Taking the ferry to Tasmania

It was a great time coming down the coast to Melbourne; great beaches and cliffs all along.
We camped on the north side of the city, and then early Wednesday found our way down through the freeways and traffic to the Port.

Our ship was waiting, and the loading process was quite an ordeal. It was complicated by a huge contingent of Harleys, on their way to Tassie for the annual national Harley owners' rally.
They were nearly all older than us, and just like all other tourists, except they seem to drink more beer!

After several hours of queuing up, we drove up into the ship.

Before long, Melbourne was left behind. This trip took about nine hours, which went pretty quickly. There had been a gale warning for the day before, but the waters were really not no bad; it's a big boat.

Here's our camper in it's parking spot. I didn't get a photo of the Harleys, but there were hundreds of them.

When we rmembered to turn on the cell phone, we had messages waiting from Sue's cousin Mary Lou and her husband Warren Wright. They live in Port Sorell, quite close to the ferry terminal, and they were waiting in their car for us to hit the street. We all went to dinner and got acquainted. They are great folks, friendly and happy. Warren is a hoot, with a great sense of humor. After dinner, they helped us check on a camper park near their home, but it was shut up for the night, so we parked our rig in the Wright's big driveway. They have a huge house, full of art and memorabilia. Warren's home theater is world-class, and his collection of remote controls would have to be seen to be believed! Mary Lou does miniature landscapes in oil paint (no more than 16 square inches), and they are beautiful. We had a great evening, and made good use of their wireless connection.

In the morning, we headed west to Stanley, the "Tidiest town in Australia". After some beach time, we went to the top of the "Nut", the local rock peak. This is the northenmost spot in Tassie. Sue had fun taking the chair lift, but Harold enjoyed the hike on a steep concrete path. The top was huge, with great views and some interesting critters.

Meet the Echidna, actually the long-nosed Echidna. They look and walk similar to a porcupine, but are no relation. Their only close relation is the platypus! They have long hair spikes, eat ants, curl up when threatened, and can dig themselves straight down to hide, covering up in seconds.

Time to post, more later.