A WHOLE DAY OF TRAVEL

WWe had breakfast late for us, about 9 am.  The bar where we got coffee at the Seibel Playford Hotel wasn’t open until 9.  It took us a bit to realize it was Sunday – time passes oddly when you’re touring around.

We got to the Adelaide airport in lots of time.  Quantas has a great way to check in for flights.  You type in some basic information into kiosks, it asks you some more basic stuff, and then the bag tags and the boarding cards get printed out there.  You put the tags on the bags yourself, bring them to a station where the bag gets weighed and sent on its way.  Somehow it seems more efficient than what we’ve seen in the States.  Maybe it’s because the population of all of Australia is 22 million people.  We flew from Adelaide to Melbourne.  From here we had a couple of hours to wait.  Got lunch, and waited.  Then we waited some more.  There are a small number of things I want in an airport waiting area – 1.) toilets  2.) places to eat if needed and 3.) comfortable seats.  There were toilets, but the food area was crowded and seemed dirty.  The waiting area for the flight to Launceston was on the ground floor with high windows – I felt as though we were waiting in a dungeon.  The flight to Tasmania was fine.

We landed in Launceston (pronounced Lons cess ton) about 5 pm.  Picked up our bags and our KIA car and off we drove getting on the road by 5:30.  Unfortunately, by the time we collected all we needed, it was pitch black.  Something odd about driving for 3 hours in total darkness with the understanding that beautiful things were going on out there.  We drove down a curly road called St. Mary’s Pass – I bet that would have been gorgeous in the daytime.

We got to Freycinet Lodge about 8:15.  Despite the darkness, fortunately, Tasmania just isn’t that big, so we would have really had to work hard to get lost.  We’re in a cabin that overlooks “Honeymoon Bay”.   It looks rustic on the outside, but is far from rustic on the inside.  The only hint that were in a park is that we don’t have TV.

We went to the main lodge by 8:30.  It was a Sunday night and the main restaurant was closed.  We got beers and a fabulous plate of local cheeses as a snack.  We couldn’t have had a better treat.  Back at the cabin, the skies cleared a bit and we got to see the Southern Cross/ Milky Way again.  With no lights that really is something!