Van Diemens Land

Otherwise known as Tasmania, discovered by a Dutchman who for some reason did not wish to stay! The Isle of Arran is considered to be like Scotland in miniature and the same can be said of Tassie, if you don't have time to get around Australia you can visit here instead and see just about every form of topography, flora and fauna and wildlife that you would on the mainland, with the exception of a few million hectares of desert.
We started in Hobart, the second oldest city in Australia, a sleepy fishing port much of the time but it does come alive for the Salamanca market and the Sydney-Hobart race. The waterfront area is quaint with a variety of pubs and galleries and a mix of stone and wooden Victorian style houses around Battery Point.
Further afield to the west is the pristine wilderness of the Huon Valley and our next destination was the west coast, most of the journey borders on National Parkland.

Lunch in Queenstown, a copper mining town, reminded us of a wild west scene and we were pleased to arrive in Strahan,a very tourist oriented little fishing port and the the gateway to the
Gordon River. Unfortunately our timing was not good for a boat cruise as it poured with rain the next day so we left town and drove north. Again the scenery was spectacular and changed frequently and the sun came out prior to passing Cradle Mountain and arriving in Wilmot Valley.

We ended the day in the Tamar Valley area, which was like a return to Devon, many names were familiar: Sidmouth, Exeter and Launceston but a few. We stayed in Grindelwald, there are lovely views over the estuary with many vineyards and gardens. Oysters and fish dinner were the obvious choices, washed down with a local sauvignon blanc at sunset. marvellous.

For the weekend we visited friends on their sheep farm in the East, the weather was very hot and dry, the sightseeing in Freycinet National Park spectacular and in the late afternoon we arrived at Wineglass Bay, following some wine tasting and a tour of Milton Vineyard.

The ride home after dinner, for some of the time on gravel roads was pure Australia as we were possum weaving and wallabie dodging constantly, pleased to report that we didn't hit any but many people do.
Life on a farm can be challenging particularly when the government keeps moving the goalposts but the upside is that there is also a great feeling of tranquillity and appreciation of nature and watching the sun go down over this valley, with a cold beer in hand was delightful, thanks to Bob and Ange for all their hospitality.

Six days in Tassie is only enough time to get a taste of this most beautiful of states, we leave for Auckland tomorrow, can it get any better?