Monday, 23 November 2009
"No dramas!"
I'm not sure if this phrase has registered with me before – I think it has. But I think it's the new 'no worries'!
Schoolies
So if Firemen are 'Firies' what are 'Schoolies'?
Obviously they're final year school students who have just completed their last exams – I guess the equivalent of A-Level students once their exams are all done and dusted.
Apparently on the Gold Cost there is a 'Schoolies Festival' where 35,000 descend to cause mayhem and havoc! During my last week in Tasmania it was very rare for a news bulletin to pass without some story on how much alcohol they'd all drink and the levels of debauchery that would happen. It's a 'rite of passage' so they say!
Listening to the radio station Triple J, it seems that not all school leavers head to the Gold Coast and there are similar gatherings all over the country. Some more depraved than others by the sounds of it.
I'm just jealous really!
Obviously they're final year school students who have just completed their last exams – I guess the equivalent of A-Level students once their exams are all done and dusted.
Apparently on the Gold Cost there is a 'Schoolies Festival' where 35,000 descend to cause mayhem and havoc! During my last week in Tasmania it was very rare for a news bulletin to pass without some story on how much alcohol they'd all drink and the levels of debauchery that would happen. It's a 'rite of passage' so they say!
Listening to the radio station Triple J, it seems that not all school leavers head to the Gold Coast and there are similar gatherings all over the country. Some more depraved than others by the sounds of it.
I'm just jealous really!
'Firies'
I've no idea if that's how it should be spelt – but it's 'Aussie' for Fireman. For all the time that I was in Tasmania, the temperatures on the mainland have been over 30 degrees. In South Australia I think there were something like 7 consecutive day where the temperature was over 35 degrees.
Consequently it's been ideal conditions for bush fires. In fact the fire readiness level has been at 'Catastrophic'! And there have been already been a few fires – and it's only just the start of summer!
Even in Tasmania they had a 'fire awareness' day last week (I say 'even' because apparently Tasmania has had a 'wet' winter). I was listening to one of the local radio stations and was really interesting some of the things that communities and people have to do.
There was much talk about fire prevention, namely clearing dry bush and ensuring adequate fire breaks etc. Apparently in the forests in Tasmania there are 'Fire Watch Towers' which are manned by people whose job it is to just look out for fire. Also, I didn't realise the level of volunteers that there are in the 'rural' Fire Service and how in some areas there are waiting lists to join, whilst there are shortfalls in others.
Having said all that, just as I was leaving Australia there had been big storms in S.A. and Victoria which have brought quite a lot of rain (unfortunately in some areas the storms just bring lightening which acts just like a big match).
Consequently it's been ideal conditions for bush fires. In fact the fire readiness level has been at 'Catastrophic'! And there have been already been a few fires – and it's only just the start of summer!
Even in Tasmania they had a 'fire awareness' day last week (I say 'even' because apparently Tasmania has had a 'wet' winter). I was listening to one of the local radio stations and was really interesting some of the things that communities and people have to do.
There was much talk about fire prevention, namely clearing dry bush and ensuring adequate fire breaks etc. Apparently in the forests in Tasmania there are 'Fire Watch Towers' which are manned by people whose job it is to just look out for fire. Also, I didn't realise the level of volunteers that there are in the 'rural' Fire Service and how in some areas there are waiting lists to join, whilst there are shortfalls in others.
Having said all that, just as I was leaving Australia there had been big storms in S.A. and Victoria which have brought quite a lot of rain (unfortunately in some areas the storms just bring lightening which acts just like a big match).
9V-SKI
In Aussie parlance that's the 'rego' of the A380 that I'm currently en route to LHR in. For completeness the 'rego's' of the other planes that have carried me homewards have been VH-VQV a JetStar A320 from Launceston to Melbourne and 9V-SWE a Singapore Airlines 777-300ER from Melbourne to Singapore [airline geek alert!].
Once again another pretty full flight. I'm not feeling too bad at the moment with just under 10 hours flying time left.
The first meal has been and gone ( I had the 'Thai style fish') and I'm working my way through a few cold Tiger beers (it'll definitely be cold turkey when I'm back in the home!).
I think after I'm done with this I'll probably be able to squeeze in watching a film!
Once again another pretty full flight. I'm not feeling too bad at the moment with just under 10 hours flying time left.
The first meal has been and gone ( I had the 'Thai style fish') and I'm working my way through a few cold Tiger beers (it'll definitely be cold turkey when I'm back in the home!).
I think after I'm done with this I'll probably be able to squeeze in watching a film!
Sunday, 22 November 2009
"Paging passenger Mr Chris Head"
So it was 12.30am and I'm sat by gate 9 at Melbourne airport. I'm just minding my own business, wondering why we haven't started boarding yet and getting myself 'mentally prepared' for the journey home.
There was a slightly garbled annoucement, and then when they had another go I realised I was being 'paged'! My heart sped up a little bit - what is this all about? Did I dare to hope that the upgrade Gods had been kind? Or was there smoe more mundane issue?
I approached a member of staff and was told to go downstairs. I took the lift and there were a few people milling about - mainly business class passengers that I had seen in the lounge. I walked up to the desk, and this is when I started to smile. I had seen a blue business class boarding pass with my name on it! Damn cool!!! I told the lady at the desk who I was and she asked for my boarding pass. Handed over my green economy one, she had a quick look at it, scanned it and very matter of factly said "a change of seat sir",and gave me my new boarding pass.
I now had the prospect of 7.5 hours in lie flat bed comfort! Superb!
Not long passed before we boarded. I made myself comfortable in seat 22K.
We took off and it was pretty bumpy for a good half an hour, so the seatbelt sign stayed on. Once it was off, service began. I was asked when I wanted to eat - I said just before we landed. My original order of noodles wasn't available, so I switched to the continental breakfast (a good choice in the end because there's no way I would've been hungry enough for the noodles). After a glass of red wine, I brushed my teeth, turned my seat into a bed and tried to get some sleep.
I slept off and on for most of the way, but gave up with an hour and a half to go. I had my breakfast (which was fruit and a choice of bread rolls or pastries), freshened up and was all set for arrival.
Once we got off the plane I was at a bit of loss what to do - it was just after 6am, so not worth going in to the city. I decided to clear immigration anyway.
I walked over to Terminal 2, went back through immigration and then had a shower in the lounge over there.
It's now just gone 9am. I'm all cleaned up, fed and just killing time before the final flight home.
Too early for beer really, even though it has just gone past midday in Melbourne/Tasmania!
There was a slightly garbled annoucement, and then when they had another go I realised I was being 'paged'! My heart sped up a little bit - what is this all about? Did I dare to hope that the upgrade Gods had been kind? Or was there smoe more mundane issue?
I approached a member of staff and was told to go downstairs. I took the lift and there were a few people milling about - mainly business class passengers that I had seen in the lounge. I walked up to the desk, and this is when I started to smile. I had seen a blue business class boarding pass with my name on it! Damn cool!!! I told the lady at the desk who I was and she asked for my boarding pass. Handed over my green economy one, she had a quick look at it, scanned it and very matter of factly said "a change of seat sir",and gave me my new boarding pass.
I now had the prospect of 7.5 hours in lie flat bed comfort! Superb!
Not long passed before we boarded. I made myself comfortable in seat 22K.
We took off and it was pretty bumpy for a good half an hour, so the seatbelt sign stayed on. Once it was off, service began. I was asked when I wanted to eat - I said just before we landed. My original order of noodles wasn't available, so I switched to the continental breakfast (a good choice in the end because there's no way I would've been hungry enough for the noodles). After a glass of red wine, I brushed my teeth, turned my seat into a bed and tried to get some sleep.
I slept off and on for most of the way, but gave up with an hour and a half to go. I had my breakfast (which was fruit and a choice of bread rolls or pastries), freshened up and was all set for arrival.
Once we got off the plane I was at a bit of loss what to do - it was just after 6am, so not worth going in to the city. I decided to clear immigration anyway.
I walked over to Terminal 2, went back through immigration and then had a shower in the lounge over there.
It's now just gone 9am. I'm all cleaned up, fed and just killing time before the final flight home.
Too early for beer really, even though it has just gone past midday in Melbourne/Tasmania!
Saturday, 21 November 2009
31kgs!
I'm sat in the Singapore Airlines lounge at Melbourne airport waiting for flight number 2 of the 3 it'll take to get me home. My bag weighed 31kg when I checked in for my Singapore Airlines flight! Exactly 1kg under the maximum weight for a single piece of luggage. I just prey the wine I bought survives the journey (especially as some of it is earmarked for Christmas consumption)!
The weather in Launceston and Melbourne has been trying to ease me in to U.K. weather conditions – its been raining in both places. The difference I think is the temperature. In Melbourne it's been a really warm and muggy day – almost like an early summers day in Hong Kong.
The day started very damp in Tassie – it was chucking it down in Launceston! I got to the airport a little bit too early. The problem was that my flight was at the sort of time that you really can't do anything beforehand. If places in town had been open I would've got breakfast, but on a Saturday morning not many people were around at 7.30am and even fewer cafes etc were open. Hence I was at the airport at 8am fro my 10am flight.
The flight was a bit delayed in to Melbourne because of poor visibility – the cloud was pretty low.
I got my bag and went to the left luggage place. I was thrown off course at this stage as the left luggage place appeared to be closed. The shutters were down at least. On closer inspection I saw a note saying that between certain times you have to 'call for attention' from the phone provided. This is what I did and 5 minutes a bloke turned up, charged me the hand luggage rate for my massive bag, and I was all good to go!
I caught the SkyBus into the city and my first mission was to find somewhere to eat (I hadn't had a proper breakfast and I was starting to fade). The place I went to first (after some internet research) was actually closed – the location in the CBD kind of suggested that it survived on the Monday to Friday crowd. This stumped me a bit. I did a bit of a trawl around a few of the main streets and eventually ended up in a Greek place. Nothing beats a lamb souvlaki for lunch! I was so stuffed afterwards (I guess the vegetarian appetiser platter for one may also have contributed to this)!
