26.02. - 02.03.2012 Huon Bush Retreat, Tasmania, Australia

After 11 years, many more then I expected when I left, I finally came back to Tasmania. We had a pleasant flight from Sydney and after retrieving our bags from the Hobart airport, we stepped outside and were treated by a heat wave of 39 degrees. The hottest day of the year!




We took a bus to get into the city and from there we took a TassieLink bus to get within 50 min to Huonville. There was Paul already waiting for us to pick us up. He hasn't changed in all this years and still looked the same like when I left.




The road was steep to get up to the Huon Bush Retreat and we passed the helipad, the vegetable garden, the labyrinth and the first driveways to some of the cabins being part of the property. There are also comfortable tipis and private campground areas for tents. A beautiful outdoor kitchen with a wide range of equipment is provided as well and is very well maintained. The bathroom facilities are of very good quality and the showers nice, warm and with good pressure. There is even an outside bathtub. What we admired the most about the property is that it is totally based on sustainability and it is ecological friendly.

Have a look on this fantastic website http://www.huonbushretreats.com/ and find out more yourself.




We did a little trek maintenance as a big tree fell on it and Paul had to cut some steps on it to make it passable again. I took care of the small leaves...




This is the bright and spacious kitchen in one of the cabins, equipped with everything you need, plus a minibar for the little cravings.




Michael did a great job with the interior design and choices of colors to create a cozy and inviting atmosphere.




As it was a busy time and we loved to be together with our friends, we helped cleaning. Here Charles is professionally handling the vacuum. We were happy to do some housekeeping again as we are only to do "bagkeeping" at the moment.




My training showed successful as well and I haven't lost my skills.




The true housekeeper is still in Chrisy and she elegantly cleaned the cabin.








This is a cabin with 2 stories and hosts up to 9 people at a time. All the cabins have outdoor baths in a private environment under the southern stars. It is just beautiful!




We got invited to go together to the most southernly Australian hospitality establishment, the "Buttongrass Retreat" it's located south of Dover, right next to the "historical Ida railway" in the middle of a button grass plain.




The interior is very tasteful and with vibrant colors.




The living room and kitchen area with big glass windows, has an oven in the middle which gives warm on chilly evenings and invites to cook delicious food with friends.




The view through the window or sitting on the balcony are spectacular over the plain to the mountain range in the background. When we arrived we saw 2 eagles soaring above our heads for a long while before settling down in some old tall trees. I helped Paul on the roof of the house to build a cover around the solar water heater and the water separator system. I learned a lot again from Paul and enjoyed the experience.




When we came back we settled back into the cozy caravan close to the house where we spent most of our time.




We went to explore the 5 km nature walk with the interpretation boards. At first we came through cold temperate rain forests, passing a pool where when you are lucky, you can spot a platypus.




In the trees we saw and heard many birds. We enjoyed the trek with it's variety of trees and plants.




When we came to the rock wall, which surrounds the plateau I first thought it's the wall of a castle. On this walls there are in some areas still aboriginal paintings and other secret places, where until these days ceremonies are held. This areas are out of reach to respect the holy places of the Aboriginals. The interpretation boards are giving a great inside about the cultural and natural history of the area.




This is Ruby, the daughter of Rosy. Rosy became an orphan, because her mother got killed by a car and was brought up by Paul and Michael. Ever since she kept close to them and now her kid does as well.




Here I am, bringing some "Spaetzle" culture to Tasmania cooking on the wood oven.




The outcome was this colorful trio of tomato, spinach and the original.
After this tasty dinner we enjoyed some time together. Next day our trip around Tasmania was going to start.
For more pictures click on the following link: Huon Bush Retreat

22.-25.02.2012 Last days of New Zealand

We drove to a peninsula just underneath Christchurch, to a small town called Akaroa.


We arrived in the late afternoon and wondered around town. Everything looks very French and the street names were French as well.


The French actually arrived before the British at the peninsula and wanted to claim it their own, because it was a good area to catch wales. The French went back to France to ask if they can keep the island and in the meantime the British claimed the land.


After our sightseeing we started to look for a place for the night. We started to drive up the mountain to look for a more remote area.


At the top of the mountain we saw the clouds making their way above the mountain top into the valley.


There we found the sign about the below retreat and driving along off road tracks we found it. We were able to camp there and use their bathroom and kitchen facilities.


We cooked dinner and met a French Canadian couple who prepared Abalone (a shell fish a little similar to Scallops). They collected the Abolone themselves and had too many so we were able to try them as well. It was delicious.


During the night it was raining and winding like there would be no tomorrow. We really had problems to fall asleep as it was so noisy in the tent.


But against all odds there was a morning and what a beautiful one. We were able to clean the tent and dry it before we went on a drive to admire the views.


We were on our way to Christchurch.


When we arrived in Christchurch we were aware that there was a devastating earthquake just a year ago, as we were listing to the radio and they had the one year memorial on the 22.03.


When we arrived close to the city center we saw still clearly the signs of the earthquake. A lot of the high rise buildings are still collapsed and in a bad shape. The whole city center is actually gated off. Then we had the next surprise, it was extremely difficult to find a bed fir the night. Because of the earthquake the city lost a lot of beds and maybe because of the memorial the day before the city was still full. We found a lovely hostel with help from other hostel owners.

The next day we returned our car and the company drove us to the airport there we had a flight to Auckland.

We arrived late afternoon in Auckland and had a flight to Australia the next day at 7 am, so we decided to stay at the airport for the night. We had our dinner at the domestic terminal and got explained by a lovely cleaning lady that this terminal will close soon, but the international terminal is open 24 hours. So we took the bus to the international airport and looked for the observation deck, as it was mentioned at a web page to be the best place to sleep. I have to say it was really comfortable. We had 3 seats each without armrests in between were we were able to lay down.

