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Hey there,
I just returned from my week trip to Tasmania. I keep saying that each of these trips are the highlight of my semester, but this one is by far the best highlight...if that makes sense. I had such an amazing time, and looking back, I can't believe I did so much stuff in just a six weeks. So, Ill give a daily synopses.
Saturday: We (this was an IES trip with Luke and Liz) had to be ready for the bus by seven so it was kinda a cranky early morning, but everyone chippered up by the time we got to the airport. We got to Hobart (the capital city of Tasmania) around 11 and went straight to the Salamanca Market. It is similiar to the Queen Vic market in Melbourne except it has a lot more crafty stuff and its a little more hippyish. They had some really cool stuff like these Tasmanian Devil pot holders and lots of wood carving stuff. They also had some great food, like lots of fudge and jams and honeys with tons and tons of free samples. It was great. After the market we drove a couple hours to Cole's bay which is isa really small town north of Hobart. We got there just in time to walk down to the beach and watch a gorgeous sunset. We got all settled into our accomadation for the night which was like a dorm style trailor...real interesting and then we went out to dinner at the only restaurant in Coles Bay...which was actually quite good. I had a delicious steak, yummm. I didn't do much the first night since I was pretty tired from the day's activities so I just watched some TV and went to bed.
Sunday: Sunday started out real interesting. I learned how dangerous space heaters can be. Around 7 in the morning I was awoken by the fire alarm and my friend who should remain nameless yelling some profanities. Turns out she must have kicked her blanket onto the space heater while she was sleeping and they caught on fire...than God by the time I got up she had already put the fire out...we were really lucky that's all that happened. So after that I couldn't really sleep so I went for a little run. After breakfast we took a short drive a to a National park to take a hike to Wineglass Bay. It was quite the strenuous walk...but totally worth it. The view was amazing, although our bus driver told us that it was named Wineglass Bay not just for the shape of it (see picture above) but also because they used to have a lucrative whaling industry in the area and that the sea would become the color of red wine...so yea. We had a picnic on the beach and then hiked all the way back. When we got on the bus we drove to Port Arthur which is a really interesting place since it was a convict settlement. We had dinner as soon as we got there. I decided to branch out and not have the chicken like I usually do, and I had this pumpkin thing...it was such a great decision, and I discovered Brandy snaps which may be my new favorite dessert...So after dinner we went on a ghost tour. Most my friends know that I don't do well with scary movies...I'm usually the one with my head under the covers and my fingers plugging my ears, so the ghost tour was quite a stretch for me. It was so much fun, but soooo scary. It was pitch black outside and our tour guide was kinda creepy...he had on a long trench coat and he was a screenwriter so he knew how to tell a good story. We went into all of these old buildings...the dissection room, the chapel, the seperate prison (solitary confinement place)...I was scared, and the worst part was was that our hotel was as close to the Port Arthur property as possible. The best part was after it was over we got a certificate of bravery for surviving the ghost tour :) After that, all of us played Taboo which was good since it got our minds off of the ghost stories.
Monday: We started the morning by going to see Port Arthur in the light...which wasn't as scary. We toured the buildings for awhile and then went and visited the Isle of the Dead which is where all of the convicts and free people were buried. Our tour guide told us a bunch of stories about the people on the island which was quite interesting. After that we had lunch and then went to a Tasmanian Devil Conservation and arrived just in time to see the feeding. The Tassie devils are insane and so stupid. They would all fight over one piece of meat while there was another chunk right behind them...not the smartest animals in the world. The conservation also had a bunch of birds that I had never seen before...they were pretty cool. There was also this owl that had the best camoflauge I have ever seen...it looked exactly like a tree, it was crazy. After the conservation we drove back to Hobart since that's where we stayed for the last half of the trip. Once we got there we got unpacked and then had dinner and went to bed pretty early.
Tuesday: We started out the day pretty early. We drove outside Hobart to a river to go whitewater rafting...it was so much fun!! First we got changed into wet suits and as many layers as possible since the water was absolutely freezing and then we got into our rafts. We had an all girls raft and I'm pretty sure we were the best rafters out of everyone. The rapids weren't all that exciting because of the drouqht and all, but I was quite content with the small rapids. During the calmer part of the trip we had a race between the three rafts and our raft completely annihilated the other rafts...it was great. After rafting we drove into the rainforest to go on an airwalk. When we got there there was a ton of barbecue food waiting for us which was great. They had these meatloaf patties that were amazing and tasted so good after all that rafting. After we ate we went on the Airwalk which is just like a catwalk that is up in the treelines...it had spectacular views. After the walk we drove about 3 hours back to Hobart where we just kinda hung out for the night since we were all pretty pooped from rafting...
Wednesday: On Wednesday we had a free day...nothing was planned. A couple of the girls and I found this spa place that had this bath package for quite a good price so we decided to treat ourselves to a spa day. It was great...especially after being sore from rafting. We started out in a sauna, then went to the steam room, then a warm bath, then a hot bath, then a different warm spa, then a dip in a cold bath. It was so cleansing. After the spa I took a long nap and then we all went out to Subway before going out for the night. We ended up at this bar that basically everyone in Hobart was at (Hobart's an interesting town...even though its the largest city in Tassie, everything closes by 7...this was basically the only place where people were and it was packed). After the bar we went to the 24 hour bakery and had some amazing bread...my new favorite thing is to go to the day old bread bin and find good bread...its the best deal. We got back to the hostel and watched the Breakfast club and then went to bed.
THurday: Thursday was a great day. We started out with mountain biking down Mt. Wellington...the tallest mountain in Hobart. It was so much fun especially since it was all 22 km downhill since we were driven to the top of the mountain. We didn't have to peddle at all...it was great. We did a little off roading which was a little scary since I had never done that before. They guys in charge said it was pretty easy offroading...nothing dangerous, but quite a few people crashed...nothing serious. Luckily, I stayed on my bike, I had a couple close calls...but I rode it out like a champ...Lance Armstrong style. We stopped about halfway down at the Cascade Brewery and had some juice and cookies and then finished by the Bay. It was such an adrenaline rush. After biking we had a quick lunch and then went to the Cadburry factory. Oh goodness. Pretty sure I am 20 pounds heavier than I was three days ago...it's really not fair, you walk in and they give you as much chocolate as you want. The tour around the factory wasn't all that interesting...our tour guide was a less then stellar, but the chocoalte store made up for it. They had such good deals, and I took full advantage of it. My intentions are to bring most of it home, but with two months left here, I'm not so sure it's going to make it...That night we went to an Indian restaurant. I LOVE Indian food...its sooo good. We had the buffet style where they bring out everything and it was delicious. My favorite was probably the Naan bread or the Samosas or the buttered chicken or cheese....it was all tasty. I don't think I have ever been so full. I literally could not bend down to tie my shoe. After dinner some of the girls took one last walk around HObart...we kinda ended up getting lost but eventually found our way back to the hostel.
Friday: We got up and went to the airport. Our flight was delayed by over 30 minutes which was kinda annoying since its only an hour flight...but we got back to Melbourne fine. And as a bonus, when I got backI had a package from my mom full of cookies and more reeses YAYYYYYY!!!! That was a good surprise
SO, that was the first half of my spring break. Kristen and I leave on Tuesday for Sydney!!!! That should be a fun adventure. We have no idea what we are going to do yet, but it will be a blast!!!
HOpe everyone is having a great week!!!
Leah
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