Okay so I am completely determined to write
this blog, I have started it like 10 times and never actually finished it
because I got side tracked by school work and assignments and all that other
stuff that like to interfere with the fun stuff in life! I know it has been a
month and a half since I last wrote, and I do want to give pause here and give
a shout out to all the bloggers out there that write a blog regularly, like one
every week, because I just can’t find the time in my life! Anyways back to my life
now and how awesome it has been this past month!
So it is week 12 at school, aka the last
week of school for the semester, how crazy is that. All my assignments are
done, and now just one more paper to write (instead of a final) and 3 finals to
prep for! So before I bury myself in my textbooks and notes and only come up
for air, I figured I would pound out this post (with mostly pictures),
because nobody really reads these things
anyways, they just want to see the awesome pictures of Australia.
So first off, we had a very bad storm, it
was actually a mini cyclone. According to the news winds got to 135 km/h. There
were a lot of people who got flooded, and houses drifted away in the flood
waters, and trees fell over and blocked roads. I live on the 7th
store of the apartment and somehow even my floor got wet in my room. This storm
caused the university to close, which was exciting for me because I have never
had a day off due to poor weather ever! I mean I live in Regina, Saskatchewan,
the city of bad weather, 8 feet of snow and minus 55 Celsius and school is like
make sure you bundle up so you don’t get frostbite.
The wind was so strong that it blew trees over into the middle of the road.
This tree is on campus and it was huge, and it was just blown over taking the concrete and brick that was surrounding it with it.
Next on my list was another wine tour, just
you’re probably all rolling your eyes at me, being like another wine tour
really, but honestly when you get good deals on things that involve free wine,
why would you turn down the opportunity?! I know I cam to Australia for school
purposes, but if you can’t have a little fun what is the point really?! It was
good times with good friends!!
Can't forget the vodka shots in test tubes!
The picturesque Hunter Valley
Now is the most exciting part of my past
month and a half, my mini trip to Tasmania. I went to Tasmania with Meena and
Andre and I fell in love with the state, everything about it. It was fall in
Tasmania, so it was cool just like at home, but unlike at home it was
surrounded by mountains and water and the views were beautiful.
So excited to be leaving for Tasmania!!!
And we flew off into the sunset. I could not believe the gorgeous colour of the sky. The dusty pastel colour was out my window, and the vivid colour was out the other side of the plane, it's a shame I couldn't get a better picture of that side as well.
The first morning we went to Mount
Wellington. Mount Wellington is the highest point in Hobart and gives amazing
views of the whole city, this is all I can really say about it, because it was
by far one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen. The pictures do not
even do it justice.
Mount Wellington from the ground.
So high up this I'm above in the clouds.
Gorgeous Hobart from above.
The first afternoon we went Cascade
Brewery, it was a beer tour, and they told us how beer was made and then we got
some awesome free samples. Cascade makes some very amazing beer, thankfully
Meena was driving that day so I could enjoy the tasters. Do not ask me how beer
was made because I honestly couldn’t tell you, as in I totally can’t remember,
all I know is that they use barley! Take a look at the factory!
Some large barrels making some beer.
The Cascade Brewery with Mount Wellington behind, such a beautiful country.
The second day we went to the Cadbury
factory in the morning, it’s where most of the Cadbury chocolate is produced in
Australia. Unfortunately they do not do tours of the factory, they only show a
video of how the chocolate was made but they did have a giant chocolate store.
The second afternoon, we went on a whiskey
tour at Lark Distillery. This is the first time I have ever had whiskey on the rocks,
and boy was it smooth. We went on a tour of the factory where they make the
brewery and got to try the whiskey at all the different stages of the process.
Some of the stages were absolutely disgusting, while others were not to bad. It
was very interesting to see how whiskey was made and how close to the beer
making process it actually is. I do have to say that I need a more refined
palate to drink whiskey full time without feeling the burning in my throat!
Tasting some whiskey at the very beginnings of the process. Not the greatest tasting.
This oven is what gives the whiskey the smokey taste, they roast the grain with peat moss.
Tried some 63.4% alcohol, pretty much started my mouth on fire. So gross.
The cask that the whiskey ferments in
My whiskey drinking glass
Some very strong single malt whiskey. No longer sold on the shelves. Very limited edition.
That night Andre and I went on a ghost tour, unfortunately Meena wasn’t feeling well so she missed out. Unfortunately we didn’t see any ghosts, but we did get a good scare in one of the underground tunnels. It was very interesting to hear the stories and to learn about the history of Tasmania. Here are some of the interesting landmarks that are haunted in Hobart.
Some very haunted houses.
This tunnel gave me the heebie jeebies. I had the light on my camera on, and then all of a sudden it shut off and the camera shut down by itself. Freaked me out.
The next morning, we got up nice and early
and I dragged Andre to the farmer’s market because I love farmer’s markets, its
just nice to walk around and look at all the interesting things that Tasmania
has compared to what we have back home.
After that we got in the car and the three of us started on our long
journey to Wine Glass Bay. It was gorgeous to see the countryside and the sheep
and horses and cows roaming the hilly fields. Made me think of home, just not
flat and covered in wheat fields.
Wine Glass Bay was amazing, I honestly
don’t see the wine glass shape of the bay, but maybe I would have if I was
there, Andre and I hiked up the mountain to get these picturesque views, it’s a
shame it was so cloudy, so the water didn’t sparkle like it would have in the
sun, but it was still well worth the hike, next time I go there I will
definitely make sure I have more time to spend, and wear a pair of runners so I
don’t have to hike in flip flops!
A little wallaby we found on our hike up the mountain.
If we had more time and it was a bit nicer we would have walked all the way down to the beach and maybe gone for a swim in the water.
Once we got our pictures taken we hopped
back in the car and drove to the Bay of Fires. Tasmania has very bad cell
reception so we actually had to pull over to an information store and get a map
to direct us. People my age don’t use maps anymore, we are all reliant on
google maps, so definitely an experience to go back to an old school map. The
bay of fires was gorgeous. It is called the Bay of Fires because of the red
markings on the rocks, which you will see in the pictures below. Yes I went
climbing on the rocks, because, hey why not right?
Me about to start my journey climbing the rocks!
The gorgeous white sandy beaches
Thanks to Andre for this awesome picture of me watching the waves crash against the rocks, trying to decide if I am mermaid enough to go for a swim!
I didn't realize the rocks were this big until I looked at this picture, and compared my size to it.
How would you like to live on this farm? Wake up in the morning and do your farming chores then go down to the beach for a swim in the crystal clear ocean!
After seeing these gorgeous landmarks
around Tasmania we drove to Launceston that we arrived in very late that night,
checked into our hostel ordered some Chinese food and then went to sleep. Meena
and I had to catch our flight back home the next morning. I was very sad to be
leaving Tasmania to be going back home to Newcastle, and I definitely can’t
wait to go back!
So long little Island, I'll be back soon!!!
Other then that, I haven’t really been up
to much except schoolwork. As the semester comes to a close it gets very busy
trying to finish everything that I procrastinated doing earlier in the
semester, and also what I am doing now. This coming weekend though I am going
to Vivid Sydney, which if you remember from last year led to some awesome
pictures. I will maybe just post a picture blog this weekend when I come home
from seeing it, to share the amazement with you.
I will leave you with a wind blown selfie as I try to continue to stay warm, while
you all enjoy the sunshine!