After my 'feed' I looked around a few shops. At times it felt a little bit like Singapore – lots of people of varying Asian ethnicity and a very warm, muggy day! I paused for a bit to watch a 'street entertainer' at Federation Square. The guy was from the U.K. And his act was pretty amusing, as long as you weren't on the receiving end of some of his 'jokes'.
Seeing Federation Square busy on a Saturday afternoon I can sort of sort of see the point of it now.
To perk me up a little bit I got a smoothie from a place in the Southbank complex. The smoothie was a real struggle to drink – definitely more yoghurt/ice than juice. I found a bench by the Yarra and chilled out. This also gave me a chance to rest my sore shin (it's still giving me grief).
At a little after 5pm I thought I'd have another look at some shops. Well I would've if it wasn't for the fact that a lot of them were closed or closing. The city centre had been really busy all afternoon, and the penny kind of dropped that people were Christmas shopping. I now that there have been decorations up in the places I've been to, but it just sort of doesn't feel like Christmas is in about a months time.
Time for a beer.
I went to a place in Federation Square called Beer DeLuxe – lots of different beers. I stuck to ones from Tasmania. First off I had a Moo Brew Pale Ale and then 3 bottle of Boag's Premium. The Boag's is such good stuff.
Suitably inebriated it was time for some more food. I picked a random Thai place from a strip of Asian restaurants. It was very busy and full of Asian students ( a good sign). I got some Thai fish cakes and some kind of Thai fried rice. For the first time on this trip I had a Crown Lager.
It was a quick turn around at the restaurant and in no time at all I was back on my way to the airport.
At the airport there were lots of school groups heading off on trips/tours – it's nearing the end of the school year here. There's a big group on my flight going to Cambodia.
I've now had a fair bit of red wine and I'm hoping that it acts as a perfect sedative and I get some sleep on the flight to Singapore.
The weather in Launceston and Melbourne has been trying to ease me in to U.K. weather conditions – its been raining in both places. The difference I think is the temperature. In Melbourne it's been a really warm and muggy day – almost like an early summers day in Hong Kong.
The day started very damp in Tassie – it was chucking it down in Launceston! I got to the airport a little bit too early. The problem was that my flight was at the sort of time that you really can't do anything beforehand. If places in town had been open I would've got breakfast, but on a Saturday morning not many people were around at 7.30am and even fewer cafes etc were open. Hence I was at the airport at 8am fro my 10am flight.
The flight was a bit delayed in to Melbourne because of poor visibility – the cloud was pretty low.
I got my bag and went to the left luggage place. I was thrown off course at this stage as the left luggage place appeared to be closed. The shutters were down at least. On closer inspection I saw a note saying that between certain times you have to 'call for attention' from the phone provided. This is what I did and 5 minutes a bloke turned up, charged me the hand luggage rate for my massive bag, and I was all good to go!
I caught the SkyBus into the city and my first mission was to find somewhere to eat (I hadn't had a proper breakfast and I was starting to fade). The place I went to first (after some internet research) was actually closed – the location in the CBD kind of suggested that it survived on the Monday to Friday crowd. This stumped me a bit. I did a bit of a trawl around a few of the main streets and eventually ended up in a Greek place. Nothing beats a lamb souvlaki for lunch! I was so stuffed afterwards (I guess the vegetarian appetiser platter for one may also have contributed to this)!
After my 'feed' I looked around a few shops. At times it felt a little bit like Singapore – lots of people of varying Asian ethnicity and a very warm, muggy day! I paused for a bit to watch a 'street entertainer' at Federation Square. The guy was from the U.K. And his act was pretty amusing, as long as you weren't on the receiving end of some of his 'jokes'.
Seeing Federation Square busy on a Saturday afternoon I can sort of sort of see the point of it now.
To perk me up a little bit I got a smoothie from a place in the Southbank complex. The smoothie was a real struggle to drink – definitely more yoghurt/ice than juice. I found a bench by the Yarra and chilled out. This also gave me a chance to rest my sore shin (it's still giving me grief).
At a little after 5pm I thought I'd have another look at some shops. Well I would've if it wasn't for the fact that a lot of them were closed or closing. The city centre had been really busy all afternoon, and the penny kind of dropped that people were Christmas shopping. I now that there have been decorations up in the places I've been to, but it just sort of doesn't feel like Christmas is in about a months time.
Time for a beer.
I went to a place in Federation Square called Beer DeLuxe – lots of different beers. I stuck to ones from Tasmania. First off I had a Moo Brew Pale Ale and then 3 bottle of Boag's Premium. The Boag's is such good stuff.
Suitably inebriated it was time for some more food. I picked a random Thai place from a strip of Asian restaurants. It was very busy and full of Asian students ( a good sign). I got some Thai fish cakes and some kind of Thai fried rice. For the first time on this trip I had a Crown Lager.
It was a quick turn around at the restaurant and in no time at all I was back on my way to the airport.
At the airport there were lots of school groups heading off on trips/tours – it's nearing the end of the school year here. There's a big group on my flight going to Cambodia.
I've now had a fair bit of red wine and I'm hoping that it acts as a perfect sedative and I get some sleep on the flight to Singapore.
Friday, 20 November 2009
It's all about Boag's!
Well my last day in Tasmanian is almost at an end. I'm sat in my room drinking some Goaty Hill Riesling with some A-League soccer on the TV.
I've had a really good day. It started of with the alarm going off at 6.30am – it was bloody loud and it took me a little time to work out how to turn it off. So no danger of me sleeping through it! (Oh my God. A really crap advert has just been on for Carlsberg starring the 'charismatic' Dirk Kuyt. Really bad)
I walked up the road to the Aquatic Centre much is only a few months old. It seems like a fantastic facility with God knows how many pools. I counted two outside – a 25m/diving pool and a 'fun' pool with a flume and three inside – an 8 lane 50m pool, a 25m teaching pool and a 'play' pool with fountains and slides etc. All this for a city with a population of about 100,000.
My swim was really good and for most of the time I had a whole lane to my self (the benefit of all 8 lanes being used).
After my early morning exercise I walked to a place called Tant Pour Tant for breakfast. I had what was basically 'fancy Spanish beans on toast', except the beans were spiced with paprika and had chunks of chorizo and the toast was a slab of sourdough bread. Because the place is a French bakery I also had a great almond croissant (a real butter/cholesterol bomb).
I now had a few hours to kill before my 'Beer Lovers' tour at the Boag's brewery. I had a look in a few shops and then when to the Tasmanian Wood Design Centre. Some very interesting/cool pieces on display and some nice things to buy, but pretty expensive.
Time for the brewery tour!
First off I had to go back to my hotel to change in to jeans and 'enclosed footwear' – a requirement of the tour.
I arrived at The Centre for Beer Lovers just before 1pm and signed in. The tour itself lasted about an hour was fairly interesting. The bottling part of the brewery is almost hypnotic. Some interesting facts (from memory):
- It almost went out of business in the late 1980s
- James Boag's Premium was basically its saviour
- At one time there were 10 breweries in Launceston
- From about 1920, and for 70 years, Boag's and Cascade were part of the same company
- Boag's Premium outsells the Cascade equivalent, but Cascade Premium Light does better than the Boag's version
- Premium is only sold in bottles
- Boag's Draught and Pure Blonde are now exported to the mainland
The tasting was excellent. We tried 4 beers and each one was matched to a Tasmanian cheese. Really informative and eye opening. We tasted:
- Pure Blond with a Swiss style chees
- Premium with a brie
- Draught with a mature cheddar
- Wizards Ale (an English style ale) with a cheddar with black pepper in it.
After the tasting, of course, was the merchandise store!
The weather here today has been a bit weird. Quite mild, overcast and muggy. This afternoon the wind got up a bit and it threatened to chuck it down with rain, but it never did. A few spots of rain, but not a proper shower.
After the tour and tasting I had another look in some shops and then went back to my hotel. The plan was to have a quick turnaround, have a couple of beers, get some food and then go back to do my packing. In the end I did a fair bit of packing before I headed out. Everything will fit, but I'm a bit worried about the weight – bottles of sparkling wine are not light!
I went out for beers at the Royal Oak Hotel. Next to me at the bar were an Aussie and a couple of blokes from Leeds (one who lives here and his nephew who is visiting). It was quite interesting doing a bit of eavesdropping! Their topics of conversation included:
- Fly fishing
- Triathlons
- Canoeing
- A young blonde female carpenter the Australian would 'not say no to'!
- Snakes –'they're fucking everywhere at the moment'!
- Leeches – a tale involving the Aussie finding one on his 'ball sack' and thinking he was having a period!
It was now time for food.
I walked down to Hallam's Waterfront – except I wasn't going to be eating in the 'flash' restaurant. It's takeaway for me! I ordered the Waterfront Special – flake, scallops, calamari prawns and chips. I ate it by the the Tamar and it was all good!
Once I'd eaten it was time to leave the Friday night 'revellers' of Launceston and go back to my room and sort myself out for my journey home.........
(Oh, and the football finished Adelaide 1 Gold Coast 1. The Adelaide fans are not happy!)
I've had a really good day. It started of with the alarm going off at 6.30am – it was bloody loud and it took me a little time to work out how to turn it off. So no danger of me sleeping through it! (Oh my God. A really crap advert has just been on for Carlsberg starring the 'charismatic' Dirk Kuyt. Really bad)
I walked up the road to the Aquatic Centre much is only a few months old. It seems like a fantastic facility with God knows how many pools. I counted two outside – a 25m/diving pool and a 'fun' pool with a flume and three inside – an 8 lane 50m pool, a 25m teaching pool and a 'play' pool with fountains and slides etc. All this for a city with a population of about 100,000.
My swim was really good and for most of the time I had a whole lane to my self (the benefit of all 8 lanes being used).
After my early morning exercise I walked to a place called Tant Pour Tant for breakfast. I had what was basically 'fancy Spanish beans on toast', except the beans were spiced with paprika and had chunks of chorizo and the toast was a slab of sourdough bread. Because the place is a French bakery I also had a great almond croissant (a real butter/cholesterol bomb).