This is the web page that gives you the best overnight locations on airports:
http://www.sleepinginairports.net/

For more pictures click on the following link:East Coast

20. - 22.02.2012 Mt. Cook, New Zealand

After a not too early breakfast we drove to Wanaka, we planned to arrive around lunch time as our French hitch hiker told us there is a great Burger Place and after all our camping food we felt like some meat and something different than rice or pasta with tomato sauce or baked beans.




Wanaka is a cute town on the same named lake. It was busy with a lot of tourists and backpackers. First we walked along the shore of the lake and through some of the shops of the town. By the time we reached the "Red Star" Burger Restaurant it was time for lunch. We ordered a burger each with french fries to share and it was more than enough for us. We really enjoyed the food.








After lunch we picked up our car and drove towards Mt. Cook. The drive was along scinic crystal clear, light blue lakes. Every so often we could not resist to stop and take pictures, especially with the snow covered mountains in the back drop.








The drive took us along a windy road slowly towards Mt. Cook and by the time we arrived it was time to set up the tent and to have dinner.




We joined an Australian couple at a picnic table. The four of us enjoyed some New Zealand wine and crisps with it and had a lovely chat about New Zealand, Australia and much more. By the time we said good night to each other it was dark. We still hadn't eaten at the time. So we made quick Asia noodles.
During the night it already started to rain and in the morning it still drizzled and that would be the best weather for the rest of the day. It was raining hard and we were caught inside the tent. But it was not too bad, both of us had new books that we really wanted to read and hadn't had time to do so for a long time. We read books, played Skippo, chatted and laughed about the weather. It was a very relaxing day and we enjoyed it for what it was.
During that night it finally stopped raining and the next morning the clouds lifted and the mountain tops could be seen again.




We hiked the "Hooker Valley" trail with fantastic views. When we arrived at the coldest lake of New Zealand we enjoyed Mount Cook. When we started to tramp back the clouds rolled in and no more mountain tops could be seen.




















Back at the camping ground we packed our, by now dry tent and drove towards the east coast.

If you would like to see more pictures click on the following link: Mt. Cook

18.02. Franz Josef & 19.02.2012 Fox Glacier

The night we stayed at another DOC called Otto campsite. It was extremely windy and it was hard to fall asleep. The morning was fresh and we had our muesli and tea breakfast before we drove to town.


We checked in at the reception for the glacier walk we booked a few days earlier at the tourist information office. At the time of booking the weather forecast did not sound too promising but we had a clear morning with hardly any clouds. Any other day we saw a lot of clouds on top of the mountains.
The only things we had to bring were 4 top layers of clothing to keep warm a non jeans trouser, sun glasses, sun protection, water and lunch. We got shoes, socks, crampons, water proof trousers and jacket, gloves and a head.


After we collected all the items we drove by bus closer to the Franz Josef Glacier. We were a group of over 40 people so we were split up into 10 people groups. All the guides were very young and we had the only male one. The first 30 minutes we walked closer to the glacier with stunning view already and only very close to the ice we were shown how to put on our crampons. In the beginning it was funny to walk with them and to trust them to protect you from slipping. It was still early in the morning and the sun was hiding behind the mountain, so the ice was still very hard. The first part of the walk was already on amazing blue ice with lovely formation. We walked slowly and we also had to stop very often so the guide was able make steps into the ice with his ax. While we waited for the steps to be ready we had the time to enjoy the scenery, take pictures and look closer at the ice. Sometimes the ice was crystal clear and amazingly blue and on other parts it really locked dirty, but when you looked closer the little stones and dirt in the ice also looked special. We walked into two caves and through narrow openings of ice, had lunch at a nice place with an incredible few to the top of the glacier. Helicopters were flying over our heads to bring other tourists even higher up to the glacier for a lot of money.























We walked for 5 hours on the ice and both of us wanted more, but our bodies were tired.
In the town of Franz Josef we had a small snack and as our glacier trip also included the hot springs in town we got our swim wear ready. We arrived there and it was a very relaxing atmosphere with three pools. Every pool had a different temperature, 36, 38 and 40 degrees Celsius. We enjoyed a couples of hours there and also the shower afterwards was great.
The water made us very hungry so we had dinner at a picnic table in town and then drove the 30 minutes to the town of Fox Glacier. There was also a DOC campsite called Gillespie and we had to drive for another 20 minutes on gravel. The campsite was free and lovely located close to a beach with some shorted tramping in the area. It was already dark and when we arrived, a lot of other campers had lovely fires on. We set up the tent and got ready for a night's rest.


In the morning we walked along the beach and saw a few mountains and the Fox Glacier peaking through the clouds which were hiding the Southern Alps. A French guy asked Robert if we can take him to the town, as we had enough space for one more person we of course gave him a lift. We drove to the viewing area of Glacier Fox and walked for around 30 minutes to the face of the glacier. Unfortunately we had a better view from the distance compared to the close up look.














After our two glacier experiences we continued on the West Coast.





First we wanted to stop at the Copland Track to hike up for a night stay and to enjoy the hot springs. But we did not see the sign and continued along the road. We stopped at the "Night Point" were we had magnificent views along the rocky West Cost. There we found out that along the road were many short walks. So instead the overnight tramping we did a lot of shorted trampings.


Roaring Billy Falls.









Fantal Falls, were Robert did a little skinny dipping.






Blue pools.


The night we spent again at a DOC camping spot at a lake close to Wanaka. The night turned out to be very windy and it rained a lot as well.


By the way this little sandflies almost ate us and they did not care if we used insect repellent or not, most of the time we had to escape to our tent.

For more pictures follow click on the link: Glacier