Believe The Hype

Sometimes, some places become so well known or loved or visited that they inevitably gather an enormous amount of hype surrounding their very name. Las Vegas is one such place, the Eygptian Pyramids another. While most of the time, the hype is very well worth the build up, sometimes (let's say in the instance of Coft's Harbours The Big Banana or Sydney's new Centerpoint Tower walk) the hype is a little, well, hyped up.

As we made our way down the East coast of Tasmania, fellow campers, The Lonely Planet's Guide to Tasmania and every brochure from every tourist info stop raved about Freycinet National Park's Wineglass Bay. Now it's highly probable that you've seen a snap of the famous Wineglass Bay, because as we were later told, it's one of Tassie's most photographed natural beauties and is used again and again in advertising campaigns to get us stubborn mainlanders on the boat or in the air to visit our other 'state'. So we made the trek to Coles Bay, on the fringe of Freycinet National Park to stay the night and spend the following day bush walking to see this famously hyped Tassie hotspot.

National Park fee payed, sunscreen on and we're ready to make the climb to Wineglass Bay lookout, along with tons of other tourist from all over the globe (I heard Chinese, American, British and Danish accents to name a few at the info centre). After a 30 minute climb to the top, I'm happy to report, that yes, my friends, you can believe the hype - the view from the top step of the lookout post, stretching out over the trees to reveal the beautiful Wineglass Bay, was breathtaking.

Looking more and more like a seasons tourist as the trip goes on (note uber stylish camera carry case... yikes, I wish caravan park bathrooms had bigger mirrors).

Actually, Freycinet National Park, the whole, entire thing, was absolutely stunning. The white sand, the crystal blue water, the rugged cliffs, the thick bush, the hidden rocky coves - it's no wonder they use this place as a tourism teaser.

Luke checking his emails outside our camping spot.

Yours in the great outdoors,

Odette

Elephant Pancakes

Tasmania is famous for it's fresh, local produce. Vineyards, berry farms, cheese factories, award-winning bakeries - don't bother heading to France, just cross the strait to the Holiday Isle and start eating. And that's exactly what Luke and I have done. We've visited the Lavendar Farms at Nabowla (Hmmm... lavender flavoured shortbread - you really must try it). We've sampled the famous cloth-bound cheddars at the Pyengana Cheese Factory (and bought some chilli-infused matured cheddar to have with our biccies and beer). But all this became just a drop in the ocean, after we discovered the famous Elephant Pass Pancake Shop.

The brochure caught Luke's eye at a tourist info stop and you could say that it was love at first sight. Yes, we had to travel down the coast to see one of the top ten beaches in the world, Wineglass Bay at the Freycinet Natural Park, but first, yes first, we had to experience something nearly as amazing. We had to sample an elephant pancake. The pamphlet said that people come from all over the world to taste the delights from Elephant Pass. But with a 20 minute detour from the main drag, a windy mountain climb into the bush where you share the road with some seriously huge timber trucks and not the best road signs, we thought we'd have The Elephant Pass Pancake Shop all to ourselves. Oh, how wrong we were.

The pancake place was swarming with people! The question that now faced us, was would we get a seat? The modest cafe with wooden panels for walls, decorated with random elephant paraphernalia, built on some one's private house block, way up in the hills resembled Pitt Street Mall at lunchtime (well, not quite but you get the idea). After we found a snug table for two (Phew!), cappuccino's ordered and I decide to go with the traditional choice - one pancake with maple syrup, please. Luke, being a tad more adventurous, asks for the rocky road pancake with marshmallows, melted chocolate, cherry sauce and nuts. Of course.

But I'm afraid that's all I'm going to write on the amazing, (could I say life-changing?) trip to The Elephant Pass Pancake Shop. As to whether you should book cheap flights on Virgin Blue, hire yourself a car and quick-step over to Tassie to try an elephant pancake for yourself? Let the pictures make your mind up.



Yours in the great outdoors (and in need of another bush walk to burn of all this tasty cuisine),
Odette

Room With A View

I've heard people talk about how beautiful Tasmania is a few times before, raving about the beautiful this and the beautiful that, but never has it enticed me to actually get on a plane and head down (waaaay down) south to see the place. Hey, I figure there are plenty of beautiful things going on in Manly, NSW that I really needed to discover as well (restaurants, coffee shops, bars and boutiques). But as Luke and I really began to explore the northern tip of 'beautiful' Tasmania, I could have kicked myself for not visiting sooner. In a word? Beautiful.

Even the caravan parks are rave-worthy. And didn't we find a beauty, just off the track, in the coastal village of Bridport. One beach-front powered site with an amazing view of the historic Bridport wharf, which was built way back in the settlement days but now looks more like a well executed art project, lashings of sunshine and a bunch of friendly locals, all for the bargain price of $22. We'll take it.

Beautiful? Yeah, just a tad.