I now had a few hours to kill before my 'Beer Lovers' tour at the Boag's brewery. I had a look in a few shops and then when to the Tasmanian Wood Design Centre. Some very interesting/cool pieces on display and some nice things to buy, but pretty expensive.
Time for the brewery tour!
First off I had to go back to my hotel to change in to jeans and 'enclosed footwear' – a requirement of the tour.
I arrived at The Centre for Beer Lovers just before 1pm and signed in. The tour itself lasted about an hour was fairly interesting. The bottling part of the brewery is almost hypnotic. Some interesting facts (from memory):
- It almost went out of business in the late 1980s
- James Boag's Premium was basically its saviour
- At one time there were 10 breweries in Launceston
- From about 1920, and for 70 years, Boag's and Cascade were part of the same company
- Boag's Premium outsells the Cascade equivalent, but Cascade Premium Light does better than the Boag's version
- Premium is only sold in bottles
- Boag's Draught and Pure Blonde are now exported to the mainland
The tasting was excellent. We tried 4 beers and each one was matched to a Tasmanian cheese. Really informative and eye opening. We tasted:
- Pure Blond with a Swiss style chees
- Premium with a brie
- Draught with a mature cheddar
- Wizards Ale (an English style ale) with a cheddar with black pepper in it.
After the tasting, of course, was the merchandise store!
The weather here today has been a bit weird. Quite mild, overcast and muggy. This afternoon the wind got up a bit and it threatened to chuck it down with rain, but it never did. A few spots of rain, but not a proper shower.
After the tour and tasting I had another look in some shops and then went back to my hotel. The plan was to have a quick turnaround, have a couple of beers, get some food and then go back to do my packing. In the end I did a fair bit of packing before I headed out. Everything will fit, but I'm a bit worried about the weight – bottles of sparkling wine are not light!
I went out for beers at the Royal Oak Hotel. Next to me at the bar were an Aussie and a couple of blokes from Leeds (one who lives here and his nephew who is visiting). It was quite interesting doing a bit of eavesdropping! Their topics of conversation included:
- Fly fishing
- Triathlons
- Canoeing
- A young blonde female carpenter the Australian would 'not say no to'!
- Snakes –'they're fucking everywhere at the moment'!
- Leeches – a tale involving the Aussie finding one on his 'ball sack' and thinking he was having a period!
It was now time for food.
I walked down to Hallam's Waterfront – except I wasn't going to be eating in the 'flash' restaurant. It's takeaway for me! I ordered the Waterfront Special – flake, scallops, calamari prawns and chips. I ate it by the the Tamar and it was all good!
Once I'd eaten it was time to leave the Friday night 'revellers' of Launceston and go back to my room and sort myself out for my journey home.........
(Oh, and the football finished Adelaide 1 Gold Coast 1. The Adelaide fans are not happy!)
Beer free zone!
So that was one significant thing about today – for the first time on my trip I didn't have a single drop of beer!
I peeked out the window when I got up and the sky was blue and the sun shining.
I headed/hobbled out – my shin was still quite sore. First stop was Hudsons for a flat white and then I decided to explore Cataract Gorge. It's only a short stroll from the centre of downtown Launceston, but It's pretty spectacular. There's a bit of bushland, cliffs and the South Esk River cut through in a steep sideed gorge. Also there is an open air swimming pool which looked very appealing – the temperature was climbing. I got the chairlift from one side of the gorge to the other, had a drink amongst the peacocks(!) and then walked back in to town.
It was now time to explore the Tamar Valley, or more specifically the wineries of the Tamar Valley!
First stop was Pipers Brook Vineyard, just under an hour away. I had lunch here before I did any tasting. I ordered the 'Tasmanian Tasting Plate' which was a selection of local food – cheeses, seafood and other deli type fare. It was pretty good and went well with the Estate pinot noir that I also ordered.
It was now time for some tasting! I tried most of the wines on offer and ended up buying the Estate pinot noir. Just as I was about to leave a group of vineyard workers came in (I think they were from S.A.) – a fairly motley crew. They proceeded to taste the wines. I can't really see a similar group of men in the U.K. Appreciating wine like this!
Next stop was Jansz, which is next door to Pipers Brook. They only make sparkling wine here. The 3 I tasted were fantastic and again I walked away with a bottle.
After a quick detour to George Town, I crossed the River Tamar (on the Batman Bridge) and went to Tamar Ridge Wineries. I think this was the best winery 'experience' of the day, mainly because the guy doing the pouring was so enthusiastic. I tasted a selection of the wines. The riesling was delicious, but again I bought the flagship pinot noir, and rather randomly a dessert riesling! The dessert wine was the last one I tasted, and like the 'pouring guy' it was 'liquid gold'!
My final stop on my winery tour was Goaty Hill. This was a bit disappointing. The wines were good and the lady pouring was fine, but it was just really quiet – I was the only person there tasting. I bought the riesling which I'll have to drink tomorrow night as there's no way I've got enough luggage allowance.
I went to The Metz Bar for dinner – a calamari salad and then the 'meat lovers' pizza (from the very visible wood fired pizza oven). Predictably it was all good (have I had a bad meal?).
An early night tonight as the plan is to get to the Aquatic Centre in the morning.
I peeked out the window when I got up and the sky was blue and the sun shining.
I headed/hobbled out – my shin was still quite sore. First stop was Hudsons for a flat white and then I decided to explore Cataract Gorge. It's only a short stroll from the centre of downtown Launceston, but It's pretty spectacular. There's a bit of bushland, cliffs and the South Esk River cut through in a steep sideed gorge. Also there is an open air swimming pool which looked very appealing – the temperature was climbing. I got the chairlift from one side of the gorge to the other, had a drink amongst the peacocks(!) and then walked back in to town.
It was now time to explore the Tamar Valley, or more specifically the wineries of the Tamar Valley!
First stop was Pipers Brook Vineyard, just under an hour away. I had lunch here before I did any tasting. I ordered the 'Tasmanian Tasting Plate' which was a selection of local food – cheeses, seafood and other deli type fare. It was pretty good and went well with the Estate pinot noir that I also ordered.
It was now time for some tasting! I tried most of the wines on offer and ended up buying the Estate pinot noir. Just as I was about to leave a group of vineyard workers came in (I think they were from S.A.) – a fairly motley crew. They proceeded to taste the wines. I can't really see a similar group of men in the U.K. Appreciating wine like this!
Next stop was Jansz, which is next door to Pipers Brook. They only make sparkling wine here. The 3 I tasted were fantastic and again I walked away with a bottle.
After a quick detour to George Town, I crossed the River Tamar (on the Batman Bridge) and went to Tamar Ridge Wineries. I think this was the best winery 'experience' of the day, mainly because the guy doing the pouring was so enthusiastic. I tasted a selection of the wines. The riesling was delicious, but again I bought the flagship pinot noir, and rather randomly a dessert riesling! The dessert wine was the last one I tasted, and like the 'pouring guy' it was 'liquid gold'!
My final stop on my winery tour was Goaty Hill. This was a bit disappointing. The wines were good and the lady pouring was fine, but it was just really quiet – I was the only person there tasting. I bought the riesling which I'll have to drink tomorrow night as there's no way I've got enough luggage allowance.
I went to The Metz Bar for dinner – a calamari salad and then the 'meat lovers' pizza (from the very visible wood fired pizza oven). Predictably it was all good (have I had a bad meal?).
An early night tonight as the plan is to get to the Aquatic Centre in the morning.
Laun-ces-ton
Well that's how everybody pronounces it in these parts!
I left Devonport this morning and and on the way to Launceston I stopped off at:
Latrobe – not much to see here. Lots of old buildings and the Australian Woodchopping Hall of Fame.
Ashgrove Cheese – I tasted all of the cheeses. The one with wasabi in it is really good.
Deloraine – I stopped here for lunch. Again, not a great deal to see. I ate my lunch with a tubby dog looking at me longingly. I didn't give it any scraps.
Liffey Falls – A bit of rally style driving needed to get here. The Falls themselves were pretty tiny, but probably a geoligists/geographers wet dream.
And finally I got to Launceston at around 3pm.
I had a quick look around town. I seem to have knackered my shin – probably some kind of 'injury' associated with doing too much walking in flip-flops or Birkenstocks! Either way it bloody well hurts and it restricted how much walking I could do.
I did suss out where the Boag's brewery is and then had a walk along the banks of the River Esk.
Before dinner I had a quick beer at 'The Metz' bar. I was so hungry and the food smelt really good – nevermind, I'd earmarked a place called The Black Cow. I turned up at about 7.45pm, but was told that I'd be able to get a table at 8.30pm. Oh well, time for some more exploring and another beer!
Dinner was very good. I sat down and had a local sparkling wine as I made my choice from the menu.
As the name suggests the main feature at The Black Cow is steak. I had scallops to start and then a Porterhouse steak. It was pretty damn fine. As is obligatory here, a few glasses of local pinot noir helped to wash it down!
I left Devonport this morning and and on the way to Launceston I stopped off at:
Latrobe – not much to see here. Lots of old buildings and the Australian Woodchopping Hall of Fame.
Ashgrove Cheese – I tasted all of the cheeses. The one with wasabi in it is really good.
Deloraine – I stopped here for lunch. Again, not a great deal to see. I ate my lunch with a tubby dog looking at me longingly. I didn't give it any scraps.
Liffey Falls – A bit of rally style driving needed to get here. The Falls themselves were pretty tiny, but probably a geoligists/geographers wet dream.
And finally I got to Launceston at around 3pm.
I had a quick look around town. I seem to have knackered my shin – probably some kind of 'injury' associated with doing too much walking in flip-flops or Birkenstocks! Either way it bloody well hurts and it restricted how much walking I could do.
I did suss out where the Boag's brewery is and then had a walk along the banks of the River Esk.
Before dinner I had a quick beer at 'The Metz' bar. I was so hungry and the food smelt really good – nevermind, I'd earmarked a place called The Black Cow. I turned up at about 7.45pm, but was told that I'd be able to get a table at 8.30pm. Oh well, time for some more exploring and another beer!
