It's always fun to plan a holiday, whether it's a journey to somewhere familiar, or a new place to explore and add to the favourites list for next time. Tasmania was the latter for us this time. The island state gave us much more then we expected. I could never have imagined the diversity of landscapes within such a relatively small part of the country. If you wanted to, you could drive from one end of Tasmania to the other in less than five hours, top to bottom. Doing it thi

Day 10. 24th October 2018. To be honest, I've lost count of what day it is. I think it's day 10, so let's just agree to call it day 10. Surely that's a sign of a holiday well enjoyed? Our last day in Tasmania, and a schedule busier than Madonna touring Adelaide. We waved farewell to our final hosts this morning after lazily packing and getting ready for the day. This was by the time the chooks had hatched an escape plan and flown the coop to scratch around on the other side

Day 9. 23rd October 2018. The boss told me I got a little bit too traveloguey in my last entry, so I've decided to unleash the windmills of my mind this time, which is kind of fitting for the place we visited today. For some reason, strains of The Kinks' Lola (L-O-L-A, Lola) ran through my head this morning, only because we were heading off to M-O-N-A... MONA. Mo mo mo mo MO-NA! Hobart's quite the drive from Koonya, but it's one many people make on a regular basis for one re

Day 8. 22nd October 2018. Departure day from Cygnet and a travel day for us down to Koonya, which requires a return to Hobart before continuing down the opposite side of the bay via Eaglehawk Neck. Coincidentally, Koonya means “black swan” in one of the local Aboriginal dialects. A quick trip into town before returning to Anne And Bruce’s place to finish packing and a fond farewell before driving towards Hobart via Huonville: a track less windy, but no less stunning as we p

Day 7. 21st October, 2018. Right now, I feel like one of the lazy cows in the paddock next door. We've had a big day, touring the local sights with Anne, who played the role of tour guide, complete with running commentary of the local area as we coasted around. After a quick coffee (and some locally made rocky road and blueberry pastry!) at the Lovett Cafe, Cygnet markets was our first stop this morning. It happens in the middle of town on the first and third Sundays of the

Days 5 and 6. 19th and 20th October 2018. ...Day 5. Time flies when you're on a big drive and there's so much to see with the naked eye. No time to sit and down for coffee on Friday: it was two takeaways before entrusting our day to Google. The journey from Waratah to Cygnet via the Murchison Highway. It's almost like someone collected the best parts of every piece of land on the planet and threw it together on an island for good measure and called it Tasmania. Well, the nam

Day 4. 18th October 2018. Today’s themes are water and perseverance, starting with a solid downpour of rain overnight. This must have been the main contributor to us leaving our digs closer to midday today. First stop: the MUSHroom, because when it comes down to it we’re all creatures of habit, whether we care to admit it or not. With little prospect of seeing anything at Cradle Mountain, as the clouds and rain set in, we decided to check out the Don River Railway. It’s int

Day 3. 17th October 2018. We really need to find more superlatives. "Wow!" and "that's so beautiful" have officially been overused, but with good reason. We kick started ourselves this morning and were out of the unit by about 10 o'clock. I think. Our first port of call was the The MUSHroom. Waratah's cafe, and yes, they serve real coffee. Gioconda coffee, to be precise, which is roasted in Tasmania. Sadly, the lamington was shop-bought, but we got the impression the owner of

Day 1. 15th October 2018. I love the anticipation that comes with a holiday. The mind's eye view before the event making brush strokes of what might or might not happen, but always with the tint of happiness. It always seems we leave Adelaide to be ravaged by a storm when we embark on a new adventure. This time was no different as we read reports during transit of power lines down, residents across the city left in darkness, traders having to discard stock, but we're already