Thursday 12th February Day 5 20150212

Another day – so Day 5 dawned as I realised I would never be able to get everything done on this rather relaxing ride through part of Tasmania. I stirred when I heard the tour group arise, but I just rolled over and … when I woke up, and got up, only the Danish chap and myself were around. I had a breakfast of tea, biscuits and noodles and then showered and dressed. At this stage only a girl was around. You’d never guess where she’s from (well, apart from Germany). She’s a Ph.D. student at the Vet School at Werribee and lives in Werribee! I can’t believe how many people I’ve run into! We swapped notes on Werribee and then swapped notes on today – yes, you guessed it, we’re both going to Coles Bay and then the Freycinet National Park on walks. By the time I had everything packed and ready to go, she was well and truly off. I left just before 9 and had a good run down to the National Parks office. I was good and purchased a day pass – and the ranger reminded me to secure my belongings (I told her I had a PacSafe and she said her dad had one too). Then I went down to the parking are for the Wineglass Bay tracks and parked. After setting everything up, changing and then securing all in my PacSafe, I found I could have parked right next to the toilet block (where I changed) instead of walking over a hundred metres. With my goods all secured, I began walking with the camera around my neck, maps, drinks and chocolate in a bag and tissues in my pocket. I signed to go on the walk and carried Spotty (my Gen3 Spot Tracker) with me, so everyone could verify where I had been. On the way up to the lookout I looked for quirky or different things. Many rock formations caught my interest. They’ll be up on Flickr as soon as I’m home. However I did manage the odd occasional chat with others walking up. English tourists were in the majority, with Germans, French and Americans and then the odd Lithuanian. One American couple were from Oregon and he was a photographer. I took group photos at the Wineglass Bay lookout for some Germans and some English. It really does look like the brochures. While there I decided against walking to the beach there or doing the round trip (five hours) as, although I completed the uphill walk is under the stated 45 minutes, I realised I was not fit for walking (lifting up motorcycles, yes, but walking, no). As I walked down I struck up a conversation with an English couple on their first trip to Tasmania. The husband had worked in WA in the late 1970s as a chain-man, on a surveyor’s party. He spoke of many places in WA where he passed through or went to work and really loved it. We swapped notes on the many changes since then – and he watched “Red Dog” and it brought back memories of his time in the north. After I returned to SUZI and regarbed in motorcycle gear, I directed a few tourists to the beginning of the track. A few asked did I work there. I should have said, “Teacher habit – can’t get out of the habit of telling others where to go.” I left not long after midday and thought I’d try the convenience store in Coles Bay to get something light for lunch. No luck! As I didn’t want to do a “food crawl” of Coles Bay, I decided to head back to Bicheno. However I did notice English tourists parking on the wrong side of the road. I wonder how many of them get tickets for it, ignore the ticket and then end up paying because the rental company pays and then debits their card (plus a handling fee, of course). I had a very good run back to Bicheno, parked SUZI at the hostel and changed, then got chips at the Caravan Park Takeaway opposite and walked into town. I purchased the papers and then tried to do the Sudoku (my mind must be concentrating on other things as I’m not having a good run on finishing them). After half an hour I asked about the route up to Whalers Lookout and then walked that track. In fact there is a round track, taking you to Whalers Lookout on the town side and Governor’s Lookout on the ocean side. Two National parks rangers passed me and said the round trip was worthwhile (it was). On the way up some Victorians asked about the track and I gave them the full rundown and they also commented that I must work for the National Parks – perhaps a part-time job opening? I went back to the hostel after doing some shopping (milk, ham, soft drink) and found a young Frenchman settled in. He’s doing a Ph.D. in glaciology and has just returned from Antarctica working at the Franco-Italian base there. We had a chat and I recommended Matthew Reilly’s “Ice Station” to him (even though the French are the baddies in one part and the hero takes on a French submarine single-handed). A number of others came in during the afternoon – two girls from South Korea and a couple from Taiwan. Three girls at least in my dorm tonight. I will get to bed early tonight as I have to head inland tomorrow and clock up some distance so I can end up seeing at least more than a half of what I planned. It’s very quiet in here! The French chap went out for a walk and I accompanied him. Quite interesting hearing about the countryside of France from a local and what he does. We walked along the beach, then across the jetty when … a missing plank was my (actual) downfall. I went right through but stopped before I hit the sand. I was wearing jeans, so no visible would to my leg and just a bit of skin off my elbow (where I landed on it). We continued walking, he bought some boutique beers to have with his tea and we went back to the hostel. I ended up chatting with Christina (the Ph.D. student from Werribee), Kilem and Mia (also from Germany) and Matt (the French glaciology Ph.D. student). Apparently the women who rebuilt buildings after the war were named “brick-women” and they did a lot of such work (I mentioned the church in Warzburg). Kilem and Mia come form the old GDR and there was a very large church rebuilt after the wall came down in Dresden. The British airmen who bombed it paid for the new cross on top. The four, who are sharing a dorm, then proceeded to have a huge tea – but as they had been walking most of the day, I suppose they needed it. Christina ended up doing the five hour (Wineglass Bay lookout, Wineglass Bay beach and return via the Hazards) walk. After a time I retired to go to bed (about 9) and was off to sleep before any of the others came in. I heard them, but did not really wake up (the beauty of habitually going to sleep listening to an iPod so other noises are drowned out).