Dinner was very good. I sat down and had a local sparkling wine as I made my choice from the menu.
As the name suggests the main feature at The Black Cow is steak. I had scallops to start and then a Porterhouse steak. It was pretty damn fine. As is obligatory here, a few glasses of local pinot noir helped to wash it down!
Heart Attack!
Well today should've been about my trip to Cradle Mountain. But it wasn't the scenery which caused my heart to stop!
It started so well. I got up pretty early and it was a magnificent morning – bright and sunny and the temperature around 20 degrees.
I walked in to 'down town' Devonport to get some breakfast. The plan was to get a reasonably 'substantial' breakfast in order to sustain me through my Cradle Mountain adventure!
I had look around and decided on Stonies Cafe. I got a 'Brekkie wrap' and a flat white. The 'Brekkie wrap' turned out to be bacon, sausage, fried egg and tomato in a wrap. Oh and there was an 'unwrapped' hash brown. I ate out side in the fabulous sunshine.
After my breakfast I had a quick look around town – it hadn't got anymore exciting overnight! I walked back to where I was staying and wasted no time in setting off for Cradle Mountain.
My first stop was to get some petrol.
It wasn't long after I left my motel that I was doing a mental inventory of the stuff that I'd need for my excursion in to the National Park. It dawned on me slowly that I wasn't totally sure where my camera was. Then I realised that as I walked back to the motel in the glorious sunshine I wasn't carrying my camera. Shit! I must've left it at the place where I had breakfast. Thankfully I was able to get into a car park pretty close to where I had breakfast. I sort of ran (I was wearing flip flops) to Stonies Cafe. There were a couple of women sat where I had been earlier, but no sign of my camera. I went inside the cafe and explained what I'd done. In a very nonchalant manor the girl behind the counter produced my camera, as if by magic. My heart started to beat more normally again!
I got back to my car, filled up with petrol and just over an hour later I was parked up at the Cradle Mountain 'Transit Centre' – basically a car park just outside the border of Cradle Mountain National Park.
I paid my park fees, got a map and then waited for the shuttle bus to take me to the Dove Lake car park. My plan was to do a walk that would last over 3 hours (it was just after midday when I parked up). Unfortunately this ruled out actually climbing to the summit f Cradle Mountain (c. 8 hours return). Instead I settled for the 'High Level' circuit of Dove Lake.
This walk turned out to pretty damn tough in places – really steep sections of climbing and descending. Some parts were pretty hair raising. Fortunately the weather was pretty kind – not too warm or massively sunny. I still had to slap on a load of sunblock though – very high levels of U.V. In these parts!
After my walk I stopped off at at Devil@Cradle – a Tasmanian Devil place close to the entrance of the National Park. Unfortunately when I stopped by it was the limbo time between the last Ranger lead tour and the 'Feeding' tour at 5.30pm. I wasn't going to hang around to 5.30pm.
I drove back to Devonport. My first stop was to get a shower and then it was off to Coles to get some bit and pieces for dinner (I was staying 'in' to save a bit of cash).
Back in my room I grazed on my food whilst enjoying the really good pinot noir I'd bought from Moorilla Estate on Friday.
It started so well. I got up pretty early and it was a magnificent morning – bright and sunny and the temperature around 20 degrees.
I walked in to 'down town' Devonport to get some breakfast. The plan was to get a reasonably 'substantial' breakfast in order to sustain me through my Cradle Mountain adventure!
I had look around and decided on Stonies Cafe. I got a 'Brekkie wrap' and a flat white. The 'Brekkie wrap' turned out to be bacon, sausage, fried egg and tomato in a wrap. Oh and there was an 'unwrapped' hash brown. I ate out side in the fabulous sunshine.
After my breakfast I had a quick look around town – it hadn't got anymore exciting overnight! I walked back to where I was staying and wasted no time in setting off for Cradle Mountain.
My first stop was to get some petrol.
It wasn't long after I left my motel that I was doing a mental inventory of the stuff that I'd need for my excursion in to the National Park. It dawned on me slowly that I wasn't totally sure where my camera was. Then I realised that as I walked back to the motel in the glorious sunshine I wasn't carrying my camera. Shit! I must've left it at the place where I had breakfast. Thankfully I was able to get into a car park pretty close to where I had breakfast. I sort of ran (I was wearing flip flops) to Stonies Cafe. There were a couple of women sat where I had been earlier, but no sign of my camera. I went inside the cafe and explained what I'd done. In a very nonchalant manor the girl behind the counter produced my camera, as if by magic. My heart started to beat more normally again!
I got back to my car, filled up with petrol and just over an hour later I was parked up at the Cradle Mountain 'Transit Centre' – basically a car park just outside the border of Cradle Mountain National Park.
I paid my park fees, got a map and then waited for the shuttle bus to take me to the Dove Lake car park. My plan was to do a walk that would last over 3 hours (it was just after midday when I parked up). Unfortunately this ruled out actually climbing to the summit f Cradle Mountain (c. 8 hours return). Instead I settled for the 'High Level' circuit of Dove Lake.
This walk turned out to pretty damn tough in places – really steep sections of climbing and descending. Some parts were pretty hair raising. Fortunately the weather was pretty kind – not too warm or massively sunny. I still had to slap on a load of sunblock though – very high levels of U.V. In these parts!
After my walk I stopped off at at Devil@Cradle – a Tasmanian Devil place close to the entrance of the National Park. Unfortunately when I stopped by it was the limbo time between the last Ranger lead tour and the 'Feeding' tour at 5.30pm. I wasn't going to hang around to 5.30pm.
I drove back to Devonport. My first stop was to get a shower and then it was off to Coles to get some bit and pieces for dinner (I was staying 'in' to save a bit of cash).
Back in my room I grazed on my food whilst enjoying the really good pinot noir I'd bought from Moorilla Estate on Friday.
550kms
That was the sum of what I achieved today.
I went for an early morning swim in Hobart then got in my car and headed North (well sort of North West really).
To go from Hobart to Devonport on the North coast, where I'm staying tonight, is probably about 300kms taking the most direct route. I decided that I'd 'maximise' my Tasmania experience and go via Strahan on the West coast.
Well Hobart to Strahan is about 300kms, but because of the twisty turny nature of much of the route, it took me about 4 hours to make the trip. I can't even say that I was able to admire the scenery on the way because I had to concentrate fully on the driving, and also because it lashed it down with rain for much of the trip so I could barely see what was in front of me.
Strahan itself was a bit of a non-event. Not a great deal to see, and when I turned up at just before 2pm, there weren't that many places that I could get a bite to eat. In the end I sort of settled for Banjos Bakery where I had a chicken baguette (oh, and a small sausage roll – I'd only had fruit for breakfast).
I didn't linger too long, but long enough to see a mother duck with her tiny ducklings trying to brave the water of Strahan Unfortunately I didn't have any bread to feed the 'quack quacks'!
I now had about 250kms to go before I got to Devonport. Thankfully the roads didn't have quite so many bends in them and were more what I expect in Australia – nice and straight.
As I approached the North coast the weather was transformed completely and it was now a fantastically sunny late afternoon/early evening.
I arrived in Devonport and found my motel easily enough. Rather than check-in straight away my first task was to find a bottle shop and get some James Boag's beer. I had made the significant transition from Cascade Beer country in the South to James Boag's beer territory in the North!
Once I's got my beer I checked-in, had a couple of bottles and then went out for dinner. About the only place open at 7.45pm was Danneborg (named in honour of the crown princess of Denmark who is from Tassie). I had a monster sized steak which looked fantastic, but took a bit more effort to eat than I would've liked!
After dinner I had a quick look around town (which was dead) and then walked back to my motel.
The temperature here is a little bit weird. It doesn't get heatwave hot during the day, but at night it never really gets below 15 degrees. Walking back tonight it really felt quite mild. In fact I put the air conditioning on when I got to my room. This didn't last long as it made an a terrible noise!
I went for an early morning swim in Hobart then got in my car and headed North (well sort of North West really).
To go from Hobart to Devonport on the North coast, where I'm staying tonight, is probably about 300kms taking the most direct route. I decided that I'd 'maximise' my Tasmania experience and go via Strahan on the West coast.
Well Hobart to Strahan is about 300kms, but because of the twisty turny nature of much of the route, it took me about 4 hours to make the trip. I can't even say that I was able to admire the scenery on the way because I had to concentrate fully on the driving, and also because it lashed it down with rain for much of the trip so I could barely see what was in front of me.
Strahan itself was a bit of a non-event. Not a great deal to see, and when I turned up at just before 2pm, there weren't that many places that I could get a bite to eat. In the end I sort of settled for Banjos Bakery where I had a chicken baguette (oh, and a small sausage roll – I'd only had fruit for breakfast).
I didn't linger too long, but long enough to see a mother duck with her tiny ducklings trying to brave the water of Strahan Unfortunately I didn't have any bread to feed the 'quack quacks'!
I now had about 250kms to go before I got to Devonport. Thankfully the roads didn't have quite so many bends in them and were more what I expect in Australia – nice and straight.
As I approached the North coast the weather was transformed completely and it was now a fantastically sunny late afternoon/early evening.
I arrived in Devonport and found my motel easily enough. Rather than check-in straight away my first task was to find a bottle shop and get some James Boag's beer. I had made the significant transition from Cascade Beer country in the South to James Boag's beer territory in the North!
Once I's got my beer I checked-in, had a couple of bottles and then went out for dinner. About the only place open at 7.45pm was Danneborg (named in honour of the crown princess of Denmark who is from Tassie). I had a monster sized steak which looked fantastic, but took a bit more effort to eat than I would've liked!
After dinner I had a quick look around town (which was dead) and then walked back to my motel.
The temperature here is a little bit weird. It doesn't get heatwave hot during the day, but at night it never really gets below 15 degrees. Walking back tonight it really felt quite mild. In fact I put the air conditioning on when I got to my room. This didn't last long as it made an a terrible noise!
Gluttony
Well inadvertently today has been about food!
I blame it on the fact that I went for a swim this morning, which psychologically gave me the green light to eat as much as I wanted. Also on the news today was a piece about how the 2,500 calories per day guidance for men is out of date and how it should be more like 3,000. Well I guess I might have exceeded that!
