Awoke 04:30hrs, excited at the prospect of embarking
on our first holiday in 18 months. Astrid has spent the past week applying her
considerable and renowned military-scale campaign planning skills to compile a detailed
‘assault’ on Tasmania. ‘Orders of the day’ have been captured in a spreadsheet listing
route, distances, ETD’s and ETA’s, times allocated for ‘bio-breaks’, sustenance
and fluid intake, along with in-depth SOP’s on what to do, where, when and how.
The taxi arrived promptly at 05:15hrs for
the short transfer to Brisbane airport. On arrival we found ourselves already
having to contend with a surprise attack from Qantas – they would not book our
luggage all the way through to Hobart, forcing us to instead to collect our
rucksacks at baggage claim in Melbourne and then redeploy them for the
connecting flight to Hobart – much to Astrid’s chagrin. However, a hearty
breakfast in the Qantas lounge managed to assuage Dutch anger, with the flight
to Melbourne departing on time. Alas, the connection to Hobart was delayed an
hour – much to my chagrin!
On touchdown in Hobart we collected our ‘trusted
steed’ from Redspot. Owing to the late arrival we did not have time for the
planned excursion to the summit of Mount Wellington on the other side of town.
Instead, we headed east towards Port Arthur on the Tasman Peninsula. On route
we stopped off in Sorell to load up on provisions – ostensibly of an alcoholic
nature. We then diverted off the A9 onto a longer but more scenic route through
Lewisham and Dodges Ferry to Dunalley. 
The number and variety of birds that we
encountered on route took us by surprise, particularly the number of black
swans and shearwaters. Of course, we were hoping to catch sight of wild
Tasmanian Devils and Eastern Quolls, but apart from numerous road signs
alerting us to their presence, they were conspicuous by their absence.
After a short stop at Tessellated Pavement
overlooking Waterfall Bay to snap a few photos of the dramatic cliffs facing
due south towards the next land mass, Antarctica, we trundled into Taranna, and
booked ourselves into a delightful cottage for the night.
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