We got the 7:45 bus to Hobart and collected the car which was a Hyundai Getz. It was a lovely day so we drove to Mount Wellington which it the highest mountain in Tasmania, it's also just above Hobart so on a clear day you get a great view of the city and surrounding penicluars. When we got up there the wind must have been gusting up to about 100kilometres an hour. Plus there was still snow about from roughly a week before. We hung about for 10 minutes then headed on to our next destination the cascade brewery. We wanted to go on the tour around the brewery but you had to wear closed toed shoes and trousers so that was out of the question. Instead we went into the bar and took the taste test which was 6 different cascade beers ranging from a stout to a light and guess which one was which. We needed to get at least 3 out of the 6 right in order to win a official taste tester hat. I cheated and looked at which beer was going into the paddle of 6 and still only managed to get 3 out of 6. Tom won by getting them all right but he had a little help from the bar tender because he marked the same beer down twice. Lauren came second with 4 and she has been taught about all the different types of beers in one of her last jobs.
The next stop was Launceston which was about 250 kilometres north of Hobart, Tom drove and apart from a few stops to get some food and so on we made pretty good time. When we arrived at Launceston we realised why everyone that we'd meet down south said it was a total dive. They couldn't have been more right really, the city centre was a series of small shop that we old and dilapidated. We had a beer in a little pub on the outskirts of Launceston the left for Pyangana. It was my turn to drive and it was getting dark, when it gets dark in Tasmania the roads become alot more dangerous because of all the suicidal animals, ranging from Wallabies to a native cat that eats chicken brains by biting through a chickens skull and sucking out the brains, nice hey!! We got to Pyangana about 7 and went into the pub we'd heard so much about, The Pub in the Paddock. We had a beer and enquired with the bar lady about the three vital things for the road trip, 1. can we feed the pig a beer, 2. are you still serving food, 3. do you have a room for three people for the night? The only disappointing answer was we weren't allowed to feed the pigs because they were sleeping but she did say if we stayed we'd be able to feed them in the morning. We booked the room, had food and then a skin full of beer. We got friendly with the people in the pub and sat about chatting for a few hours.
The next morning we got up, said thank you to the bar lady, feed the pig a beer and hit the road, next stop St Helens. It didn't take long to get to St Helens and we had a spot to eat, had a look around then head to our scenic stop of our trip which was wine glass bay. We strolled up to the lookout point and the view was extraordinary. The car park was full of Wallabies so we petted them for a while and hit the road again. The next stop on the tour was most probably the most important although i forgot to get a postcard, SWANSEA!! We stopped at the welcome to Swansea sign, had a photo shot and then headed into town to find the Social club to have a pint and a game of pool. We had another photo shot outside the social then headed onto the beach to have a picnic of fresh chicken sand witches and crisps. Again we feed the local wildlife, which like Swansea was seagulls. By now the sun was starting to go down and we still had another 150 or so kilometres to Port Arthur. The drive went well and when we got there it was about 7 so we headed into the visitors centre and asked about the Ghost tour, we were able to get onto one but unfortunately we'd have to wait about an hour and a half. We had a cup of coffee and played some games and generally larked about. When the tour started i was very skeptical about the ghost thing but after hearing all the stories I'm more worried about it being true. It wasn't a nice place, lots of murders, trading and funny going ons. The tour lasted about an hour and a half so we didn't get back to the coconut lodge until about 12:30. I had a really good time and plan ongoing back at some stage to see the rest of the place. Now for the photos
Tom, Lauren and I atop of Mount Wellington
Pretty boy, i know
best test i've ever taken
Beer drinking pig!
Me and the local wildlife at wineglass bay
Wineglass bay
Swansea!
Some of the ghosts at Port Arthur
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