First off, after my swim I went to Retro Cafe in Salamanca Place and had the 'sourdough stack' – this was some big chunks of sourdough toast topped with a couple of poached eggs, wilted spinach, a grilled tomato and salsa. It was just the job!
After my breakfast I did part of the LP walking tour of Battery Point. A bit of a waste of time in my opinion – I don't need anymore pictures of old Australian houses!
It was now approaching midday, so almost time for a beer! After my failure yesterday, I tried again with the Cascade Brewery visitor centre. Rather than walk, I drove and this time I was successful! I bought a few bits and bobs from the shop ad tried a couple of beers – Cascade Green (carbon neutral and very crisp) and Cascade First Harvest (quite 'hoppy'). The visitor and gardens were pretty cool really.
Suitably refreshed, I jumped in my car and thought I'd drive out to Sandy Bay (before anyone thinks I was probably 'under the influence' I'd like to point out I only had half a pint of each beer). There didn't appear to be anything at Sandy Bay apart from a casino. Oh well, not a totally wasted trip as I picked up some provisions from Coles.
Time for lunch. I wasn't too far from Battery Point so it didn't take long to park outside Jackman & McRoss. According to the LP Guide it's a 'local institution' (or maybe it's a 'lively neighbourhood cafe' – I can't remember). Anyway it does good food. I had a Venison and Blackcurrant Pie with Salad. The pie was awesome – really meaty and the blackcurrants really added to the flavour. On my way out I got a chocolate and hazelnut brownie to eat later.
I had planned to have a 'flashy' seafood meal tonight, but I was rapidly re-thinking my plans. For a start I'm not sure how hungry I'd be later!
The weather had changed from a nice sunny, warm morning, to a cold drizzly afternoon. I sought shelter in a coffee shop and surreptitiously ate my brownie (really good).
By now the weather had changed again – the sky had brightened up and the sun was threatening to come out. I thought I'd better 'walk off' some of the food I'd eaten, so I went up to the Queens Domain, an area of parkland just North of my hotel. I ended up walking most of the Soldier's Memorial Walk – this is a walk which takes you past the 510 trees that were planted in 1918 to commemorate Tasmanian soldiers killed in WWI. Each tree commemorates an individual soldier and has a plaque which has information about the soldier and where and how they died.
I ended up in North Hobart and walked the few kms back to my hotel, picking up some beer from the bottle shop on the way.
After my longish walk, my appetite was starting to make a reappearance. However, I couldn't face a formal meal. So I went for a curry!
In my walk through North Hobart I'd picked up a menu for a restaurant called Annapurna. It looked good and I knew they had another restaurant in Salamanca Place. So that's where I ended up going. I had Fish Amritsari to start (sort of like tandoori fish) and then Goan prawn curry. Both were really good. In fact the curry was excellent, and the prawns were just so big and juicy!
After all I've eaten today I definitely think I need to get down to the Aquatic Centre in the morning!
I blame it on the fact that I went for a swim this morning, which psychologically gave me the green light to eat as much as I wanted. Also on the news today was a piece about how the 2,500 calories per day guidance for men is out of date and how it should be more like 3,000. Well I guess I might have exceeded that!
First off, after my swim I went to Retro Cafe in Salamanca Place and had the 'sourdough stack' – this was some big chunks of sourdough toast topped with a couple of poached eggs, wilted spinach, a grilled tomato and salsa. It was just the job!
After my breakfast I did part of the LP walking tour of Battery Point. A bit of a waste of time in my opinion – I don't need anymore pictures of old Australian houses!
It was now approaching midday, so almost time for a beer! After my failure yesterday, I tried again with the Cascade Brewery visitor centre. Rather than walk, I drove and this time I was successful! I bought a few bits and bobs from the shop ad tried a couple of beers – Cascade Green (carbon neutral and very crisp) and Cascade First Harvest (quite 'hoppy'). The visitor and gardens were pretty cool really.
Suitably refreshed, I jumped in my car and thought I'd drive out to Sandy Bay (before anyone thinks I was probably 'under the influence' I'd like to point out I only had half a pint of each beer). There didn't appear to be anything at Sandy Bay apart from a casino. Oh well, not a totally wasted trip as I picked up some provisions from Coles.
Time for lunch. I wasn't too far from Battery Point so it didn't take long to park outside Jackman & McRoss. According to the LP Guide it's a 'local institution' (or maybe it's a 'lively neighbourhood cafe' – I can't remember). Anyway it does good food. I had a Venison and Blackcurrant Pie with Salad. The pie was awesome – really meaty and the blackcurrants really added to the flavour. On my way out I got a chocolate and hazelnut brownie to eat later.
I had planned to have a 'flashy' seafood meal tonight, but I was rapidly re-thinking my plans. For a start I'm not sure how hungry I'd be later!
The weather had changed from a nice sunny, warm morning, to a cold drizzly afternoon. I sought shelter in a coffee shop and surreptitiously ate my brownie (really good).
By now the weather had changed again – the sky had brightened up and the sun was threatening to come out. I thought I'd better 'walk off' some of the food I'd eaten, so I went up to the Queens Domain, an area of parkland just North of my hotel. I ended up walking most of the Soldier's Memorial Walk – this is a walk which takes you past the 510 trees that were planted in 1918 to commemorate Tasmanian soldiers killed in WWI. Each tree commemorates an individual soldier and has a plaque which has information about the soldier and where and how they died.
I ended up in North Hobart and walked the few kms back to my hotel, picking up some beer from the bottle shop on the way.
After my longish walk, my appetite was starting to make a reappearance. However, I couldn't face a formal meal. So I went for a curry!
In my walk through North Hobart I'd picked up a menu for a restaurant called Annapurna. It looked good and I knew they had another restaurant in Salamanca Place. So that's where I ended up going. I had Fish Amritsari to start (sort of like tandoori fish) and then Goan prawn curry. Both were really good. In fact the curry was excellent, and the prawns were just so big and juicy!
After all I've eaten today I definitely think I need to get down to the Aquatic Centre in the morning!
Salamanca Market & other stuff...
First of all an admission – I'm writing this under the influence of three quarters of a bottle of pretty delicious Goaty Hill, Riesling 2008. It really is a very nice wine, very fruit driven with subtle minerality (yes I aspire to be a wine ponce).
I was planning on going for a swim this morning. Somehow that didn't happen. I sort of woke up at the time I planned, but I just wasn't in the mood for thrashing up and down a 50m pool with a load of, no doubt, Olympic standard Australians!
So instead I was able to get to Salamanca market nice and early. This market gets full on coverage in all the guide books. It's hard to categorise the stall holders as pretty much anything goes. There is a very hippyish feel to it and there are a fair few 'freaks' of all ages in attendance. I was expecting more of a farmers market, but whilst there were a few stalls selling fruit and veg, jam, honey etc., these were considerably outnumbered by other stalls.
I got a latte and then a bratwurst with sauerkraut for breakfast (I did also get a bowl of mixed berries as well as some really good apples).
I spent a fair bit of time just wandering around the market and people watching. By the time I left the beer festival was just getting going. There was quite a decent queue building up not long after midday – it'll definitely be messy later!
I went back to my hotel to drop off some stuff and then went to get some lunch. I went to Mures 'Lower Deck' and had an 'Asian Style' stir fry of fish, scallops, mussels and squid. Very tasty and all washed down with the mandatory bottle of Cascade!
I was caught in two minds as to what to do in the afternoon. In the end I decided to walk the 4kms to the Cascade Brewery in South Hobart. I wish I hadn't bothered. The visitor centre was closed because of a wedding, and I couldn't even get a good picture of the brewery because of where the sun was! I schlepped back to downtown Hobart and picked up some stuff for dinner. I'd decided I couldn't face eating on my own on a Saturday night, so I got a large salad from Salad Bowl (a combo of beetroot, roasted pumpkin and green bean salads).
On the way back to my hotel I dropped into the 9/11 bottle shop just next to my hotel. Boy what a great place – the selection of beer and wine was incredible. I really can't think of anything comparable in the U.K. After a bit of deliberation I got the Goaty Hill Riesling as mentioned earlier (it's from a winery I'd earmarked as one to try when I go 'up North').
It was still too early 'retire to my room', so I want back down to the waterfront to get an early evening, refreshing pint of Cascade. The beer festival was still going strong, and as predicted there were a few people the worse for wear!
I was planning on going for a swim this morning. Somehow that didn't happen. I sort of woke up at the time I planned, but I just wasn't in the mood for thrashing up and down a 50m pool with a load of, no doubt, Olympic standard Australians!
So instead I was able to get to Salamanca market nice and early. This market gets full on coverage in all the guide books. It's hard to categorise the stall holders as pretty much anything goes. There is a very hippyish feel to it and there are a fair few 'freaks' of all ages in attendance. I was expecting more of a farmers market, but whilst there were a few stalls selling fruit and veg, jam, honey etc., these were considerably outnumbered by other stalls.
I got a latte and then a bratwurst with sauerkraut for breakfast (I did also get a bowl of mixed berries as well as some really good apples).
I spent a fair bit of time just wandering around the market and people watching. By the time I left the beer festival was just getting going. There was quite a decent queue building up not long after midday – it'll definitely be messy later!
I went back to my hotel to drop off some stuff and then went to get some lunch. I went to Mures 'Lower Deck' and had an 'Asian Style' stir fry of fish, scallops, mussels and squid. Very tasty and all washed down with the mandatory bottle of Cascade!
I was caught in two minds as to what to do in the afternoon. In the end I decided to walk the 4kms to the Cascade Brewery in South Hobart. I wish I hadn't bothered. The visitor centre was closed because of a wedding, and I couldn't even get a good picture of the brewery because of where the sun was! I schlepped back to downtown Hobart and picked up some stuff for dinner. I'd decided I couldn't face eating on my own on a Saturday night, so I got a large salad from Salad Bowl (a combo of beetroot, roasted pumpkin and green bean salads).