Scored! The best site in the caravan park (and we worked out how to use our digital camera's timer...). The things you do when you have a few minutes, hours, days to spare.

Yours in the great outdoors,
Odette

Five Free Things To Do in Launceston

When you no longer have the luxury of a fortnightly / monthly deposit of cash (thanks work) coming into your bank account, you really have to put your thinking cap on and look outside the glossy tourist brochures for things to do (anyone for a three hour guided tour of the local area? That'll be $60 each thanks!). After arriving in Tasmania, like most tourist friendly hot spots, we were bombarded with pamphlets about such-and-such and their award winning strawberry farm ($7 entry) and you-know-who and their 'has to be seen to be believed' trout stream ($25 to fish). But as we made our way into the beautiful town of Launceston, we were determined to find a few ways to entertain ourselves, without blowing our 12 month travel budget in the first week. And it wasn't nearly as hard as we first thought.

Here are our top five ways to see Launceston without pulling out the credit card once.

1. Visit the amazing Cararact Gorge. This place is more like a fun park than a free nature reserve and will keep you occupied for hours (or like us, almost 2 days!). Free public swimming pools, tons of bush walks, lush gardens with peacocks trekking around - it really looks like something out of a picture book. But don't think you'll have the place to yourself - the locals love the joint and with the nearest beach an hour drive away, the gorge can look a little like Bondi beach, come Summer. The chair lift is the only thing with a price tag and will set you back $8.50 each way.
   

   

   


2. Head along to the interstate polling booth to vote (this is only applicable if a federal election falls around the same time as your Tassie getaway). Not only will you feel empowered after having your say in the country's future, but there's usually a few election day loonies hanging around, sprooking their election day pick - this is free entertainment in itself.


3. Take a walk through City Park. This place is beautiful and in my opinion, is what every city park should look like (open monkey enclosure included). Yep, there are 16 Japanese monkeys who call Launceston's City Park home in a cool open cage and you can watch them for as long as you like. Cheeky little fellas.



4. Watch the annual Launceston City Christmas Parade. Again this is only applicable if you head to Tassie around the time when Santa is gearing up for the silly season, but if you are lucky enough to stumble upon this little gem, as did we, you'll be in the company of every other resident of Launceston and the surrounding area too, and will have to stand on your tippy toes just to see a bit of the action. The parade won't be giving Australia's other major city's Christmas do's a run for their money any time soon, but you will see a bunch of hired trucks decked out with more tinsel than a Myer Christmas tree display, school kids dressed as reindeer and singing carols and a couple of town bagpipe bands. Classic.
   
   
   



5. Look up Elly May's Cafe in the town center and head along for a $2 cappuccino. I know, I know, that's money that your spending right there, but gee, is it worth it. I haven't seen a cappuccino advertised for $2 since Gloria Jeans was nothing but a really good business idea and most people only went to a 'cafe' as a special treat. Your suspicion as to why Elly May's can offer such a cheap cup disappear, after you discover they actually make a really good brew.

So there you have it. Launceston for free (okay, $4). And these ideas are just the tip of the freebie fun iceberg. The heritage listed houses, Boag's Brewery, bush walks, nature reserves, art galleries and amazing gardens will keep your hands out of your pockets for days.

Yours in the great outdoors,

Odette

Budget Boating

In Melbourne's St Kilda, waiting to board the Spirit Of Tasmania

When we decided to head across the Bass to check out the beautiful Tasmania on this trip, there was only one way we could get there, and bring Kombi Jefro along with us, and that was by boat. And to tell you the truth, the thought of travelling across one of the roughest stretches of Aussie water for 10 hours from Melbourne to Devonport on the Spirit of Tasmania, made me a little queazy. Actually, I was a tad nervous about the journey - not because of the possibility of a Titanic re-enactment, but because when we booked our tickets on the ship, we chose the 'budget' option to save a few bucks ($120 per person, each way to be exact).

Before you judge, let me paint a picture of your travelling options when jumping aboard the Spirit of Tassie. If you have money to burn, go for the deluxe cabin option with double bed and port hole views of the big, wide blue. Not so cashed up but not yet in the Centrelink line either? Then book into a double cabin, with 4 single beds, take your pick which you'd like to rock in for the night. Okay, wanting some privacy and feeling not completely stingey? Then pay for a bed in a cabin with up to 6 bunk beds and face the possibility of sharing your night on the sea with some randoms. But if like us, your first thought as to how to get to Tasmania was to try and take your car on Jet Star as carry-on, then book yourself a delightful Ocean View Recliner a.k.a Odette and Luke style. Yep, it was the recliner for us.

On booking this little baby, visions of a bunch of chairs on the open deck of the boat came to mind, with seat belts perhaps, to stop the scrooges from falling overboard. But as Luke and I drove our car aboard the ship, (and asked the staff one last time whether there was any way we could sleep in our van below deck) we went searching for our 'recliners' and were pleasantly surprised!

