Adelaide and beyond

It's been lovely, if very short. After 6 days in Adelaide we are about to start our journey to Perth. We should arrive in approximately 2 weeks, as we plan to stop at a few places along the way. 

We have enjoyed being able to charge everything, and use the Internet to talk to friends and family back home. We have also downloaded a couple of films to watch along the way. So I think its fair to say we have made good use of the facilities here at the hostel. 

In Adelaide we have visited the Botanic Gardens, Port Adelaide and wondered around the CBD. We had one very cultured morning where we visited the Art and History Museums. 

I also managed to organise two meetings with universities, which were very interesting. 

We are off now to get a few camping bits to help with the journey. 

Perth here we come. 

Botanic Gardens

Big Ball Thing

Market

Port Adelaide Lighthouse 

Free Camping - Off Route

After an amazing time at Mansfield Zoo we made our way, via Melbourne to Tasmania. 

Our first day there involved landing at the airport, which seemed very small, and getting a taxi to the campervan pick up. There was a bit of a wait, as we arrived before it opened. And after 2 hours we were off, in our upgraded van, not car. 

We made our way to the free camp site approximately an hour from hobart. There was some misunderstanding with the satnav at first but we got there in the end. 

Having found the area we where looking for, finding the actual camp site did prove to be an issue. One solved after driving though a forest and finding another site in the same area. 

We spend the night in the field with one other van, and left quickly in the morning to have breakfast at the beach. We found Alan's house (Chloe's work friend). Then made our way to Swansea. We visited the IGA and the Jetty. Then continued on our way towards the first National Park. 

Our first day there we decided to be optimistic and take on the 5 hour walk through Wineglass Bay and Hazards Beach. An awesome walk with stunning views, resulting in quite a few photos. Of what one may consider slightly similar views, though no less stunning. 

We ended up staying in the national park for a few days. On the second day we walked and climbed Mount Amos. As big as the achievement was, getting down proved more...eventful. I'm sure Chloe will tell you how 'funny' some parts of the journey were, when my very life was in peril. 

The following day we returned to wineglass bay, for some time at the beach. Having not had access to a shower for a few days I was happy to get in the water for a rinse. However Chloe wasn't to pleased by the temperature so stayed on the beach. Later that day we decided we needed a bit of a plan so started to look through the booklets at what we could do and see in tasmania. Which quickly turned into looking for the best walks and National Parks. 

That night we moved from the free camping site near the park to one further out. We were so pleased to see 'real' toilets, having survived pit toilets at the last site. It was a nice place and the beach was lovely so we decided to stay another day. The next day we walked the beach, hoping to reach the next town. However our maps seemed a bit misleading, after about 70-80 minutes we turned around and walked back, driving to the town instead. 

When we returned it was salt water shower time behind the van. Chloe really didn't seem to enjoy the experience all that much? Though did start talking to someone while I finished my shower. We chatted to Jan for a while, then her husband George came over and invited us for dinner (Jan and George are from long reach and in Tassie for 11 weeks touring with their trailer. George is 72ish and very funny. Jan wants us to visit in the future). Once we had eaten, laughed, and once it was so dark we could no longer see, we returned to our van. 

The next day started early, off to a blow whole in Bichino, then Nature World to see the Tassie Devil and feed more Roos. Then we were off again to find the next camp site. This one had showers! 

One night we had lightning, this lead to us wondering if being under a tree was a good thing or not, another night we had to walk around houses looking for the correct road (for the camp site) we did eventually find it, half a mile back and not near the houses. 

And so that was our start to Tassie. In the time that followed we decided to make our way around National Parks, Great Walks (of Tasmania), and other sight seeing destinations. 

Chloe, of course, wanted to visit Penguin and a chocolate shop (which was closed when we went). We saw the End of the World, this looks like a rocky beach. I hugely enjoyed visiting the caves at Mole Creek, it was something very different to the other views we saw. Later in our journey we followed the convict trail through to Port Arthur, hearing about convicts of the past and how throwing a lot of criminals onto an island can actually work?!

There were, obviously, other trips and sights, but we don't want to say everything now or we will have nothing to tell you when we return in June. 

Orford

Wineglass Bay

Mt Amos

Friendly Beaches

Douglas-Aspley

Penguin

Mole Creek

Falls

Pancake Day

Convict Trail 

Hartz Peak

The 'Plan'

Homeward Bound

Having now been in Australia for 7 months we feel able to say, Australia truly is a wonderful place. Ok, so we said that after a week, but hey it's still true. 

Having visited Sydney, lived in Melbourne, WWOOFed in Adelong and Mansfield, and lived in a car in Tasmania. We still have Adelaide, Perth and Possiablly Brisbane to go. 

The 'good' job opportunities for us have been limited. Which is a huge shame as its been one of the only negative things about our visit here. This would be different if we were on a sponsored visa, as there would be less restrictions.

Though in truth, even with that, the job market in our fields is not vast, and seems in no way better than the UK currently. 

While we have enjoyed the experience of the work we have done and contacts we've made, these are not jobs we would stay in the country to do. As such we now believe, at this point, a second year here would be of little benefit to us (as we continue to spend more than we earn). 

Having journeyed across the earth to this strange place to discover what possibilities lay here. I believe we could find that the UK currently has more to offer us, maybe... 

We have missed many things and many people from the UK, and look forward to seeing you all very soon. We have decided to continue exploring Australia and see other parts of the country and meet more people. You never know what will happen. 

PostPost. 

Decision made. Flight booked. Australia is beautiful. Home is England.