Wednesday 17th March 2004

We woke to a beautiful sunny sky this morning and decided that this was a great opportunity to visit Coles Bay and view Wineglass Bay.

When I said we woke, I didn't say it was real early and it was about 10am before we drove out of the caravan park gates and headed off down toward Coles Bay. Once we had turned off Tasman Highway onto the Coles Bay road, we came across a road to Friendlies Beach and decided we needed to see that one. It was only a short drive over a well corrugated road before we came to the lookout over the beach where we took some photographs before proceeding down to the beach itself, which was a very white sand beach, although not quite to the standard of most Western Australian beaches.

After visiting this beach we headed on down the next eighteen kilometres to Coles Bay which is set on a very pleasant bay with the mountains on the other side of the bay as a beautiful backdrop. These mountains and the bay were subject of a few more photographs before we visited the local shops to use their ATM machine, then drove to the Visitors Centre on the south side of the town.

After doing the 'visitors' bit at the centre, we continues on south for about a kilometre or so before we came to a sign that said 'Honeymoon Bay' so that was a must to check out, however we didn't see any honeymooners there, just more tourist like us... While there we had our lunch that we had brought with us then had a good walk around the rocks near the little bay.

Having ben refreshed and energized again, we continued on to the Wineglass Bay walk track car park and after driving around it a couple of times, managed to find a space to park the Patrol. We then completed the walk registration form and set of up the walk track in the direction of the Wineglass Bay Lookout and we continues to walk up, and up, ant up and up the track for 1,300 metres (It was a good thing we didn't read signs before we started or we might not have done it). However when we finally made it forty five minutes later, the view was worth all the blood, sweat and tears. Numerous photographs later we set off down the hill again toward the car park, deciding not to walk down the other side of the mountain to the beach in Wineglass Bay because that looked even steeper to come back up. The journey back to the Patrol was quicker in downhill gear as we made it in thirty five minutes. The whole exercise (with emphases on the work exercise!) took us over an hour and a half to complete and by then it was time to make our way back to Bicheno and the caravan park to organise the web site, our e-mails and the evenings activities (we all earned a drink after that climb).

We arrived back at about 4pm after another great day in paradise.

Thursday 18th March 2004

Today starts last night - if that makes sense...

After uploading the web pages and enjoying our Sweet & Sour Pork (and the girls had their drink or two, we set off down to the rocks not far from the caravan park to try our luck at sighting some of the elusive penguins that come up onto the rocks there. Arriving down on the rocks just after dark (about 8:10pm) we strolled out onto them with our torch and coats and cameras to wait the emergence of the expected little birds. Then we settled down and waited, and waited, and waited, along with some other tourists to the town. As we were told that we should not use bright lights and our torch, although covered with an orange cellophane paper, was too bright for the job. After waiting for about half and hour or more, another visitor to the sight shone his red lense torch onto a small white object that we had previously seen on a rock behind us and we discovered that there on the rock was a lone penguin that had been carefully preening itself while it had been standing there watching the 'watchers' without there knowledge. Once he was discovered, it became a bit if a staring match, with six or eight tourists watching this little local watch us. As we would disturb it with flash lights from cameras or bright torches, we took video footage of him (or her whichever the case may be) using the Infrared Night Shot and although not brilliant, the result can be seen in the attached image. After this it was back to the caravan park for a warming cup of tea before a good nights sleep ready for a late start the next day.

It was a late start as predicted, partly due to the fact that the girls went for a long walk starting at about 9:30am and not returning until about 11:am. It did happen to slip out though that the walk was only about two hundred metres... That is where the shops are and the rest of that time was spent looking for bargains... It's a good thing they forgot to take their (or my) money with them.

After that strenuous exercise we had to be a rest period before lunch, and then tea and biscuits after lunch, but we eventually managed to move out of the caravan park by about 2pm to have a look around the area.

Our outing took us north of Bicheno about four kilometres then west about seven kilometres into the Douglas Apsly National Park. At the car park we paid our entry fee of ten dollars then set off on a fifteen minute return walk to a lookout that had views over a rocky water hole in the Apsley River. We then walked back on a different track that took us to the water hole itself where the water is a very crisp greenish colour, as opposed to the usual tannin brown colours of most rivers and waterholes in the forests. From the water hole is was only a 'ten minute' walk back to the car park, but somehow this whole experience seemed to last a whole lot longer as the girls kept finding new flowers and plants to admire, such as the purple berries shown in the photograph insert that is attached.

Once we returned to the car park we headed back toward the highway, through a farm yard that boasted of pigs, piglets turkeys, chickens, cows and horses, all partaking in the sport of 'Watch the Tourist'.

On arrival back at the caravan park, One of us made up the excuse they had to post a letter to our daughter Jay and Judy said she had some photographs ready to be picked up, so they were last seen heading off into the sunset in the direction of the shops again while the 'other one' did all the work back at the caravan (well that is what he will claim anyway!)