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Travelling
Australia with Wayne & Pam BENTLEY |
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THE
DAILY JOURNAL Saturday 10th April 2004 to Monday 12th April 2004 |
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6:55am! isn't that the middle of the night? Well it seemed like it when we bounced (or maybe crawled is a better description) out of bed to prepare for another day of being tourist guides. Kym managed to visit our caravan at about 7:30am and we think Lee fell out of bed sometime after that. Today we had a great need to go to the Salamanca Markets, which we were all going to enjoy - there was no doubt about that as 'ne of us' and Kym had informed the 'other one' and Lee! We managed to get away by about 8:15am and it only took about thirty minutes to get there, find a parking spot and the girls 'got into it!' We wandered up and down the market and then started again before 'one of us' was reminded by the 'other one' that the shopping could get a bit more expensive if we didn't leave - the parking ticket I would get would add to the cost of the purchases. Obviously the boys didn't want to leave (and if you believe that!), but they had to. From the markets we returned to Kingston and drove along Summerleas Road looking for the house the niece or cousin Nikki used to live in way back in 1988, however we didn't have a street number, just a house name and search as we may, we couldn't find it. Maybe the name had been taken down or we just didn't pass it, but we tried, sorry Nikki. Having driven the length of Summerleas Road, we ended up out at Fern Tree so we just made a left turn and headed off toward Huonville. This road took us straight, no that would be a lie, it took us around an endless number of bends, twists and turns but eventually we did make it into Huonville town centre. As there was a Chickenfeed Shop in town, that was the first call and Lee walked out with another arm full of essential goodies. Then we visited the river foreshore parking area where we made a study of the figures that have been carved out of old trees. (As seen from our previous visit with Judy). Lee then had his mind set on getting hold of a breast or leg that we had seen in town, so to keep him happy we went back to the 'Legs 'n' Breasts' chicken shop where he purchased a number of them for our lunch, which was enjoyed down at the river foreshore again. From Huonville we headed south through Franklin, Geeveston and Surges Bay (plus some others) to Dover which is a pretty little town on the water. We then returned via a scenic route that took us through Surveyors Bay and Police Point before coming back onto the road we previously traveled near Geeveston. When we arrived back at Huonville we turned south again and passed through Woodstock and Cygnet before we stopped at Deep Bay to look for oysters and have a cup of tea. We then continued down through Verona Sands, stopped briefly at the monument near Gordon, then continued up the coast through Middleton, Flowerpot, Birchs Bay and Woodbridge before calling in to Kettering to watch the Bruny Island Ferry pull in to the dock and discharge it's load of vehicles. We then made the final short journey up to Snug and the caravan park, arriving at about 5:05pm. We are now enjoying the desperately needed and well earned liquid refreshment to give us the strength to tackle the chicken and vegetables 'one of us' is preparing at this time. We need to ensure we are well refreshed for tomorrows trip to Bruny Island so will concentrate on re-hydrating ourselves tonight.. |
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Today we started early again, first with a BBQ breakfast consisting of bacon, eggs, sausages and toast. Fuel for a days work exploring Bruny Island again. We managed to get down to Kettering and line up for the car ferry by 9:am. Then came a thirty minute wait until boarding at 9:30 for the fourteen minute ride over to the Island. Once on Bruny Island we headed straight down south toward the lighthouse at the south end of the island where the light house stands high on a hill. On the way while passing through the little town of Alonnah we saw a sign saying the local 'History Room' was open so we stopped and called in to see what information this facility may be able to provide. A volunteer working there was able to give us a huge amount of information about Pam's convict great, great, great grandfather and his family and we were able to photograph the pages that detailed the history of the Grundy's on the Island and even gave a little information about the parents of John Grundy We then continued south to Lunawanna where we visited the local cemetery where we believe John Grundy was buried, however there are very few marked graves in this cemetery and we could not find any sign of where John's grave is situated. We understand his house was not far from this area, along with an area named 'Point Grundy', however we think the house has been destroyed and we only drove past the point. After all this excitement we finally made it to the Lighthouse that Samuel Grundy (son of John) worked as a lighthouse keeper. The weather was not very good, in fact it rained all day and was still sprinkling when we were there. Braving the weather we climbed the hill to the lighthouse again and a few photographs were taken, including one of Pam and Kym (descendents of John Grundy) at the lighthouse. From the lighthouse we headed up north via a road over the top of the highest hill or mountain on the island. This was quite interesting, particularly due to the rain and muddy road we were traveling on. This took us to the township of Adventure Bay where we stopped to have our lunch after finding a blackberry bush and picking enough to go on the ice cream planned for sweets tonight. Judy will relate to this very well. When we left Adventure Bay we headed back up the island to the ferry where we found a very long line of vehicles waiting to get on the ferry. We had expected to catch the 4:pm ferry and arrived at 3:30pn to find the ferry already pulling in to the dock. Unfortunately we were too far back in the line to get this one so had to wait another hour for it to return from that trip before we could get our vehicle on board. We eventually made it back to the caravan park after calling in to a chicken shop to pick up a chicken to make the chicken and sweet corn soup which is to be consumed before the blackberries and ice cream. Unfortunately Kym and Lee are leaving us tomorrow (another early morning!) so our day will consist of taking them to the airport and then start the pack up for moving up to Devonport the following day. |
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No sight seeing today, but still a reasonably early morning to get organised to take Kym and Lee to the Hobart airport for their return trip back to Perth. After a breakfast that consisted of hot cross buns and cups of tea or coffee, we packed the luggage in the back of the Patrol (which was still covered in mud from the Bruny Island trip) and set out at about 8:50am. This wasn't too bad as we were going to get them to the airport for their 10:30am flight until they realised that it was actually leaving at 10am, not 10:30am. Who didn't check the tickets properly, well it depended on which one we were talking to, however no harm done, we made it just before the required half hour prior check in time of 9:30am. Amazingly there weren't any visible tears, but they were floating just under the surface of 'one of us' so after they boarded the plane, we drove out to the airport access road and watched the big red Virgin Blue aircraft fly off into the few clouds north of the runway. To keep the rears in and the chin up, 'one of us' needed to go shopping so we headed back into Hobart where the local Myer Store was open. Two pair of sneakers, an electric kettle, a fitted sheet for the bed and a pair of slippers later the 'other one' managed to get 'one of us' out of the store. (and still no tears.) We then set off to Kingston where 'one of us' sat in the Patrol while the 'other one' spent twenty minutes and eight dollars in a car cleaning bay getting half of Bruny Island (in the form of mud stuck on and under the Patrol) off the vehicle. It was a coincidence I'm sure that there was a KFC next door and that 'one of us' just happened to be hungry, so lunch was next in the agenda. We eventually made it back to Snug at about 1:pm. Then came the preparations for moving up to Devonport in the morning. 'One of us managed to get all our washing clean and dry and the Patrol cleaned out inside, while the 'other one' replaced the false floor and returned the fridges, BBQ, table and chairs etc to their traveling positions in the Patrol. The annex was dismantled and stacked away and the awning folded in, this was all done whilst carrying on conversations with numerous other patrons of the caravan park about extremely important issues (not sure what they were though). That deserves a cold beer and as 'one of us' doesn't drink beer, the 'other one' will just have to make up for her! However I'm sure a glass of wine or two may pass her lips before the night is out. It does seem a little quiet now but we had a great time with Kym and Lee here and now look forward to arriving in Canberra and spending a few days with Travis and Lana when they fly over to join us there. |
Two of Kym's Favourite things in Tasmania
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