campground. I had to cary all of my water in, because all the creeks from which I could collect water to filter were dry. I took it easy and went for two swims in the pristine water.  The train of old people I followed up the hill cause I was slow  Wineglass Bay - People go mental for this pic on social media. It's nice, but idk what the fuss is about   Ok, it is a very nice beach. Perfect for swimming In the eve I was making my wraps for dinner and was twice paid a visit by the resident Wallabies who, I have since learned, have a reputation for their boldness. Twice they tried to steal my food. The Aussie camped next to me remarked "it's better they steal your food than mine" (They later tried to steal his food, suck it aussie man) I couldnt get them to leave, shouting & stamping does nothing.  This is their only facial expression. Throw sand at them, -_-. Poke them with a stick, -_-. Shout at them, -_-. You get it. They look at you with the emptiest of stares no matter what you do. After observing the aussie man scare off his wallabies, I learned that throwing sand at them was somewhat effective. I tried this, but they just stood there, handful after handful. So I employed a Wallaby stick, which I used to push the wallabies off the nearby bank and back towards to family with a small child camped nearby.  Wallaby back where it belongs  Me after throwing sand at 5 wallabies  A stingray! I woke the next day, and with half a litre water to my name, started the 11km hike back to the nearest tap. I set off early and made it, quite parched, but alive!  I killed the rest of the day with a beer, fish, chips and an ice cream before camping the same place I had two nights before.  Monday saw me rise early to pack up and catch the 7am bus to Triabunna to visit Maria Island, an ex-convict site. It's quite a picturesque place! There are definitely worse place to be locked up.   I rented a bike to explore the Island before retiring to my tent to hear the Tassie Devils scream all night. Its honestly a horrible sound, like the really loud screechy fireworks that don't actually make any pretty lights (the worst fireworks, I may add)  That beach is obviously not 4 miles long  Spot the snake! All of them are Venomous here  A wale vertebrae, I think. Huge!  Wallaby! Finally seen one I had another early start on Tues to hike up Bishop & Clerk track before the weather turned. I started off by forgetting to sign the logbook at the start, meaning if I decided to fall off a cliff and break my leg, nobody would know I was out there. Maybe 5 mins from the top I heard a very loud strike of thunder and realised the weather was about to turn. I decided to ignore this warning and proceed almost all the way to the top. By the time I'd got near to the summit, I was deep within the clouds. The final ascent seemed to require some full on bouldering. I didnt feel like slipping on the wet rock and dying, so I layered up as the wind picked up, realised the clouds werent going away and descended back to camp.  The challenge for the day, reach one of the peaks on the left!  Start of the smaller boulder field on the climb to the top. They got much bigger than this   It got very windy at this point  Back at the bottom, exploring the Coffee house. Completed with original wallpaper from the 1880s! My visa application for New Zealand got approved during my sketchy hike, so I'm ready for my flight to Queenstown on the 30th! I caught the ferry back to Triabunna, got a beer, fish and chips before the bus back to Hobart. And today, I've sorted my stuff out post the trip & booked a few tours over the next two days. I later learned that the bus i was relying on to catch my ferry to Melbourne is fully booked! (Thanks tassie public transport) So I'm gonna have to turn up on the day and hope someone cancelled, otherwise it'll be a last minute flight & ill be out quite a few pounds for non-refundable hostel and ferry bookings. Wish me luck! Bye for now! P.S. P.P.S |