On the way back to my hotel I dropped into the 9/11 bottle shop just next to my hotel. Boy what a great place – the selection of beer and wine was incredible. I really can't think of anything comparable in the U.K. After a bit of deliberation I got the Goaty Hill Riesling as mentioned earlier (it's from a winery I'd earmarked as one to try when I go 'up North').
It was still too early 'retire to my room', so I want back down to the waterfront to get an early evening, refreshing pint of Cascade. The beer festival was still going strong, and as predicted there were a few people the worse for wear!
Thursday, 19 November 2009
Hobart
A pretty packed day today.
I got up feeling decidedly average – no doubt a result of the beer, pinot noir and muscat I'd had the previus evening!
After checking out of the motel I got a flat white, filled up my car with petrol and then set off, with Hobart as my final destination.
I headed North first and then in land and then picked up the 'Heritage Highway' South. Along the way I stopped at these places:
Lake Leake – this got it's own little section in the LP Guide. Not sure why as it wasn't really worth the little detour of the main road. It was basically just a lake.
Campbell Town – A pretty vibrant town on the 'Heritage Highway'. There is a convict built brick bridge from 1838 which hasn't 'required any repairs or maintenance' since. I got lunch from a place called Zeps (a toasted chicken and pesto panini).
Ross – The highway doesn't go through Ross anymore. There are some heritage buildings, another convict bridge which is a couple of years older than the one in Campbell Town and a crossroads known as the 'Four Corners of Ross' because your soul could go in four directions – temptation, salvation, recreation or damnation (represented by a pub, church, town hall and old gaol at each corner).
Moorilla Estate – This very flash winery is about 10kms or so North of Hobart. The 'cellar door' and attached restaurant looked very impressive. I tasted four wines – a riesling, sauvignon and two pinot noirs (I ended up buying the Praxis pinot). Also I tasted their Moo Brew beer – a pilsner, weissbeer, pale ale and dark ale. All were very drinkable apart from the dark ale. I also tasted some specially brewed stout which, I guess, tasted a bit like Guinness.
Mount Wellington – I actually drove through Hobart to get to the summit of Mt. Wellington, which overlooks Hobart and the Derwent River estuary. Really good views.
Finally it was time to go into Hobart properly.
I found my hotel fine, unloaded my car and headed out. The whole waterfront area was pretty lively with Friday evening drinkers. I got a beer from the Knoppswood Retreat. For dinner I had some fish (and calamari) and chips from a floating 'fish punt' – literally a floating fish and chip shop.
At the Moorilla Estate I'd been told about the beer festival that was taking place in Hobart this weekend. On my way to fish punt I'd walked past where it was taking place, so decided to have look after I'd eaten. The guy at Moorilla had said it was a trade day today, but it turned out anybody could actually go in. Which is what I did. The entrance fee was $10 which got me four 'tasting' vouchers. I started on my tasting session!
After expanding my beer experience it was time to get some sleep.
I got up feeling decidedly average – no doubt a result of the beer, pinot noir and muscat I'd had the previus evening!
After checking out of the motel I got a flat white, filled up my car with petrol and then set off, with Hobart as my final destination.
I headed North first and then in land and then picked up the 'Heritage Highway' South. Along the way I stopped at these places:
Lake Leake – this got it's own little section in the LP Guide. Not sure why as it wasn't really worth the little detour of the main road. It was basically just a lake.
Campbell Town – A pretty vibrant town on the 'Heritage Highway'. There is a convict built brick bridge from 1838 which hasn't 'required any repairs or maintenance' since. I got lunch from a place called Zeps (a toasted chicken and pesto panini).
Ross – The highway doesn't go through Ross anymore. There are some heritage buildings, another convict bridge which is a couple of years older than the one in Campbell Town and a crossroads known as the 'Four Corners of Ross' because your soul could go in four directions – temptation, salvation, recreation or damnation (represented by a pub, church, town hall and old gaol at each corner).
Moorilla Estate – This very flash winery is about 10kms or so North of Hobart. The 'cellar door' and attached restaurant looked very impressive. I tasted four wines – a riesling, sauvignon and two pinot noirs (I ended up buying the Praxis pinot). Also I tasted their Moo Brew beer – a pilsner, weissbeer, pale ale and dark ale. All were very drinkable apart from the dark ale. I also tasted some specially brewed stout which, I guess, tasted a bit like Guinness.
Mount Wellington – I actually drove through Hobart to get to the summit of Mt. Wellington, which overlooks Hobart and the Derwent River estuary. Really good views.
Finally it was time to go into Hobart properly.
I found my hotel fine, unloaded my car and headed out. The whole waterfront area was pretty lively with Friday evening drinkers. I got a beer from the Knoppswood Retreat. For dinner I had some fish (and calamari) and chips from a floating 'fish punt' – literally a floating fish and chip shop.
At the Moorilla Estate I'd been told about the beer festival that was taking place in Hobart this weekend. On my way to fish punt I'd walked past where it was taking place, so decided to have look after I'd eaten. The guy at Moorilla had said it was a trade day today, but it turned out anybody could actually go in. Which is what I did. The entrance fee was $10 which got me four 'tasting' vouchers. I started on my tasting session!
After expanding my beer experience it was time to get some sleep.
Rain!
Unbelievable. The day I wanted to be super sunny so that I can take some amazing pictures of Wineglass Bay starts off with a grey skies and a light drizzle.
Nevermind, hopefully it'll clear up later.
I walked down to the Barkmill Bakery for breakfast. For some reason I had to wait ages for my ham, cheese and tomato croissant to be toasted. Not that I was in a hurry as I want to give the rain enough of a chance to clear away.
Wineglass Bay is in Freycinit National Park which is about 80kms from where I'm staying in Swansea. On the way there I stop off a couple of times to fuel myself for the the apparently strenuous walk to the Bay. First stop was Freycinet Marine Farm for a dozen oysters – they were massive and really good. The next stop was the Freycinet Bakery where I picked up a seafood pie – sort of like fish pie but encased in real pastry.
After my pitstops I paid my park fees and set off on the walk to Wineglass Bay.
The walk was uphill for the first part and then downhill, all on fairly uneven, rocky ground. It made me laugh looking at the footwear that some people had on.
When I got to the Bay I was disappointed that it was still cloudy. The sand was really white, but it's unlikely to look good photographed when the sky above is overcast.
I walked the full length of the beach which took about an hour – I need the exercise to justify the meal I'm planning on having tonight! The oddest thing I saw on the beach was a dead seal that had been washed up. No Canadians with clubs anywhere to be seen.
Rather than simply retrace my steps to the carpark, I took a route via 'the Hazards' – an 8km walk on 'variable, undulating' terrain.
When I got back to the carpark there were a couple of wallabies with joeys rummaging around for food. The joeys were really cool – they'd go off and do some exploring and then duck back into their mother's pouch. Maybe for a quick snack of milk? The joeys looked quite big and it was a bit of a struggle when they wanted to get in the pouch for real. When they were in it was a struggle for their mothers to 'bounce around'.
After I got back to the motel I had a quick shower and headed out for dinner. I was going to try The Banc which seemed to be the 'best' restaurant in town – the menu certainly looked good! My effort to get a table was unsuccessful as they didn't have a table. The place was rammed. I came back at 8.30pm and this time I was seated. The reason why the place was so busy became clear as they had a special Thursday night deal – a starter, main and a glass of wine for $25.
I decided to stick to the regular menu and ordered Banc duck sausage on puy lentils to start and then Sassafrass lamb with mint sauce and green beans, carrots and potatoes (except it was described more elaborately on the menu). This was washed down with a few glasses of local pinot noir. To complete my meal I had the cheese plate and a glass of Rutherglen muscat. Yum yum!
Nevermind, hopefully it'll clear up later.
I walked down to the Barkmill Bakery for breakfast. For some reason I had to wait ages for my ham, cheese and tomato croissant to be toasted. Not that I was in a hurry as I want to give the rain enough of a chance to clear away.
Wineglass Bay is in Freycinit National Park which is about 80kms from where I'm staying in Swansea. On the way there I stop off a couple of times to fuel myself for the the apparently strenuous walk to the Bay. First stop was Freycinet Marine Farm for a dozen oysters – they were massive and really good. The next stop was the Freycinet Bakery where I picked up a seafood pie – sort of like fish pie but encased in real pastry.
After my pitstops I paid my park fees and set off on the walk to Wineglass Bay.
The walk was uphill for the first part and then downhill, all on fairly uneven, rocky ground. It made me laugh looking at the footwear that some people had on.
When I got to the Bay I was disappointed that it was still cloudy. The sand was really white, but it's unlikely to look good photographed when the sky above is overcast.
I walked the full length of the beach which took about an hour – I need the exercise to justify the meal I'm planning on having tonight! The oddest thing I saw on the beach was a dead seal that had been washed up. No Canadians with clubs anywhere to be seen.
Rather than simply retrace my steps to the carpark, I took a route via 'the Hazards' – an 8km walk on 'variable, undulating' terrain.
When I got back to the carpark there were a couple of wallabies with joeys rummaging around for food. The joeys were really cool – they'd go off and do some exploring and then duck back into their mother's pouch. Maybe for a quick snack of milk? The joeys looked quite big and it was a bit of a struggle when they wanted to get in the pouch for real. When they were in it was a struggle for their mothers to 'bounce around'.
After I got back to the motel I had a quick shower and headed out for dinner. I was going to try The Banc which seemed to be the 'best' restaurant in town – the menu certainly looked good! My effort to get a table was unsuccessful as they didn't have a table. The place was rammed. I came back at 8.30pm and this time I was seated. The reason why the place was so busy became clear as they had a special Thursday night deal – a starter, main and a glass of wine for $25.
I decided to stick to the regular menu and ordered Banc duck sausage on puy lentils to start and then Sassafrass lamb with mint sauce and green beans, carrots and potatoes (except it was described more elaborately on the menu). This was washed down with a few glasses of local pinot noir. To complete my meal I had the cheese plate and a glass of Rutherglen muscat. Yum yum!
