15 March – Melbourne

We are now back in Melbourne after a brilliant week in Tasmania. Tasmania is beautiful and (apart from the few major towns) very sparsely populated. So we enjoyed empty roads and driving at a very leisurely pace to enjoy the scenery. It was a good job we had booked our car hire and accommodation as there were quite a few disappointed tourists around! We managed to drive down a lot of the eastern coast stopping to enjoy the beauty and solitude on many occasions. The Port Arthur complex was quite a sight. It was hard to realise the history behind the penal colony and the harshness of the life that convicts and staff had to endure. From there we headed to Richmond a colonial town with many old buildings and a pleasant location. We also visited Hobart and a lovely town in the North called Deloraine. It took some time to get used to towns and villages with names of large British towns.

And so after 4 and a half days we reluctantly left Tasmania. For anyone heading to Australia a week in Tasmania should be high on your list of places to go!