Driving onto the Spirit of Tasmania.

The lovely Ocean View Recliners.

The Ocean View Recliners, were in fact, pretty similar to a seat in first class on Qantas (or what I imagine a seat in first class on Qantas to be like... C'mon, I'm the one who booked the cheapest option on this boat remember!). They were spacious, clean, comfy and reclined all the way back as their name implied. And the best bit? No open boat deck in sight.

Settling in for the night - 10 hours to go!

The Spirit of Tasmania is a huge ship, with movie theatre, restaurants, bars, cafes, TV rooms and tourist information centre on board. I'm impressed (but still not tempted to book a 20 day cruising holiday aboard the P&O anytime soon - have you seen the size of those lifeboats?). So all in all, we survived and had a great trip on the Spirit of Tassie and strongly recommend the understated comfort and style of the Ocean View Recliner. Sometimes going with the cheaper option does pay off. Or does it? Take a little listen of just one of the many fellow cheap-skates sleeping (deeply) just near our seats. I wonder if we can upgrade for the trip back...?

Yours in the great outdoors, Odette

Office With A View

Yeah, sure, some inner-city office blocks have a pretty sweet view over the Sydney harbour or bridge but check out the amazing office space Luke managed to secure for himself while he processed some invoices for his online business on our night in NSW's Batemans Bay. Not bad, not bad at all.

Caravan Park Etiquette

Fresh on the road, with a new found freedom that neither Luke or I had encountered since University summer holidays, nothing could dull the excitement welling inside us both, as we drive off down the south coast freeway, (Goodbye Sydney!) towards our first destination. But where should we stay on night one? Ah, who cares? We've got plenty of time, no annoying appointments to keep, let's just see where we end up.

A trip down that new bit of ocean front highway just south of Wolloongong (you know, the fancy million dollar road that every car company seems to exploit in their latest advertising campaign), a couple of lookouts and a trip to the local pizzeria to celebrate Luke's 27th birthday, hip-hooray, and we finally rock into the Kiama Tourist Park at approximately 8:36pm.

What's that? Reception is closed for the night? Not to worry, we'll just find ourselves a cosy little powered site and pay in the morning. So we drive on in, choose a spot and start setting up for our first night in the kombi, when from beneith the shadows of the toilet block, a man storms towards us shouting, "Can I help you? What do you think you're doing?" And he really should have added "you lazy, cheap-skate hippies in your kombi - who I know full well are planning on doing a runner tomorrow morning..." which, of course, we weren't (okay, the thought had crossed our minds for about two seconds). This guy was the owner and not too happy about us rocking into the park after hours. He was cranky. The words furious and outraged could also be used to describe his state of mind.

A couple of apologies (from us, not him), $26 and a toilet key later and we were good to stay but not before ol' mate made us feel like we had committed one of the cardinal sins of caravan parks - never make yourself at home before you get the okay from the owner and always arrive before dark. Future campers, let this be a lesson.

Yours in the great outdoors,
Odette

Introducing Jefro

Yes, there may be typos throughout this blog (spellcheck cuts into my R'n'R time), but no, there's no mistake that our kombi's name is Jefro with an 'f' and not a 'th'. Luke has had a longstanding love of the name for obvious reasons that I'm yet to discover and has even joked that he would call our child Jefro, because it's so damn cool. He was kidding of course, but that's how our Kombi came to be christened. And now for the grand tour...

Oooo, ahhhh... the kitchen is smick!


Home entertainment system? You're pulling my leg!

Dining/ lounge chairs that double as a comfy double bed? Jefro, you really are too much!

See? It's practically like living in an inner city apartment but without the pricey rent.

Yours in the great outdoors,

Odette

First things first...

How many pairs of jeans can one kombi fit?

When you decide to pack up shop - handing in your resignation to what can only be described as one pretty sweet gig, giving notice on a sort-after, newly renovated, beachside Sydney unit, temporarily waving goodbye to family and friends - a few thoughts go through your mind. 1. Did I really just agree to swap my queen sized bed, covered in matching sheets and quilt set (complete with a pretty pile of pillows) for a fold-out, vinal covered Kombi back seat, that reclines to a rather squashy king single? 2. What is the reality of showering in a caravan toilet block, nightly, and lugging all of my essential bathroom products (thanks Girlfriend magazine) across a tourist park full of strangers? 3. What the hell am I going to do with all my shoes?

But superficial lifestyle differences aside, husband Luke and I have decided to try something new. Test ourselves. See a few things. Create some memories to harp on to the grandkiddies about. And what better way to do it, than in a 1976 VW kombi camper, recently refurbished by none-other-than husband himself. And what better place to do it, than in good ol' Australia. It all sounds terribly romantic. Or a bit silly. Or perhaps a bit of both. Whatever it is, it's an adventure and one I'm going to try and post snippets about, so you can judge for yourself.

Yours in the great outdoors,
Odette