Summer Survival Guide
There's a new series starting up here called something like 'Your Summer Survival Guide'. The temperatures in Adelaide have been around 39 degrees since I've been is Australia – and it's still meant to be Spring! God knows how you're supposed to 'survive' if it gets much hotter than that.
Cascade/Boag's Divide
There are two main breweries in Tasmania – Cascade in Hobart and Boag's in Launceston. There's apparently a distinct North/South divide where the places North of the divide serve only Boag's beer and those in the South only have Cascade.
Bicheno supposedly is on the border, which would make Swansea, where I'm staying, a Cascade town. I think things are not as clear cut nowadays, since all the places I've been in have had both Boag's and Cascade beers and people have been drinking both.
Bicheno supposedly is on the border, which would make Swansea, where I'm staying, a Cascade town. I think things are not as clear cut nowadays, since all the places I've been in have had both Boag's and Cascade beers and people have been drinking both.
Tiger Woods
Well he arrived in Melbourne on the same day that I did. Surprisingly I didn't have a camera crew at the airport waiting for me. Also I couldn't rustle up a private jet to make the trip.
On every news bulletin since I've been here there's been a slot on Tiger. Yesterday 5,000 people queued up at 6am to watch him play 9 practice holes!
All the news has had a tone that it's a really big deal that Tiger has come to Oz. Apparently he's been paid an 'appearance fee' of AUD 3 million to be here - I think that's the real reason he's here!
On every news bulletin since I've been here there's been a slot on Tiger. Yesterday 5,000 people queued up at 6am to watch him play 9 practice holes!
All the news has had a tone that it's a really big deal that Tiger has come to Oz. Apparently he's been paid an 'appearance fee' of AUD 3 million to be here - I think that's the real reason he's here!
I'm in Swansea!
I didn't set an alarm this morning and instead was woken up by the sound of a revving Harley Davidson. There's apparently a Harley Davidson 'festival' this coming weekend and everywhere I've been there has been motorcyclists.
I eventually struggled out of bed just after 8am. I had no idea where to get breakfast, but I did know that I needed some caffeine to spark me awake. Just down the road from my motel there was a cafe where I got a flat white. The breakfast options were a bit naff so I didn't bother.
Over my drink I sort of planned my day. I also got a bit spooked out overhearing a conversation about snakes biting and killing pet dogs! I quickly checked the section in the Lonely Planet Guide about venomous creatures. Apparently there are three types of poisonous snake and a few types of lethal spider in Tasmania. Great.
Now that I was awake (and knew vaguely what to do in the event of a snake bite) I got in my little Nissan and hit the road to Bicheno, about 50kms up the coast. On the way I popped into a bakery for a sausage roll – my breakfast!
Bicheno is more small town Oz. It has coastal walk, bleached white sand beaches and a blow hole. I did some parts of the coastal walk, but didn't like the bits where you had to walk through ankle high grass. No snakes thankfully.
The blow hole was quite cool, but difficult to take any pictures of – it was unpredictable as to when it would 'blow'.
Now it was time to hit up the first winery of my trip. On the way back to Swansea there is the Freycinet vineyard which does good sparkling wines. Unfortunately when I turned up the sparkling wine wasn't available for tasting. Instead I tried a couple of their whites – a riesling and a chardonnay, and two of their pinot noirs. None really took my fancy so I ended up buying the sparking wine. Not cheap though at $50!
I hadn't had any lunch so before I went back to my motel I went to Kate's Berry Farm. I had an amazing slice of 'Humbled Berry Pie' with cream and ice cream. Really good stuff.
A couple of hours later it was time for dinner!
I walked down the road to the Barkmill Tavern. I had the 'Barkmill special pizza' a salad and a couple of 'pots' of Cascade Draught. It was quite interesting watching people come in for a meal and then walk out with a bottle of wine from the bottle shop. People who bought white wine would buy it before their meal, and get it chilled whilst they ate.
I eventually struggled out of bed just after 8am. I had no idea where to get breakfast, but I did know that I needed some caffeine to spark me awake. Just down the road from my motel there was a cafe where I got a flat white. The breakfast options were a bit naff so I didn't bother.
Over my drink I sort of planned my day. I also got a bit spooked out overhearing a conversation about snakes biting and killing pet dogs! I quickly checked the section in the Lonely Planet Guide about venomous creatures. Apparently there are three types of poisonous snake and a few types of lethal spider in Tasmania. Great.
Now that I was awake (and knew vaguely what to do in the event of a snake bite) I got in my little Nissan and hit the road to Bicheno, about 50kms up the coast. On the way I popped into a bakery for a sausage roll – my breakfast!
Bicheno is more small town Oz. It has coastal walk, bleached white sand beaches and a blow hole. I did some parts of the coastal walk, but didn't like the bits where you had to walk through ankle high grass. No snakes thankfully.
The blow hole was quite cool, but difficult to take any pictures of – it was unpredictable as to when it would 'blow'.
Now it was time to hit up the first winery of my trip. On the way back to Swansea there is the Freycinet vineyard which does good sparkling wines. Unfortunately when I turned up the sparkling wine wasn't available for tasting. Instead I tried a couple of their whites – a riesling and a chardonnay, and two of their pinot noirs. None really took my fancy so I ended up buying the sparking wine. Not cheap though at $50!
I hadn't had any lunch so before I went back to my motel I went to Kate's Berry Farm. I had an amazing slice of 'Humbled Berry Pie' with cream and ice cream. Really good stuff.
A couple of hours later it was time for dinner!
I walked down the road to the Barkmill Tavern. I had the 'Barkmill special pizza' a salad and a couple of 'pots' of Cascade Draught. It was quite interesting watching people come in for a meal and then walk out with a bottle of wine from the bottle shop. People who bought white wine would buy it before their meal, and get it chilled whilst they ate.
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
Tasmania (at last)!
fter a crazy early start (4.50am alarm call) I left my hotel and checked in for my 7.05am flight to Hobart. We were a bit delayed leaving Melbourne as a crew member had called in sick so a reserve had to be tracked down.
It was a very short flight to Hobart (less than an hour). On our approach to the airport it was obvious that the weather was very different from Melbourne – there was plenty of low cloud around for a start. On the ground the temperature was much much lower than the forecast Melbourne temperature of 34 degrees!
I picked up my hire car (a Nissan Tiida) and set off for Port Arthur, about 85kms South of Hobart airport. According to the tourist bumph, Port Arthur is one of Australia's 'most significant historic sites' – the ruins of a former 'key element of the Australian prison system'. All good interesting stuff. Included in the admission price was a short boat trip which was a bit pointless, and a guided walking tour which was good and would've been even better if it was longer. The guide in the group I was in was really good.
After spending about 3 hours at the site it was time for lunch. I stopped off at Eucalypt, just by the entrance/exit to Port Arthur – I had a roasted pumpkin and chickpea salad. My salad was tasty, but not as filling as I'd hoped. Luckily, I'd passed a bakery on the way down and I thought a curried scallop pie (a Tasmanian delicacy) would fill me up! The pie was 'interesting' – I might have to try another one whilst I'm here so that my survey is more statistically representative!
After my double lunch effort I continued on my way up the East coast to Swansea. The drive was pretty dull and the low cloud was a bit disappointing (it had threatened to get sunny earlier).
I got to Swansea and checked in at my motel. I'm spending 3 nights here as it seems like a decent base for the area.
Swansea itself looks like typical small-town tourist Australia. I had a quick look up and down the main street, but it was pretty dead. Luckily there was a bottle shop next to my motel and the restaurant opposite had a decent looking menu.
After a cold Cascade in my room I went over the road for dinner. My local scallops and squid with masala salsa was just the job!
It was a very short flight to Hobart (less than an hour). On our approach to the airport it was obvious that the weather was very different from Melbourne – there was plenty of low cloud around for a start. On the ground the temperature was much much lower than the forecast Melbourne temperature of 34 degrees!
I picked up my hire car (a Nissan Tiida) and set off for Port Arthur, about 85kms South of Hobart airport. According to the tourist bumph, Port Arthur is one of Australia's 'most significant historic sites' – the ruins of a former 'key element of the Australian prison system'. All good interesting stuff. Included in the admission price was a short boat trip which was a bit pointless, and a guided walking tour which was good and would've been even better if it was longer. The guide in the group I was in was really good.
After spending about 3 hours at the site it was time for lunch. I stopped off at Eucalypt, just by the entrance/exit to Port Arthur – I had a roasted pumpkin and chickpea salad. My salad was tasty, but not as filling as I'd hoped. Luckily, I'd passed a bakery on the way down and I thought a curried scallop pie (a Tasmanian delicacy) would fill me up! The pie was 'interesting' – I might have to try another one whilst I'm here so that my survey is more statistically representative!
After my double lunch effort I continued on my way up the East coast to Swansea. The drive was pretty dull and the low cloud was a bit disappointing (it had threatened to get sunny earlier).
I got to Swansea and checked in at my motel. I'm spending 3 nights here as it seems like a decent base for the area.
Swansea itself looks like typical small-town tourist Australia. I had a quick look up and down the main street, but it was pretty dead. Luckily there was a bottle shop next to my motel and the restaurant opposite had a decent looking menu.
After a cold Cascade in my room I went over the road for dinner. My local scallops and squid with masala salsa was just the job!
A Lovely Spring Day!
Yes it was a positively spring like 30 degrees today. And wall to wall sunshine.
I had a quick scoot around central Melbourne, mainly looking for a place to get a bite to eat. I ended up having a Turkish flatbread sandwich from the food hall in Myers.
After lunch I went to the post office to stock up on stamps (I'm anticipating a fair amount of postcards), and then went to Federation Square. The last time I was in Melbourne 8 years ago Federation Square was just a building site. It's obviously finished now, but I'm not really sure what it is! It has some bars and restaurants, but it doesn't appear to be a shopping centre (or at least the bit I quickly saw). Also architecturally it's a bit of a damp sqib.
Anyway time to get to St. Kilda.
I jumped on a tram opposite Flinders Street station and after a short trip I was at St. Kilda. I walked along Fitzroy St. which I'm sure is the road where we had the infamous/massive pasta meal in 2001. It certainly looked very familiar. I then arrived at the beach. It was really busy for 4.00pm on a Monday afternoon – work shy Aussies, or youngsters just out of school? Lots of people were sunbathing which surprised me.
