Sandrine & Edgar in Australia: Easter trip: TASMANIA

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Easter trip: TASMANIA

TASMANIA: 2 weeks in the wilderness... We drove 8 hours from Adelaide to Melbourne, then took the ferry to Tasmania (Devonport), and stayed in log cabins every night. A grand tour of close to 4000 kms...

TASMANIA: 2 semanas en la naturaleza salvaje... Manejamos 8 horas de Adelaide a Melbourne, despues tomamos el ferry a Tasmania (Devonport), y dormimos en cabañas de madera la mayoria del tiempo. Recorrimos mas de 4000 kms en total!

TASMANIE: 2 semaines dans la nature sauvage... Nous conduisons 8 heures d'Adelaide a Melbourne, ou nous prenons le ferry a Devonport pour la Tasmanie. Nos nuits dans les cabanes de bois. Plus de 4000 kms en tout!

Top : DEVONPORT Light House
Side: PORT ARTHUR- one of the first prisons in Australia, una de las primeras carceles de Australia, un des premiers pénitencier d'Australie.

Bottom: Long Walks around the cliffs (Tasman Peninsula), and in the top of the trees (Huon Valley)!
Grandes marches pres des falaises, ainsi qu'au milieu des arbres!
Caminatas largas cerca de los acantilados (Tasman Peninsula), así como arriba de los árboles (Huon Valley)!

1) Wineglass Bay in Freycinet National Park.

2) Craddle Mountain

3) Hobar Royal Botanic Garden (with red bridge)

GREAT OCEAN ROAD

-One of the most beautiful scenic ocean roads in the worlds... between Melbourne and Adelaide.
-Una de las carreteras al lado del mar mas bonitas del mundo, recorre 1000 kms entre Melbourne y Adelaide.
-Une des plus belles routes cotieres du monde, 1000 kms de paysages epoustouflants en Melbourne et Adelaide.

The 12 apostles

ANIMALS IN TASMANIA A possum, a Tasmanian Devil, a koala, and lots of wallabies!! And also a "kookoobarra", or the "lauging bird"!

Where is Adelaide?

Adelaide is in South Australia. The city has been described as the "City of Churches", "Athens of the South", "The Wine State", "The Festival State" and the State of the Arts". It truly lives up to all of these titles. It has a moderate, mediterranean climate, with long, warm to hot summers and short winters. Its popultation is 1.4 million lucky souls. Adelaide is also the capital of the Wine State. A must see is the new Wine Centre, which showcases Australia's booming wine industry and is situated on the extension of North terrace. South Australia produces more than 60% of Australia's wine in 7 differnet wine districts, all of them with a special character of their own, the most famous is the Barrossa Valley.

Adelaide at night

Wherever you want to go in Adelaide is easily accessible, there is an absence of traffic jams. This is in great part thanks to the legacy of Colonel William Light, who laid the city out on a square mile grid, with quite wide boulevards. Colonel Light also surrounded the city with a buffer zone of parklands, very well preserved: leafy streets and squares are present everywhere. Culture, art and entertainment is live. Beaches figure largely in the life of Adelaide. This is not surprising when you look on a map- a long sandy coastline goes from Gulf St Vincent and down to Capre Jervis. Kangaroo Island is a main attraction.

Surfing

What is surfing but an outlet for anxiety and stress, an inlet for nature and satisfaction, a connection between you and the ocean with your board acting like some semi-conductor of magnetic and gravitational forces pulsing from the center the sprawling expanse of nature itself? Sounds a bit fluffy, huh? But stay with me on this. It’s this connection that is at the very core of the surfing experience. This connection is addictive, all-encompassing, and sometimes all-powerful. This connection enthralls many to forsake relationships, careers, and even their own health only to emerge ten years down the line, weather-beaten and alone with only memories of great waves and great times. Go surf! It is better to try it and leave, than to never try it at all...

Living in Adelaide

A Mediterranean Climate in an Affordable City Adelaide is fortunate to have four distinct seasons, with comfortable spring and autumn days, a mild wet winter, and a warm to hot, dry summer. This is a Mediterranean climate, similar to southern Italy, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, and Greece. From December to February, the summer average temperature is around 28 degrees, while from June to August, Adelaide temperatures average 15 degrees. A very hot day comes along three or four times a year when it is best to travel in the early morning and then take a trip to the swimming pool or beach in the early evening. Raincoats and overcoats are not used much in Adelaide where a jacket is a better option. Adelaide’s clear night skies most of the year open the heavens to a million stars overhead, an unexpected pleasure, and one of Adelaide’s treasures.

What about the other animals?