The set up
I’ve read Julia Cameron’s advice on Facebook that “art is not about thinking something up. It is about the opposite – getting something down”. It’s been weeks followed by months that I’ve meant to put something down, to describe my beautiful walks from Australia but I’ve been thinking too much about the words that I wanted to use to share them. I’m finally inspired though from Julia’s quote to put something down even if it’s not how I envisaged it to be.
It’s a sunny Saturday evening and I’m sitting with a glass of red wine and Claude Debussy in the background recalling one by one my walking adventures from Sale and Tasmania. Where should I start? It’s been a while for me to remember vividly each and every walk I did, yet I still find myself reminiscing as if it was yesterday certain moments from my trip.
Sale, Victoria
Sale is about three hours from Melbourne and the place where my brother lives. The first walk I did was to view the lakes that are a couple of minutes from my brother’s house and to visit the town centre which is within walking distance. The highlight of the walk to town was visiting the famous Philomena’s – the Italian delicatessen where my brother stocks up on so many nice Italian treats, salami, smoked ham, mortadella, cheese, olives, octopus to name a few. Everything to me seemed big. No shop or place down under can be described as small. And when you enter the supermarket quantities and packaging is triple the size of what you would buy as a large size in the UK!
With two lakes being so close – Guthrigde and Guyatt – it was the perfect spot for daily afternoon exercise and also for walking a friend’s two beautiful dogs on the weekends. The dog walking was the slowest one I’ve done down under as our canine friends where too huge to walk fast and also didn’t like the heat either!
The best part of Sale though was that it was the base for the most amazing beach walking in the world – the 90-mile-long beach. I’ve visited two or three spots along the 90-miles including Seaspray and Woodside. The most wonderful spot though was Lakes entrance where lakes and sea join together to create a magical combination of scenery. The day I visited this place there were severe gales resembling a tornado so I didn’t get a chance to explore it to the full but the part that I’ve walked gave me one of the best photo that I’ve taken as an amateur photographer. And of course, the experience of a tornado like weather was unforgettable.
I mustn’t forget the koala reserve walk where after about an hour and half of walking through it and cramming our necks looking upwards in search of the cute animals we almost gave up seeing any. We saw echidnas, green parrots and a small group of kangaroos in the wilderness rather than in captivity which made it so much precious and natural. In the end though we managed to see quite a lot of the koalas perched up in the eucalyptus. They were just sleeping or scratching themselves and of course posed for me as well.
Strahan, Hobbart, Freycinet – Tasmania
During my second week on a sunny afternoon (pretty standard for Australia) with our bags packed in the boot of a huge Mazda we started our trip to Melbourne port to get the Spirit of Tasmania – a big red ferry – which would take us overnight to Tassie (Tasmania’s nickname). Despite an hour’s delay we boarded safely and travelled through the night, surviving a very rough and tumbling sea crossing. First time I’ve experience so much rocking and was grateful for having taken sea sickness tablets!
We arrived early in the morning at Devonport and after a 4 hour drive we reached our first destination Strahan. As our boutique room wasn’t ready when we arrived, our first exploratory walk took us around the town, the harbour and the visitor’s centre where we discovered out next two day’s adventures. A steam wilderness railway trip up to the rainforrest and a walk through the Hogarth Falls. Cameras were on fire on both days and so where our feet and despite the fact that we were seating for the railway trip we equally walked a fair bit to and from the station as well as through the falls.
Hobbart was our next destination. Another small 5 hours trip through quite a bendy road which we’ve been warned against but which wasn’t that scary. In fact it was very picturesque and adventurous. Although not driving myself the art of being co-pilot was equally difficult! Hobbart is a city, so it made quite a difference from the peace and quiet of Strahan. The walk through the marina revealed interesting fishing boats and big huge tug boats. We also saw starfish in the water and lots and lots of oysters which seemed to be the delicacy of the area. All restaurants offered for a starter prosecco and oyster. I cannot tell you if they were good or bad as although I am posh I don’t enjoy the slimy little delicacies!
Freycinet was our last destination in Tassie. In contrast to Strahan and Hobbart, Freycinet was the complete reclusive retreat. There was no major town and it was just a stretch of a cozy seaside made for honeymooners. The weather let us down a bit in Freycinet as it was raining when we first arrived so we could only enjoy the luxury of a very indulgent room with a view. It stopped though in the afternoon just an hour before our dinner and as snails we quickly went out to explore a bit the remote beach.
Philippe Island, Victoria
After a week in Tasmania it was not yet time to return home as our final destination was an overnight stay in Philippe Island. The place was chosen as it was on our way back home and it is known for the famous penguin parade. I was quite sceptical as to how exciting that might be, but I shouldn’t have doubted for a minute that it would be another breath-taking place.
On Philippe Island I discovered the place where I would like to get married when the time comes. It will be hard to persuade the groom to such a huge investment and a trip to the other side of the world -after all quite a few men are reluctant to this commitment because of the amount of money that has to be spent for this one day – however it will definitely be worth it.
Seeing the little penguin parade was the highlight of the visit to the island. They are the smallest species of penguins that exist in the world and each night, after diving at sea all day fishing for food that they hold in their bellies, they come out of the sea in small batches and walk through a path to go to their nest to feed their younglings. They do quite a long trek and look very cute and funny in their strange little penguin walk.
The end of the trip
The three weeks in Aussie came to an end unfortunately. On my last day I felt like a child whose summer holidays ended and it was time to go back home as school would be starting soon. I reluctantly packed my bags and on the way to the airport I was trying to drain every sun ray so that it would keep when I returned to Blighty.
I was very much afraid that I would forget the trip and the wonderful experience once back to my daily routing and work. I was wrong. Even though three months have passed I still have vivid memories of each and every place. Most importantly I still remember how happy and carefree I felt!
Walks and Smiles 