05.18.2004 - Freycinet National Park, Tasmania, Australia

My first two days in Tassie have been very good. After arriving at Hobart Airport and collecting my rental car (a Hyundai Elantra), I drove to the village of Richmond, a colonial town with the oldest bridge in Australia, a stone one that is very picturesque. The town also has the oldest Catholic church in Australia, St. John’s. There are many old stone buildings and the weather was perfect—an ideal autumn day with colorful leaves and crystal clear blue skies. I hope the photos will be good.

The drive to Freycinet National Park along Route A-3 is beautiful, with great vistas of Maria Island National Park and then of the Freycinet Peninsula. The road, however, was sometimes a bit too much like Ireland—winding with little or no shoulders. At least there were no stone walls on the side of the road (except when there was a cliff to the water next to the road). For part of the trip, I was behind a truck carrying several live sheep. Some sort of substance in the form of a mist kept coming off the sheep and coating the windshield of my car. I don’t think I want to know what it was.

Freycinet Lodge is wonderful. The meals, which are included in the room price, are outstanding. I had a great mussel dish (similar to a special I once had at Bravo in Jackson) on Monday night and tonight I had what they call a crayfish. It’s actually a rock lobster, smaller than a regular lobster, but much larger than our crawfish. It was delicious. The local beer, Hazards Ale, is excellent. While I was having an ale, waiting for dinner time, they played consecutively “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You” and “Brown Eyed Girl.” Wow! How much I wish my brown-eyed girl who loves “Have I Told You Lately” was here with me.

They seem to really be into Sting at the Lodge—played full albums by him two days in a row.

It was cloudy today, but I hiked up to the Wineglass Bay overlook, which was beautiful even without a blue sky and sun. When I got to the overlook, a retired psychology professor from Queensland and his wife were there having morning tea, which they had brought with them. They asked me to join them in having tea, which I did. We had a nice chat.

Of course the Australians refer to treks into the wilderness as “going into the bush.”

It occurred to me that I like their bush much better than the American Bush.

The park is great. In the afternoon I signed up for a 4-wheel-drive excursion to Bluestone Bay. I was the only one who signed up, so I had a private tour with a personal guide, Matt. He was wonderful. He appears to be an Aborigine. He was a font of information on the history of the area, both natural and human, and on the flora and fauna. Bluestone Bay was fabulous on this stormy (but generally not rainy) day. The waves crashing into very high rock cliffs were spectacular. It’s definitely one of my favorite places I’ve ever visited. While we were at the beach (which is covered by blue-gray stones), Matt made bush tea from kunza leaves. It was quite good.

RSM