tasmania en Australian open 2007

TASSIE

So on the 3rd of january we got on the ferry to Tasmania. We arrived in Devonport in the evening so the first thing we had to do was find a place to sleep. We found a nice spot in a little town called Westbury. The next day we had a nice drive through the Tamar Valley wine route where we did some wine tasting. When we got to the bay of fires we knew we would spend the night and the next day there… white sandy beaches, clear but cold water, a perfect spot to relax. We planned on doing more of the eastcoast first but it started raining and it was getting a bit to cold for the beachlife. So we decided to drive to the capital of Tasmania, Hobart and after an hour walking in the rain we went to the movies, had some really good fish and chips and that was the end of our citytrip… Next stop: Port Arthur, one of the state`s most popular tourist sites. In 1830 it was chosen as the place to confine prisoners who had committed further crimes in the colony. Between 1830 and 1877, 12500 convicts served their sentences at Port Arthur. For some it was a living hell, but those who behaved often lived in better conditions than in England and Ireland.
Port Arthur was reintroduced to tragedy in april 1966 when a gunman opened fire on visitors and staff, killing 35 people.

From a visit to prison to a place called `the friendly beaches`. The weather was getting better so time to hit the beaches again. We walked along this long, beautiful, white sandy beach before entering the Freycinet National Park. We found a perfect camping spot along the beach of Coles Bay and spend the day relaxing on the beach and watching the sunset. The next day it was time for some action! We did a 5 hour walk/hike to the beautiful wineglass bay and Hazards beach. It really looked like one of the exotic islands only the water was a bit to cold for a swim…

Next citystop: Launceston and this time it was a bit to hot to walk around so again to the movies!! In the late afternoon, we visited the Cataract Gorge, only a ten minute walk from the city centre. We walked along the river that is surrounded by near vertical cliffs and the area around the gorge is a wildlife reserve. We ended up relaxing at a swimming pool that was located next to the river in this beautiful area.

The next day we drove to the Trowunna Wildlife Park, which specialises in Tasmanian Devils, wombats and Koala`s, some of them orphaned because of the roadkills. We got a very informative tour about these animals and even got to pat the koala`s and devils and also fed some of the kangeroes, which was a really nice experience.

Our last days in Tasmania: Cradle mountain National Park
Its famous for its spectacular maintain peaks, deep gorges, lakes,… and the 80,5km overland track has turned this park into a bushwalkers` mecca.
The first day in CMNP we did a bit of a warming up, walking an easy walk around the lake enjoying the beautiful scenery. The next day was gonna be a bit harder… We did a five hour hike to the top of Cradle mountain. The last part of the climb was really steep and no more paths , just rocks and nothing to hold on to. It was very exiting and good fun actually. And it was worth the struggling because when we finally got to the top, we had the most amazing view 360 degrees of the surrounding mountains and nature. It was a great feeling!!

This man(senator Bob Brown) describes Tasmania as we have seen it: ` Tasmania`s wild and scenic beauty, along with a human heritage dating back 30 000 years, is a priceless heritage available to all of us. The waterfalls, wild rivers, lovely beaches, snow- capped mountains, turquoise seas and wildlife are abundant and accessible for locals and visitors alike.`

AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2007

The day we got of the ferry, we got a message from Tim Clijsters that he had two tickets for us to go to the tennis!! We parked the van in a caravanpark 9 km out of the city and we jumped into a bus to the city. We met up with him at the main entrance of the Rod Laver Arena. When we got to our seats ( really good seats 10 rows above the players box and the last matches of Kim only one row above the players box!!) we couldn`t believe we were actually sitting there!! It was like a dream… Watching Sharapova having a hell of a time in the blistering heat, seeing Kim win her first match, watching nadal and sad enough seeing Vliegen and Malisse lose their match on one of the outside courts along with 20 or so other Belgian people (seen more Belgians here then in the rest of Australia). And that was only the first day! And the dream didn’t end for the next 2 weeks!! Tim got us tickets for every day that Clijsters played so we got to see al the great players. Because Philippe really wanted to see Federer playing and he never played the day Kim was playing, tim and wim even got us tickets to go and see Federer!! We had an amazing time at the Melbourne Park! Philippe even won the fan of the day contest! Painted like a devil and armed with the flag his picture won him an Australian open tennis bag filled with tennis stuff
Every other evening we went out for a drink with Tim and Wim and it was always good fun
Thanks again guys and we’ll see you when we get back!!!
During Kim’s semifinal we met a lot of other Belgians and 11 of us decided to have a meal out the next day, which was great!
(lees meer over de tennis bij de comments van de fotos!!)

today Philippe is at the bigdayout festival with Lauren and some friends.

Tomorrow (monday) we`re heading off to the outback!! That`s gonna be different and hot (40-50 in the shades)!! And we decided to go to Fiji for 8 days in march!! We had to pay 200 AUD each to extend our visa ( to stay only a couple of weeks longer) so instead we booked a flight to Fiji that will cost us a bit more but then we can enter Australia again with the same visa and not pay a dollar…and of course enjoy the beautiful islands…

Probably no internet in the next 2-3 weeks or so…
so it's time to say goodbye to lauren :-( and hit the road again

Seeya!!
L&P