Once I was done with the beach I found the street that was just round the corner from where we stayed in 2001. Lots of cool bars, restaurants and cake shops – just like I remembered.
After feeling the force of the sun during the afternoon I decided to get some more sunblock. After a quick visit to Woolworths I figured it was time for an afternoon beer, and what better place than the (famous) Esplanade Hotel/Pub?
I had a couple of pots and then got some food – a Falafel salad.
The combination of jetlag, beers and afternoon sun was creeping up on me, so it was time to get back to my hotel and grab some proper sleep. In a bed!!!
I had a quick scoot around central Melbourne, mainly looking for a place to get a bite to eat. I ended up having a Turkish flatbread sandwich from the food hall in Myers.
After lunch I went to the post office to stock up on stamps (I'm anticipating a fair amount of postcards), and then went to Federation Square. The last time I was in Melbourne 8 years ago Federation Square was just a building site. It's obviously finished now, but I'm not really sure what it is! It has some bars and restaurants, but it doesn't appear to be a shopping centre (or at least the bit I quickly saw). Also architecturally it's a bit of a damp sqib.
Anyway time to get to St. Kilda.
I jumped on a tram opposite Flinders Street station and after a short trip I was at St. Kilda. I walked along Fitzroy St. which I'm sure is the road where we had the infamous/massive pasta meal in 2001. It certainly looked very familiar. I then arrived at the beach. It was really busy for 4.00pm on a Monday afternoon – work shy Aussies, or youngsters just out of school? Lots of people were sunbathing which surprised me.
Once I was done with the beach I found the street that was just round the corner from where we stayed in 2001. Lots of cool bars, restaurants and cake shops – just like I remembered.
After feeling the force of the sun during the afternoon I decided to get some more sunblock. After a quick visit to Woolworths I figured it was time for an afternoon beer, and what better place than the (famous) Esplanade Hotel/Pub?
I had a couple of pots and then got some food – a Falafel salad.
The combination of jetlag, beers and afternoon sun was creeping up on me, so it was time to get back to my hotel and grab some proper sleep. In a bed!!!
SIN to MEL
The flight to Melbourne passed by quickly enough. I was practically falling a sleep before we took-off and dozed off-and-on almost all the way. I woke up for breakfast, and actually felt pretty good.
We landed on time but then had to wait 20 minutes for an Emirates plane to vacate the gate. Immigration was straightforward and the queue for customs was long, but moved quickly. In no time at all I was in the arrivals hall where I grabbed a latte and an orange juice. I killed a bit of time before walking across the bridge from the airport terminal to the hotel I was staying at (Hilton Melbourne Airport).
I was pleasantly surprised when I was able to check-in early. After a quick shower I was off out again and on the SkyBus in to the city.
We landed on time but then had to wait 20 minutes for an Emirates plane to vacate the gate. Immigration was straightforward and the queue for customs was long, but moved quickly. In no time at all I was in the arrivals hall where I grabbed a latte and an orange juice. I killed a bit of time before walking across the bridge from the airport terminal to the hotel I was staying at (Hilton Melbourne Airport).
I was pleasantly surprised when I was able to check-in early. After a quick shower I was off out again and on the SkyBus in to the city.
Singapore Transit
After I'd completed my one 'to do' in Singapore (getting stuff for Catherine) I was at a bit of a loose end as to what to do. It was really hot and sunny and I was feeling the affects of lack of sleep and the time zone change. I really couldn't be arsed with aimlessly wandering through shopping malls.
I did check out the new ION mall on Orchard Road. Apart from being shiny and new it just seemed to be the same as all the other 'high end' shopping places. I didn't bother going to the food court in it as it was too busy (and I'd already had Nasi Padang at Wisma Atria).
At this point I decided a nice refreshing beer would be the order of the day! It was about 4.30pm and I thought I'd go over to Brewerkz and take advantage of their lower happy hour prices. I had a bit of good luck because literally the instant I got to Brewerkz it absolutely chucked it down with rain. It was a short, but pretty intense downpour, but I was safely undercover enjoying a few pints of 'Golden Ale'!
The beer, was definitely refreshing, but it also added to my feeling of tiredness. Time for food and then to get back to the airport. I had been a bit unsure as to whether to go to Lau Pa Sat for satays, but in the end thats what I ended up doing. The satay stalls were just getting going when I got there just before 7pm. Thirty satays later (10 each of beef, mutton and chicken), I was 'done' with Singapore and got the MRT back to the airport.
I did check out the new ION mall on Orchard Road. Apart from being shiny and new it just seemed to be the same as all the other 'high end' shopping places. I didn't bother going to the food court in it as it was too busy (and I'd already had Nasi Padang at Wisma Atria).
At this point I decided a nice refreshing beer would be the order of the day! It was about 4.30pm and I thought I'd go over to Brewerkz and take advantage of their lower happy hour prices. I had a bit of good luck because literally the instant I got to Brewerkz it absolutely chucked it down with rain. It was a short, but pretty intense downpour, but I was safely undercover enjoying a few pints of 'Golden Ale'!
The beer, was definitely refreshing, but it also added to my feeling of tiredness. Time for food and then to get back to the airport. I had been a bit unsure as to whether to go to Lau Pa Sat for satays, but in the end thats what I ended up doing. The satay stalls were just getting going when I got there just before 7pm. Thirty satays later (10 each of beef, mutton and chicken), I was 'done' with Singapore and got the MRT back to the airport.
Sunday, 8 November 2009
A refreshing dip?
The last time I was in transit through Singapore I was feeling like death warmed up - too much champagne/wine/food/everything on my first class flight from London en route to Tokyo.
This time I didnt have a hangover, but I was flagging a bit from lack of sleep.
The swim was hard work. Also I had to concentrate on what was in front of me as it was a bit of a free for all - I couldn't just get in to a steady rhytmn.
The pool was busier than I expected for 9.30am on a Sunday. I guess it was people getting a swim in while the weather was good and before the sun had a chance to warm the water up too much.
I did feel better after I'd finished and I particularly enjoyed the cool shower I had before I got changed. I took my time in the shower and didn't rush getting dressed so that I had a chance to cool down properly. To be honest it didn't make much difference as the weather was really hot and sunny and even walking at a snails pace would've made you hot and sweaty.
After my swim it was back to the airport to dump my bags and then time to head in to the city.
This time I didnt have a hangover, but I was flagging a bit from lack of sleep.
The swim was hard work. Also I had to concentrate on what was in front of me as it was a bit of a free for all - I couldn't just get in to a steady rhytmn.
The pool was busier than I expected for 9.30am on a Sunday. I guess it was people getting a swim in while the weather was good and before the sun had a chance to warm the water up too much.
I did feel better after I'd finished and I particularly enjoyed the cool shower I had before I got changed. I took my time in the shower and didn't rush getting dressed so that I had a chance to cool down properly. To be honest it didn't make much difference as the weather was really hot and sunny and even walking at a snails pace would've made you hot and sweaty.
After my swim it was back to the airport to dump my bags and then time to head in to the city.
9V-SKD
That's the the registration of the A380 aircraft for the first leg of my trip to Tasmania. Only about 7 hours to go of this flight and then a another two more flights and I'll eventually be in Hobart!
This flight is pretty choc-a-bloc. Lots of people off on there holidays to warmer climes. It's quite a apparent that it's not the school holidays as there aren't many people aged between 5 and 18. Also, as a bonus, no babies in my part of the economy cabin.
I'm enjoying the extra legroom of my favourite seat on the A380 – 48D. There are plenty of envious looks in my direction from people walking past. I just wish the guy sitting next to me wouldn't be so possessive about the arm rest between us!
For the first meal ('lunch') I had a chicken curry which was really quite good. I was working myself up into a bit of a strop as I thought they only has the 'steak and potatoes' choice left. As it turned out some currys were found from somewhere. I guess the one downside of where I'm sitting is that you will get served last for one of the meals. On the plus side you get served first for the other meal and you have plenty of leg room for all of the flight!
I've been supping a few beers, but to my shock/surpise they appear to have run out of Tiger in the galley closest to me! I've had to make do with Heineken. No real sacrifice, and right now I think I'm about to call it a day after 5 cans. I've finished my book and now I have a choice of a) trying to get some sleep, b) watching a film or c) reading the Economist. I'm not really tired and I don't fancy doing any reading right now!
UPDATE: I didn't 'call it a day'! I had one more beer whilst watching UP'. After the film I tried to get some sleep, but failed miserably. We arrived on time and I'll fill you in with what I got up to in my 16 hours in Singapore when I get a chance.
This flight is pretty choc-a-bloc. Lots of people off on there holidays to warmer climes. It's quite a apparent that it's not the school holidays as there aren't many people aged between 5 and 18. Also, as a bonus, no babies in my part of the economy cabin.
I'm enjoying the extra legroom of my favourite seat on the A380 – 48D. There are plenty of envious looks in my direction from people walking past. I just wish the guy sitting next to me wouldn't be so possessive about the arm rest between us!
For the first meal ('lunch') I had a chicken curry which was really quite good. I was working myself up into a bit of a strop as I thought they only has the 'steak and potatoes' choice left. As it turned out some currys were found from somewhere. I guess the one downside of where I'm sitting is that you will get served last for one of the meals. On the plus side you get served first for the other meal and you have plenty of leg room for all of the flight!
I've been supping a few beers, but to my shock/surpise they appear to have run out of Tiger in the galley closest to me! I've had to make do with Heineken. No real sacrifice, and right now I think I'm about to call it a day after 5 cans. I've finished my book and now I have a choice of a) trying to get some sleep, b) watching a film or c) reading the Economist. I'm not really tired and I don't fancy doing any reading right now!
UPDATE: I didn't 'call it a day'! I had one more beer whilst watching UP'. After the film I tried to get some sleep, but failed miserably. We arrived on time and I'll fill you in with what I got up to in my 16 hours in Singapore when I get a chance.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)